Introduction: The Cry for a Fair Hearing
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, have you ever felt utterly misunderstood? Have you ever been in a situation where your motives were questioned, your character was attacked, and your name was dragged through the mud? In those moments, what is the deepest longing of your heart? It is to be heard. Not just to be listened to, but to be truly heard by someone who can see the truth, someone who can judge rightly, someone who knows your heart. This is the very place where we find King David in Psalm 17. This is not a song of public worship for the congregation; this is a raw, private, and desperate prayer. The title in many of our Bibles simply calls it, "A Prayer of David." And in this prayer, David gives us a divine blueprint for how to approach God when the world is against us, when we feel isolated, and when all we want is justice and protection. The prayer begins with an urgent plea in verse 1:
"Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips."
David doesn't just ask God to hear him; he asks God to "Hear the right." He is not just crying out for relief; he is appealing to the very character of God as a God of justice. And notice the qualifier he adds: his prayer does not come from "feigned lips." It's not fake. It's not a performance. It is a cry from the depths of a sincere soul. This is our first lesson today: Our access to God's throne room is paved with authenticity. God is not interested in polished, perfect prayers that we think He wants to hear. He is interested in the real cry of your heart. He invites you to come as you are misunderstood, hurting, accused-and to speak to Him without pretense.
I: The Confidence of a Tested Heart (vv. 2-5)
Having established his sincerity, David then makes a bold request. Look at verse 2:
"Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal."
Imagine that! "Lord, I bypass every human court. I bypass the court of public opinion. I submit my case directly to Your Supreme Court in heaven. You be my judge and my jury." Why could he be so confident? Because he knew he had been tested. Verse 3 is one of the most searching verses in all the Psalms:
"Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress."
David isn't claiming sinless perfection. The original language suggests that God had sifted him like wheat and found no duplicity, no wicked scheme, no hidden malice. He is saying, "Lord, you've looked deep within me, in the secret hours of the night when no one else is watching, and you know my purpose. You know my heart's intention is to follow you."
He then grounds this purpose in God's Word. In verses 4 and 5, he says that it is "by the word of thy lips" that he has kept himself from the paths of the destroyer, and he pleads, "Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not."
Here is the profound truth: Our integrity is not self-made; it is God-tested and Grace-sustained. We can stand before God not because we are perfect, but because our purpose is to please Him, and we depend wholly on His Word to guide us and His grace to hold us up when we are about to stumble. We cannot walk the righteous path on our own. We must cry out daily, "Lord, hold me up!"
II: The Petition for Precious Protection (vv. 6-9)
Having laid his heart bare, David's prayer shifts. It moves from a plea for justice to a petition for protection. And here, in the center of this Psalm, we find its most beautiful and enduring image. Let's read verses 7 and 8:
"Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,"
My friends, let these words sink into your soul today. "Keep me as the apple of the eye." What is the "apple of the eye"? In Hebrew, it literally means 'the little man of the eye,' referring to the tiny reflection of yourself that you can see in another person's pupil. It is the most sensitive, most vulnerable, and most instinctively protected part of the entire body. If a speck of dust comes near your eye, your eyelid shuts automatically. You will throw up your hands to protect it without a second thought.
When David prays, "Keep me as the apple of Your eye," he is saying, "O God, cherish me. Value me. Guard me with that kind of reflexive, immediate, and fierce protection. Let Your gaze be upon me, and let Your protection of me be as natural to You as it is for a man to protect his own sight."
And if that were not enough, he adds, "Hide me under the shadow of thy wings." This evokes the image of a mother eagle, gathering her helpless eaglets under her strong wings to shield them from the scorching sun, the raging storm, or the circling predator. It is a place of absolute security, of warmth, of refuge.
Do you see the intimacy here? From the courtroom of a righteous judge, we have moved into the loving embrace of a protective parent. This is what God offers to you today. In a world that can be cruel and dangerous, He who saved you by His right hand offers you His "marvellous lovingkindness." He invites you to find refuge not in your own strength, not in your wealth, and not in the approval of others, but in the safest place in the universe: sheltered by His gaze and hidden in His shadow.
III: The Perspective of an Eternal Satisfaction (vv. 13-15)
The Psalm ends with a stark contrast. David describes his enemies-proud, godless, and vicious like lions (vv. 10-12). He calls on the Lord to arise and confront them. But then he makes a profound observation about them in verse 14: they are "men of the world, which have their portion in this life."
Their treasure is here on earth. Their satisfaction comes from their wealth, their power, their children, their earthly legacy. Their bellies are full, but their souls are empty. Their portion is temporary.
And then, David declares his own destiny in the final, glorious verse. Verse 15:
"As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."
This is the ultimate victory. David's hope was not simply that he would be vindicated in this life. His ultimate hope was anchored in eternity. Notice the three parts of this glorious satisfaction:
"I will behold thy face in righteousness." The greatest reward is not a thing, but a person. It is to see God. To be in His presence, fully accepted and clothed in His righteousness.
"I shall be satisfied." The restlessness of the human heart, the striving, the longing it will all come to an end. True, deep, and lasting satisfaction will finally be ours. Not in a change of circumstances, but in the presence of our Creator.
"When I awake, with thy likeness." This is a breathtaking reference to the resurrection. When we "awake" from the sleep of death on that final morning, we will not only see God, but we will be transformed to be like Him. As 1 John 3:2 says, "we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
Conclusion: Your Prayer, Your Portion
So what does this ancient prayer mean for us? It means that when you feel misunderstood, you can pray with authenticity, knowing God wants to hear your real, unedited cry. It means that when your integrity is questioned, you can stand with confidence, not in your own perfection, but in a God who has tested your heart and a grace that holds your feet. It means that when you feel threatened and afraid, you can ask for protection, pleading with your Heavenly Father to keep you as the apple of His eye and hide you under the shadow of His wings.
And finally, when the world seems to be winning, when the ungodly prosper and you feel left behind, you must cling to an eternal perspective. Their portion is in this life. It will fade. But your portion is the Lord Himself. Your satisfaction will not be complete until that glorious day when you awake in the next life to behold His face and be made like His Son, Jesus Christ.
So I ask you today, what is your portion? Is it in the fleeting treasures of this world? Or can you say with the psalmist, "As for me, my satisfaction is in God alone"?
