Chapter Seventeen

This psalm is cited in 2 Sam 22 with major alterations. The inscription of the psalm coincides with the indication of the historical book regarding the time of its origin—after the end of Saul’s persecutions and after David’s numerous victories over neighboring pagan peoples, which secured peace in his kingdom from attacks by external enemies. David’s designation of himself as a “servant” of Jehovah corresponds to that place in the psalm where he testifies to his complete innocence before God and constant adherence to His commandments (verse Ps 17:21-25).

I will love the Lord who has saved me from the dangers that threatened death (1–6). At my cry for help, the Lord appeared in terrible majesty, when all nature helped Him crush my enemies (7–16). He brought me out into freedom because I never turned aside from His commandments and was blameless before Him (17–25). The Lord deals with each as he deserves (26–28). The Lord has preserved me all my life, was an invincible weapon for me, striking both my inner enemies and my outer ones, whom I have turned to flight and whose cities I have destroyed (29–46). May the Lord live, and may my Helper and Deliverer be exalted, whom I will praise not only throughout my life but in my offspring (47–51).

Psalm 17:3. The Lord is my rock and my refuge, my Deliverer, my God—my rock; I trust in Him; my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my stronghold. “The Lord is... the horn of my salvation.” The comparison is taken from animals, whose horns serve as a means of defense and through which the strength of the animal is manifested. As horns are for an animal, so God was the instrument that protected David from enemies.

Psalm 17:5. The pangs of death enclosed me, and the torrents of iniquity terrified me; “The pangs of death enclosed me”—from all sides surrounded dangers that threatened death. “Torrents of iniquity,” from the Hebrew “torrents of Belial.” This designation means a wicked man, that is, I was surrounded by torrents of impious people and evil men.

Psalm 17:7. In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God. And He heard from His holy palace my voice, and my cry came to His ears. “In my distress”—in grievous circumstances. From verse 8 onward, David describes very vividly the help rendered to him by God, when all nature obeyed His command and went to the defense of the persecuted righteous one. Perhaps the manifestations of Divine power described here are only images by which David wished to designate His dominion over all the world and men, or perhaps he meant here the fact of actual help given to him by God, manifested in the actions of forces and phenomena of nature. In the struggles with what enemies and when such help was rendered to David, the historical books give no indication.

Psalm 17:8. The earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the mountains were disturbed and shaken, because He was angry; Depiction of a violent storm. “The foundations of the mountains”—from the thunderbolt the earth shook in its deep interior, down to which, according to ancient conceptions, reached the roots, the foundations of the mountains.

Psalm 17:9. Smoke rose from His anger and consuming fire from His mouth; coals burned up before Him. “Smoke from His anger,” “consuming fire” and “burning coals”—images of clouds and lightning.

Psalm 17:10. He bent the heavens and came down—and darkness was under His feet. The usual image of God’s appearance to Old Testament man—in clouds and mists, therefore “bending of heavens... and darkness under God’s feet”—the appearance of a cloud.

Psalm 17:11. And He sat upon the Cherubim and flew; He was carried upon the wings of the wind. The Cherubim are heavenly bodiless spirits, the nearest and swiftest executors of His will, which is why they were usually depicted with six wings. Here the expression “He sat upon the Cherubim” is explained by the following—“He was carried upon the wings of the wind,” that is, the cloud approached with extraordinary speed.

Psalm 17:12. And He made darkness His covering, a tent around Him—the darkness of waters, the clouds of air. This cloud was the dwelling place of God, as a tent serves as a dwelling place for man, see verse 10.

Psalm 17:14. The Lord thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave forth His voice—hail and coals of fire. The crashes and roars of thunder—the terrible voice of God.

Psalm 17:16. And the fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare from the terrible voice of Yours, O Lord, from the breath of the spirit of Your anger. “The foundations of the world were laid bare”—the bed of the seas became exposed. By this expression—a hyperbole—David wished to designate the strength of the streams of rain, the abundance of water: there was so much of it that as though water had poured from all the seas and flooded the earth.

Psalm 17:17. He stretched His hand from on high and took me, and drew me out of many waters; “Drew me out of many waters.”—Water here, as often in the Bible, means numerous troubles: God freed me from them.

Psalm 17:20. He brought me forth into a spacious place and delivered me, because He takes delight in me. “He brought me forth into a spacious place”—freed me from distress, troubles, gave me freedom.

Psalm 17:21. The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He rewarded me, “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness”—according to my inner purity, the purity of my thoughts and intentions, “according to the cleanness of my hands”—according to the purity of my deeds.

Psalm 17:22. for I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not been wicked before my God; “I have kept the ways of the Lord”—did not depart from the commandment appointed by God to man.

Psalm 17:26. With the merciful You show Yourself merciful, with the upright man You show Yourself upright, Psalm 17:27. with the pure You show Yourself pure, and with the perverse You show Yourself perverse, The Lord deals with each according to what he deserves: the pure and righteous He rewards, and the perverse He punishes.

Psalm 17:33. God girds me with strength and makes my way perfect; “To gird”—to prepare for occupations, for work. The Lord girded David with strength—gave him the means to overcome enemies. “To make the way perfect”—to point out a reliable way, unerring means to achieve the goal.

Psalm 17:34. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and sets me on my high places; “He sets me on my high places”—the height, the might which I have achieved now, is the work of Divine help.

Psalm 17:37. You give me a broad step in my walking, and my feet do not slip. “You give me a broad step”—you spread my feet, give me firm footing.

Psalm 17:44. You have delivered me from the rebellion of my people, made me the head of the nations; a people I did not know serves me; “Delivered me from the rebellion of my people”—indication of internal strife that occurred in the kingdom of Israel at the time of David’s ascension to the throne.

Psalm 17:50. For this I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations, and will sing to Your name, “I will praise You, O Lord, before all the nations,” more precisely—before all the nations. Each victory of David was concluded with a solemn thanksgiving to God, in which David, before all men both from his own people and from captive pagans, did not hide the name of Jehovah, but openly sang His praise as the one true God. In these words the Apostle Paul sees an indication of the preaching of the teaching of Christ among the pagans (see Rom 15:9).

Psalm 17:51. He is a tower of salvation to the king, and shows steadfast love to His anointed, to David and to his offspring forever. “To his offspring... forever,” this is the one that was revealed to David through the prophet Nathan (see 2 Sam 7:12-16).