Slices
Prepare
Think of a time when you were in trouble and someone rescued you. How did that feel?
Bible passage
A prayer of David.
1 Hear me, Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer –
it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.
3 Though you probe my heart,
though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
my mouth has not transgressed.
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.
5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not stumbled.
6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
7 Show me the wonders of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.
10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
13 Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down;
with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
15 As for me, I shall be vindicated and shall see your face;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Explore
Psalm 17 is David’s prayer asking God to rescue him from his enemies. He points out his innocence to God (vs 1–5), calling on him to rescue him (vs 6–8). In verse 8, he uses two beautiful pictures – of a child seen as the apple of their mother’s eye, and the mother bird sheltering her chicks under her wings. How do these strengthen your own sense of security with God?
Then, David describes his enemies (vs 9–12): they surrounded him (v 9); they had hardened their hearts against God (v 10); their pursuit of him was relentless (v 11); their attack was vicious (v 12). Place yourself in David’s shoes. Imagine how he must have felt. Verses 13 and 14 become a cry for vengeance against them. We might think that David goes too far. Yet, when we feel hurt and trapped, perhaps we also have terrible and vengeful thoughts. David is praying poetically that his enemies will reap the profits in their lifetimes of living without God.
Lastly, David affirms his hope of rescue through encounter with God (v 15). This is a promise that the life of God in David’s heart will help him overcome all his difficulties.
Respond
Pray for Christians feeling pressured by some form of opposition. Pray that they will know the Lord keeping them secure (v 8). Pray the same for yourself.
Deeper Bible study
‘When the road is rough and steep, fix your eyes upon Jesus.’1
The psalmist is consistently walking God’s ‘paths’ (v 5). What is the result? He experiences much danger. He is surrounded by enemies who rail against him. They are compared to hungry lions stealthily stalking their prey, ready to attack (vs 10–12). This experience is echoed in Pilgrim’s Progress when John Bunyan’s pilgrim, Christian, climbs ‘Hill Difficulty’. This is part of Christian discipleship, for Jesus speaks about the narrow way and, of course, walked that way himself.2
If this is our experience, two points from the psalm will help us. First, the evil we’re facing may be strong, but our God is stronger. The psalmist earnestly cries to God and he does so with confidence. He is the Lord, the covenant-making, covenant-keeping God who saves by his ‘right hand’ (v 7; a symbol of power and authority). Bunyan understood this too, for as Christian reaches the top of the hill he sees lions either side. Terrified, he shrinks back, only to realise the lions are chained. As long as he remains on the path he cannot be harmed. We continue up our own ‘Hill Difficulty’ knowing that God will guide and guard our steps.
Second, we can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. The psalmist is taken up with God and wants to see more of his ‘great love’ (v 7). He delights in him and longs to see him face to face (v 15). Such an attitude and such a focus will sustain us for the toughest of journeys. The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way, ‘fixing our eyes on Jesus’.3 My own testimony is that this makes all the difference. The difficulties may well remain, yet the focus on Jesus lifts everything. When you hear the roar of the lions, look to him and keep walking the road of faithful discipleship.
Commit your own ‘hill difficulty’ to God and pray for others you know for whom the road is also ‘rough and steep’.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 27,28; John 11
Pray for Scripture Union
Continue to pray for SU movements that operate in restricted countries and face many challenges. Pray that God will bless them with courage, wisdom and protection.
