Davids Harp Strung and Tuned, Book 1 · Psalm 17
PSAL. XVII. Davids Appeal to God in juſtification of himſelf; and his Petition for defence againſt his Enemies.
THERE be three parts of the Pſalm.
1. A Petition;
1. For Audience, ver. 1. ver. 6.
2. For perſeverance in good, ver. 5.
3. For ſpecial favour, ver. 7, 8.
4. For deliverance at this time eſpecially, v. 13, 14.
2. A Narration, in which we meet with.
1. His Appeal to God, and his own juſtification ver. 2, 3, 4.
2. The Reaſons of it, his Enemies, and their Character, ver. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.
3. A Concluſion, which hath two parts; one belonging to this life, and the other to the future, ver. 15.
1. He begins with a Petition, and it is for Audience; The firſt part. He petitions for Audience.and he perſwades it upon two Reaſons: 1. The juſtice of his cauſe: 2. The ſincerity of his heart: 1. Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer: 2. Ver. 1 That goeth not out of feigned lips; it comes from a ſincere heart, and not from the lips only, And gives the Reaſons.therefore hear it.
2. Then again there be other Reaſons why I deſir'd to be heard. Ver. 6
1. I am apt to ſlip and fall from thee, Hold up my goings, &c. Ver. 5
2. The danger I am in, is great; and it muſt be a ſtrange miracle, Ver. 7 ſome ſpecial grace, if I periſh not; Shew thy marvellous loving kindneſs. Ver. 13. & 14.
3. My Enemies inſolent and mighty, and thy Sword only can deliver me; The ſecond part. He appeals to God as his Judge.Ariſe O Lord, diſappoint him, and caſt him down, &c. ver. 13, 14.
2. His Appeal to God; ſince a verdict muſt paſs upon me, Let my ſentence come forth from thy preſence; for I know that thou art a juſt Judge, Ver. 2 thou art ſway'd with no prejudice; Let thine eyes behold the things that is equal; and then I am aſſured it will go well with me: Ver. 3 For thou haſt before this time taken me to task, Being conſcious of his innocency.and haſt found nothing, and I am reſolv'd that thou ſhalt find nothing; nothing as touching that cauſe that my Enemies alledge againſt me.
1. Nothing in my heart: Thou haſt proved my heart.
2. Nothing in my tongue: For I am purpoſed that my mouth ſhall not tranſgreſs.
3. Ver. 4 Nothing in my hand: For concerning the works of men, which are miſchievous, by the words of thy lips; I have had ſo great regard to that which thou haſt expreſly in thy Word prohibited, That I have kept my ſelf from the paths and wicked wayes of the Deſtroyer; of him, that to ſatisfie his own luſts, breaks all Lawes: Perfaſ que , nefaſ que , ruit.
4. And yet deſires aſſiſtance.I confeſs indeed, that I am a poor, weak, and infirm creature, apt to fall as other men, Ver. 5 without thou ſuſtain me by thy grace; do thou therefore keep me in this mind ever; Hold up my goings in thy paths, th…t I ſlip not.
And this firſt Petition he renews again, Ver. 6 and quickens it by his aſſurance and confidence to be heard, He renews his Petition.I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me O God: Encline thine ear to me, and hear my ſpeech. And he puts in a ſpecial Petition, which hath two parts or clauſes. Ver. 7
1. Shew thy marvellous loving kindneſſes: More than ordinary, which he perſwades from the perſon of God: O thou that ſaveſt by thy right hand them that put their truſt in thee, from thoſe that riſe up againſt them.
2. Ver. 8 That he would ſave him with the greateſt care and vigilancy, as a man would preſerve the apple of his eye, as the Hen her Chickens: Keep me as the apple of thine eye, hide me under the ſhadow of thy wings.
And to perſwade this, Ver. 9 he fetcheth his Argument from his preſent neceſſity; he was inviron'd with enemies, And perſwades it from the quality of his enemies.wicked men, deadly enemies, whom he deſcribes.
1. Capital enemies they were, and they oppreſſed him, They compaſſ'd him about.
2. Ver. 10 Powerful, proud, rich enemies they were; Men incloſed in their own Fat, with their mouth they speak proudly: They inſult and threaten him. Ver. 11
3. Their counſels were fixt, and bent to ruine him: Figentes lumine terram.
4. Ver. 12 Cruel they were as Lyons; like a Lyon, &c. ver. 12.
5. Ver. 14 Enemies they were that proſper'd in their deſigns, ver. 14. They are men of this World. 2. They have their portion, and look for no other in this life. 3. Their bellies are fill'd. 4. Their children are many. 5. And they leave off their ſubſtance to their Babes.
Therefore he petitions the third time, Ver. 13 ver. 13. Ariſe O Lord, diſappoint him, He petitions yet again. The third part. 1. Faith.&c.
3. The Concluſion, containing the expectation of David, oppoſed to his enemies felicity.
1. In the life: As for me, I will behold thy face in righteouſneſs.
2. In this life to come; when I awake up; i. e. riſe from the dead, after thy likeneſs, I ſhall be ſatisfied with it.
The Prayer collected out of the ſeventeenth Pſalm.
I Have called unto thée, O Lord, be not deaf to my prayer, but attend to my cry, Ver. 1. & 6. Encline thine ear, and hear my ſpeech; be favourable to the juſtice of my cauſe, and grant my petition which I make unto thée from the bottom of my heart, and offer unto thée, not with feigned and diſſembling lips.
I know that thou art a juſt Iudge, who art ſway'd with no prejudice, to thée therefore I do appeal: Let my ſentence come forth then from thy preſence, Ver. 2 and let thine eyes, which behold all things, conſider that which is juſt and right, and look upon that which is equal betwixt me and my accuſers.
For my innocence is not unknown to thée; for thou haſt proved my heart, Ver. 3 whether it were ſincere or no, thon haſt viſited me, by a night of croſſes and temptations; and often ſpoken unto me, and ſearched me out by many thoughtful cogitations, which thou haſt ſent into my ſoul, when déep ſléep falls upon man: Thou haſt tried me, as gold in the fire, by many a ſharp tribulation, and yet haſt not found any perfidiouſneſs or malicious falſhood in me; for I have purpoſed, notwithſtanding the provocations and great pride and injuries which cruel men have laid upon me, that my mouth ſhall not offend and blaſpheme: Ver. 4 And though it be a difficult thing for fleſh and blood, not to wiſh, and ſpeak, and return ill to ſuch impious and injurious Malefactors; yet in all my life I have had an eye to thy Commandments, and by the words of thy lips, I have kept my ſelf from the wayes and works, and paths of thoſe, who attempt to corrupt thy Truth, and deſtroy thy Law.
But I do not impute this my innocence, Ver. 5 and Chriſtian Converſation to my own ſtrength; I am not as the Phariſee, proud ot it; for whatſoever is in me good and vertuous, I attribute it wholly to thy grace and benignity: I am a weak creature, as apt to fall and ſin as any; I beſéech thée therefore, who by thy preventing grace haſt cauſed me to enter into the way of thy Commandment, go along with me by thy concomitant grace in it: Uphold my goings in thy paths, that my foot-ſteps ſlip not; that nor my deſires nor actions deviate from the right way, and ſo I become worthy that thy talent of grace be taken from me.
So many enemies I have, that lay wait to ſubvert me in this way, Ver. 7 and deſpoil me of this my innocence, that it muſt be more than an … that muſt preſerve me. Ver. 8 Shew therefore thy marvellous loving kindneſs, … that ſaveſt by thy right hand thoſe that truſt in thee: Let me be a… dear unto th…e, and as ſafely kept, as the apple of the eye, protect and hide me under the ſhadow of thy wings, with thy merciful care and tenderneſs, more than the kind Hen doth her little Chickens from the coldeſt ſhowres, or the ſcorching Sun, or the gréedy Hawk or Vulture.
For behold, O Lord, our enemies breathing nothing but fury and death, Ver. 9 compaſs me and thy poor Church about on every ſide, they have ſhut up their bowels of compaſſion towards us, they waſte and oppreſs us, Ver. 10 they are fatned with wealth, power, ſucceſs and proſperity; and being ſwell'… with their victories over us, their mouth ſpeaketh high and proud things. It ſatisfieth not, that they have outed us, and deſpoiled us of all our goods; oven yet, when they have driven us almoſt to hide our ſelves in ſecret places, they watch our ſteps, Ver. 11 and compaſs us about with their nets and ſnares, to catch and deſtroy us: On this only they faſten their eyes, and bend their thoughts and counſels, Ver. 12 that they lay us flat upon the Earth, and bring our honour to the duſt: No Lyon is more gréedy of his prey, nor young Lyon, that lurks in ſecret places, dent to raven, than they are to take, tear, and devour us.
But thou, O Lord, haſt ſéemed overlong to ſléep, Ver. 13 the impunity of our enemies hath béen overlong deferr'd; Ariſe now therefore O Lord, and ſhew thy power, and come amongſt us; Diſappoint them, and caſt them down, and deliver our ſouls from the ungodly, who is thy Sword, and the Rod of thy wrath, with which thou doſt puniſh thy diſobedient and rebellious children.
Deliver us, O Lord, from the men of thy hand, Ver. 14 from the men whom thy hand hath armed againſt us, who yet now fight againſt thée; ſave us from the men of this world, who expect no other life, nor reward, nor are like to receive none; for they ſhall receive their portion in this world, in this ſhort life; and though their mind is unſatiable, yet their bellies are fill'd; their belly is their God, and their belly thou fill'ſt with thy hid and choiceſt pleaſures; they flow and abound in wealth and delights, they have enough, and to ſpare, a multitude of children, to whom they leave their ſuperfluities and ill-gotten goods. And in this they place their greateſt happineſs.
But, Vers. 15 O Lord, let me never receive from thée theſe outward things as my ſole and utmoſt reward, rather let my lot be to ſuffer with thy people here in this life, that I may be happy with them in the life to come: With the hope of this reward I will ſuſtain my ſelf in the midſt of my preſſures, I will not forgo my innocence, as they muſt their riches, but I hope to behold thy face in my righteouſneſs, with all the defects thereof pardoned and covered with the long white Robe of thy Son. Being fully perſwaded, that I here, who want and hunger, neither could be ſatisfied with theſe vain and periſhing goos, if I did abound in them, when I ſhall awake out of my bed of duſt, and be renew'd after thy likeneſs, I ſhall be ſatisfied with thy glory, joy, immortality, which thou haſt prepared for all thoſe who wait for the coming of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt. Amen.