Hear a just cause, O LORD, attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips. Let my vindication come from Your presence; let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip. Psalm 17: 1-5, NKJV.
Gracious God and Heavenly Father, as we come into Your presence this day, we ask that Your Holy Spirit will be our Teacher and lead us into all truth, as we study Your Word. In the precious name of Jesus Christ we humbly pray. Amen and Amen.
Today we will begin a study in Psalm 17. When we enter upon the study of God’s Word, we can never be sure where the Spirit will lead us; but one thing is certain, wherever our path may wind, God is in control, and we will find ourselves in green pastures, enjoying abundant blessings! So please join me in this adventure of faith!
Perhaps you have heard the adage, “You may hide from men, but you cannot hide from God.” It is one of the sayings of the sages. It is true at a glance. Psalm 139 testifies to that fact:
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘ “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” ‘ Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You” (5-12).
David, who is said to be the author of both psalms knows this. He rejoices over the fact that God will never lose sight of him. I do the same, don’t you? While Psalm 139 is a song, Psalm 17, is a prayer. He prays that God, who sees and knows everything that he does in the darkness as well as in the light, will testify of his innocence. David sings about God’s constant watch-care over Him – but he prays for God to vindicate him. We do the same today, don’t we?
David is so comfortable with his innocence that he approaches God, with these words, “Hear a just cause, O LORD[.]” In other words, “God, no matter how others see my actions, this is a “just cause.” Some of us might find this rather bold behavior on David’s part. but God does not seem to have a problem with it. After all, His Word invites us to “come boldly” to His Throne of Grace, to find the help we need. Let me hasten to say, that the bolder I go before Him, the more humbly I feel, and behave, in His presence. I never lose sight of the fact that He is God!
David continues with another very bold statement, “give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.” In other words, “LORD, I am not lying to You, so please listen to my prayer.” I believe David can pray this way, because he has determined to live a transparent life. I am not sure whether this was before or after his fall with Bathsheba (it most likely was before). What is important, is that at this time in his life, he was honestly being as transparent as he could be. I am so glad, that God sees us at every step of our journey, and not only when we have been “bad.” Don’t you?
Now he prays that God will be the One to vindicate him; “You God, look at my efforts to do the right. You are the One who sees me when darkness covers me from the view of others. You who see my heart have found nothing that You consider worthy of condemnation. That is because, in those areas of my life that only You can see, I have determined not to sin against You.”
Now note a most marvelous change in David’s prayer: “Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip.” In other words, “As far as living a life free from sin is concerned, it is only because You have declared victory over me, that I have been able to overcome, and have been saved from the Adversary! Therefore, my God, do not allow me to wander from Your paths of righteousness, and keep me from falling!” Hallelujah! For it is not by our determination, or transparency, that we are kept from falling – but by the Holy Spirit of God!
Can you and I pray this way? Can you and I be kept, by the Word of His lips, and upheld in His paths? Thanks be to God – of course we can! He is the same mighty God today – as He was yesterday – and will be tomorrow – and forevermore! Amen!
We will continue!