the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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King James Version
Psalms 17:15
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Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.
As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with [seeing] your form.
Because I have lived right, I will see your face. When I wake up, I will see your likeness and be satisfied.
As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.
As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.
As for me, I shall see Your face in righteousness; I will be [fully] satisfied when I awake [to find myself] seeing Your likeness.
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
But Y in riytfulnesse schal appere to thi siyt; Y schal be fillid, whanne thi glorie schal appere.
As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence.
I am innocent, Lord , and I will see your face! When I awake, all I want is to see you as you are.
As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with beholding thy form.
As for me, I will see your face in righteousness: when I am awake it will be joy enough for me to see your form.
But my prayer, in righteousness, is to see your face; on waking, may I be satisfied with a vision of you.
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
I have done only what is right, so I will see your face. And seeing you, I will be fully satisfied.
As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousnesse: I shall bee satisfied, when I awake, with thy likenesse.
As for me, I will see Your face in what is right and good. I will be happy to see You when I awake.
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.
But I will beholde thy face in righteousnes, and when I awake, I shalbe satisfied with thine image.
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when thy worship is revived.
But I will see you, because I have done no wrong; and when I awake, your presence will fill me with joy.
I, in righteousness, shall behold thy face, Shall be satisfied when awakened by a vision of thee.
(16-15) But as for me, I will appear before thy sight in justice: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear.
As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form.
But as for me, I will beholde thy face in ryghteousnesse: I shalbe satisfied when I awake vp after thy lykenesse.
But I shall appear in righteousness before thy face: I shall be satisfied when thy glory appears.
But I will see your face in righteousness;when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence.
As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.
By contrast, I in righteousness shall see your face. Upon awakening I will be satisfied seeing your form.
As for me, in righteousness I will look upon Your face; when I awaken, I shall be satisfied by Your image.
I -- in righteousness, I see Thy face; I am satisfied, in awaking, [with] Thy form!
They haue children at their desyre, and leaue the reste of their substauce for their babes. But as for me, I will beholde thy presence in rightuousnes: and when thy glory appeareth, I shal be satisfied.
And me? I plan on looking you full in the face. When I get up, I'll see your full stature and live heaven on earth.
As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.
As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.
As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
As: Psalms 5:7, Joshua 24:15
I will: Psalms 4:6, Psalms 119:111, Job 19:26, Job 19:27, 2 Corinthians 3:18
I shall: Psalms 16:11, Psalms 36:8, Psalms 36:9, Psalms 65:4, Matthew 5:6, Revelation 7:16, Revelation 7:17, Revelation 21:3, Revelation 21:4, Revelation 21:23
I awake: Psalms 49:14, Job 14:12, Isaiah 26:19, Matthew 27:52, Matthew 27:53
with: Genesis 1:26, Genesis 1:27, Philippians 3:21, 1 John 3:2, 1 John 3:3
Reciprocal: Genesis 25:6 - gifts Psalms 23:6 - and I Psalms 41:12 - settest Psalms 63:5 - my soul Psalms 73:2 - But Psalms 73:25 - Whom Psalms 84:10 - to dwell Psalms 139:18 - when I awake Proverbs 13:12 - when Proverbs 16:27 - diggeth Ecclesiastes 6:12 - who knoweth Jeremiah 31:14 - my people Matthew 18:10 - behold Matthew 22:29 - not Luke 6:21 - for ye shall be Luke 10:42 - chosen John 11:24 - I know John 12:26 - where John 14:8 - show Acts 2:28 - make Romans 5:2 - and rejoice 2 Corinthians 5:8 - present Ephesians 3:19 - that ye Philippians 1:23 - far Philippians 3:20 - our Colossians 3:1 - seek Colossians 3:4 - ye 1 Thessalonians 4:17 - and so Hebrews 12:10 - partakers Revelation 22:3 - but
Cross-References
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord .
Gill's Notes on the Bible
As for me,.... I do not desire to be in their place and stead, with all their plenty and prosperity; I am content with my present condition and situation: for
I will, or "shall"
behold thy face in righteousness; that is, appear before God in public worship, where was the ark, the symbol of the face of God; enjoy his gracious presence, have the discoveries of his love, and see his face and favour; than which nothing was more desirable by him and delightful to him. Or God himself may be meant by "his face"; and especially God as he is to be beheld in the face of Christ, the Angel of his presence; and who is to be beheld by faith in the present state of things, though as through a glass, darkly; and in the future state perfectly, and as he is, both with the eyes of the understanding, and, after the resurrection, with the eyes of the body; see Job 19:26; and to this state the psalmist seems more especially to have respect, as Jarchi interprets it: and the beatific vision of God in Christ will be very glorious and exceeding delightful; it will be assimilating and appropriating; it will be free from all darkness and interruption, and will continue for ever. And this shall be seen "in righteousness"; the psalmist believing that he should then appear as an innocent person clear of all the false charges brought against him; and so this may be understood of the righteousness of his cause, in which he should stand before God, and enjoy communion with him:, or this may design that perfect holiness and purity of heart, without which no man shall see the Lord; and which, though now imperfect, shall in the other state be without spot or blemish: or rather, the righteousness of Christ, which fits believers for, and in which they are brought into and stand in, the King's presence;
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness; which will be in the resurrection morn: or, as Jarchi expresses it, when the dead shall awake from their sleep; for this is not to be understood of awaking from natural sleep in the morning; when it is a satisfaction to a believer to be with God, and to have God with him, Psalms 139:18; nor of awaking from a sleepy drowsy frame of spirit, which sometimes attends the saints; but of rising from the dead: for as death is oftentimes expressed by sleep in Scripture, so the resurrection by an awaking out of it, Isaiah 26:19; at which time the saints will arise with the image of the heavenly One upon them: they will be like to Christ both in soul and body; in soul, in perfect knowledge and complete holiness: in body, in incorruption and immortality, in power, glory, and spirituality; in this will lie their happiness and satisfaction. Or the meaning is, that he should be satisfied with the likeness of God, with Christ the image of God, when he should arise from the dead; seeing he should then appear with him in glory, see him as he is, and be like him, and be for ever in his presence; which will yield endless pleasure and unspeakable satisfaction. For the words may be interpreted, not of David's awaking, but of the glory of God awaking or appearing; which would afford an infinitely greater satisfaction than worldly men have in worldly things p, to which this is opposed, Psalms 17:10; so the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions read, I shall be satisfied when thy glory appears, or is seen; and so the Ethiopic and Arabic versions.
p Vid. Castel. Lexic. Heptaglott. col. 2014.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
As for me - In strong contrast with the aims, the desires, and the condition of worldly individuals. “They” seek their portion in this life, and are satisfied; “I” cherish no such desires, and have no such prosperity. I look to another world as my home, and shall be satisfied only in the everlasting favor and friendship of God.
I will behold thy face - I shall see thee. Compare Mat 5:8; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2. This refers naturally, as the closing part of the verse more fully shows, to the future world, and is such language as would be employed by those who believe in a future state, and by no others. This is the highest object before the mind of a truly religious man. The bliss of heaven consists mainly, in his apprehension, in the privilege of seeing God his Saviour; and the hope of being permitted to do this is of infinitely more value to him than would be all the wealth of this world.
In righteousness - Being myself righteous; being delivered from the power, the pollution, the dominion of sin. It is this which makes heavyen so desirable; without this, in the apprehension of a truly good man, no place would be heaven.
I shall be satisfied - While they are satisfied with this world, I shall be satisfied only when I awake in the likeness of my God. Nothing can meet the wants of my nature; nothing can satisfy the aspirings of my soul, until that occurs.
When I awake - This is language which would be employed only by one who believed in the resurrection of the dead, and who was accustomed to speak of death as a “sleep” - a calm repose in the hope of awaking to a new life. Compare the notes at Psalms 16:9-11. Some have understood this as meaning “when I awake tomorrow;” and they thence infer that this was an evening song (compare Psalms 4:8); others have supposed that it had a more general sense - meaning “whenever I awake;” that is, while men of the world rejoice in their worldly possessions, and while this is the first thought which they have on awaking in the morning, my joy when I awake is in God; in the evidence of his favor and friendship; in the consciousness that I resemble him. I am surprised to find that Prof. Alexander favors this view. Even DeWette admits that it refers to the resurrection of the dead, and that the psalm can be interpreted only on the supposition that it has this reference, and hence, he argues that it could not have been composed by David, but that it must have been written in the time of the exile, when that doctrine had obtained currency among the Hebrews. The interpretation above suggested seems to me to be altogether too low a view to be taken of the sense of the passage.
It does not meet the state of mind described in the psalm. It does not correspond with the deep anxieties which the psalmist expressed as springing from the troubles which surrounded him. He sought repose from those troubles; he looked for consolation when surrounded by bitter and unrelenting enemies. He was oppressed and crushed with these many sorrows. Now it would do little to meet that state of mind, and to impart to him the consolation which he needed, to reflect that he could lie down in the night and awake in the morning with the consciousness that he enjoyed the friendship of God, for he had that already; and besides this, so far as this source of consolation was concerned, he would awake to a renewal of the same troubles tomorrow which he had met on the previous day. He needed some higher, some more enduring and efficient consolation; something which would meet “all” the circumstances of the case; some source of peace, composure, and rest, which was beyond all this; something which would have an existence where there was no trouble or anxiety; and this could be found only in a future world. The obvious interpretation of the passage, therefore, so far as its sense can be determined from the connection, is to refer it to the awaking in the morning of the resurrection; and there is nothing in the language itself, or in the known sentiments of the psalmist, to forbid this interpretation. The word rendered “awake” - קוץ qûts - used only in Hiphil, “means to awake;” to awake from sleep, Psalms 3:5; Psalms 139:18; or from death, 2 Kings 4:31; Jeremiah 51:39; Isaiah 26:19; Job 14:12; Daniel 12:2.
With thy likeness - Or, in thy likeness; that is, resembling thee. The resemblance doubtless is in the moral character, for the highest hope of a good man is that he may be, and will be, like God. Compare the notes at 1 John 3:2. I regard this passage, therefore, as one of the incidental proofs scattered through the Old Testament which show that the sacred writers under that dispensation believed in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead; that their language was often based on the knowledge and the belief of that doctrine, even when they did not expressly affirm it; and that in times of trouble, and under the consciousness of sin, they sought their highest consolation, as the people of God do now, from the hope and the expectation that the righteous dead will rise again, and that in a world free from trouble, from sin, and from death, they would live forever in the presence of God, and find their supreme happiness in being made wholly like him.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Psalms 17:15. As for me — I cannot be satisfied with such a portion.
I will behold thy face — Nothing but an evidence of thy approbation can content my soul.
In righteousness — I cannot have thy approbation unless I am conformed to thy will. I must be righteous in order that my heart and life may please thee.
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. — Nothing but God can satisfy the wishes of an immortal spirit. He made it with infinite capacities and desires; and he alone, the infinite Good, can meet and gratify these desires, and fill this all-capacious mind. No soul was ever satisfied but by God; and he satisfies the soul only by restoring it to his image, which, by the fall, it has lost.
I think there is an allusion here to the creation of Adam. When God breathed into him the breath of lives, and he became a living soul, he would appear as one suddenly awaked from sleep. The first object that met his eyes was his glorious Creator, and being made in his image and in his likeness, he could converse with him face to face - was capable of the most intimate union with him, because he was filled with holiness and moral perfection. Thus was he satisfied, the God of infinite perfection and purity filling all the powers and faculties of his soul. David sees this in the light of the Divine Spirit, and knows that his happiness depends on being restored to this image and likeness; and he longs for the time when he shall completely arise out of the sleep and death of sin, and be created anew after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness. I do not think that he refers to the resurrection of the body, but to the resurrection of the soul in this life; to the regaining the image which Adam lost.
The paraphrase in my old Psalter understands the whole of this Psalm as referring to the persecution, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ; and so did several of the primitive fathers, particularly St. Jerome and St. Augustine. I shall give a specimen from Psalms 17:11: -
Projicientes me, nunc circumdederunt me: oculos suos statuerunt declinare in terram.
Trans. Forth castand me now, thai haf umgyfen me: thair egheu thai sette to heelde in the erde.
Par. - Forth kasten me out of the cite, als the stede had bene fyled of me: now thai haf umgyfen me in the cros hyngand, als folk that gedyrs til a somer gamen: for thai sett thair eghen, that es the entent of thaire hert to heeld in the erde; that es, in erdly thynges to covayte tham, and haf tham. And thai wende qwen thai slew Crist that he had suffird al the ill, and thai nane.
Perhaps some of my readers may think that this needs translating, so far does our present differ from our ancient tongue.
Text. - They have now cast me forth; they have surrounded me: their eyes they set down to the earth.
Par. - They have cast me out of the city, as if the state were to be defiled by me: now they have surrounded me hanging on the cross, as people gathered together at summer games. For they set their eyes, that is, the intent of their heart, down to the earth; that is, earthly things, to covet them and to have them: and they thought, when they slew Christ, that he had suffered all the ill, and they none.
BY the slot or track of the hart on the ground, referred to in Psalms 17:11, experienced huntsmen can discern whether there have been a hart there, whether he has been there lately, whether the slot they see be the track of a hart or a hind, and whether the animal be young or old. All these can be discerned by the slot. And if the reader have that scarce book at hand, Tuberville on Hunting, 4to, 1575 or 1611, he will find all this information in chap. xxii., p. 63, entitled, The Judgment and Knowledge by the Slot of a Hart; and on the same page; a wood-cut, representing a huntsman with his eyes set, bowing down to the earth, examining three slots which he had just found. The cut is a fine illustration of this clause. Saul and his men were hunting David, and curiously searching every place to find out any track, mark, or footstep, by which they might learn whether he had been in such a place, and whether he had been there lately. Nothing can more fully display the accuracy and intensity of this search than the metaphor contained in the above clause. He who has been his late Majesty's huntsmen looking for the slot in Windsor Forest will see the strength and propriety of the figure used by the psalmist.
Ver. Psalms 17:12. Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey. — This is the picture of Saul. While his huntsmen were beating every bush, prying into every cave and crevice, and examining every foot of ground to find out a track, Saul is ready, whenever the game is started, to spring upon, seize, and destroy it. The metaphors are well connected, well sustained, and strongly expressive of the whole process of this persecution.
In the ninth verse the huntsmen beat the forest to raise and drive in the game. In the tenth they set their nets, and speak confidently of the expected success. In the eleventh, they felicitate themselves on having found the slot, the certain indication of the prey being at hand. And in the twelfth, the king of the sport is represented as just ready to spring upon the prey; or, as having his bow bent, and his arrow on the string, ready to let fly the moment the prey appears. It is worthy of remark, that kings and queens were frequently present, and were the chiefs of the sport; and it was they who, when he had been killed, broke up the deer: 1. Slitting down the brisket with their knife or sword; and, 2. Cutting off the head. And, as Tuberville published the first edition of his book in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, he gives a large wood-cut, p. 133, representing this princess just alighted from her horse-the stag stretched upon the ground - the huntsman kneeling, holding the fore foot of the animal with his left hand, and with his right presenting a knife to the queen for the purpose of the breaking up. As the second edition was published in the reign of James the First, the image of the queen is taken out and a whole length of James introduced in the place.
The same appears in Tuberville's Book of Falconrie, connected with the above. In p. 81, edition 1575, where the flight of the hawk at the heron is represented, the queen is seated on her charger: but in the edition of 1611 King James is placed on the same charger, the queen being removed.
The lion is the monarch of the forest; and is used successfully here to represent Saul, king of Israel, endeavouring to hunt down David; hemming him in on every side; searching for his footsteps; and ready to spring upon him, shoot him with his bow, or pierce him with his javelin, as soon as he should be obliged to flee from his last cover. The whole is finely imagined, and beautifully described.
ANALYSIS OF THE SEVENTEENTH PSALM
David's appeal to God in justification of himself; and his petition for defence against his enemies.
There are THREE parts in this Psalm: -
I. A petition. 1. For audience, Psalms 17:1; Psalms 17:6. 2. For perseverance in good, Psalms 17:5. 3. For special favour, Psalms 17:7-8. 4. For immediate deliverance, Psalms 17:13-14.
II. A narration; in which we meet with, 1. His appeal to God, and his own justification, Psalms 17:2-4. 2. The reasons of it; his enemies and their character, Psalms 17:9-14.
III. A conclusion; which has two parts. 1. One belonging to this life; and, 2. One belonging to the life to come, Psalms 17:15.
I. 1. He begins with petition for audience. And he urges it for two reasons: 1. The justness of his cause: "Hear the right, O Lord." 2. The sincerity of his heart: "That goeth not out of feigned lips."
2. Again, there were other reasons why he desired to be heard: 1. He felt himself prone to slip, and fall from God: "Hold up my goings," c. 2. He was in great danger, and nothing but a miracle could save him: "Show thy marvellous lovingkindness." 3. His enemies were insolent and mighty, and God's sword only could prevail against them: "Arise, O Lord," Psalms 17:13-14.
II. A narration: His appeal to God. Since a verdict must pass upon him, he desired that God should pronounce it: "Let my sentence come forth from thy presence." I know that thou art a righteous Judge, and canst not be swayed by prejudice: "Let thine eyes behold the thing that is equal," and then I know it must go well with me: "Thou hast proved my heart. Thou hast tried me before on this business, and hast found nothing.
1. Nothing in my HEART: "Thou hast proved my heart."
2. Nothing in my TONGUE: "For I am purposed that my mouth shall not offend."
3. Nothing in my HAND: "For, concerning the works of men," which are mischievous by the words of thy lips, I have had so great a regard to thy commandments that "I have kept myself from the paths of the wicked;" of him who, to satisfy his own desires, breaks all laws.
4. He confesses that he was poor and weak, and liable to fall, unless sustained by the grace of God: "Hold up my goings in thy paths."
And this first petition he renews, and takes courage from the assurance that he shall be heard: "I will call upon thee, for thou wilt hear me." And he puts in a special petition, which has two parts:-
1. "Show thy marvellous lovingkindness;" let me have more than ordinary help. And this he urges from the consideration that God saves them who trust in him from those who rise up against them.
2. That he would save him with the greatest care and vigilance, as a man would preserve the apple of his eye, or as a hen would guard her young: "Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me," c.
And to prevail in this special petition, he brings his arguments from his present necessity. He was encompassed with enemies, whom he describes:-
1. They were capital enemies they hemmed him in on every side.
2. They were powerful, proud, and rich: "Men enclosed in their own fat, speaking proudly with their tongues," Psalms 17:10.
3. Their counsels were fixed, and bent to ruin him: "They set their eyes, bowing down to the earth," Psalms 17:11.
4. They were such enemies as prospered in their designs, Psalms 17:14. 1. Men of the world. 2. They had their portion in this life, and sought for none other. 3. They fed themselves without fear: "Their bellies were full." 4. They had a numerous offspring, and therefore more to be dreaded because of their family connections. 5. They left much substance behind them, so that their plans might be all continued and brought to effect.
III. The conclusion, containing the expectation of David, opposed to his enemies' felicity.
1. In this life: "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness."
2. In the life to come: "When I awake," rise from the dead, "after thy likeness, I shall be satisfied with it."
On each of these divisions the reader is referred to the notes.
