VINDICATE ME
January 4, 2022

A. Starting point: Rev. 7:12

“Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”

B. Praying from: PSALM 17
“Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
14 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.
15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.”

C. Praying Time:
Context
The title identifies the psalm as a prayer. Although many psalms are prayers and most contain prayer-like sections interspersed with appeals to the congregation, this psalm is pure prayer in that it is addressed solely to God whose intimate presence the psalmist experiences. Specifically, this psalm is a lament calling out to God for help in the midst of trouble perpetrated by unnamed enemies. The call for vindication, the suggestion of an accusation of bribery (v. 4) and the claim of innocence suggest that a false accusation lies behind the psalm. It is identified as a prayer of David, although it is difficult to pinpoint a specific event in David’s life where this psalm would find its place.

17:1–2. Hear my prayer
Like a typical lament, the psalmist begins with a series of pleas for help (Hear me; listen to my cry; hear my prayer) and an invocation (LORD). The ground of the appeal is the innocence of the speaker. God should listen because his plea is just, and he does not speak with deceitful lips. After beginning with imperatives, the first stanza closes with the wish that God would do the right thing and vindicate him. We are not yet aware of the nature of the psalmist’s trouble, but we do know that he does not deserve what is happening to him.
17:3–5. Examine me
In the second stanza, the psalmist continues to assert his innocence, which extends beyond his actions to include his thoughts and motives. He has no fear if God should choose to probe his heart (cf. Ps. 139:23–24). Even at night, a time of darkness when wickedness is at its worst (Job 38:12–15), God will find nothing wrong with him. He has not thought, spoken or done any evil. Using the language of wisdom literature, he has stuck to God’s paths, and because of that he has not stumbled. His specific denial of taking a bribe may refer to an actual accusation that he refutes. Of course, bribes distort justice, so the charge would thus be a serious one.
17:6–9. Protect me
The psalmist continues his appeal to God to pay attention to his prayer. He asks God to demonstrate his great love towards him. The term great love (ḥesed) refers to the loyalty between covenant partners that manifests itself in saving action. The covenant God saves his faithful people with his right hand, a phrase that often denotes God’s military action against those who want to harm his people (Exod. 15:6, 12; Ps. 118:15–16; Isa. 41:10).

The psalmist calls on God to protect him like the apple of your eye, probably better translated as ‘pupil of the eye’ (so NJB); at least, that is certainly what the phrase refers to. Of course, the pupil of the eye is a sensitive and tender spot on the body. God protected Israel in the wilderness like the ‘apple of his eye’ (Deut. 32:10). The parallel uses another touching image of a mother bird protecting its young from predators (Ps. 91:3–8), the predators in this case being his wicked enemies who surround him.
17:10–12. Enemy predators
The psalmist then describes his enemies, first mentioned in verse 9, as lions, predators who stealthily stalk their prey in order to destroy them. Lions are metaphors for their ruthless cruelty (Ps. 7:2; 10:9; 22:13). Their hearts are hard (callous) and their speech full of pride. The translation they close up their callous hearts involves a suggested textual change from the received text, which simply says, ‘they closed up their fat’, to the NIV rendering, which changes ḥelbāmô (‘their fat’) to ḥēleb libbāmô (‘the fat of their heart’). These enemies are dangerous and provide a substantial threat to the psalmist.
17:13–15. Rise up, Lord!
The psalmist begins the final climactic stanza by calling on God to rise up, an expression that identifies the psalm as a pre-battle song in its original setting (Ps. 7:6; 9:19; 10:12; 17:13; 74:22). He calls on God the Warrior to intervene and deliver him from his vicious and powerful enemies. The second half of verse 14 is an imprecation that calls on God to orchestrate the destruction of these enemies and their offspring. Exactly what God has stored up for the bellies of the wicked and their children is not clear, but from the context we know it works to their detriment.

In contrast, the psalmist knows that he will be vindicated in the end and will maintain his intimate relationship with God (I shall see your face). The exact import of his statement that he will awake and be satisfied with seeing God’s likeness or form is unclear, since there is no earlier mention to his being asleep. Perhaps it is a reference to literal sleep and this psalm is an evening prayer. Or perhaps his present troubles have put him in a daze from which he knows he will eventually wake up. Or is he talking about an intimate relationship with God that will survive even death, often described as a type of sleep in the Old Testament (Ps. 76:5; Dan. 12:2)? Whatever the meaning in its Old Testament context, the light of the more robust teaching on the afterlife given in the New Testament allows us to read it in that fuller sense.
Meaning
This lament calls on God for help in the midst of an attack, perhaps specifically a false accusation, by enemies. The psalmist knows that he does not deserve this ill-treatment and thus appeals to God to vindicate him on the basis of his righteousness. This psalm can thus provide a model prayer for any who suffer for no apparent cause, particularly those who are being harassed or persecuted by others.
The psalm ends with the confident hope that the psalmist will be vindicated and will come into the very presence of God. As discussed above, the psalmist hints at a continuing experience of God’s presence, even after death (when I awake, v. 15). He imagines that at that time his satisfaction will be in seeing God’s likeness. The apostle John looks forward to such a day: ‘When Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is’ (1 John 3:2)

D. THE A-MEN OF ROMANS 16:20, 24, 27
16:20 “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. A-men.”