Please read Psalm 17 (15 verses)

The Lord has sorely tested the writer of this Psalm and has found nothing of blame or for him to be held accountable for. The Psalmist is not self-righteous for his character has been refined in the fires of opposition and violence against his person. God has seen fit to show him many and great troubles which have purified his motives and all aspects of his inner life. He has become a righteous person because of what God has done in his life.

The psalmist calls on the Lord with confidence because he knows the Lord is full of lovingkindness and loves to be trusted. He asks the Lord to keep him “as the apple of your eye” and to hide him “under the shadow of Your wings.” The Lord is our refuge in all the trouble and oppositions of life and will sustain us and make us strong and resilient like the psalmist.

He describes his enemies and likens them to a young lion lurking in secret places waiting to pounce on unsuspecting prey. The writer asks God to cast the enemy to the ground and to deliver him with the Word of His mouth. It is the power of God that delivers His people and will protect them.

The wicked have only the things of this life to satisfy them and leave all they value to those who come after, which is described in the Scripture as futility. They are completely earth bound and only have the glory of physical provision, which they think they have got for themselves. They leave it all behind and enter eternity destitute. 

The psalmist has the Lord and is fully satisfied with the fact that when he awakens from death, he will see the face of God and be like Him.