Observation: Psalm 17 is a cry for help from God, attributed to King David. The writer lifts up his own virtue and faithfulness, saying "By your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent," but asks God to deliver him from deadly and violent enemies. If this psalm came from the pen of David, I have to admit some doubts about David's perspective here. Based on David's story in 1 and 2 Samuel, while he certainly had violent persecutors like King Saul, David himself was not totally free from any violence or deceit.
Application: A major reason why I like the psalms is they are so human. They are unapologetically from a certain person's perspective at a certain time. From this person's perspective, they are being violently persecuted by an enemy and have done nothing wrong. Maybe they're not morally perfect, but whatever the crisis is, the writer didn't instigate it, and needs God's protection to get out of it.
It's way too easy to divide the world into "good guys" and "bad guys." And people are capable of doing some pretty awful things. What I appreciate in the psalm's perspective is that the writer doesn't ask for the strength to take matters into his own hands, and slay the "bad guys." Consistent throughout scripture is the cry for God to execute justice. Even when we feel another party is very much in the wrong, the judgment is in God's hands, not our own. And it's a good thing too, because I have been in the wrong many times, and I'm grateful that, though what I say and do has consequences, God's grace and mercy are unswerving.
Prayer: God, deliver us from violent ways. Establish justice in our land, in our world, and in our own hearts. Amen.
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