Skip to content

Psalm 17

  • Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea
  • May my vindication come from you
  • I have resolved that my mouth will not sin
  • My steps have held to your paths
  • I call on you, O God, for you will answer me
  • Keep me as the apple of your eye
  • hide me in the shadow of your wings
  • As for me, I will see your face in righteousness
  • I shall be satisfied, when I awake in your likeness

Before we pray

Psalm is the prayer book for teaching and exercise. The Holy Spirit is the teacher, reading or praying the Psalms is actually feeding our inner being with the spiritual food from God. Otherwise our heart and soul will pick up the rubbish and poison from this wicked world. In the beginning, I don’t understand why we need to pray like Psalm 17:3 “though you test me, you will find nothing”, but I repeated the words anyways.

After praying and meditating many times, now I can see the Holy Spirit is teaching us the requirement of God. Anyone who wish his prayer to be heard has to make a commitment as verse 3, I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. And verse 4 and 5, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent; My steps have held to your paths.

This means we need to make a decision to obey Psalm 1:1 “do not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners”. We need to remember prayer is two way, and it is not really for us to tell God what to do. Prayer is the Holy Spirit teaching us what God’s will is and how to do it, because we are His servant. We need to listen first. then we can present our request to Him.

Only when one start to follow Jesus, to imitate Him, then this prayer will be answered, ” Keep me as the apple of your eye and hide me in the shadow of your wings”. My inner man had to hear all the Psalms lots of times to wake up and see some of the truth. (at this point I don’t know what to write next, and I pray to the Lord silently, then woke up next morning with new understanding.)

Self centered

The Holy Spirit remind me I am still too much self-centered, because all my focus is on “me” and my need for protection. So Psalm 17:8 caught my attention “Keep me as the apple of your eye and hide me in the shadow of your wings”. But the more important one is, “As for me, I will see your face in righteousness”. I missed it, even though I followed Psalms to pray many times. This is God’s will for all His children, but still may not be our first priority yet, many of us are too carnal minded, not spiritual. There so many verses instructing us to seek the Lord’s face, such as;

  • (Psalms 4:6) Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of Your face shine upon us, O LORD.
  • (Psalms 24:6) This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob.
  • (Psalms 27:8) My heart says to You, Seek my face; Your face, O LORD, I will seek;
  • (Psalms 31:16) Make Your face shine on Your servant; save me in Your mercy.
  • (Psalms 67:1) May God be merciful to us, and bless us, and cause His face to shine on us.
  • (Psalms 80:3) Turn us again, O God, and cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!
  • (Psalms 80:7) O God of hosts, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.
  • (Psalms 80:19) Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved.
  • (Psalms 105:4) Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face evermore.
  • (Psalms 119:135) Make Your face to shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.

So few have understood the consequence if God hide His face from us, let’s see some examples from the Psalms:

  • (Psalms 13:1-2) How long will You forget me, O LORD? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my heart, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
  • (Psalms 30:7) O LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
  • (Psalms 44:24-25) Why do You hide Your face, and forget our affliction and our oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaves to the earth.
  • (Psalms 69:17) And hide not Your face from Your servant, for I am in trouble; answer me speedily.
  • (Psalms 88:14-15) O LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered Your terrors and am in despair.
  • (Psalms 102:2-3) Hide not Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day I call, answer me quickly, For my days go up like smoke, and my bones scorch like a firebrand.
  • (Psalms 143:7) Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails; do not hide Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down into the pit.

This is the warning from the Holy Spirit, “Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails; do not hide Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down into the pit”. We may not know why anyone should pray like this, but remember the hymn, “trust and obey, there is no other way.” For those who refuse to obey, they will find out the truth later, but it might be too late.

Call to imitate God

I have no confidence to say verse 3 , “You have tried me, and You will find nothing”, because I have not been serious about imitating Paul and Christ. Paul said, (I Corinthians 11:1) Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ. Because of this he can say, (I Corinthians 4:4 NASB) For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Paul imitated Christ, therefore he can pray Psalm 17. And he asked us to do the same, (I Corinthians 4:16) So I urge you to become imitators of me.

When we pray Psalm 17, the Holy Spirit will teach our heart and soul how to get ready to see God’ face, “I will see your face in righteousness”. In righteousness means to believe in Him. To believe Him means to imitate Him, as Jesus explained clearly, (John 14:12) Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me shall also do the works that I do; and greater works than these shall he do because I am going to the Father. It is very foolish to reject His Word, for it is written: (I Corinthians 16:22) If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. The Lord comes!

Many of us who have not been successful in imitate Christ, we need to pray more according to the Psalms, in this way we can wake up our inner man and build up our faith, so that we may walk with Jesus and imitate Him. God’s people, we need to move our prayer life to a higher level, to pray in the Spirit, for the time is short, the darkness is increasing, His second coming is getting closer. Let us practice now;

LORD, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell upon Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart;
He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the LORD; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change it;
He who has not put out his money at usury, nor has he taken a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

Preserve me, O God, for in You do I take refuge.
I have said to the LORD, “You are my LORD; I have no goodness apart from You.”
As for the saints in the earth, “They are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.”
Their sorrows shall be multiplied who run after another god. I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood; and I will not take their names upon my lips.
The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; You shall uphold my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I will bless the LORD Who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the nights.
I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices; My flesh also shall rest in safety,
For You will not abandon My soul to the grave; neither will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will make known to Me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy. At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Amen.