NOVEMBER 7, 2023
“Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” (Psalm 17:13-15)
This psalm is entitled “A Prayer of David.” Although whoever came up with this title is unknown, it is a good one because here we see a heartfelt, earnest, believing example of a prayer. It was spoken in the view of some danger. A danger which arose from the number of enemies, but we cannot determine the specific occasion.
There were too many occasions in the life of David where this prayer would make sense, but there can be no doubt that in the various dangers David faced, he often poured out such warm and earnest appeals to God for help.
In today’s verses, we see David pleading with God to act on his behalf. His expression of a confident hope of deliverance from all enemies, a looking forward to a world where he would be rescued from all troubles, and where, in the presence of God and entering on a new life, he would awake in the likeness of God and be satisfied. The psalm terminates, as the anticipations of all good men do, amid the troubles of this life, in the hope of that world where there will be no trouble and where they will be permitted to dwell forever with God. David longs for the satisfaction he will feel when he finally will be with God and can behold His righteousness.
“Arise, O Lord,” asks David, and, “disappoint him.” His prayer here is that God would come before his enemies and cast Himself in their way before they should reach him. The enemy is represented as marching upon him with their face intently fixed, seeking David’s destruction, and he prays that God would come to his aid. He pleads to be spared from the designs of the wicked and that God would interfere by His own hand, saving him from danger from men that had risen against him. He desires to be rescued from worldly plans and devices – from men among whom nothing but material principles prevail. These men, unlike David, have their portion in this life alone. That is to say, their portion or lot is exclusively among the living, having nothing to look forward to or to hope for in the world to come. They are governed wholly by worldly principles. They have no fear of God; they have no regard for the rights of others further than will be under their material interest. Those who wholly have their portion in this life try to subordinate everything to worldly interests.
Verse 15 begins with “As for me…” David writes this to illustrate that believers cherish no such desires in strong contrast with the aims, desires, and conditions of worldly men who seek their portion in this life. We look to another world as our home and shall be satisfied only in God’s everlasting favor and friendship. We will behold the face of our Lord. This is the highest object before the mind of a genuinely religious person. The bliss of heaven consists mainly in the privilege of seeing God our Savior, and the hope of being permitted to do this is of more value to us than would be all the wealth of this world.
We have been delivered from the power, the pollution, and the dominion of sin. This makes heaven so desirable; without this, in the apprehension of a truly good man, no place would be heaven. While others are satisfied with this world, we, like the psalmist, will be satisfied only when we awake in the likeness of God. Nothing can meet our wants or fully help our souls until that occurs.
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