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January 2/3, 2016
Jason Meyer | Psalms 17:1-15
Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
From your presence let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
They have now surrounded our steps;
they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
from men by your hand, O LORD,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
they are satisfied with children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.—Psalm 17
Introduction
Some of you are in the habit of reading C.H. Spurgeon’s devotional classic Morning and Evening. His entry for January 2 sounded the same note that has been playing in my soul—like a song that plays in your mind over and over:
A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honor of a Christian. If thou be a child of God, thou wilt seek Thy Father’s face, and live in thy Father’s love … The motto for this year must be, “Continue in prayer.”
That resounded with me so much because I was already asking the Lord that this year (2016) could be the year of prayer (spiritual breakthroughs in prayer). That is one of the reasons why I asked Pastor Bud Burk to preach on prayer on the last weekend of the year. Now we open the first weekend of the year on the theme of prayer. My own personal goal this year is to make this the year of prayer.
I know what some of you are thinking “Yeah … yeah…I’ve tried that before. It is like going to the gym. Do it for a while and then can’t keep it going.” I know—I have been there myself. I get so upset at myself sometimes. My high school basketball coach had a phrase about crossing the black line that separated the sideline from the main court. Sometimes we would draw up a play on the sideline and then completely blow it once we crossed that black line. Its like some people forgot about the play we just drew up and did their own thing and he would just be over on the sidelines with hands in the air, shoulders shrugged, and a perplexed look on his face trying to figure out what in the world we were thinking (parents give kids the same look).
I feel that way sometimes after hearing a message on prayer. Like here we are on the sidelines—here is the play we are going to run this year and then Monday morning comes and we all go our own way and stick to our old habits. My mind sometimes wanders and my prayers sometimes get repetitive and routine so that I feel like I am praying the same old things about the same old things.
But the Psalms have been such a lifeline for my prayer life. They are inspired prayers. One thing that helped more than anything else was finding a simple strategy for praying the psalms. The method came in a book by Donald Whitney called Praying the Bible. He explains in 81 words how to do it:
To pray the Bible, you simply go through the passage line by line, talking to God about whatever comes to mind as you read the text…If you don’t understand the meaning of a verse, go on to the next verse. If the meaning of that one is perfectly clear but nothing comes to mind to pray about, go on to the next verse. Just speak to the Lord about everything that occurs to you as you slowly read his Word (p. 33).
It really is that simple. Take a verse and pray it until nothing else comes to mind. Then move on to the next verse. Pray until you run out of time—you won’t run out of verses. Don’t get stuck on a verse if nothing about it is clear or nothing comes to mind.
Whitney has taught people hundreds of times to pray the way we are going to pray, and he always gets the same responses. The top 10 responses he receives are as follows (see chapter 8 of his book; p. 6 of the Prayer Week Guide).
I thought about just praying through Psalm 17 with you line by line to model how to do it, but our Prayer Week Guide explains how to do it and we have a whole service on Friday, Jan 8, in which we are going to do it together as a congregation. I would urge you to come as we pray the Bible together. My aim here is to explain Psalm 17 so you can pray it yourself later. Here is the main point. It answers a really key question. Have you ever wondered what kind of fuel prayer runs on?
Main Point:
Past promises, a present hunger, and a future hope fuel our prayers.
The picture I want to give you as we work through this psalm is prayer as a car that runs on a fuel that is a four-fold blend.
Outline: Four-fold Fuel for Prayer
Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
From your presence let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
Psalms 15, 16, and 17 are all connected with the same rare Hebrew word for slipping, being shaken, or being moved (Psalm 15:5; 16:8; 17:5). My feet have followed the path of your word (Psalm 1). Verses like this often make people feel uncomfortable when they read the Psalms. It almost sounds like David is appealing to self-righteousness. It almost sounds like he deserves his deliverance. David is not guilty of legalism. He has not earned God’s grace. The most informative word here is “vindication.” “From your presence let me vindication come!” David takes his case to God. David’s enemies are trying to kill him without cause—he has not done anything deserving death. So he asks God to judge between him and his accusing attackers.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
David’s second argument fueling his prayer is his confidence in God’s faithfulness. He prays “for you will answer me.” David asks God to put his steadfast love on display. “Wondrously show your steadfast love.” This word hesed is so profound it takes two English words to try to get the meaning across. It could be called “marriage love”—the faithful love that a spouse promises or vows to another. David is asking God to act on his vows. Where do these vows come from? David reminds God of vows that he took in two places: Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32. He first turns to Exodus 15—the Exodus salvation that God accomplished for his people.
The parallels are profound:
“Wondrously show” (Psalm 17:7) ... Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (Exodus 15:11)
“steadfast love” (Psalm 17:7) ..........You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed (Exodus 15:13)
“your right hand” (Psalm 17:7).........You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them (Exodus 15:12); Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy (Exodus 15:6)
God is the Savior. David’s prayer joins the song of Moses: "The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him" (Exodus 15:2).
The second passage that David brings up is Deuteronomy 32:10–12,
He found him in a desert land,
and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
bearing them on its pinions,
the LORD alone guided him,
no foreign god was with him.
"Apple of the eye" is a figurative expression for the pupil of the eye. One naturally tries to protect the pupil. David’s trust is in God, not in himself. Now David makes a case as a prosecuting attorney for the guilt of his opponents.
They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
They have now surrounded our steps;
they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
from men by your hand, O LORD,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
they are satisfied with children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
David’s first charge against the opponents is that they are heartless and ruthless. David literally says that the fat encloses their hearts; they are insensitive, unfeeling, and hardened so that they have no pity and no fear of God—they also speak arrogantly.
David’s second charge against them is that they are bloodthirsty. This is the main charge in verses 11–12. They are eager to tear into David.
His third charge is that they are wicked because they are worldly. Unlike Psalm 16 where David says God alone is his portion—these opponents only have this life as their portion (v. 14). They only live for today and they have set their minds on earthly things. David says something surprising about them. He asks God to arise and confront, subdue and deliver, but he also sees that God judges by leaving them to themselves. He hands them over to their earthly-minded pursuits. God gives them children and they are satisfied and content to simply accumulate earthly possessions and pass it on to their children.
There are profound parallels also in Philippians 3:18–19.
For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
David is night and day different from his opponents. He will not be satisfied with more earthly things like them. He has an insatiable thirst to see more of God.
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
I love how all the Psalms in this section (Psalm 15:1; 16:8, 11; 17:15) all have the theme of this hunger for God’s presence (Psalm 15:1; 16:8, 11; 17:15). God is the only thing that will satisfy the parched soul living in this dry and weary land where there is no water. Here the fierceness of David’s hunger and resolve again. The phrase “As for me” draws a strong and resolute contrast. It is Joshua’s “Choose yourselves this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Notice that this verse connects closely to the end of Psalm 16 in two ways: (1) the same theme of the Resurrection, and (2) the same root word for “satisfied” (17:15) and “fullness” (16:11).
The main point of Psalm 16 was the call to rejoice in the Resurrection. The resurrection is now seen as the only answer for the thirst of the psalmist. I only have eyes for you. I could only be satisfied with you. And I will be. Jesus himself pronounced this blessing over us: Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). David adds blessed are those who will be transformed into God’s likeness when they see him (Psalm 17:15)! Paul had the same hope of glory in Philippians 3:20–21.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
The apostle John shared the same hope of glory in 1 John 3:2,
Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appear we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Do you have this hunger? Like a stomach that growls and rumbles because it hungers for food—do your prayers rumble with this hunger and hope of glory? The contrast between a Christian and a non-Christians shows up so clearly in their hungers and pursuits. The opponents are earthly-minded; he is heavenly minded. Their portion is the creation; David’s portion is the Creator. They are satisfied with earthly things; David will not be satisfied until he sees God’s face with resurrected eyes after he awakes on the other side of the sleep of death.
Application
1. Christian Partial Fulfillment of Psalm 17
Prayer helps us see our hunger. What we ask for often shows what we live for. Why do we pray to God? Prayer can be a means of idolatry or a means of worship. James 4:3–4 makes the same point.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Do we use God to get our pleasures (i.e., something other than God that we make into a god) or is God our pleasure and treasure (Psalm 16:11; 17:15). But here is the question I always get: people want to know how holy they have to be or they ask how much they have to hunger. That is not the point. It is not about perfection, but about direction. The desires of the heart are like a weathervane—are there worldly winds that are directing your heart—or the wind of the Spirit?
2. Jesus’ Perfect Fulfillment of Psalm 17
Jesus is our perfection. Our fulfillment of Psalm 17 will always be partial—his fulfillment is perfect. We can only understand ourselves in relation to who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Jesus was sinless and so he prayed and his prayers were answered. “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence” (Hebrews 5:7).
Jesus is the very incarnation of God’s steadfast love. The translation “full of grace and truth” is the same phrase from Exodus 34: abounding in love and faithfulness. Jesus is faithful love in the flesh—it is marital love because we are joined to Christ as the bride of Christ.
Jesus still prays for us today. He is praying even now in heaven. Hebrews 7:25 is one of the most hope-giving verses in the Bible:
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Sam Storms is on the Bethlehem College & Seminary board. At the last board meeting he did a devotional on this verse. He said that if he ever got a tattoo he would get one word on one forearm and one on the other: “Always” and “Uttermost”—so that whenever he looked in the mirror he could look at his “guns” and remember who he really was.
Conclusion
Let me take you back to last Saturday for me. Saturday morning I was praying through Psalm 17. I got to verse 15 and it felt like electric shock. Yes! You are guaranteeing that my greatest hunger will be satisfied: I shall see you—that is the only thing that will satisfy me! I will see you with new eyes at the resurrection!
Saturday night Pastor Bud said that he trusted the Holy Spirit would be at work and merge together Bud’s message and my message. What did Bud preach on? Jesus’ desire for his followers to be with him so we could see his glory forever! How is that for two messages coming together into one: what we want (Psalm 17) is what Jesus wants for us (John 17:24). Do you think we have confidence he will answer our prayer?
Let’s do a thought experiment together to make this alignment a little clearer. Imagine with me for a moment that I tell my kids all about a cereal I had growing up called “Cookie Crisp.” It was one of the highlights of my whole childhood. I don’t remember a ton of my childhood, but I remember Cookie Crisp. Here is why.
I knew in my childhood mind that if I asked my dad if I could have cookies for breakfast, he would have said “no” faster than you can say “Chips Ahoy.” But I discovered a loophole in the cereal aisle one day. Cookie Crisp cereal?! I could have cookies for breakfast—all you had to do was call it cereal. He asked me to pick out a box of cereal. Cookie Crisp was called cereal. It felt like a watertight argument in my mind—a slam dunk. It felt like I had cheated the system. Cookie Crisp was a great triumph for children everywhere.
Now imagine that my kids hear about Cookie Crisp and say to me, “Dad, I wish we could have Cookie Crisp. It just sounds wonderful.” Let’s say in this imaginary scenario that they stopped making it and I had to go to great lengths to get it. After doing some research, I discovered that there was a factory that never got the memo—they just kept making it. But the bad news is that the factory is in Australia. A plane ticket costs $2,000. I don’t care. I buy the ticket, fly to Australia, find the cereal, buy 25 boxes and fly back to America.
Now imagine that Monday morning rolls around and the kids wake up early and all ask, “Dad, can we have some of that cookie crisp?” Can any of you imagine me saying, “No way. I got you these rice cakes instead. I just wanted to get your hopes up and then see the look on your face when I dashed all your dreams.”
There is no way—no way—that any loving parent would ever do that. But do you get my point? We love our children—yet the Bible calls us “evil.” Even evil people know how to give good gifts like Cookie Crisp to our kids. How much more our heavenly Father! After God did so much—he sent his Son to be born, to live, to die, to rise again—all so that we could rise someday to see Him—do you really think that he is going to say “no” now!? The distance between Australia and Minnesota is nothing compared to the distance from heaven to earth and back! A plane ticket and 25 boxes of cereal cost nothing compared to the infinite cost of the cross! The word of a sinful father is not even close to as certain as the word of a Father that has never lied and can never lie!
And my kids tried it and what happened is that I overpromised and the cereal under-delivered. The taste resembles cookies for breakfast, but they expected a closer similarity. And after the second bowl (yes, I had two)—you don’t want any again for a long time. But God’s promises are totally different. He never overpromises and under-delivers. Quite the opposite. The fulfillment is way better than anything we can possibly imagine. We don’t even have categories for how great it is going to be.
As we look to communion, look at yourself. We should examine ourselves before taking the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:28). This is a meal for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. But you also need to see that even if the Spirit is at work and blowing into you desires to live for him—that you have not done enough; you have not hungered enough. You may have been innocent in one thing or another, but no one has been innocent in every situation or scenario. What do you look at now? Look at what is on the table! Look at the bread, look at the cup—it is all a promise—so tangible and so unbreakable. Look at the price he paid. Look at the lengths he went to rescue you. Look at how much he wants you to be with him where he is so that you will see his glory. We eat and drink until he comes. We will be like him—because we will see him as he is. There is nothing the child of God wants more—and there is nothing our Savior wants to give us more—than to be with him and see him as he is—with new eyes. We will see perfectly the One who is perfect in every way.
Sermon Discussion Questions
Outline: Four-fold Fuel for Prayer
Main Point: Past promises, a present hunger, and a future hope fuel our prayers.
Discussion Questions
Application Questions
Prayer Focus
Pray for a grace to experience a greater outpouring of intimacy with God in prayer. Pray for God to grow in you an appetite that could only be satisfied by beholding God in the Resurrection.