Psalms 17:2-12

2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thy eyes behold the things that are equal.

3 Thou hast proved my heart; thou hast visited [me] in the night; thou hast tried me, [and] shalt find nothing; I have purposed [that] my mouth shall not transgress.

4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept [me from] the paths of the destroyer.

5 Uphold my goings in thy paths, [that] my footsteps slip not.

6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thy ear to me, [and hear] my speech.

7 Show thy wonderful loving-kindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them who put their trust [in thee] from those that rise up [against them].

8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shade of thy wings.

9 From the wicked that oppress me, [from] my deadly enemies, [who] encompass me,

10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.

11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;

12 Like as a lion [that] is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

Psalms 17:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 17

\\<>\\. This prayer was put up by David either in his own person, on his own account, praying to God for the vindication of his cause, and for salvation and deliverance from his enemies; or in the person of the Messiah, whose type he was, and of the whole church, so Jerom of old interpreted it; and the title of it in the Arabic version is, ``a prayer in the person of a perfect man, and of Christ himself, and of everyone that is redeemed by him;'' in which preservation and protection are prayed for, and hope of eternal life is expressed. It was written, according to Theodoret, when David suffered persecution from Saul.