When We Awake

In Psalm 17 David distinguishes the righteous, of whom he counts himself, from the wicked. He calls himself “just,” declares that God has tried and tested him during the night, and that God found nothing in him to condemn. Can we say the same thing about ourselves?

I have heard men teach that when David wrote Psalm 17 he was immature and thus considered himself just and righteous even though he really wasn’t. His later actions with Bathsheba and his psalms of repentance prove their thesis they say. But, I say that when David was a mere boy, before he had even written any of the pslams we know today, God declared that he had found David to be a man after his own heart. This is why he commanded Samuel to anoint David as future king while Saul still ruled Israel. God knew David’s heart and knew that the intents of his heart differed from King Saul’s. Psalm 17 tells us something about those differences.  Here David declares how he follows after God.

First, he says, “I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.” (Ps. 17:3) Have you and I purposed the same thing in our hearts? When we are alone and something makes us mad, do we curse? If we do, do we immediately repent? If we are “out with the guys” do we join in their crude talk and coarse jesting? James says,

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,[a] and set on fire by hell.[b] For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,[c] these things ought not to be so.11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. (James 3:1-12, ESV)

Second, David says, “With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.” (Ps. 17:4) Just consider men’s works today, his movies, his music, his video games, his violence, and his wars. Do we avoid these things or do we take part in them? Do we sit down with our husbands, our wives, and our children to watch and participate in these things? John says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)

Third, David proclaims, “My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.” (Ps. 17:5) Do we walk in God’s paths, or do we walk in our own ways? Jesus said, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Have we found and understood the narrowness of this path, or do we simply go the way of all flesh and indulge in all the sinful behaviors that even the unbelievers do?

David here, in three simple principles, explains the life of God’s overcomer, of he who would become a “son of God.” Such a one can only be satisfied, can only be fulfilled, when he puts on his glorified body, a body which can and will actually behold the face of God! And this is why David ends this psalm by saying, “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”

 A Prayer of David.

17 Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!
    Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
From your presence let my vindication come!
    Let your eyes behold the right!

You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
    you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
    I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
    I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths;
    my feet have not slipped.

I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
    incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Wondrously show[a] your steadfast love,
    O Savior of those who seek refuge
    from their adversaries at your right hand.

Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked who do me violence,
    my deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They close their hearts to pity;
    with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11 They have now surrounded our steps;
    they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion eager to tear,
    as a young lion lurking in ambush.

13 Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!
    Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14 from men by your hand, O Lord,
    from men of the world whose portion is in this life.[b]
You fill their womb with treasure;[c]
    they are satisfied with children,
    and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
    when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. (Psalm 17 ESV)

Click here to link to my book entitled When We Awake, which is my theological perspective on the “salvation of the soul.” The salvation of the soul is not the salvation of the spirit which most Christians only know about and teach.

This entry was posted in a perfect stone, Elohim, Gospel, image of God, New Jerusalem, Overcomers, Prophecy, Psalms, Righteousness, Salvation of the Soul, Sons of God, The Teaching About Righteousness and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to When We Awake