Bird's-eye view
In these concluding verses of Psalm 17, David moves from a defensive posture, pleading his own righteousness, to an offensive one, calling upon God to act decisively against his enemies. This is not a petty desire for personal revenge, but a plea for divine justice to be executed in the world. The psalm climaxes with a profound contrast between two kinds of satisfaction. There are the men of this world, whose portion and satisfaction are found entirely in temporal blessings, wealth, children, and earthly legacy. Then there is the psalmist, representing all the saints, who declares that his ultimate satisfaction will be found in something infinitely greater: beholding the face of God in righteousness and being satisfied with His likeness upon awakening in the resurrection. This is the great divide between the city of man and the city of God, between those who live for the now and those who live for eternity.
The passage is a potent reminder that our ultimate hope is not in earthly deliverance, though we may pray for it, but in the final vindication that comes when we see God face to face. It forces us to ask ourselves where we are seeking our "portion." Is it in the fleeting treasures of this life, or is it in the eternal glory of God's presence? David's prayer is a model for the church, teaching us to long for God's justice and to find our deepest contentment not in what God gives, but in who God is.
Outline
- 1. A Prayer for Divine Intervention (v. 13-14a)
- a. The Call for God to Arise (v. 13a)
- b. The Plea for Deliverance from the Wicked (v. 13b-14a)
- 2. The Portrait of the Worldly Man (v. 14b)
- a. Their Portion in This Life (v. 14b)
- b. Their Satisfaction in Earthly Things (v. 14c)
- 3. The Declaration of the Righteous Man (v. 15)
- a. The Beatific Vision in Righteousness (v. 15a)
- b. The Ultimate Satisfaction in God's Likeness (v. 15b)
Context In Psalms
Psalm 17 is titled "A Prayer of David." It is a personal lament where David, surrounded by arrogant and deadly enemies, appeals to God on the basis of his own integrity. He is not claiming sinless perfection, but rather a covenant faithfulness that stands in stark contrast to the treachery of his foes. The psalm moves from an appeal for God to hear (vv. 1-2), to a declaration of David's own tested righteousness (vv. 3-5), to a petition for protection (vv. 6-12). These final verses (vv. 13-15) serve as the powerful conclusion to his prayer, where the request for deliverance sharpens into a call for judgment and culminates in a glorious confession of ultimate hope.
This psalm fits within the broader category of psalms of individual lament, where the righteous sufferer cries out to God. Yet, it is also profoundly messianic. David, as the anointed king, is a type of Christ. His sufferings and his ultimate vindication prefigure the sufferings and vindication of Jesus. The final verse, with its hope of seeing God's face and awakening in His likeness, points beyond any temporal deliverance to the resurrection, which is the ultimate vindication of Christ and all who are in Him.
Key Issues
- Imprecatory Prayer
- The Portion of the Wicked
- The Beatific Vision
- Satisfaction in God's Likeness
- The Doctrine of the Resurrection in the Old Testament
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
v. 13 Arise, O Yahweh, confront him, bring him low; Protect my soul from the wicked with Your sword,
David begins this section with a series of rapid-fire imperatives. "Arise," "confront," "bring him low," "protect." This is not the language of a man uncertain of God's power. This is a summons. When God "arises," His enemies scatter (Ps. 68:1). David is calling for God to enter the fray directly. The word for "confront" means to come before, to meet face to face. David wants God to get in the enemy's face. He wants God to "bring him low," to subdue him, to make him bow the knee. This is martial language. The battle is the Lord's, and David is calling on his commanding officer to engage.
And how is this deliverance to be accomplished? "With Your sword." The wicked man has his own weapons, but David knows that the decisive weapon is the sword of Yahweh. The wicked are, in a sense, God's sword of judgment (see Is. 10:5 where Assyria is the rod of God's anger). But here, David asks God to use His own sword against the wicked to deliver the righteous. This is a prayer for God to act as the Divine Warrior and Judge, to execute justice on behalf of His servant.
v. 14 From men with Your hand, O Yahweh, From men of the world, whose portion is in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your treasure; They are satisfied with children, And leave their excess to their infants.
David now specifies who these wicked men are. They are "men of the world." The Hebrew is stark: they are men of this fleeting age, this passing system. Their entire frame of reference, their whole value system, is bounded by the horizon of this life. Their "portion" is here. A portion is one's allotted share, one's inheritance. For the worldly man, his inheritance is cash, property, status, pleasure, all of which will be shoveled into a hole with him when he dies. He has chosen his inheritance, and God, in a sense, gives it to him. "Whose belly You fill with Your treasure." This is a fascinating phrase. God is the one who, by His common grace, allows them to prosper. He fills their bellies. He gives them wealth, which is called His "treasure." They are fat and happy, but their prosperity is a snare. It cements their love for this world and blinds them to the next.
Their satisfaction is found in earthly legacies. "They are satisfied with children, and leave their excess to their infants." On the surface, this sounds like a blessing, and in a covenantal context, it is. But for the man whose portion is only in this life, even his children are just an extension of his own earthly kingdom. He builds his little dynasty, accumulates wealth, and passes it on, thinking he has achieved a form of immortality. But it is a house built on sand. His satisfaction is full, but it is a shallow, temporary satisfaction. He is content with the shadows and has no thought for the substance.
v. 15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.
Here is the great contrast, the pivot upon which the whole psalm turns. "As for me..." David sets himself apart from the men of the world. Their portion is in this life; his is in the next. Their satisfaction is in treasure that rusts; his is in a treasure that is eternal. First, he says, "I shall behold Your face in righteousness." This is the beatific vision. To see the face of God is the ultimate blessing, the summation of all joy. And it is done "in righteousness." This is not a righteousness David has drummed up himself, but the righteousness that God provides, the righteousness by which a man can stand in the presence of a holy God without being consumed. It is the righteousness of Christ, imputed to the believer.
Second, "I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake." This is the language of resurrection. When does one "awake" from the sleep of death? At the resurrection of the just. And what will bring ultimate, final, soul-deep satisfaction? It will not be children or wealth or legacy. It will be the "likeness" of God. When we awake, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). The fleeting satisfaction of the worldly man, whose belly is full for a moment, is nothing compared to the eternal satisfaction of the saint, who is made to be like God Himself. This is the ultimate inheritance, the true portion, and the only satisfaction that will last.
Application
This passage presents us with a fundamental choice that every human being must make. There are only two portions available: the portion of this life, or the portion of the next. There are only two ultimate satisfactions: the fleeting pleasures of the world, or the eternal joy of God's presence.
We are constantly tempted to be "men of the world." We are tempted to find our security and our meaning in our bank accounts, our careers, our families, and our reputations. God in His common grace may grant us these things, just as He fills the bellies of the wicked with His treasure. The danger is not in having these things, but in making them our portion. The danger is when we become "satisfied" with them, when our hearts find their rest in the gifts instead of the Giver.
The Christian life is a continual reorientation of our desires. It is, by the power of the Spirit, turning our gaze away from the world's trinkets and fixing it on the face of God. We must learn to say with David, "As for me..." We must consciously and deliberately choose a different path. Our hope is not in a comfortable retirement, but in a glorious resurrection. Our deepest longing should not be for a bigger house, but for the day we behold His face in righteousness.
And when we are confronted with the apparent prosperity of the wicked, we must not be envious. Their portion is a miserable one, for it is all they will ever have. We, on the other hand, have a hope that death cannot touch. We will awake, and when we do, we will be satisfied forever with the likeness of our glorious God. Let us live now in light of that coming satisfaction.