Psalm Devotional
The Satisfaction of the Saint
In the 1960s, the band the Rolling Stones expressed in music the anthem of our age: “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Our culture is an unsatisfied culture. Psalm 17 counters our culture by revealing the path to true satisfaction.
Verses 1-5 place us in the divine courtroom. Courtrooms are places of drama, because in them lives are weighed on the scales of justice. Psalm 17 elevates the drama even further because the psalmist stands before the eternal judge.
It is interesting that the psalmist does not come into this courtroom in the posture of confession. He makes no mea culpa, but rather offers a series of bold proclamations of innocence. He states that he deserves to be heard because his plea is “righteous.” He claims to have no sin in thought (v. 3a), word (v. 3b), or deed (vv. 4-5).
Some have had trouble with the psalmist’s apparent self-righteousness, and this has led them to restrict his claim of righteousness solely to the circumstances leading to his present distress. I am inclined to think that this interpretation is too narrow. I do not think the psalmist is saying that he is perfect. He is saying that, to the best of his ability, his life is ordered according to God’s law. He is saying that he is blameless and upright in the same manner as Job (Job 1:8). This gives us insight as to why the psalmist is satisfied. He can look himself in the mirror, even the divine mirror, because he has ordered his life according to God’s Word. We too often live our lives like children who only clean up their room when they hear their parents’ footsteps. Like the psalmist, we should conform our lives to God’s commands so we too can enter His courtroom saying, “Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea.”
