A Prayer of David. 1 Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! 2 From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right! 3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. 5 My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. 6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.

7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand. 8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, 9 from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly. 11 They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground. 12 He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush. 13 Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, 14 from men by your hand, O Lord, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. (Psalm 17, ESV)

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To understand this psalm, it might be helpful to picture someone running out of a burning building with their loved ones and most precious possessions. Though though they smell like smoke, they have survived with the most important elements of life intact. This psalm depicts a man—David—who was running out of his own burning building with all the most important elements of life intact.

But to really understand this song, you would have to envision David coming out of his burning building not only intact but as a better version of himself and with a better version of life than he had before the fire. Sure, the flames have cost him dearly, but through God's redemptive love, they have also enriched him greatly.

This concept should not be completely foreign to us. Even using our illustration of the burning house, it is not hard to imagine that event becoming a catalyst for good. If the family was fractured, if the father or mother were prone to wander, if the malaise of life was setting in, the terrible nature of the fire could produce wonderful results. A wake-up call before deep slumber. An interruption before a terrible life choice. A sudden stop to a wayward path. The house fire could produce, and that's just what occurs in this psalm.

Paul said, "We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good" (Rom. 8:28). This psalm is that story—the story of God mixing together the "all things" ingredients of life, bitter and unsavory on their own, into something wonderful.

This whole psalm smells like the smoke produced by the refining fire of the furnace, but it ends with a man who came out of that fire unharmed, unmoved, and improved for God's glory. Today, now that we've read the prayer in its entirety, let's scour the psalm for three things. First, let's try to unearth the pressure David was under, at least as he described it, to see if we can relate to it in any way. Second, let's discover David's request—what was it he wanted God to do? And third, let's consider the solution and resolve David's prayer led him to embrace. What did he mean when he concluded, "As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness"?

The Pressure

First, what pressure was the psalmist under? Tons. He was a man well-acquainted with evil. His had not been a life of ease or luxury, shielded from the hardships many endure. He was not living under the duress of first-world problems—donuts or bagels after service?—but true life-or-death scenarios. He could not be pollyannish about anything, putting a fake positive spin on the lethal dose his enemy was administering.

He began listing his enemy's work by titling them: "with regard to the works of man" (4). It's as if he had a page in his journal devoted to the things people did to him—the works of man.

Whoever his foe was, one thing was certain; they were violent (4, 9). And, as we all know, violence can be done loudly and physically but also quietly and psychologically. Violence looks for a result: destruction. Whatever means are required to get there, the violent will do that destructive work.

He went on to say their brand of violence was deadly, without pity, and with great arrogance (9-10). And when he said his enemies "set their eyes to cast us to the ground," he used words illustrative of a bull bowing low before a charge (11). Like a doomed matador in the ring with a champion, David saw his enemy pawing the ground, ready to gouge, determined to harm.

Not only that, but this enemy was cocky and self-assured like a lion eager to tear, or a young lion lurking in ambush (12). Their arrogance was off the charts, partly because their lives were fairly full and satisfying. David said they were men of the world whose portion is in this life (14). Even their families prospered, and they were satisfied with children and generational abundance (14).[^1]

Is there any part of you that can relate to David's experience? Have you felt any foes in life that have come in similar packaging? Self-assured, prosperous, violent, and destructive?

I am sure that many of us have endured much at the hands of others. It is amazing how much blame God gets for the evils people commit against one another. God is sovereign, but he does not micromanage the inner workings of every human heart. In his sovereignty, he allows a fallen and broken humanity to make their choices—and many of those choices lead to the harm of others. Many of us have been abused, neglected, or betrayed by another of our species.

And I am sure all of us have endured much from the foe within. Our sinful flesh is also like a lion eager to tear, ready to do great violence if we would only follow its desires. We are a mixture of longings—some contrary to God and others for him—a battlefield between flesh and Spirit. We have been the abuser, the neglecter, the betrayer. We have not always said or done what we should. We aren't always playing the "good" role in the cosmic drama of good vs. evil. We have set our affections on this world in an attempt to make our portion of this life. And we need to drink in God's daily dose of grace and mercy to help us overcome our own tendencies to destroy with our words and actions.

But this was the pressure the psalmist was under. And all of us feel these pressures today. We are routinely called to go round after round with all types of pressures. Financial pressures breathe down our necks—just when you catch a break, another setback occurs. Physical pressures get us all at some point—aging and injury and disease are constants among us. Relational pressures, especially in our fractured world, are often acute—and it often feels like there is no handbook with guidance on how to repair the frayed relationships in our lives. Everywhere we turn, extreme pressures abound.

The Request

In light of these pressures, what was David's request? What did he want to see God do? The bottom line is that he wanted God to defend him. This song is a lament that asks God to defend his innocent man.

He prays that God would hear a just cause, attend to his cry, and give ear to his prayer (1). He wants God to vindicate him, but, more than that, see (behold) him in his calamity (2). He asked God to incline his ear to him, keep him, and protect him (6-8). He wanted God to get up (arise) to confront and subdue the oppressor (13). He wanted deliverance (13).

And isn't this precisely what we want when under extreme pressure from hostile people or the hostilities of life itself? When the fire begins to burn, isn't our main desire to escape? Don't we want to be set free?

This is where believers must remember the gospel. The cross of Christ reversed the natural order of things. Through the gruesome death came the glorious life. The event that at first appeared to be God's great defeat was God's great victory. And Jesus invites us to take up our own crosses, die daily, and follow him. Christ-followers are invited to a lifetime of living in the Spirit's resurrection power, but resurrection is preceded by death.

What I am trying to draw out from the biblical story is that it is often through death—or pressure, or pain, or heartache—that God's resurrection power comes. That is the story of this psalm, and it is often our story as well. The finances downturn, but dependence on God rises. The relationship stagnates, so your walk with God is refired. The children rebel, so you turn to God afresh.

But, at first, our request is simple: get us out of this, God.

The Solution

In light of David's request, what was the solution? How did God answer his cry?

First, David became conscious of God's love. He asked God to wondrously show his steadfast love (7). The song had begun with a claim of personal righteousness. David's heart had been tried by God (3). God had visited and tested his man, finding nothing worth of condemnation in him (3). He had avoided the ways of the violent and had held fast to God's paths (4-5). When David said these things, he did not say them as a self-righteous, delusional Pharisee. Instead, he said them with humility, with every recognition that he was not flawless in his performance. It was his way of saying, "I have tried to walk with God."

How do we know he did not come to God in arrogance? Because he eventually appealed, not to his own works, but to God's covenantal love and mercy for the reason God should answer. He wanted God to move, not because David was righteous, but because God is slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. The very God who had made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who made a covenant at Mt. Sinai with Moses and Israel, that covenantal God is who David appeals to here. He wants God to move because of his love. In the middle of the fire, David saw God's love—an unalterable love because it was attached to God's promise.

Second, David also became aware of God's merciful protection. Two figures of speech came to his mind. He said God would keep him as the apple of his eye, or the pupil at the center of his eye (8). David knew his creator had put his eyes in a well-protected position. Countless times, David's whole body had convulsed to protect his eyes from danger. And even the design of his face—eyebrows, eyelids, and eyelashes enveloping the precious jewel within—taught him of God's merciful protection. Just as David's reflexes were designed to protect his vision, God's reflexes were to watch over his man. He was the apple of God's eye. This told David that despite all he was enduring at that moment, God was busy watching over his child.

The other figure of speech came from nature. David said God would hide him in the shadow of his wings (8). Just as a mother bird hides its young under its wings, so God would (and was) covering his man. David was sure this was the future God had secured for him. He was going to be mercifully protected by his God. He would not panic but wait, for his God was on the move.

Third and finally, in the last line of the psalm, David concluded: "As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness" (15). Though we often understand this as a cry for life after death, it probably wasn't. He meant that he was in the dark night of prayer and expected to find satisfaction as he drew near to God. The man who began the psalm wanting vengeance now believed he would find true rest in and with his Lord (1, 15).

Though God might choose not to protect him further and instead permit it for his refinement, David was convinced that whatever God chose would culminate in the revelation of God's glory (likeness).

And, with that, David was free! He was no longer bound to transitory blessings but was satisfied with a transformational interaction with God. He was no longer placated by surface-level goodness but resolved to plunge into the deep goodness of God. He was no longer enraptured with stuff but with sanctification. He wanted God.

To behold God’s face and to be changed by that vision into his image, so as to partake in his righteousness, this is my noble ambition, and in the prospect of this, I cheerfully waive all my present enjoyments.

— C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David[^2]

And setting our sights afresh on God—his love, mercy, and presence—is so important when thrown into the fire. I know I'm not the only person here who has become close to God through—dare I say because—of the fire. We have come out smelling like smoke but fuller of life and faith and love and hope than ever before. We know God.

Conclusion

To wrap up our study of this psalm, it might be helpful to point to a classic worship song, Refiner's Fire—the jam of 90's youth groups nationwide. It is based on Malachi 3:3, which depicts God coming as a refiner's fire to his people. The chorus goes like this:

Refiner's fire My heart's one desire Is to be holy Set apart for You, Lord I choose to be holy Set apart for You, my Master Ready to do Your will

— Brian Doerkson, Refiner’s Fire[^3]

In that refining fire of God's presence, worshippers sang that they wanted God to purify their hearts so that they might be refined like pure gold and silver, cleansed from sin deep within.

In this psalm, God's refining work had occurred. The worshipper has allowed the extreme pressures of life to drive him to God. And in God alone does he find solace and life. He is encouraged by the knowledge of God—and that he is becoming godly as he walks with God. The worshipper has decided that seeing God's face is better than health and wealth. And all the pressure has been a tutor to teach him that lesson and shape that heart. God has refined his man in the furnace of life and out has come a man set apart for his Lord, holy, ready to do his will.

Pastor Josh White, who, Lord willing, is going to teach our men's conference next February, wrote about the need for this refining work:

"I am innocence lost, and yet I am still full of childlike wonder. I am the aging man who wastes life to avoid death’s coming, and yet I am also wisdom growing. I am both monster and new creation, hidden and exposed, dangerous and gentle. My existence is always a potential gift or threat to others. I am both of the earth and the air. I am heaven and hell. I am a mixture. So I must die the good death daily."

— Josh White, Stumbling Toward Eternity[^4]

Let us follow the same path. When the good deaths of extreme pressures overtake us, let us set our eyes upon the God who steadfastly loves us, keeps us as the apple of his eye, and hides us in the shadow of his wings. When we do, those deaths turn into resurrections, and we will sing to God, "Though pressures abound and evil flourishes, as for me, I shall gaze upon your glorious and perfect face because you have made me able to stand in your presence. And when I awake—when I arise from this night of death—it will be your presence to me and in me that fills me with unsurpassed joy."

[^1]: Modern translations go one of three ways with this segment: 1) The translations I respect the most—including the ESV I am teaching from—take this as the wicked living in life's blessings today, despite their wickedness. 2) Other good translations take it as God judging the wicked with full bellies of his judgment, even to the next generations. The NIV embodies this line of thought by reading: "May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and may there be leftovers for their little ones." 3) And still others render it as a prayer for God to fill the homes and bellies of his people with peace and prosperity. The NLT reads: "But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants." Though tempting to hold onto this more positive interpretation—it is a lovely way to pray, after all—the next verse presents a contrast. When David says, "As for me..." he means that the wicked have this life, along with all of its superficial benefits, but David has God.

[^2]: C. H. Spurgeon. The Treasury of David: Psalms 1-26, vol. 1. Marshall Brothers, n.d.

[^3]: Doerkson, Brian. Refiner’s Fire. Vineyard Worship, 1990.

[^4]: White, Josh. Stumbling toward Eternity: Losing & Finding Ourselves in the Cross of Jesus. Multnomah Press, 2023.