Bible Commentaries
Psalms 17

Verses 1-15

Men of the World

To every young man there comes, sooner or later, the brief but startling message which God addressed to Abraham when he was in Ur of the Chaldees 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee'. You cannot always abide in the home of your childhood.

I. Think of the portion which belongs to men of the world. There is not a greater mistake than to imagine that you will be heart-rich as soon as you become purse-rich. Riches do make happy; but it is not the riches of the pocket, but the riches of the mind and heart. The riches of taste, of culture, of affection, and, above all, the riches of God's grace, which impart capacities of deep and intense enjoyment, otherwise unknown. Although every age has had its philosophers and its moralists, proclaiming that money will not bring happiness, it is as little believed today as ever it was.

II. The contrast, as suggested by David's words in the next verse 'As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness'.

( a ) If you study the Bible, you will find that when reference is made to the 'face of God,' there is generally allusion to Jesus Christ, His Son. We are said to behold Him 'in the face of Jesus Christ'. The Psalmist means that he will fix his eye on God, as reconciled to him through the righteousness of the Redeemer. He will enjoy the light of His favour. He will bask in the sunshine of His smile. This, believe me, is the first secret of a happy life. If you want to know the joy of a heart at rest, the first thing you have to do is to get right with God.

( b ) 'I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.' Satisfied when? 'When I awake.' This is commonly interpreted as having reference to the morning of resurrection, when, aroused from the long slumber of the tomb, the perfected saint shall arise in the image of his Saviour. And, truly, the moment of resurrection will be the first moment in our history, when, in the fullest, amplest sense of the word, we shall be able to say, 'I am satisfied!' 'I have all that I can desire.'

J. Thain Davidson, The City Youth, p. 168.

Reference. XVII. 14. Expositor (3rd Series), vol. v. p. 308.

The Two Awakings

Psalms 17:15 ; Psalms 73:20

The period to which both David and Asaph look in these two verses is the end of life. The words of both, taken in combination, open out a series of aspects of that period which carry weighty lessons, and to which we turn now.

I. The first of these is that to all men the end of life is an Awakening. The representation of death most widely diffused among all nations is that it is a sleep. The reason for that emblem is easily found. Men prefer not to name their God or their dread, but find roundabout phrases for the one, and coaxing, flattering titles for the other. But that emblem, true and sweet as it is, is but half the truth. We shall sleep, yes; but we shall wake too. To our true selves and to God we shall wake.

II. The second principle contained in our text is that death is to some men the awakening of God. For the long years of our stay here, God's seeking love lingers round every one of us, yearning over us, besetting us behind and before, courting us with kindness, lavishing on us its treasures, seeking to win our poor love. The judgment sleeps; the loving forbearance, the gracious aid wake. But remember that that predominating, merciful, and longsuffering character of God's present dealings affords no guarantee that there will not come a time when the slumbering judgment will stir to waking. The Bible which is our only source of knowledge on the subject tells us that men who have been compassed with the loving kindness of the Lord, and who die leaving worldly things and keeping worldly hearts, will have to confront 'the terror of the Lord'.

III. Death is the annihilation of the vain show of worldly life. Nothing that is without a man can make him rich or restful. That which we are makes us rich or poor, that which we own is a trifle. Let us see to it that not in utter nakedness do we go hence, but clothed with that immortal robe, and rich in those possessions that cannot be taken away from us, which they have who have lived on earth as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.

IV. Finally, death is for some men the annihilation of the vain shows in order to reveal the dread reality. We have here the blessed confidence that when all the baseless fabric of the dream of life has faded from our opening eyes we shall see the face of our ever-loving Lord God. And seeing God we shall be satisfied.

Alexander Maclaren.

Psalms 17:15

This text, in its Latin rendering, Satiabor cum apparuerit gloria tua , was the passage chosen by Henri Perreyve for his epitaph. 'He had put his whole soul,' says Père Gratry, 'into that cry of faith, hope, and love.'

The mother of Susannah Wesley, passed away exclaiming: 'I will die praising Thee I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness satisfied! satisfied!' Melanchthon says: 'The true Church is subjected in this life to the cross. But a word of comfort is spoken about the eternal life: Satiabor cum surget imago tua , that is to say, when Thou restorest Thy perfect likeness in the resurrection of the dead.'

'As for Me '

Mr. Pike of Yarmouth. On Sunday, 17 January, 1858, just after giving out his text, which was the last verse of the 17th Psalm, 'As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness'; with the words 'as for me' upon his lips, he was smitten with death, and was buried in the chapel-yard on the 22nd of the month.

References. XVII. 15. J. Vaughan, Sermons (7th Series), p. 127. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i. No. 25. Preacher's Monthly, vol. v. p. 180. T. Binney, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i. p. 120. G. Matheson, Moments on the Mount, p. 39. Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii. p. 277. Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiv. p. 233. XVII. International Critical Commentary, vol. i. p. 127. I. Williams, The Psalms Interpreted of Christ, p. 296. XVIII. 1. John Thomas, Myrtle Street Pulpit, vol. ii. p. 290. XVIII. 9. J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes (4th Series) p. 10. XVIII. 16. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxiv. No. 1432.