Deuteronomy 32:10(v8)He found him in a desert land, in the waste howling wilderness. He surrounded him. He cared for him. He kept him as the apple of his eye.
Psalms 91:4(v8)He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
Psalms 91:1(v8)He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Proverbs 7:2(v8)Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.
Psalms 61:4(v8)I will dwell in your tent forever. I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Show all 45 cross-references
Zechariah 2:8(v8)For Yahweh of Armies says: ‘For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his…
Ruth 2:12(v8)May Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take…
Psalms 36:7(v8)How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
Psalms 60:5(v7)So that your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us.
Luke 13:34(v8)“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children…
Psalms 5:11-12(v7)But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name…
Psalms 20:6(v7)Now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven, with the saving strength of his right hand.
Psalms 31:21(v7)Praise be to Yahweh, for he has shown me his marvelous loving kindness in a strong city.
Psalms 57:1(v8)Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until…
Psalms 116:2(v6)Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
Isaiah 41:10(v7)Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will…
Matthew 23:37(v8)“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children…
Psalms 63:7(v8)For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.
Psalms 86:7(v6)In the day of my trouble I will call on you, for you will answer me.
Exodus 15:6(v7)Your right hand, Yahweh, is glorious in power. Your right hand, Yahweh, dashes the enemy in pieces.
1 Samuel 17:45-57(v7)Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh…
2 Kings 19:34(v7)‘For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.’ ”
2 Chronicles 16:9(v7)For Yahweh’s eyes run back and forth throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward…
Psalms 10:12-16(v7)Arise, Yahweh! God, lift up your hand! Don’t forget the helpless. Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, “God won’t…
Psalms 44:3(v7)For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but your right hand, your arm, and the…
Psalms 66:19-20(v6)But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his…
Psalms 88:2(v6)Let my prayer enter into your presence. Turn your ear to my cry.
Romans 5:20-21(v7)The law came in that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly; that as sin reigned in death, even…
Psalms 55:16(v6)As for me, I will call on God. Yahweh will save me.
Acts 2:33(v7)Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out…
1 Samuel 25:28-29(v7)Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For Yahweh will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights Yahweh’s battles.…
2 Kings 19:22(v7)Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of…
Psalms 78:12(v7)He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
Isaiah 37:17(v6)Turn your ear, Yahweh, and hear. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and behold. Hear all of the words of Sennacherib, who has sent to defy the living…
Daniel 9:17-19(v6)“Now therefore, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant, and to his petitions, and cause your face to shine on your sanctuary that is…
Revelation 15:3(v7)They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the…
Psalms 35:4(v9)Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
Psalms 35:7(v9)For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.
Isaiah 37:20(v6)Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh, even you only.”
1 Samuel 24:11(v9)Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe, and didn’t kill you,…
1 Chronicles 17:9(v9)I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more. The…
Psalms 7:5(v9)let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust.
Psalms 31:20(v9)In the shelter of your presence you will hide them from the plotting of man. You will keep them secretly in a dwelling away from the strife…
Psalms 35:12(v9)They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.
Psalms 13:3-4(v6)Behold, and answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him;”…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (21 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv6–96. I have called upon thee, etc. This verb…
6. I have called upon thee, etc. This verb being put in the past tense denotes a continued act; and, therefore, it includes the present time. The Hebrew word כי, ki, which we translate surely, often signifies because, and if it is so understood in this passage, the meaning will be, that David took encouragement to pray, because, depending upon the promise of God, he hoped that his prayers would not be in vain. But, perhaps, it may be thought preferable to change the tense of the verb as some do, so as to give this meaning, I will pray, because I have hitherto experienced that thou hast heard The Septuagint renders the verb in the past tense, “Επηκουσας μου,” “Thou hast heard me.” The Syriac and Vulgate give a similar rendering. The verb, in the Hebrew, is in the future; but it is a common thing in Hebrew to use the future tense for the past.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv6, 7, 9He was assured that God would not refuse his…
He was assured that God would not refuse his request.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv6–9Psa 17:6 I have called upon thee, for thou…
Psa 17:6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, [and hear] my speech.
Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me] q.d. Thou wast always wont to hear me, and therefore I presume thou wilt. Experience breeds confidence.
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Incline thine ear] See how he reinforceth his former request; as if he would wring the blessing out of God’s hands by a holy violence, and take no denial.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv6–9I have called upon thee; it hath been, and…
I have called upon thee; it hath been, and still is, and shall be my constant course to apply myself to thee for assistance and for deliverance.
For thou wilt hear me, O God; for though thou mayst delay for a season, I am well assured that thou wilt hear and answer me.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v8We may observe, in these verses,
We may observe, in these verses,
I. What David prays for. Being compassed about with enemies that sought his life, he prays to God to preserve him safely through all their attempts against him, to the crown to which he was anointed. This prayer is both a prediction of the preservation of Christ through all the hardships and difficulties of his humiliation, to the glories and joys of his exalted state, and a pattern to Christians to commit the keeping of their souls to God, trusting him to preserve them to his heavenly kingdom. He prays,
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1. That he himself might be protected (Psa 17:8): "Keep me safe, hide me close, where I may not be found, where I may not be come at. Deliver my soul, not only my mortal life from death, but my immortal spirit from sin." Those who put themselves under God's protection may in faith implore the benefit of it.
(1.) He prays that God would keep him, [1.] With as much care as a man keeps the apple of his eye with, which nature has wonderfully fenced and teaches us to guard. If we keep God's law as the apple of our eye (Pro 7:2), we may expect that God will so keep us; for it is said concerning his people that whoso touches them touches the apple of his eye, Zac 2:8. [2.] With as much tenderness as the hen gathers her young ones under her wings with; Christ uses the similitude, Mat 23:37. "Hide me under the shadow of thy wings, where I may be both safe and warm." Or, perhaps, it rather alludes to the wings of the cherubim shadowing the mercy-seat: "Let me be taken under the protection of that glorious grace which is peculiar to God's Israel." What David here prays for was performed to the Son of David, our Lord Jesus, of whom it is said (Isa 49:2) that God hid him in the shadow of his hand, hid him as a polished shaft in his quiver.
(2.) David further prays, "Lord, keep me from the wicked, from men of the world," [1.] "From being, and doing, like them, from walking in their counsel, and standing in their way, and eating of their dainties." [2.] "From being destroyed and run down by them. Let them not have their will against me; let them not triumph over me."
2. That all the designs of his enemies to bring his either into sin or into trouble might be defeated (Psa 17:13): "Arise, O Lord! appear for me, disappoint him, and cast him down in his own eyes by the disappointment." While Saul persecuted David, how often did he miss his prey, when he thought he had him sure! And how were Christ's enemies disappointed by his resurrection, who thought they had gained their point when they had put him to death!
II. What he pleads for the encouraging of his own faith in these petitions, and his hope of speeding. He pleads,
1. The malice and wickedness of his enemies: "They are such as are not fit to be countenanced, such as, if I be not delivered from them by the special care of God himself, will be my ruin. Lord, see what wicked men those are that oppress me, and waste me, and run me down." (1.) "They are very spiteful and malicious; they are my deadly enemies, that thirst after my blood, my heart's blood - enemies against the soul," so the word is. David's enemies did what they could to drive him to sin and drive him away from God; they bade him go serve other gods (Sa1 26:19), and therefore he had reason to pray against them. Note, Those are our worst enemies, and we ought so to account them, that are enemies to our souls. (2.) "They are very secure and sensual, insolent and haughty (Psa 17:10): They are enclosed in their own fat, wrap themselves, hug themselves, in their own honour, and power, and plenty, and then make light of God, and set his judgments at defiance, Psa 73:7; Job 15:27. They wallow in pleasure, and promise themselves that tomorrow shall be as this day. And therefore with their mouth they speak proudly, glorying in themselves, blaspheming God, trampling upon his people, and insulting them." See Rev 13:5, Rev 13:6. "Lord, are not such men as these fit to be mortified and humbled, and made to know themselves? Will it not be for thy glory to look upon these proud men and abase them?" (3.) "They are restless and unwearied in their attempts against me: They compass me about, Psa 17:9. They have now in a manner gained their point; they have surrounded us, they have compassed us in our steps, they track us wherever we go, follow us as close as the hound does the hare, and take all advantages against us, being both too many and too quick for us. And yet they pretend to look another way, and set their eyes bowing down to the earth, as if they were meditating, retired into themselves, and thinking of something else;" or (as some think), "They are watchful and intent upon it, to do us a mischief; they are down-looked, and never let slip any opportunity of compassing their design." (4.) "The ringleader of them (that was Saul) is in a special manner bloody and barbarous, politic and projecting (Psa 17:12), like a lion that lives by prey and is therefore greedy of it." It is as much the meat and drink of a wicked man to do mischief as it is of a good man to do good. He is like a young lion lurking in secret places, disguising his cruel designs. This is fitly applied to Saul, who sought David on the rocks of the wild goats (Sa1 24:2) and in the wilderness of Ziph (Psa 26:2), where lions used to lurk for their prey.
2. The power God had over them, to control and restrain them. He pleads, (1.) "Lord, they are thy sword; and will any father suffer his sword to be drawn against his own children?" As this is a reason why we should patiently bear the injuries of men, that they are but the instruments of the trouble (it comes originally from God, to whose will we are bound to submit), so it is an encouragement to us to hope both that their wrath shall praise him and that the remainder thereof he will restrain, that they are God's sword, which he can manage as he pleases, which cannot move without him, and which he will sheathe when he has done his work with it. (2.) "They are thy hand, by which thou dost chastise thy people and make them feel thy displeasure." He therefore expects deliverance from God's hand because from God's hand the trouble came. Una eademque manus vulnus opemque tulit - The same hand wounds and heals. There is no flying from God's hand but by flying to it. It is very comfortable, when we are in fear of the power of man, to see it dependent upon and in subjection to the power of God; see Isa 10:6, Isa 10:7, Isa 10:15.
3. Their outward prosperity (Psa 17:14): "Lord, appear against them, for," (1.) "They are entirely devoted to the world, and care not for thee and thy favour. They are men of the world, actuated by the spirit of the world, walking according to the course of this world, in love with the wealth and pleasure of this world, eager in the pursuits of it (making them their business) and at ease in the enjoyments of it - making them their bliss. They have their portion in this life; they look upon the good things of this world as the best things, and sufficient to make them happy, and they choose them accordingly, place their felicity in them, and aim at them as their chief good; they rest satisfied with them, their souls take their ease in them, and they look no further, nor are in any care to provide for another life. These things are their consolation (Luk 6:24), their good things (Luk 16:25), their reward (Mat 6:5), the penny they agreed for, Mat 20:13. Now, Lord, shall men of this character be supported and countenanced against those who honour thee by preferring thy favour before all the wealth in this world, and taking thee for their portion?" Psa 16:5. (2.) They have abundance of the world. [1.] They have enlarged appetites, and a great deal wherewith to satisfy them: Their bellies thou fillest with thy hidden treasures. The things of this world are called treasures, because they are so accounted; otherwise, to a soul, and in comparison with eternal blessings, they are but trash. They are hidden in the several parts of the creation, and hidden in the sovereign disposals of Providence. They are God's hidden treasures, for the earth is his and the fulness thereof, though the men of the world think it is their own and forget God's property in it. Those that fare deliciously every day have their bellies filled with these hidden treasures; and they will but fill the belly (Co1 6:13); they will not fill the soul; they are not bread for that, nor can they satisfy, Isa 55:2. They are husks, and ashes, and wind; and yet most men, having no care for their souls, but all for their bellies, take up with them. [2.] They have numerous families, and a great deal to leave to them: They are full of children, and yet their pasture is not overstocked; they have enough for them all, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes, to their grand-children; and this is their heaven, it is their bliss, it is their all. "Lord," said David, "deliver me from them; let me not have my portion with them. Deliver me from their designs against me; for, they having so much wealth and power, I am not able to deal with them unless the Lord be on my side."
4. He pleads his own dependence upon God as his portion and happiness. "They have their portion in this life, but as for me (Psa 17:15) I am none of them, I have but little of the world. Nec habeo, nec careo, nec curo - I neither have, nor need, nor care for it. It is the vision and fruition of God that I place my happiness in; that is it I hope for, and comfort myself with the hopes of, and thereby distinguish myself from those who have their portion in this life." Beholding God's face with satisfaction may be considered, (1.) As our duty and comfort in this world. We must in righteousness (clothed with Christ's righteousness, having a good heart and a good life) by faith behold God's face and set him always before us, must entertain ourselves from day to day with the contemplation of the beauty of the Lord; and, when we awake every morning, we must be satisfied with his likeness set before us in his word, and with his likeness stamped upon us by his renewing grace. Our experience of God's favour to us, and our conformity to him, should yield us more satisfaction than those have whose belly is filled with the delights of sense. 2. As our recompence and happiness in the other world. With the prospect of that he concluded the foregoing psalm, and so this. That happiness is prepared and designed only for the righteous that are justified and sanctified. They shall be put in possession of it when they awake, when the soul awakes, at death, out of its slumber in the body, and when the body awakes, at the resurrection, out of its slumber in the grave. That blessedness will consist in three things: - [1.] The immediate vision of God and his glory: I shall behold thy face, not, as in this world, through a glass darkly. The knowledge of God will there be perfected and the enlarged intellect filled with it. [2.] The participation of his likeness. Our holiness will there be perfect. This results from the former (Jo1 3:2): When he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. [3.] A complete and full satisfaction resulting from all this: I shall be satisfied, abundantly satisfied with it. There is no satisfaction for a soul but in God, and in his face and likeness, his good-will towards us and his good work in us; and even that satisfaction will not be perfect till we come to heaven.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv6–9I have called upon thee,.... In prayer. This had…
I have called upon thee,.... In prayer. This had been the constant practice of the psalmist, and he still continued in it;
for thou wilt hear me, O God; God is a God hearing prayer; he is used to hear his people, and they have frequent experience of it, and they may be assured that whatsoever they ask according to his will, and in the name of Christ, he will hear; and such an assurance is a reason engaging the saints to a constant calling upon God, Psa 116:2; and such confidence of being always heard Christ had, Joh 11:41;
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incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech; meaning his prayer, which he now directed to him in full assurance of being heard, and is as follows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn v7By - By thy great power.
By - By thy great power.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv6–9Verse 6. Incline thine ear unto me] David prayed…
Verse 6. Incline thine ear unto me] David prayed from a conviction that God would hear: but he could not be satisfied unless he received an answer. In a believer's mind the petition and the answer should not be separated.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv6–8Psa 17:6. I have called upon thee — It…
Psa 17:6. I have called upon thee — It hath been, still is, and shall be, my constant course, to apply myself to thee for assistance and deliverance. For thou wilt hear, O God — Though thou mayest delay for a season, I am well assured that thou wilt hear and answer me.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv6–9I have called upon thee for thou wilt hear…
I have called upon thee for thou wilt hear me, O God - The meaning of this is, “I have called on thee heretofore, and will do it still, because I am certain that thou wilt hear me.” That is, he was encouraged to call upon God by the conviction that he would hear his prayer, and would grant his request. In other words, he came to God in faith; in the full belief of his readiness to answer prayer, and to bestow needed blessings. Compare Joh 11:42; Heb 11:6.
Incline thine ear unto me - See the notes at Psa 17:1.
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My speech - My prayer. The reference here, as in Psa 17:1, is to prayer “uttered” before God; and not mere mental prayer.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv6–9wilt hear me--that is, graciously (Psa 3:4).
wilt hear me--that is, graciously (Psa 3:4).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv6–86. Having laid open his inmost thoughts, and protested…
6. Having laid open his inmost thoughts, and protested his innocence before God, the psalmist now resumes his prayer.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv6–96. I have called upon thee] I is emphatic.…
6. I have called upon thee] I is emphatic. Being such an one as I am, I have called upon Thee, in full confidence that Thou wilt answer me.
O God] El, as in Psa_16:1. See note on Psa_5:4.
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hear] Wrongly printed in italics in many editions.
6–9. After protesting his integrity he resumes his prayer.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv6–9(6) I—is emphatic, “As for me, I,” &c.
(6) I—is emphatic, “As for me, I,” &c.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv6–9I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear…
I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God (comp. vers. 1, 2). Having established, as the ground of his claim to be heard of God, his own sincerity, steadfastness, and virtuous course in life (vers. 3-5), David now recurs to his original intent, and resumes his "prayer." He is sure that God will hear him, since his prayer is grounded on "right." Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. (comp. Psa_71:2 Psa_88:2, etc.)
Vers. 6-15. Confidence in God.
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From the first to the fifth verse the prayer bases his confidence in God on four pleas.
1. He prays for the righteous cause.
2. In a righteous spirit.
3. On the ground of a righteous character.
4. On the ground of righteous conduct.
Now we come to other grounds upon which he urges God to save him.
I THE COMPASSION OF GOD for THOSE WHO URGENTLY CRY TO HIM. (Vers. 6, 7) He calls, because God answers him; and now he calls for a special exercise of mercy, because God saves those who find their refuge or safety in him. He was pleading according to the law of God"s nature, and had, therefore, a Divine warrant for his prayer: "If we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.
II HIS IMMINENT DANGER. (Vers. 7, 9, 11, 12) His enemies were the enemies of God (ver. 7). They would destroy him (ver. 9). They haunted his footsteps everywhere (ver. 11). He prays, therefore, to be protected as the pupil of the eye is protected, as if he could not be kept secure enough; and to be hidden under the shadow of the Divine wings, where no danger could reach him. (Deu_32:10, Deu_32:11)
III THE WICKEDNESS OF HIS ADVERSARIES.
1. Their want of sympathy and their hard pride. (Ver. 10) "Enclosed in fat" is equivalent to "have become gross and unfeeling.
2. They were bent on the ruin of others as well as themselves. (Ver. 11)
3. They were fierce and furious in their wicked efforts. (Ver. 12) Like a greedy lion, like a young vigorous lion lurking in his lair.
IV THEY WERE MEN WHO SOUGHT THEIR PORTION IN THIS PASSING LIFE; WHILE HE SOUGHT HIS IN GOD. (Vers. 13-15)
1. They were satisfied with the treasures of this world. With children and worldly substance, and were not worthy, therefore, to triumph over the righteous cause and the righteous persons. Deliver me from such worldlings.
2. He was seeking after the highest good. (Ver. 15) "In righteousness let me behold thy face; let me be satisfied, when I awake, with thine image." An echo of the eleventh verse of the previous psalm, which reveals his trust in a future life. "There is an allusion probably to such a manifestation of God as that made to Moses, (Num_12:8) where God declares that with Moses he will speak "mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches, and the similitude rather, "form," the same word as here of Jehovah shall he behold. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv6–9Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou…
Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God. Thou hast always heard me, O my Lord, and therefore I have the utmost confidence in again approaching thine altar. Experience is a blessed teacher. He who has tried the faithfulness of God in hours of need, has great boldness in laying his case before the throne. The well of Bethlehem, from which we drew such cooling draughts in years gone by, our souls long for still; nor will we leave it for the broken cisterns of earth.
Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. Stoop out of heaven and put thine ear to my mouth; give me thine ear all to myself, as men do when they lean over to catch every word from their friend. The Psalmist here comes back to his first prayer, and thus sets us an example of pressing our suit again and again, until we have a full assurance that we have succeeded.
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Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me. I have cried, says the Psalmist, because thou hast heard me. One would think he should have said contrariwise; thou hast heard me because I have cried; yet, he says, I have cried because thou hast heard me; to show that crying doth not always go before hearing with God, as it doth with us; but that God will not only hear our cry, but also hear us before we cry, and will help us. T. Playfere.
Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, etc. Prayer is the best remedy in a calamity. This is indeed a true catholicon, a general remedy for every malady. Not like the empiric's catholicon, which sometimes may work, but for the most part fails, but that which upon assured evidence and constant experience hath its probatum est; being that which the most wise, learned, honest, and skilful Physician that ever was, or can be, hath prescribed, even he that teacheth us how to bear what is to be borne, or how to heal and help what hath been borne. William Gough, 1575-1653.
Ver. 6. I have called upon thee formerly, therefore, Lord, hear me now. It will be a great comfort to us if trouble, when it comes, finds the wheels of prayer going, for then may we come with the more boldness to the throne of grace. Tradesmen are willing to oblige those that have been long their customers.
Matthew Henry.
Ver. 6. Two words, both great, though little, call and hear. Two persons, one little and the other great, "I", "Thee, O God". Two tenses: past, "I have; "future, "Thou wilt." Two wonders, that we do not call more, and that God hears such unworthy prayers.
Psalms 17:7*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v8Keep me as the apple of the eye.
Psa_17:8
Keep me as the apple of the eye.
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The plea for Divine protection
The world is no friend to righteousness; its spirit cannot endure the restraints that holiness imposes upon its workings. Hence the worlds hostility to all those who live truly godly lives. To understand the full force of keeping one as the apple of the eye it is necessary to consider first, how the whole eye is protected, sheltered by bones and sinews, opening and closing doors, light-softening and dust-excluding curtains, and then, that the pupil of the eye, located farther in, is protected by guardians equally wonderful and peculiarly its own. There is no other part of the human body so wonderfully protected, and no other part that, when endangered, we so instinctively try to shelter from harm. And so God guards His people as tenderly as we guard the pupil of our eye; yea, as tenderly as He guards the pupil of His own eye. (David Caldwell, A. M.)
The eye, a similitude
The man knows something of himself who sincerely offers this plaintive petition, Keep me. Is there not a sorrowful confession implied? But it implies knowledge of God too. What He is and will do. The keeping desired is that with which men guard the eye. It means, therefore--
I. Keep me with many guards and protections. The eye is kept by eye bones, eyelashes, eyelids, which serve as outworks, fences and barricades to protect the pupil of the eye, God has bestowed extraordinary pains upon all that concerns the eye. Sentries keep ward lest it should be imperilled. Whenever it is threatened, with agility so brisk that it seems almost involuntary, the arm is lifted up and the hand is raised to screen it. All the members of the body may be regarded as a patrol for the wardship of the eye. So should we pray to be kept with many protections--providence, grace ordinances, the Holy Spirit, the angels.
II. With constancy, unintermitting continuance. The eye is always guarded. Without our thinking of it. If a grain of dust enter, forthwith a watery burnout is exuded to carry it away or to dissolve it. The pain is a mercy, for it makes you restless until you get relief. When you fall asleep the curtains fall, the blinds, as it were, drop down, and the windows are shut up securely with lash and lid. So, and in yet other ways, doth the parable of the eye suggest the prayer of the text. Evermore, O Lord, watch over me. Remark here, that at no season is a Christian more in danger than when he has just been in communion with God. The footpads in olden time did not meddle with the farmers as they went to market; it was when they were coming home, and bringing back their money bags full. Our ships of war attacked the Spanish galleons not on their way to but from America, when they knew them to be laden to the Waters edge with silver and gold. You need keeping, then, always.
III. From little evils, the dust and grit of this world. Your eye needs not to be guarded so much from beams as motes. Be this your prayer, Keep me from what the world calls little sins. To one, a Puritan, who was offered great preferment if he would but comply with the government demands, it was said, Others have made long gashes in their consciences: could not you make a little nick in yours? But those little nicks swiftly run to the rending of the conscience from top to bottom. There was an officer who kept in his house a tame leopard which had been born in the house. It had grown up as harmless as a domestic cat. But one day when its master was asleep it gently licked his hand. The creatures tongue passed over a slight but recent wound. A little blood oozed out. The taste roused the demon spirit of the beast at once, and had it not been promptly shot its masters life would have been its victim. When the thief cannot break in at the door himself he puts a boy through the window, and then the great door is speedily opened.
IV. Sensitive, tender in heart, as the apple of the eye. God has made it thus sensitive for its own protection. The conscience should be a real indicator: if in good keeping it would be a wonderful tell-tale. It will startle you from your lethargy, it will arouse you as with an alarm.
V. As the eye ought to be kept. It should be single, clear, far-seeing. As an ornament, for the beauty of the countenance is in the eye. So should we adorn the doctrine and the Church of God. Useful, a genuine Christian will pray to be useful, not like a glass eye, a mere counterfeit. And then, though the remark may seem strange and quaint, I would entreat the Lord to keep me in the head. Solomon has made the shrewd remark, The wise mans eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness. I would give this a spiritual turn, and ask to be kept in Christ Jesus. Of what use were the eye of a man if not in the head? And what we, apart from Christ? There are some to whom this prayer is, nothing, for they are not Christs. Let your prayer be, Lord, save me, or I perish. Once saved, you may pray to be kept. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Two Bible emblems
Gods Word and works, the two great sources of our knowledge of God. When we want to get clear and vivid conception of any truth we employ analogy and institute comparison, and say it is as or like some object in nature. Text an illustration of this. It means--
I. That the royal Psalmist prays to be Divinely protected. He did not possess all our modern knowledge of the anatomy of the eye, but he must have known much or he could not have penned this prayer. Of all the organs of the body the eye is the most delicate and precious, and is protected by the most wonderful and elaborate contrivances. The eyes are the sentinels of the body, and keep constant guard over it. They are the windows through which the soul looks out upon all things within its range. They are closely connected with the brain, and by a mysterious telegraphy of nerves convey to the brain knowledge of what is passing in the outer world. The eyes are like citizens within the entrenchments of a fortified town, surrounded by outworks, fences, and barricades. And the arms are like two warders to defend them. Note some of their protections. A protruding socket, like a wall around it: with overhanging brow to carry off drops of perspiration; with eyelashes to guard against dust and insects; with lids that automatically close at the approach of danger; with glands which secrete tears that clean and lubricate the ball of the eye; with beds, cushion like for their softness, upon which they repose and revolve with safety. All these and many more show how carefully God keeps the apple of the eye, and help us to see how David desired that God would keep him.
II. And he would be Divinely preserved. Hide me under the shadow of Thy wings. This emblem, like the former, is exceedingly suggestive. There may be reference to the wings of the cherubim which were the symbol of Gods presence in the tabernacle of old. David had ardent love for the house of God, he even envied the sparrows that built their nests near Gods altar. In the time of trouble he would be hidden in Gods pavilion, in the secret place of the tabernacle; and there, hiding as under the wings of the cherubim, he would find a shelter and a home. (F. W. Brown.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v7(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
trust
(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v6David Calls upon God for Help
David Calls upon God for Help
v. 6. I have called upon Thee, namely, in the capacity in which he described himself, as a child of God who could rightfully point to the righteousness of his life, for Thou wilt hear me, O God, of this David was sure. Incline Thine ear unto me, in the attitude of most careful attention, and hear my speech.
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v. 7. Show Thy marvelous loving-kindness, giving him a proof, an exhibition, of His grace, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee from those that rise up against them, this being the reason why David puts his trust in the Lord with such firm confidence.
v. 8. Keep me as the apple of the eye, this being named as a possession most dear to men; hide me under the shadow of Thy wings, as the mother-bird shelters her young in tender protection, Cf Deu 32:10-11; Psa 36:7; Mat 23:37,
v. 9. from the wicked that oppress me, greedily surrounding him for the purpose of wasting and devouring him, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about, ready to attack him from all sides.
v. 10. They are enclosed in their own fat, they are dead to all human feeling; with their mouth they speak proudly, they are insolent in their behavior, as though certain victory were near.
v. 11. They have now compassed us in our steps, so that the believers cannot make a move without their knowledge; they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth, they were eagerly watching in order to take their chance and throw down the believers to the ground, thereby completely overwhelming them;
v. 12. like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, eagerly lurking on its path, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places, cowering in his hiding-places, ready to spring upon an unsuspecting victim.
v. 13. Arise, O Lord, again David’s ringing appeal, disappoint him, going forth to meet the adversary and to anticipate his wicked move, cast him down; deliver my soul from the wicked, from all the unrighteous under the leadership of Satan, which is Thy Sword, by His almighty sword the Lord can quickly bring deliverance,
v. 14. from men which are Thy hand, rather, delivering from the wicked projects of these people with His hand, O Lord, from men of the world, whose entire interest is in this life, which have their portion, the measure of all they desire, in this life, and whose belly Thou fillest with Thy hid treasure, giving them of the rich store of temporal goods which are under His control. They are full of children, being blessed also in this respect, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes, their children inheriting this world’s goods from them in great plenty. Thus the good fortune of the ungodly is shown to consist only in this world’s treasures, the height of their ambition being reached when money, honor, and pleasures are theirs. But the psalmist, in conclusion, places himself in direct contrast to all this earthly happiness with its attendant sins.
v. 15. As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness, as the happy possessor of the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, the most glorious treasure of the Christian; I shall be satisfied, with an everlasting satisfaction, unlike any transient enjoyment in this world, when I awake, with Thy likeness, the original image of God restored in the risen believers in the form of a perfect knowledge of God and in true righteousness and holiness, Eph 4:24; Col 3:10. That, in a word, will be the happiness of the great resurrection at the end of time, to see God face to face and to be with Him in everlasting righteousness and holiness, world without end.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv6, 8turn your ear to me ... listen when I…
turn your ear to me ... listen when I speak
These phrases mean the same thing. Here "your ear" refers to God's willingness to hear someone who prays to him. AT: "pay attention to me ... listen when I speak" (See: Parallelism and Metonymy)
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Show your covenant faithfulness in a wonderful way
The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated as an adjective. AT: "Show in a wonderful way that you are faithful to your covenant" (See: Abstract Nouns)
your right hand
The "right hand" refers to God's power. AT: "your mighty power" (See: Metonymy)
take refuge in you
Going to Yahweh for protection is spoken of as taking refuge in him. AT: "go to you for protection" (See: Metaphor)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv6–9 6. I have called upon thee, etc. This verb…
6. I have called upon thee, etc. This verb being put in the past tense denotes a continued act; and, therefore, it includes the present time. The Hebrew word כי, ki, which we translate surely, often signifies because, and if it is so understood in this passage, the meaning will be, that David took encouragement to pray, because, depending upon the promise of God, he hoped that his prayers would not be in vain. But, perhaps, it may be thought preferable to change the tense of the verb as some do, so as to give this meaning, I will pray, because I have hitherto experienced that thou hast heard The Septuagint renders the verb in the past tense, “Επηκουσας μου,” “Thou hast heard me.” The Syriac and Vulgate give a similar rendering. The verb, in the Hebrew, is in the future; but it is a common thing in Hebrew to use the future tense for the past.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9 He was assured that God would not refuse his…
He was assured that God would not refuse his request.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv6–9 Psa 17:6 I have called upon thee, for thou…
Psa 17:6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, [and hear] my speech.
Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me] q.d. Thou wast always wont to hear me, and therefore I presume thou wilt. Experience breeds confidence.
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Incline thine ear] See how he reinforceth his former request; as if he would wring the blessing out of God’s hands by a holy violence, and take no denial.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv6–9 I have called upon thee; it hath been, and…
I have called upon thee; it hath been, and still is, and shall be my constant course to apply myself to thee for assistance and for deliverance.
For thou wilt hear me, O God; for though thou mayst delay for a season, I am well assured that thou wilt hear and answer me.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v8 We may observe, in these verses,
We may observe, in these verses,
I. What David prays for. Being compassed about with enemies that sought his life, he prays to God to preserve him safely through all their attempts against him, to the crown to which he was anointed. This prayer is both a prediction of the preservation of Christ through all the hardships and difficulties of his humiliation, to the glories and joys of his exalted state, and a pattern to Christians to commit the keeping of their souls to God, trusting him to preserve them to his heavenly kingdom. He prays,
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1. That he himself might be protected (Psa 17:8): "Keep me safe, hide me close, where I may not be found, where I may not be come at. Deliver my soul, not only my mortal life from death, but my immortal spirit from sin." Those who put themselves under God's protection may in faith implore the benefit of it.
(1.) He prays that God would keep him, [1.] With as much care as a man keeps the apple of his eye with, which nature has wonderfully fenced and teaches us to guard. If we keep God's law as the apple of our eye (Pro 7:2), we may expect that God will so keep us; for it is said concerning his people that whoso touches them touches the apple of his eye, Zac 2:8. [2.] With as much tenderness as the hen gathers her young ones under her wings with; Christ uses the similitude, Mat 23:37. "Hide me under the shadow of thy wings, where I may be both safe and warm." Or, perhaps, it rather alludes to the wings of the cherubim shadowing the mercy-seat: "Let me be taken under the protection of that glorious grace which is peculiar to God's Israel." What David here prays for was performed to the Son of David, our Lord Jesus, of whom it is said (Isa 49:2) that God hid him in the shadow of his hand, hid him as a polished shaft in his quiver.
(2.) David further prays, "Lord, keep me from the wicked, from men of the world," [1.] "From being, and doing, like them, from walking in their counsel, and standing in their way, and eating of their dainties." [2.] "From being destroyed and run down by them. Let them not have their will against me; let them not triumph over me."
2. That all the designs of his enemies to bring his either into sin or into trouble might be defeated (Psa 17:13): "Arise, O Lord! appear for me, disappoint him, and cast him down in his own eyes by the disappointment." While Saul persecuted David, how often did he miss his prey, when he thought he had him sure! And how were Christ's enemies disappointed by his resurrection, who thought they had gained their point when they had put him to death!
II. What he pleads for the encouraging of his own faith in these petitions, and his hope of speeding. He pleads,
1. The malice and wickedness of his enemies: "They are such as are not fit to be countenanced, such as, if I be not delivered from them by the special care of God himself, will be my ruin. Lord, see what wicked men those are that oppress me, and waste me, and run me down." (1.) "They are very spiteful and malicious; they are my deadly enemies, that thirst after my blood, my heart's blood - enemies against the soul," so the word is. David's enemies did what they could to drive him to sin and drive him away from God; they bade him go serve other gods (Sa1 26:19), and therefore he had reason to pray against them. Note, Those are our worst enemies, and we ought so to account them, that are enemies to our souls. (2.) "They are very secure and sensual, insolent and haughty (Psa 17:10): They are enclosed in their own fat, wrap themselves, hug themselves, in their own honour, and power, and plenty, and then make light of God, and set his judgments at defiance, Psa 73:7; Job 15:27. They wallow in pleasure, and promise themselves that tomorrow shall be as this day. And therefore with their mouth they speak proudly, glorying in themselves, blaspheming God, trampling upon his people, and insulting them." See Rev 13:5, Rev 13:6. "Lord, are not such men as these fit to be mortified and humbled, and made to know themselves? Will it not be for thy glory to look upon these proud men and abase them?" (3.) "They are restless and unwearied in their attempts against me: They compass me about, Psa 17:9. They have now in a manner gained their point; they have surrounded us, they have compassed us in our steps, they track us wherever we go, follow us as close as the hound does the hare, and take all advantages against us, being both too many and too quick for us. And yet they pretend to look another way, and set their eyes bowing down to the earth, as if they were meditating, retired into themselves, and thinking of something else;" or (as some think), "They are watchful and intent upon it, to do us a mischief; they are down-looked, and never let slip any opportunity of compassing their design." (4.) "The ringleader of them (that was Saul) is in a special manner bloody and barbarous, politic and projecting (Psa 17:12), like a lion that lives by prey and is therefore greedy of it." It is as much the meat and drink of a wicked man to do mischief as it is of a good man to do good. He is like a young lion lurking in secret places, disguising his cruel designs. This is fitly applied to Saul, who sought David on the rocks of the wild goats (Sa1 24:2) and in the wilderness of Ziph (Psa 26:2), where lions used to lurk for their prey.
2. The power God had over them, to control and restrain them. He pleads, (1.) "Lord, they are thy sword; and will any father suffer his sword to be drawn against his own children?" As this is a reason why we should patiently bear the injuries of men, that they are but the instruments of the trouble (it comes originally from God, to whose will we are bound to submit), so it is an encouragement to us to hope both that their wrath shall praise him and that the remainder thereof he will restrain, that they are God's sword, which he can manage as he pleases, which cannot move without him, and which he will sheathe when he has done his work with it. (2.) "They are thy hand, by which thou dost chastise thy people and make them feel thy displeasure." He therefore expects deliverance from God's hand because from God's hand the trouble came. Una eademque manus vulnus opemque tulit - The same hand wounds and heals. There is no flying from God's hand but by flying to it. It is very comfortable, when we are in fear of the power of man, to see it dependent upon and in subjection to the power of God; see Isa 10:6, Isa 10:7, Isa 10:15.
3. Their outward prosperity (Psa 17:14): "Lord, appear against them, for," (1.) "They are entirely devoted to the world, and care not for thee and thy favour. They are men of the world, actuated by the spirit of the world, walking according to the course of this world, in love with the wealth and pleasure of this world, eager in the pursuits of it (making them their business) and at ease in the enjoyments of it - making them their bliss. They have their portion in this life; they look upon the good things of this world as the best things, and sufficient to make them happy, and they choose them accordingly, place their felicity in them, and aim at them as their chief good; they rest satisfied with them, their souls take their ease in them, and they look no further, nor are in any care to provide for another life. These things are their consolation (Luk 6:24), their good things (Luk 16:25), their reward (Mat 6:5), the penny they agreed for, Mat 20:13. Now, Lord, shall men of this character be supported and countenanced against those who honour thee by preferring thy favour before all the wealth in this world, and taking thee for their portion?" Psa 16:5. (2.) They have abundance of the world. [1.] They have enlarged appetites, and a great deal wherewith to satisfy them: Their bellies thou fillest with thy hidden treasures. The things of this world are called treasures, because they are so accounted; otherwise, to a soul, and in comparison with eternal blessings, they are but trash. They are hidden in the several parts of the creation, and hidden in the sovereign disposals of Providence. They are God's hidden treasures, for the earth is his and the fulness thereof, though the men of the world think it is their own and forget God's property in it. Those that fare deliciously every day have their bellies filled with these hidden treasures; and they will but fill the belly (Co1 6:13); they will not fill the soul; they are not bread for that, nor can they satisfy, Isa 55:2. They are husks, and ashes, and wind; and yet most men, having no care for their souls, but all for their bellies, take up with them. [2.] They have numerous families, and a great deal to leave to them: They are full of children, and yet their pasture is not overstocked; they have enough for them all, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes, to their grand-children; and this is their heaven, it is their bliss, it is their all. "Lord," said David, "deliver me from them; let me not have my portion with them. Deliver me from their designs against me; for, they having so much wealth and power, I am not able to deal with them unless the Lord be on my side."
4. He pleads his own dependence upon God as his portion and happiness. "They have their portion in this life, but as for me (Psa 17:15) I am none of them, I have but little of the world. Nec habeo, nec careo, nec curo - I neither have, nor need, nor care for it. It is the vision and fruition of God that I place my happiness in; that is it I hope for, and comfort myself with the hopes of, and thereby distinguish myself from those who have their portion in this life." Beholding God's face with satisfaction may be considered, (1.) As our duty and comfort in this world. We must in righteousness (clothed with Christ's righteousness, having a good heart and a good life) by faith behold God's face and set him always before us, must entertain ourselves from day to day with the contemplation of the beauty of the Lord; and, when we awake every morning, we must be satisfied with his likeness set before us in his word, and with his likeness stamped upon us by his renewing grace. Our experience of God's favour to us, and our conformity to him, should yield us more satisfaction than those have whose belly is filled with the delights of sense. 2. As our recompence and happiness in the other world. With the prospect of that he concluded the foregoing psalm, and so this. That happiness is prepared and designed only for the righteous that are justified and sanctified. They shall be put in possession of it when they awake, when the soul awakes, at death, out of its slumber in the body, and when the body awakes, at the resurrection, out of its slumber in the grave. That blessedness will consist in three things: - [1.] The immediate vision of God and his glory: I shall behold thy face, not, as in this world, through a glass darkly. The knowledge of God will there be perfected and the enlarged intellect filled with it. [2.] The participation of his likeness. Our holiness will there be perfect. This results from the former (Jo1 3:2): When he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. [3.] A complete and full satisfaction resulting from all this: I shall be satisfied, abundantly satisfied with it. There is no satisfaction for a soul but in God, and in his face and likeness, his good-will towards us and his good work in us; and even that satisfaction will not be perfect till we come to heaven.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv6–9 I have called upon thee,.... In prayer. This had…
I have called upon thee,.... In prayer. This had been the constant practice of the psalmist, and he still continued in it;
for thou wilt hear me, O God; God is a God hearing prayer; he is used to hear his people, and they have frequent experience of it, and they may be assured that whatsoever they ask according to his will, and in the name of Christ, he will hear; and such an assurance is a reason engaging the saints to a constant calling upon God, Psa 116:2; and such confidence of being always heard Christ had, Joh 11:41;
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incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech; meaning his prayer, which he now directed to him in full assurance of being heard, and is as follows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v7 By - By thy great power.
By - By thy great power.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6–9 Verse 6. Incline thine ear unto me] David prayed…
Verse 6. Incline thine ear unto me] David prayed from a conviction that God would hear: but he could not be satisfied unless he received an answer. In a believer's mind the petition and the answer should not be separated.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv6–8 Psa 17:6. I have called upon thee — It…
Psa 17:6. I have called upon thee — It hath been, still is, and shall be, my constant course, to apply myself to thee for assistance and deliverance. For thou wilt hear, O God — Though thou mayest delay for a season, I am well assured that thou wilt hear and answer me.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv6–9 I have called upon thee for thou wilt hear…
I have called upon thee for thou wilt hear me, O God - The meaning of this is, “I have called on thee heretofore, and will do it still, because I am certain that thou wilt hear me.” That is, he was encouraged to call upon God by the conviction that he would hear his prayer, and would grant his request. In other words, he came to God in faith; in the full belief of his readiness to answer prayer, and to bestow needed blessings. Compare Joh 11:42; Heb 11:6.
Incline thine ear unto me - See the notes at Psa 17:1.
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My speech - My prayer. The reference here, as in Psa 17:1, is to prayer “uttered” before God; and not mere mental prayer.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv6–9 wilt hear me--that is, graciously (Psa 3:4).
wilt hear me--that is, graciously (Psa 3:4).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv6–8 6. Having laid open his inmost thoughts, and protested…
6. Having laid open his inmost thoughts, and protested his innocence before God, the psalmist now resumes his prayer.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv6–9 6. I have called upon thee] I is emphatic.…
6. I have called upon thee] I is emphatic. Being such an one as I am, I have called upon Thee, in full confidence that Thou wilt answer me.
O God] El, as in Psa_16:1. See note on Psa_5:4.
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hear] Wrongly printed in italics in many editions.
6–9. After protesting his integrity he resumes his prayer.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv6–9 (6) I—is emphatic, “As for me, I,” &c.
(6) I—is emphatic, “As for me, I,” &c.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv6–9 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear…
I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God (comp. vers. 1, 2). Having established, as the ground of his claim to be heard of God, his own sincerity, steadfastness, and virtuous course in life (vers. 3-5), David now recurs to his original intent, and resumes his "prayer." He is sure that God will hear him, since his prayer is grounded on "right." Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. (comp. Psa_71:2 Psa_88:2, etc.)
Vers. 6-15. Confidence in God.
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From the first to the fifth verse the prayer bases his confidence in God on four pleas.
1. He prays for the righteous cause.
2. In a righteous spirit.
3. On the ground of a righteous character.
4. On the ground of righteous conduct.
Now we come to other grounds upon which he urges God to save him.
I THE COMPASSION OF GOD for THOSE WHO URGENTLY CRY TO HIM. (Vers. 6, 7) He calls, because God answers him; and now he calls for a special exercise of mercy, because God saves those who find their refuge or safety in him. He was pleading according to the law of God"s nature, and had, therefore, a Divine warrant for his prayer: "If we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.
II HIS IMMINENT DANGER. (Vers. 7, 9, 11, 12) His enemies were the enemies of God (ver. 7). They would destroy him (ver. 9). They haunted his footsteps everywhere (ver. 11). He prays, therefore, to be protected as the pupil of the eye is protected, as if he could not be kept secure enough; and to be hidden under the shadow of the Divine wings, where no danger could reach him. (Deu_32:10, Deu_32:11)
III THE WICKEDNESS OF HIS ADVERSARIES.
1. Their want of sympathy and their hard pride. (Ver. 10) "Enclosed in fat" is equivalent to "have become gross and unfeeling.
2. They were bent on the ruin of others as well as themselves. (Ver. 11)
3. They were fierce and furious in their wicked efforts. (Ver. 12) Like a greedy lion, like a young vigorous lion lurking in his lair.
IV THEY WERE MEN WHO SOUGHT THEIR PORTION IN THIS PASSING LIFE; WHILE HE SOUGHT HIS IN GOD. (Vers. 13-15)
1. They were satisfied with the treasures of this world. With children and worldly substance, and were not worthy, therefore, to triumph over the righteous cause and the righteous persons. Deliver me from such worldlings.
2. He was seeking after the highest good. (Ver. 15) "In righteousness let me behold thy face; let me be satisfied, when I awake, with thine image." An echo of the eleventh verse of the previous psalm, which reveals his trust in a future life. "There is an allusion probably to such a manifestation of God as that made to Moses, (Num_12:8) where God declares that with Moses he will speak "mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches, and the similitude rather, "form," the same word as here of Jehovah shall he behold. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv6–9 Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou…
Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God. Thou hast always heard me, O my Lord, and therefore I have the utmost confidence in again approaching thine altar. Experience is a blessed teacher. He who has tried the faithfulness of God in hours of need, has great boldness in laying his case before the throne. The well of Bethlehem, from which we drew such cooling draughts in years gone by, our souls long for still; nor will we leave it for the broken cisterns of earth.
Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. Stoop out of heaven and put thine ear to my mouth; give me thine ear all to myself, as men do when they lean over to catch every word from their friend. The Psalmist here comes back to his first prayer, and thus sets us an example of pressing our suit again and again, until we have a full assurance that we have succeeded.
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Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me. I have cried, says the Psalmist, because thou hast heard me. One would think he should have said contrariwise; thou hast heard me because I have cried; yet, he says, I have cried because thou hast heard me; to show that crying doth not always go before hearing with God, as it doth with us; but that God will not only hear our cry, but also hear us before we cry, and will help us. T. Playfere.
Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, etc. Prayer is the best remedy in a calamity. This is indeed a true catholicon, a general remedy for every malady. Not like the empiric's catholicon, which sometimes may work, but for the most part fails, but that which upon assured evidence and constant experience hath its probatum est; being that which the most wise, learned, honest, and skilful Physician that ever was, or can be, hath prescribed, even he that teacheth us how to bear what is to be borne, or how to heal and help what hath been borne. William Gough, 1575-1653.
Ver. 6. I have called upon thee formerly, therefore, Lord, hear me now. It will be a great comfort to us if trouble, when it comes, finds the wheels of prayer going, for then may we come with the more boldness to the throne of grace. Tradesmen are willing to oblige those that have been long their customers.
Matthew Henry.
Ver. 6. Two words, both great, though little, call and hear. Two persons, one little and the other great, "I", "Thee, O God". Two tenses: past, "I have; "future, "Thou wilt." Two wonders, that we do not call more, and that God hears such unworthy prayers.
Psalms 17:7*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v8 Keep me as the apple of the eye.
Psa_17:8
Keep me as the apple of the eye.
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The plea for Divine protection
The world is no friend to righteousness; its spirit cannot endure the restraints that holiness imposes upon its workings. Hence the worlds hostility to all those who live truly godly lives. To understand the full force of keeping one as the apple of the eye it is necessary to consider first, how the whole eye is protected, sheltered by bones and sinews, opening and closing doors, light-softening and dust-excluding curtains, and then, that the pupil of the eye, located farther in, is protected by guardians equally wonderful and peculiarly its own. There is no other part of the human body so wonderfully protected, and no other part that, when endangered, we so instinctively try to shelter from harm. And so God guards His people as tenderly as we guard the pupil of our eye; yea, as tenderly as He guards the pupil of His own eye. (David Caldwell, A. M.)
The eye, a similitude
The man knows something of himself who sincerely offers this plaintive petition, Keep me. Is there not a sorrowful confession implied? But it implies knowledge of God too. What He is and will do. The keeping desired is that with which men guard the eye. It means, therefore--
I. Keep me with many guards and protections. The eye is kept by eye bones, eyelashes, eyelids, which serve as outworks, fences and barricades to protect the pupil of the eye, God has bestowed extraordinary pains upon all that concerns the eye. Sentries keep ward lest it should be imperilled. Whenever it is threatened, with agility so brisk that it seems almost involuntary, the arm is lifted up and the hand is raised to screen it. All the members of the body may be regarded as a patrol for the wardship of the eye. So should we pray to be kept with many protections--providence, grace ordinances, the Holy Spirit, the angels.
II. With constancy, unintermitting continuance. The eye is always guarded. Without our thinking of it. If a grain of dust enter, forthwith a watery burnout is exuded to carry it away or to dissolve it. The pain is a mercy, for it makes you restless until you get relief. When you fall asleep the curtains fall, the blinds, as it were, drop down, and the windows are shut up securely with lash and lid. So, and in yet other ways, doth the parable of the eye suggest the prayer of the text. Evermore, O Lord, watch over me. Remark here, that at no season is a Christian more in danger than when he has just been in communion with God. The footpads in olden time did not meddle with the farmers as they went to market; it was when they were coming home, and bringing back their money bags full. Our ships of war attacked the Spanish galleons not on their way to but from America, when they knew them to be laden to the Waters edge with silver and gold. You need keeping, then, always.
III. From little evils, the dust and grit of this world. Your eye needs not to be guarded so much from beams as motes. Be this your prayer, Keep me from what the world calls little sins. To one, a Puritan, who was offered great preferment if he would but comply with the government demands, it was said, Others have made long gashes in their consciences: could not you make a little nick in yours? But those little nicks swiftly run to the rending of the conscience from top to bottom. There was an officer who kept in his house a tame leopard which had been born in the house. It had grown up as harmless as a domestic cat. But one day when its master was asleep it gently licked his hand. The creatures tongue passed over a slight but recent wound. A little blood oozed out. The taste roused the demon spirit of the beast at once, and had it not been promptly shot its masters life would have been its victim. When the thief cannot break in at the door himself he puts a boy through the window, and then the great door is speedily opened.
IV. Sensitive, tender in heart, as the apple of the eye. God has made it thus sensitive for its own protection. The conscience should be a real indicator: if in good keeping it would be a wonderful tell-tale. It will startle you from your lethargy, it will arouse you as with an alarm.
V. As the eye ought to be kept. It should be single, clear, far-seeing. As an ornament, for the beauty of the countenance is in the eye. So should we adorn the doctrine and the Church of God. Useful, a genuine Christian will pray to be useful, not like a glass eye, a mere counterfeit. And then, though the remark may seem strange and quaint, I would entreat the Lord to keep me in the head. Solomon has made the shrewd remark, The wise mans eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness. I would give this a spiritual turn, and ask to be kept in Christ Jesus. Of what use were the eye of a man if not in the head? And what we, apart from Christ? There are some to whom this prayer is, nothing, for they are not Christs. Let your prayer be, Lord, save me, or I perish. Once saved, you may pray to be kept. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Two Bible emblems
Gods Word and works, the two great sources of our knowledge of God. When we want to get clear and vivid conception of any truth we employ analogy and institute comparison, and say it is as or like some object in nature. Text an illustration of this. It means--
I. That the royal Psalmist prays to be Divinely protected. He did not possess all our modern knowledge of the anatomy of the eye, but he must have known much or he could not have penned this prayer. Of all the organs of the body the eye is the most delicate and precious, and is protected by the most wonderful and elaborate contrivances. The eyes are the sentinels of the body, and keep constant guard over it. They are the windows through which the soul looks out upon all things within its range. They are closely connected with the brain, and by a mysterious telegraphy of nerves convey to the brain knowledge of what is passing in the outer world. The eyes are like citizens within the entrenchments of a fortified town, surrounded by outworks, fences, and barricades. And the arms are like two warders to defend them. Note some of their protections. A protruding socket, like a wall around it: with overhanging brow to carry off drops of perspiration; with eyelashes to guard against dust and insects; with lids that automatically close at the approach of danger; with glands which secrete tears that clean and lubricate the ball of the eye; with beds, cushion like for their softness, upon which they repose and revolve with safety. All these and many more show how carefully God keeps the apple of the eye, and help us to see how David desired that God would keep him.
II. And he would be Divinely preserved. Hide me under the shadow of Thy wings. This emblem, like the former, is exceedingly suggestive. There may be reference to the wings of the cherubim which were the symbol of Gods presence in the tabernacle of old. David had ardent love for the house of God, he even envied the sparrows that built their nests near Gods altar. In the time of trouble he would be hidden in Gods pavilion, in the secret place of the tabernacle; and there, hiding as under the wings of the cherubim, he would find a shelter and a home. (F. W. Brown.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v7 (See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
trust
(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v6 David Calls upon God for Help
David Calls upon God for Help
v. 6. I have called upon Thee, namely, in the capacity in which he described himself, as a child of God who could rightfully point to the righteousness of his life, for Thou wilt hear me, O God, of this David was sure. Incline Thine ear unto me, in the attitude of most careful attention, and hear my speech.
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v. 7. Show Thy marvelous loving-kindness, giving him a proof, an exhibition, of His grace, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee from those that rise up against them, this being the reason why David puts his trust in the Lord with such firm confidence.
v. 8. Keep me as the apple of the eye, this being named as a possession most dear to men; hide me under the shadow of Thy wings, as the mother-bird shelters her young in tender protection, Cf Deu 32:10-11; Psa 36:7; Mat 23:37,
v. 9. from the wicked that oppress me, greedily surrounding him for the purpose of wasting and devouring him, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about, ready to attack him from all sides.
v. 10. They are enclosed in their own fat, they are dead to all human feeling; with their mouth they speak proudly, they are insolent in their behavior, as though certain victory were near.
v. 11. They have now compassed us in our steps, so that the believers cannot make a move without their knowledge; they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth, they were eagerly watching in order to take their chance and throw down the believers to the ground, thereby completely overwhelming them;
v. 12. like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, eagerly lurking on its path, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places, cowering in his hiding-places, ready to spring upon an unsuspecting victim.
v. 13. Arise, O Lord, again David’s ringing appeal, disappoint him, going forth to meet the adversary and to anticipate his wicked move, cast him down; deliver my soul from the wicked, from all the unrighteous under the leadership of Satan, which is Thy Sword, by His almighty sword the Lord can quickly bring deliverance,
v. 14. from men which are Thy hand, rather, delivering from the wicked projects of these people with His hand, O Lord, from men of the world, whose entire interest is in this life, which have their portion, the measure of all they desire, in this life, and whose belly Thou fillest with Thy hid treasure, giving them of the rich store of temporal goods which are under His control. They are full of children, being blessed also in this respect, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes, their children inheriting this world’s goods from them in great plenty. Thus the good fortune of the ungodly is shown to consist only in this world’s treasures, the height of their ambition being reached when money, honor, and pleasures are theirs. But the psalmist, in conclusion, places himself in direct contrast to all this earthly happiness with its attendant sins.
v. 15. As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness, as the happy possessor of the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, the most glorious treasure of the Christian; I shall be satisfied, with an everlasting satisfaction, unlike any transient enjoyment in this world, when I awake, with Thy likeness, the original image of God restored in the risen believers in the form of a perfect knowledge of God and in true righteousness and holiness, Eph 4:24; Col 3:10. That, in a word, will be the happiness of the great resurrection at the end of time, to see God face to face and to be with Him in everlasting righteousness and holiness, world without end.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv6, 8 turn your ear to me ... listen when I…
turn your ear to me ... listen when I speak
These phrases mean the same thing. Here "your ear" refers to God's willingness to hear someone who prays to him. AT: "pay attention to me ... listen when I speak" (See: Parallelism and Metonymy)
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Show your covenant faithfulness in a wonderful way
The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated as an adjective. AT: "Show in a wonderful way that you are faithful to your covenant" (See: Abstract Nouns)
your right hand
The "right hand" refers to God's power. AT: "your mighty power" (See: Metonymy)
take refuge in you
Going to Yahweh for protection is spoken of as taking refuge in him. AT: "go to you for protection" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
call
God
covenant faithfulness
save
right hand
refuge
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv6, 8 17:6-9 This prayer for God’s care returns to the…
17:6-9 This prayer for God’s care returns to the petition begun in 17:1-2 for redemption from evil.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.