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STAYING RIGHT WITH GOD IN A WORLD GONE WRONG (Psalm 17)

Do you ever get troubled by the injustices you see?

We are living in a world where it seems at times like justice has disappeared. Where are the people who stand for right? Why are so many wicked people prospering? It seems as if corruption is on every hand.

Psalm 17 is about justice. But it is not about how to straighten out everyone else. Instead, it puts forth this message: “Here is how I should respond. Here is why I must stay right with God in a world that has gone wrong.”

For this study, we will walk straight through this Psalm without deviation.

Verse 1: “ Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.”

The word “feigned” means hypocrisy; to be fake. The psalmist decided that he was just going to be real with the Lord, crying out from his heart. When you are troubled by a world of injustice, the first right thing to do is always to talk to God. Do not hold anything back, and do not pretend about anything. Just pour out your heart to Him.

Verse 2: “Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.”

I love this. Rehearse the fact that our God is just. In the end, He will always do the right thing. We may be living in an unbalanced world, but God’s scales are always equal.

Verse 3: “Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.”

Keep sin out of your own life. Sometimes, when you are troubled by the sins of others, you fail to see what is in your own heart. As we saw in the previous psalm, God visits us in the dark hours. He is testing you, checking to see what is in your heart.

Notice the specific mention of the psalmist’s mouth. The easiest thing to do when injustice is around you is to complain and fuss, saying things you should not say. Ask God to help you guard your lips.

Verse 4: “Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”

Others may be going down the wrong path, but you do not have to. David was determined to stay on the right path. And after emphasizing his own words, here he noted that he would be listening to what God said. One sure way to stay right in a world gone wrong is to stay in the Word of God.

Sit down today and spend time reading the Bible. If you are unsure about where to start, pick a book and just start reading. Keep reading until God speaks to you.

Verse 5: “Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.”

He made a commitment to stay on the right path as best he could, but he noted that God would have to be the One to keep him there.

Verses 6-7: “I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.”

Notice that instead of thinking about how bad the world is, he always came back to how good God is. Get your eyes off all the bad things around you, and get them focused on Him.

Verses 8-13: “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about. They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly. They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword.”

What was he doing in these verses? He was simply committing himself back to the Lord.

When the whole world is spinning out of control, make sure your own life is in God’s control. Put yourself in the Lord’s hands. When the devil seems to be having his way all around you, make sure you are committed to Christ as you should be. Today would be a good day to dedicate yourself back to God. “Lord, I want to live under the shadow of Your wings. I want to stay in Your hands and be as close to You as possible.”

The Lord is going to meet the needs of your life. Stay close to Him.

Verse 14: “From men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.”

Here is a reminder of eternity: the psalmist was refreshing himself about the fact that these people who seemed to be getting away with what they were doing were only living for time, while God’s people live for eternity. Their reward would be in this world; ours will be in the next world.

People talk about living “your best life now.” Friend, a child of God’s best life, is never now; it is always to come because God always saves the best for last. Your best will be when you are in His presence forever. The worst you will ever deal with and the best a lost person will ever know is in this life. Never forget that. Keep your eyes on eternity.

Verse 15: “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.”

That phrase “as for me” is so important. You cannot answer for anyone else or straighten out everyone else. The writer of the verse realized that, and he rooted his satisfaction not in the present, but in eternity; not in people, but in God; not in his circumstances, but in what he knew the Lord would do someday.

You and I have something to look forward to. We will see the just God face to face someday. The Bible says in I John 3:2, “We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

On the day you see the Lord, you will be made like Him. What a glorious day that will be. There is going to be a world of perfect justice, where truth and right prevail and everything else is put down. Until that day, keep your heart right with God, with your faith in Him and your eyes on eternity.

In a world that has gone wrong, know that God will always do right in the end.