4 As for the works of men, by the word of your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
Then said Jesus to him, Away, Satan: for it is in the Writings, Give worship to the Lord your God and be his servant only.
And they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their witness; and loving not their lives they freely gave themselves up to death.
Be serious and keep watch; the Evil One, who is against you, goes about like a lion with open mouth in search of food;
So that you may give the rest of your lives in the flesh, not to the desires of men, but to the purpose of God. Because for long enough, in times past, we have been living after the way of the Gentiles, given up to the desires of the flesh, to drinking and feasting and loose behaviour and unclean worship of images;
And take salvation for your head-dress and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Because you are still in the flesh: for when there is envy and division among you, are you not still walking after the way of the flesh, even as natural men?
And the Lord saw that the sin of man was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts of his heart were evil.
Jesus said to him, Again it is in the Writings, You may not put the Lord your God to the test.
For wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul; Wise purposes will be watching over you, and knowledge will keep you; Giving you salvation from the evil man, from those whose words are false; Who give up the way of righteousness, to go by dark roads; Who take pleasure in wrongdoing, and have joy in the evil designs of the sinner; Whose ways are not straight, and whose footsteps are turned to evil:
<BETH> How may a young man make his way clean? by guiding it after your word. I have made search for you with all my heart: O let me not go wandering far from your teaching. I have kept your sayings secretly in my heart, so that I might do no sin against you.
<To the chief music-maker. Of David.> The foolish man has said in his heart, God will not do anything. They are unclean, they have done evil works; there is not one who does good. The Lord was looking down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who had wisdom, searching after God. They have all gone out of the way together; they are unclean, there is not one who does good, no, not one.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 17
Commentary on Psalms 17 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 17
David being in great distress and danger by the malice of his enemies, does, in this psalm, by prayer address himself to God, his tried refuge, and seeks shelter in him.
Some make him, in this, a type of Christ, who was perfectly innocent, and yet was hated and persecuted, but, like David, committed himself and his cause to him that judgeth righteously.
A prayer of David.
Psa 17:1-7
This psalm is a prayer. As there is a time to weep and a time to rejoice, so there is a time for praise and a time for prayer. David was now persecuted, probably by Saul, who hunted him like a partridge on the mountains; without were fightings, within were fears, and both urged him as a suppliant to the throne of mercy. He addresses himself to God in these verses both by way of appeal (Hear the right, O Lord! let my righteous cause have a hearing before thy tribunal, and give judgment upon it) and by way of petition (Give ear unto my prayer v. 1, and again v. 6, Incline thy ear unto me and hear my speech); not that God needs to be thus pressed with our importunity, but he gives us leave thus to express our earnest desire of his gracious answers to our prayers. These things he pleads with God for audience,
Psa 17:8-15
We may observe, in these verses,