Psalm Category: Psalm of Lament

Central Thought: Psalm 17 reminds us that our satisfaction is found in ordering our lives according to God’s Word, trusting in His fatherly care, and longing to be in His presence forever.

Key Word: Sabea (v. 15). This Hebrew word is translated by the N IV as “satisfied” in verse 15. Sabea is often used in the Bible to refer to satisfaction in nourishment. I t is used this way in regard to God’s provision of manna in Exodus 16. The psalmist employs the word in Psalm 17 to demonstrate that he is nourished, fulfilled, and satiated by the presence of God. God is the psalmist’s portionand satisfaction.

Psalm 17

In the I960s, the band the Rolling Stones expressed in music the anthem of our age: “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Our culture is an unsatisfied culture. Psalm 17 counters our culture by revealing the path to true satisfaction.

A Life Well Lived (vv. 1-5): Verses 1-5 place us in the divine courtroom. Courtrooms are places of drama, because in them lives are weighed on the scales of justice. Psalm 17 elevates the drama even further because the psalmist stands before the eternal judge.

It is interesting that the psalmist does not come into this courtroom in the posture ofconfession. He makes no mea culpa, but rather offers a series of bold proclamations of innocence. He states that he deserves to be heard because his plea is “righteous.” He claims to have no sin in thought (v. 3a), word (v. 3b), or deed (vv. 4-5).

Some have had trouble with the psalmist’s apparent self-righteousness, and this has led them to restrict his claim of righteousness solely to the circumstances leading to his present distress. I am inclined to think that this interpretation is too narrow. I do not think the psalmist is saying that he is perfect. He is saying that, to the best of his ability, his life is ordered according to God’s law. He is saying that he is blameless and upright in the same manner as Job (Job 1:8). This gives us insight as towhythe psalmist is satisfied. He can look himselfin the mirror, even the divine mirror, because he has ordered his life according to God’s Word. We too often live our lives like children who only clean up their room when they hear their parents’ footsteps. Like the psalmist, we should conform our lives to God’s commands so we too can enter His courtroom saying, “Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea.”

*A Loving Father *(vv. 6-14): In the middle portion ofthe psalm we shift from the courtroom to a scene from home. The psalmist seeks God’s intervention based on the fact that God is his father. In verse 7 the psalmist cries out to see the wonder of God’s great fatherly love. In verse 8 the psalmist employs two metaphors to describe this great love. First, he says to God, “Keep me as the apple of your eye.” He requests that his father protect him as a man protects the pupil of his eye. Second, he asks God to hide him in the shadow of His wings. This imagery is likely a reference to a mother hen protecting her chicks (Luke 13:34), but it may also be a reference to the wings of the cherubim that covered the Ark of the Covenant.

Here we see the second aspect of the psalmist’s satisfaction. He is satisfied in knowing that God is his heavenly Father. Perhaps when you were a child you ran to your parents’ bedroom after a nightmare and were satisfied with the protection found there. The psalmist does a similar thing here with his heavenly Father, and he is satisfied. In times of trouble, find your satisfaction in Him.

Being in His Presence (v. 15): Even though the psalmist is surrounded by vicious enemies, he has confidence that he will awake and see God. The psalmist has this confidence even though there is no indication thathe has been delivered. Our culture too often thinks that the elimination of suffering is what will satisfy the human soul. The Bible tells us that the only thing that will satisfy us is being in the presence of God. Remember, Jesus lived a perfect life and was a son in whom God was well pleased, but Jesus was not spared from suffering. However, as Isaiah tells us, upon passing through the suffering of His soul He saw the “light of life” and was “satisfied” (Isa. 53:11).

-Anthony T. Selvaggio