Psalm 17:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!

NIV: Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right.

NASB: Let my judgment come forth from Your presence; Let Your eyes look with integrity.

CSB: Let my vindication come from you, for you see what is right.

NLT: Declare me innocent, for you see those who do right.

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

NKJV: Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.

David's desire, expressed in his prayer, is for affirmation and victory. He pleads with God to take notice of justice: to work out David's need into something righteous and just. The ultimate source of this goodness is God alone: from His "presence" is where rescue can be expected.

Throughout David's trials in the wilderness, when Saul pursued him, David did not blame God. Instead, he trusted in the Lord and regarded Him as a refuge in time of trouble (Psalm 16:1). Because he honored God, David fully trusted the Lord to be close and active (Psalm 16:8). Therefore, David can be bold in asking the Lord for justice.

Job was another Old Testament man of faith. The Lord allowed the Devil to launch numerous trials, including the severe trials of losing his sons and daughters and his personal health. But the Lord knew Job was righteous, and Job was determined to submit to the testing. Like David, Job knew his hardship was not the result of personal sin. In Job 23:10–11 he states: "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside."

Psalm 17:1–5 begins David's prayer for deliverance. He asks God to intervene in a dangerous situation, pleading and making note of his own faithfulness to the Lord. David is confident that his life proves loyalty to God and obedience to His commands. This might have been written during David's time of persecution under king Saul.

Likely written when Saul was pursuing David in the wilderness, this records David's urgent plea for deliverance. He insists that he is in the right and free from deceit or evil. He proclaims God as a Savior and asks God to heed his cry and reveal His steadfast love to him. David addresses God as the Savior of those who seek refuge in Him from their enemies. Verse 8 uses two famous phrases describing God's tender care and love: "apple of the eye" and "shadow of your wings." Using a singular noun, David compares his enemy, likely Saul, to a ferocious, stealthy, bloodthirsty lion. Through these struggles, David looks forward to a blessed eternity of beholding God's face.

This is another psalm in which David appeals to God to deliver him from his enemy, likely Saul (1 Samuel 20:32–33). It shares themes and even Hebrew phrases with Psalm 16. This is one of several psalms identified as direct prayers, along with psalms 86, 90, 102, and 142.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.