Psalm 17:5,Psalm 17:8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 17:1-7

This psalm is a prayer. As there is a time to weep and a time to rejoice, so there is a time for praise and a time for prayer. David was now persecuted, probably by Saul, who hunted him like a partridge on the mountains; without were fightings, within were fears, and both urged him as a suppliant to the throne of mercy. He addresses himself to God in these verses both by way of appeal (Hear the right, O Lord! let my righteous cause have a hearing before thy tribunal, and give judgment upon it)... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 17:5

Hold up my goings in thy paths ,.... Which being spoken by David in his own person, and for himself, shows that he was conscious of his own weakness to keep himself in the ways of God, and to direct his steps therein; and that he was sensible of, the need he stood in of divine power to uphold and support him in them; that my footsteps slip not ; out of the paths of truth and duty, of faith and holiness; of which there is danger, should a man be left to himself, and destitute of divine... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 17:5

Hold up my goings in thy paths - David walked in God's ways; but, without Divine assistance, he could not walk steadily, even in them. The words of God's lips had shown him the steps he was to take, and he implores the strength of God's grace to enable him to walk in those steps. He had been kept from the paths of the destroyer; but this was not sufficient; he must walk in God's paths - must spend his life in obedience to the Divine will. Negative holiness ean save no man. "Every tree that... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 17:5

Verse 5 5.Uphold my steps. If we take God’s paths for the precepts of his law, the sense will be evident, namely, that although David had spoken according to truth, in boasting of having, in the midst of the most grievous temptations which assailed him, constantly practiced righteousness with a pure heart, yet, conscious of his own weakness, he commits himself to God to be governed by him, and prays for grace to enable him to persevere. His language is as if he had said, Since hitherto, under... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:1-5

The prayer of the righteous. "In this psalm a servant of God, conscious of his own uprightness, and surrounded by enemies, prays to be kept from the evil world and from the evil men who persecute him, and then from the dark present looks forward with joy to the bright future." The first five verses are as the porch to the temple—the introduction to the main prayer of the psalm. The psalmist pleads with God— I. FOR THE RIGHTEOUS CAUSE . ( Psalms 17:1 , Psalms 17:2 .) God is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:1-15

The metrical arrangement is somewhat doubtful. Perhaps the best division is that of Dr. Kay, who makes the poem one of four stanzas—the first of five verses ( Psalms 17:1-5 ); the second of four ( Psalms 17:6-9 ); the third of three ( Psalms 17:10-12 ); and the fourth also of three ( Psalms 17:13-15 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:1-15

The saint's appeal from the wrongs of earth to the Righteous One on the throne. The title of our homily on this psalm is in some respects similar to that on the seventh psalm. There, however, the psalm is an appeal to the great Vindicator of one unjustly accused; here, it is the appeal of one beset with persecutors to the great Judge of all. Whenever or by whomsoever the words of this psalm were penned, it may not be easy to say. The probability is that it is one of David's. £ If so,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:1-15

The righteousness of God's dealing. It is a common saying that "the pillow is a good counsellor;" and there is much truth in this. In the quietness and retirement of night we are able to collect our thoughts and to commune with our own hearts, as to the past, the present, and the future. And if we do this in the spirit of the psalmist, realizing God's presence and relying upon him for counsel and guidance, it will be well. Whether this psalm was written at night or not, we cannot tell; but... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:5

Hold thou up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not . So De Wette and Rosenmuller; but most recent critics prefer to consider the words as an assertion rather than a prayer, and translate, "My steps have held fast to thy paths: [therefore] my feet have not been moved" (Kay, Hengstenberg, Alexander, Cheyne, 'Speaker's Commentary,' Revised Version). read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 17:5

Hold up my goings in thy paths - He had been enabled before this to keep himself from the ways of the violent by the word of God Psalms 17:4; he felt his dependence on God still to enable him, in the circumstances in which he was placed, and under the provocations to which he was exposed, to live a life of peace, and to keep himself from doing wrong. He, therefore, calls on God, and asks him to sustain him, and to keep him still in the right path. The verb used here is in the infinitive form,... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 17:1-7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 17:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 17:5

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 17:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:1-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:1-15

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:1-15

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:1-15

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 17:5

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 17:5

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