Psalms 17:10

"They are enclosed in their own fat:

With their mouth they speak proudly.

They have compassed us in our steps;

They have set their eyes to cast me down to the earth.

He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey,

And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places."

"Enclosed in their own fat" (Psalms 17:10). Dummelow said this means that, "They have shut up their hearts, a figure of arrogance."[15] "Their fat" may also refer to their plenty of this worlds' goods. The people in view here were concerned only with this world and their possession of as much as possible of it. They had been successful, and from that their proud and arrogant speech was produced.

"They have compassed us in our steps" (Psalms 17:11). Jamieson pointed out that this means, "They pursue us as hunters tracking a wild beast."[16]

"They set their eyes ... etc." (Psalms 17:11). This is a reference to the demeanor of a lion about to spring upon the prey. He fixes his eyes intently upon the object of his "kill." Who would have known something like this any better than David? He had protected his father's sheep from wild beasts; and upon one occasion he had actually seized a lion by the beard and killed him (1 Samuel 17:34-37). This, of course, is one of the many things in this psalm that support the opinion that David wrote it.

"He is like a lion ... etc." (Psalms 17:12). The significance of this lies in the use of the singular number. Whereas the psalmist has been speaking of "enemies," "pursuers" and "adversaries," here he compares his foe to "a lion." This would fit the fact of King Saul's being David's real enemy, his soldiers, retainers, and supporters also being David's adversaries.