An Appeal To Heaven
Psalm 17: 1-15
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A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
In this psalm I am reminded of a fire rescue technique where the firemen hold high a trampoline type of canvass into which escaping victims are encouraged to jump from the windows of a burning building. The background of this psalm is a familiar one of an innocent sufferer, who flings himself into God's arms for safety. and in prayer enters into peace and hope. This little treasure of a psalm is divided differently by nearly every commentator. However, there are three general movements, marked by the repetition of the name of God. In verses one to five David crys for help on the basis of innocence. In verses six to twelve David gives a vivid description of the enemies. Then in the last three verses David affirms his devotion and hope.
In the opening verses David pleads three times for the attention of the Almighty. Now the ground of this petition sounds strange to us who have learned about our sinfulness in the New Testament. Here, David affirms his innocence. David urges God to hear his case and to give a final judgement to that case. The sense of the Hebrew here is not like the pompous prayers of the Pharisee in Christ's parable. Instead, it is a prayer of the pauper for mercy and Divine judgement. David's situation here is one of false accusation and persecution which wears him down. How many of our troubles today are similar? A problem arises and torments us, hours, days, perhaps even months go by and we get to the point that no matter what the outcome our only desire is for the problem be finished and resolved within God's precious will!
One of my students was once accused of a rather serious offense and leaving any guilt aside, the only desire on his part was to see the case finished. It went on for seven months and I believe that his torment of being in unresolved limbo was far greater and worse for his character than any ultimate judgement that might finally was resolved. But David's case is better, he turns to God in prayer and asks for assistance. The Hebrew in verse five might also be translated as a request rather than a statement of fact. An older translation puts the emphasis this way: "Hold my steps to your paths, [that] my feet may not slip." Whenever we like David fall into threatening situations it is easy to respond in the ways of the world. It is not easy to behave rightly. Trials test our faith. In this situation David does what we all should do: turn to our Father in prayer.
In the second division in verses six to twelve we see David's earnest plea. Here David's despair turns to confidence. Notice the change in verse six. David is a man of experience, and because God has been continually faithful he can boldly lay his case before the throne again. In the second phrase of verse six David returns to his first prayer and gives us an example to regularly petition our Lord about our pressing problems. Could it be that the ongoing problems that plague us remain unresolved because we do not turn to our Lord soon enough and often enough? "Show the wonder of your great love", David pleads. Do we, should we pray so boldly? Of course, we affirm the wonder of God's great love when we worship His Son Jesus Christ but do we pray for affirmation?
David does: "Show me", he says. Show your love to my intellect and remove my ignorance, show your love to my heart and revive my gratitude; show your love to my faith and renew my confidence, show your love to my experience and deliver me from all my fears! Remember we and David pray to our God of Salvation. It is His present and perpetual habit to save believers. He puts forth his best and most glorious strength, using his right hand of wisdom and might to save all who trust themselves with Him.
David continues: "Keep me as the apple of your eye". When we are talking to some one face to face we may see our own reflection in the pupil of the other person. This pupil is that apple here, but a closer confidence is suggested by the Hebrew words. Keep me close Lord because you love me, just like a mother bird who tucks her young ones up under her wings close to her heart. Yes Lord, keep me close to your heart as well. Protect me from the wicked Lord David pleads. Then in verses nine to ten he describes these others. These others are described here with feline characteristics just waiting to pounce.
One summer when the boys were little, we hatched three baby chicks. Several of the cats took great delight in watching their antics through the wire. It was almost as if Sylvester and Tweety had taken up residence in our barn. One day, a little chick got out and was chirping all over the barn as one of our bad old puddy tats scurried to invite him to dinner. The cat only backed off when confronted by a power greater than his own! In a like situation as the chick David requests intervention from the One who is greatest in power.
We move on to our last division of Psalm Seventeen. "Rise up, O Lord, confront them, bring them down; rescue me ..." Well might we pray in the same sense for God to intervene in our lives. Confront them and rescue me, save me he pleads. We like David must remember that worldly men have no awe nor regular knowledge of the Almighty. Their reward is most definately seen to rest completely in this life. They act differently from God's own people.
David's pleas are over. He confidently brings his prayer to a close. His hunger for assurance and justice is appeased. As I come to this last verse I am reminded of my grandmother whose favorite verse was this one. She lived ninety-five years. In the last century she even talked with people who had settled Logan county, who had seen the last of the Indian troubles in Ohio. That was years ago. Since then she had lived through five wars, a great depression and dramatic changes in society that would make anyone and everyone of us uneasy. During the depression she managed to keep the family together while my grandfather worked the wheat fields in the west. For two generations they served the Lord together and prayed fervently for the same things that David prayed.
David's hope was their hope just as David's hope should be our hope. When all is said and done, no matter the raging of the world around us, we are His. If we would call upon Him, He will make Himself known and He will act on our behalf. And in life and even in death, when we awake we too may see His face and be satisfied. Now this awakening here applies to our coming into glory on that blessed day when God finally comes and completes His judgement and blesses us according to the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May we look forward one and all to that blessed day, but until that time when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, we have a lesson to learn from David. And that lesson is simple, if we want to experience God's presence in our life, if we want to see His power and His glory at work, then we must be constant in prayer in the midst of our trials. Believe me, believe David and the witness of countless others, God will reveal Himself. Amen.
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Resources Used: |
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MacLaren, Alexander. |
The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms. | |
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Spurgeon, C.H. |
The Treasury of David. | |
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The Holy Bible, New International Version. International Bible Society (1973, 1978, 1984) | ||
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017a |
05 February 89 & 16 May 99 | |