David is a Man After God’s Own Heart

Psalms 17:1–7
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This psalm is a prayer of David as he was surrounded by enemies but encouraged by his faith in God. Danger was pressing in on him, so help from the Lord was urgently needed. He would not have been a man after God’s own heart, had he not been a man of prayer. Sometimes Scripture uses the parts of the human body to describe God’s activities with respect to His people. He does not have eyes, but He sees us. He does not have ears, but He hears our cries. After an initial cry to God (vv. 1-2, 6), David defends his character and motives (vv. 3-5):

1.     God’s Ears (vv. 1-2, 6). The enemy opposed David, so he cried out to God for vindication. David’s prayer was sincere, and he wanted God to judge righteously.

2.     God’s Eyes (vv. 3-5). David had nothing to hide. His heart was right, and his walk was righteous. We must be able to say the same of our heart and walk to expect answered prayer. The first condition of real prayer is a good conscience. We cannot hope to get anywhere with God if we come to Him simply to put on a show. He knows us too well.

3.     God’s Heart (v.7). The Lord’s desire is to save us from all our enemies. That includes external threats, but more importantly that includes the internal threat that we are to ourselves. I am my own worst enemy. “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Ps. 2:12).

Application

Have I had any refining experiences in my life? To come out pure I must let the Lord have his way in my life and then I can say with David, “I have been tried and proven.” After traveling the world for many years sharing the gospel in both small and large gatherings and discipling both teens and college age young people we now find ourselves in our senior years of life. In many ways it is more difficult now than it was in the years we were able to be more active. I just want to still be able to finish well serving my Lord in every way possible.