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Pentecost Season · Proper 13 · Year A

Psalm 17:1-7, 15

A Prayer for Vindication

August 2, 2026

King David in Prayer, Pieter de Grebber
King David in Prayer, Pieter de Grebber, c. 1640Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
A Haarlem painter's David, caught alone at the harp with his crown set down beside him rather than on his head.The psalms of petition are prayed by a king who has put the crown aside, which is the posture the words themselves take.Pieter de GrebberA Haarlem painter (c. 1600-1652) of biblical subjects, from a Catholic family working in a Protestant city, which is part of why his religious pictures are quiet and domestic rather than triumphal.Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamThe Netherlands' national museum, built around the Dutch Golden Age and reopened in 2013 after a ten-year rebuilding.Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelMatt. 14:13-21Mt 14:13-21
EpistleRom. 9:1-5Rom 9:1-5
Old TestamentGen. 32:22-31Gn 32:22-31Alt. OTIsa. 55:1-5Is 55:1-5
PsalterPs. 17:1-7, 15Ps 17:1-7, 15Alt. PsalmPs. 145:8-9, 14-21Ps 145:8-9, 14-21

Overview & Insights

"As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness." (Psalm 17:15)

An individual prayer pleading innocence and asking God to hear a just cause, to guard the psalmist as the apple of his eye, and to grant the joy of beholding God's face.

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Take it further: Psalm 17:1-7, 15

Commentary

Enduring Word: Psalm 17Enduring Word: Ps 17 Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse-by-verse evangelical notes on the prayer of David.

Precept Austin: Psalm 17 CommentaryPrecept Austin: Ps 17 Commentary Precept Austin

Study page gathering many conservative commentators on Psalm 17.

BibleHub: Commentaries on Psalm 17:1BibleHub: Commentaries on Ps 17:1 BibleHub

Parallel classic commentaries on the plea for a just hearing.

Background & Word Study

Sefaria: Psalms 17 (Hebrew)Sefaria: Ps 17 (Hebrew) Sefaria

Hebrew text with English and Jewish commentary on the psalm.

BibleHub: Psalm 17 InterlinearBibleHub: Ps 17 Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew-English interlinear for word-level study of the psalm.

The Church Fathers

Catena: Psalm 17Catena: Ps 17 Catena

Patristic comments gathered verse by verse on Psalm 17.

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