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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 17:13

Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 17:13

Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, [which is] thy sword:

13. Arise, O Lord (Psa 3:7), confront him, meet him face to face as he prepares to spring (or, as R.V. marg., forestall him), make him bow down, crouching in abject submission (Psa 18:39). The same word is used of the lion in repose, Gen 49:9; Num 24:9.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

13, 14. from the wicked, which is thy sword: from men which are thy hand ] This rendering, which is in part that of Jerome, is retained in R.V. marg. For the thought that God uses even the wicked as His instruments see Isa 10:5, where the Assyrian is called the rod of Jehovah’s anger. But R.V. text is preferable: from the wicked by thy sword; from men, by thy hand. Cp. Psa 7:12.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Arise, O Lord – See the notes at Psa 3:7.

Disappoint him – Margin, prevent his face. The marginal reading expresses the sense of the Hebrew. The word used in the original means to anticipate, to go before, to prevent; and the prayer here is that God would come before his enemies; that is, that he would cast himself in their way before they should reach him. The enemy is represented as marching upon him with his face intently fixed, seeking his destruction; and he prays that God would interpose, or that He would come to his aid before his enemy should come up to him.

Cast him down – That is, as it is in the Hebrew, make him bend or bow, as one who is conquered bows before a conqueror.

Deliver my soul from the wicked – Save my life; save me from the designs of the wicked.

Which is thy sword – The Aramaic Paraphrase renders this, Deliver my soul from the wicked man, who deserves to be slain with thy sword. The Latin Vulgate: Deliver my soul from the wicked man; thy spear from the enemies of thy hand. So the Septuagint: Deliver my soul from the wicked; thy sword from the enemies of thy hand. The Syriac, Deliver my soul from the wicked, and from the sword. DeWette renders it, Deliver my soul from the wicked by thy sword. Prof. Alexander, Save my soul from the wicked (with) thy sword. So Luther, With thy sword. The Hebrew will undoubtedly admit of this latter construction, as in a similar passage in Psa 17:10; and this construction is found in the margin: By thy sword. The sentiment that the wicked ARE the sword of God, or the instruments, though unconsciously to themselves, of accomplishing his purposes, or that he makes them the executioners of his will, is undoubtedly favored by such passages as Isa 10:5-7 (see the notes at those verses), and should be properly recognized. But such a construction is not necessary in the place before us, and it does not well agree with the connection, for it is not easy to see why the psalmist should make the fact that the wicked were instruments in the hand of God in accomplishing his purposes a reason why He should interpose and deliver him from them. It seems to me, therefore, that the construction of DeWette and others, Save me from the wicked by thy sword, is the true one. The psalmist asked that God would interfere by his own hand, and save him from danger. The same construction, if it be the correct one, is required in the following verse.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him] When he arises to spring upon and tear me to pieces, arise thou, O Lord; disappoint him of his prey; seize him, and cast him down.

Deliver my soul] Save my life.

From the wicked, which is thy sword] Saul is still meant, and we may understand the words as either implying the sword, the civil power, with which God had intrusted him, and which he was now grievously abusing; or, it may mean, deliver me by THY sword – cut him off who wishes to cut me off. On this ground the next verse should be read from men, BY thy hand. So the margin. The hand of God not only meaning his power, but his providence.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Disappoint him, Heb. prevent his face, i.e. go forth against him, and meet and face him in battle, as enemies use to do. Or, prevent the execution of his mischievous designs against me; stop him in his attempt, and give him the first blow.

Which is thy sword; or, thy hand, as it follows, Psa 17:14, i.e. thy instrument to execute vengeance upon thine enemies, or to chastise and exercise thy people; for which reason the Assyrian is called Gods rod, Isa 10:5, as being ordained for correction, Hab 1:12. The sense is, Do not punish me by this rod; let me fall into thy hands, and not into the hands of wicked men, 2Sa 24:14. Or, by (which preposition is understood Psa 2:12, and oft elsewhere) thy sword, i.e. by thy power.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

13-15. disappointliterally,”come before,” or, “encounter him.” Supply “with”before “sword” (Ps17:13), and “hand” (Ps17:14). These denote God’s power.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Arise, O Lord,…. See Ps 3:7;

disappoint him, or “prevent his face” k; be beforehand with him, and so disappoint him, when he is about to seize his prey; who is comparable to the lion, or to the young lion; meaning the chief of his enemies, it may be Saul;

cast him down; everyone of them that set themselves to cast down others to the earth. Jarchi’s note is,

“cut off his feet,”

that he may bow down and fall;

deliver my soul from the wicked, [which is] thy sword; so Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, render the words; that is, from wicked men, whom God makes use of as instruments to afflict and chastise his people: so the Assyrian monarch is called the “rod” of his anger, with whom he scourged his people Israel, Isa 10:5. Compare with this

Ps 22:20. The words are rendered by some, “deliver my soul from the wicked by thy swords” l; meaning not the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God by which Christ was delivered from the wicked one, when tempted by him in the wilderness; but the avenging justice of God, the sword of the Lord, which, being whetted and taken hold on, and used by him, brings vengeance on his enemies, and salvation to his people; see

De 32:41. The Targum paraphrases the clause thus,

“deliver my soul from the wicked, who deserves to be slain by thy sword.”

k “praeveni faciem ejus”, Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Musculus, Gejerus; “anticipa faciem ejus”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator. l “gladio tuo ab improbis”, Junius Tremellius Gejerus so Ainsworth.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The phrase , antevertere faciem alicujus , means both to appear before any one with reverence, Psa 95:2 (post-biblical: to pay one’s respects to any one) and to meet any one as an enemy, rush on him. The foe springs like a lion upon David, may Jahve – so he prays – as his defence cross the path of the lion and intercept him, and cast him down so that he, being rendered harmless, shall lie there with bowed knees ( , of the lion, Gen 49:9; Num 24:9). He is to rescue his soul from the ungodly . This , and also the which follows, can be regarded as a permutative of the subject (Bttcher, Hupfeld, and Hitzig), an explanation which is commended by Psa 44:3 and other passages. But it is much more probable that more exact definitions of this kind are treated as accusatives, vid., on Psa 3:5. At any rate “sword” and “hand” are meant as the instruments by which the , rescuing, is effected. The force of extends into Psa 17:14, and mimatiym (with a Chateph under the letter that is freed from reduplication, like , Psa 33:14) corresponds to , as to . The word (plural of , men, Deu 2:34, whence , each and every one), which of itself gives no complete sense, is repeated and made complete after the interruption cause by the insertion of , – a remarkable manner of obstructing and then resuming the thought, which Hofmann ( Schriftbeweis ii. 2. 495) seeks to get over by a change in the division of the verse and in the interpunction. , either from Syriac to creep, glide, slip away (whence a weasel, a mole) or from Talmudic to cover, hide, signifies: this temporal life which glides by unnoticed (distinct from the Arabic chald, chuld, an abiding stay, endless duration); and consequently , limited existence, from to have an end, alternates with as a play upon the letters, comp. Psa 49:2 with Isa 38:11. The combination resembles Psa 10:18; Psa 16:4. What is meant, is: men who have no other home but the world, which passeth away with the lust thereof, men , or . The meaning of the further description (cf. Ecc 9:9) becomes clear from the converse in Psa 16:5. Jahve is the of the godly man; and the sphere within which the worldling claims his is , this temporal, visible, and material life. This is everything to him; whereas the godly man says: , Psa 63:4. The contrast is not so much between this life and the life to come, as between the world (life) and God. Here we see into the inmost nature of the Old Testament faith. To the Old Testament believer, all the blessedness and glory of the future life, which the New Testament unfolds, is shut up in Jahve. Jahve is his highest good, and possessing Him he is raised above heaven and earth, above life and death. To yield implicitly to Him, without any explicit knowledge of a blessed future life, to be satisfied with Him, to rest in Him, to hide in Him in the face of death, is the characteristic of the Old Testament faith. expresses both the state of mind and the lot of the men of the world. Material things which are their highest good, fall also in abundance to their share. The words “whose belly Thou fillest with Thy treasure” ( Chethb: the usual participial form, but as a participle an Aramaising form) do not sound as though the poet meant to say that God leads them to repentance by the riches of His goodness, but on the contrary that God, by satisfying their desires which are confined to the outward and sensuous only, absolutely deprives them of all claim to possessions that extend beyond the world and this present temporal life. Thus, then, in this passage is used exactly as is used in Job 20:26 (from to hold anything close to one, to hold back, to keep by one). Moreover, there is not the slightest alloy of murmur or envy in the words. The godly man who lacks these good things out of the treasury of God, has higher delights; he can exclaim, Psa 31:20: “how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up ( ) for those who fear Thee!” Among the good things with which God fills the belly and house of the ungodly (Job 22:17.) are also children in abundance; these are elsewhere a blessing upon piety (Psa 127:3., Psa 128:3.), but to those who do not acknowledge the Giver they are a snare to self-glorifying, Job 21:11 (cf. Wisdom Job 4:1). is not the subject, but an accusative, and has been so understood by all the old translators from the original text, just as in the phrase to be satisfied with, or weary of, life. On vid., on Psa 8:3. (from to stretch out in length, then to be overhanging, towering above, projecting, superfluous, redundant) signifies here, as in Job 22:20, riches and the abundance of things possessed.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

13. Arise, O Jehovah. The more furiously David was persecuted by his enemies, he beseeches God the more earnestly to afford him immediate aid; for he uses the word face to denote the swift impetuosity of his adversary, to repress which there was need of the greatest haste. By these words, the Holy Spirit teaches us, that when death shows itself to be just at hand, God is provided with remedies perfectly prepared, by which he can effect our deliverance in a moment. The Psalmist not only attributes to God the office of delivering his people; he at the same time arms him with power to crush and break in pieces the wicked. He does not, however, wish them to be cast down farther than was necessary to their being humbled, that they might cease from their outrageous and injurious conduct towards him, as we may gather from the following clause, where he again beseeches God to deliver his soul David would have been contented to see them continuing in the possession of their outward ease and prosperity, had they not abused their power by practising injustice and cruelty. Let us know then, that God consults the good of his people when he overthrows the ungodly, and breaks their strength; when he does this, it is for the purpose of delivering from destruction the poor innocents who are molested by these wretched men. (370) Some expositors read the passage thus, From the ungodly man, who is thy sword, (371) and also, From the men who are thy hand; but this does not seem to me to be a proper translation. I admit, that from whatever quarter afflictions come to us, it is the hand of God which chastises us, and that the ungodly are the scourges he employs for this purpose; and farther, that this consideration is very well fitted to lead us to exercise patience. But as this manner of speaking would here be somewhat harsh, and, at the same time, not very consistent with the prayer, I prefer adopting the exposition which represents David’s words as a prayer that God would deliver him by his sword, and smite with his hand those men who, for too long a time, had been in possession of power and prosperity. He contrasts God’s sword with human aids and human means of relief; and the import of his words is, If God himself does not come forth to take vengeance, and draw his sword, there remains for me no hope of deliverance.

(370) “ Qui sont molestez par ces malheureux.” — Fr.

(371) “It may be questioned whether David, in this or the next clause, intended to represent wicked men as the sword and the hand of God; that is, the instruments which he employed to correct his servants; or whether his meaning was to pray that God would interpose his own hand and sword to defend him and punish his enemies. The latter sense is adopted by some interpreters; but as the former is a perfectly Scriptural sentiment, and requires the supposition of no ellipsis, it appears to me to be most likely what is intended. Vide Isa 10:5.” — Walford. Many of the most eminent critics, however, adopt the translation which Calvin has given, as Hammond, Houbigant, Ainsworth, Bishops Lowth, Horsley, Home, and Hare, Dr Boothroyd, Dr Adam Clarke, Dathe, and Venema. The reading in Tyndale’s Bible is, “Deliver my soul with thy sword from the ungodly.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(13) Disappoint.Rather, go to meet, as a champion defending some one.

Which is thy sword.This thought, making the wicked Gods weapons of wrath (Isa. 10:5), is arbitrarily introduced by the Authorised Version, and is quite out of keeping with the context. Translate with thy sword, either understanding a preposition, or treating the accusative as an adverb of manner; as an adverb of time and place it is common. Similarly in the next verse, with thy hand from men of the world.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him Literally, Rise, O Jehovah, meet his face. The lion couched, with his eye on the prey, is before us in Psa 17:11-12. God only can step between and face the monster. It may also be equal to “smite his face.” Psa 3:7.

Thy sword Not which is “thy sword,” but by thy sword.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Arise, O YHWH. Confront him, make him bow down,

Deliver my soul from the unrighteous by your sword,

From men by your hand, O YHWH,

From men of the world, whose portion is in this life,

And whose belly you fill with your treasure.

They are satisfied with children,

And leave the rest of their substance to their babes.’

‘Arise, O YHWH. Confront him, make him bow down.’ He calls on YHWH to awaken to the situation, and to face up to ‘the lion’, confront him and bring him down to the ground. Let him be rendered powerless. Let YHWH’s sword deliver him from the unrighteous, those who contrary to God’s will seek to bring him down. Let His hand save him from the men who come against him.

‘From men of the world, whose portion is in this life, and whose belly you fill with your treasure. They are satisfied with children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.’ He sums up the unrighteous. They are men taken up with the world (compare Joh 15:19; Php 3:19), men whose sole portion is in this life, (they have no portion in God – contrast Psa 16:5), their only aim being to bear sons to perpetuate their name and to pass down what they have built up to their children. Thus they ignore God and His ways, their lives are meaningless and inward-looking, and their lives can be summed up in their children and so on ad infinitum. They live a purposeless existence.

And all this in spite of the fact that it is YHWH who supplies them with good things, fills their bellies with treasure, making His rain fall equally on the unrighteous (Mat 5:45) in order to provide them with the treasures of the harvest.

Or ‘bellies filled with His treasure’ might refer to the children in the wombs of their wives, their wives’ bellies being seen as their own.

The whole picture of the unrighteous is of meaninglessness of existence rather than of positive evil. They fail to do the good required by God’s Law. They fail to love their neighbours as themselves. They fail to truly worship God. They fail in all that is most important.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Psa 17:13. Deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword Let thy sword deliver me from the wicked: thy hand, O Lord, from men: Psa 17:14. From those men who are of this world; &c. Houbigant.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

This is a beautiful verse, and the doctrine of it is as important as the verse is beautiful. Jesus eyes the hand of the Father in his afflictions. Satan will advance; the enemies of salvation will arise: but the Lord Jehovah is in the permission and appointment: and at the cross also, though Jesus was taken and by wicked hands, crucified and slain; yet, that we may not overlook the first and grand predisposing cause, the Holy Ghost puts it into the mouth of Peter to say, that all this was by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Act 2:23 . Reader, it is most profitable, it is blessed, to be always looking beyond second causes in all our trials and distresses, and to discern the Lord’s hand, in infinite love and wisdom, appointing all. For this brings the soul into a state of resignation and tranquility at least, if not of holy Joy. I was dumb: I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. Psa 39:9 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Psa 17:13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, [which is] thy sword:

Ver. 13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him ] Anticipa faciem eius, that is, that raging and ravening lion; step between me and him, and stop his fury, defeat his purpose, and disable his power.

Which is thy sword ] As Assyria is called tho rod of his wrath. Attila styled himself, Orbis flagellum, the wrath of God and the scourge of the world. So Tamerlane was commonly called, the wrath of God and terror of the world. Some render it, by thy sword, i.e. or thy might and power; see Job 40:19 ?; or, by thy word execute thy judgment.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 17:13-15

13Arise, O Lord, confront him, bring him low;

Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword,

14From men with Your hand, O Lord,

From men of the world, whose portion is in this life,

And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;

They are satisfied with children,

And leave their abundance to their babes.

15As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;

I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.

Psa 17:13-15 The psalmist calls on God to act on his behalf (Psa 17:13).

1. arise BDB 877, KB 1086, Qal imperative

2. confront BDB 869, KB 1068, Piel imperative

3. bring low BDB 502, KB 499, Hiphil imperative

4. deliver BDB 812, KB 930, Piel imperative

Notice the froms, which characterize the opponents (Psa 17:13-14).

1. from the wicked

2. from men (NET Bible [p. 867, #32] emends it to from those who kill, i.e., murderers in both lines a and b)

a. whose portion in life is of the world

b. whose belly is full

c. who have many children

d. who leave their wealth to their children

However, the psalmist is characterized as

1. one who beholds God’s face in righteousness (idiom of intimacy, cf. Psa 11:7)

2. one who is satisfied with God’s presence (cf. Psa 16:11)

Both of the verbs of Psa 17:15 are cohortatives.

1. see/behold BDB 302, KB 301, Qal imperfect used in a cohortative sense

2. satisfied BDB 959, KB 1302, Qal cohortative

Psa 17:15 As the wicked (and their posterity) are satisfied (BDB 959, KB 1302, Qal imperfect) with earthly things, ill-gotten gains; the psalmist (emphatic I) is satisfied (BDB 959, KB 1302) with YHWH’s presence!

when I awake This verb (BDB 884, KB 1098, Hiphil infinitive construct) is used in several senses.

1. awake from a special vision of God

2. awake from a night’s sleep

3. awake from drunkenness

4. awake from death

I think #4 best fits the context (i.e., YHWH’s presence, cf. 2Ki 4:31; Job 14:12; Psa 139:18; Isa 26:19; Jer 51:39; Jer 51:57; Dan 12:2). If so, then the ending of Psalms 16 and Psalms 17 are similar!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. How did YHWH deal with the psalmist’s claim of innocence?

2. How does the psalmist claim that he is innocent?

3. Explain the imagery of at Your right Hand.

4. Explain the imagery of the apple of the eye.

5. Explain the imagery of in the shadow of Your wings.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Disappoint = anticipate.

my soul = me myself. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.

the wicked = a lawless one. Hebrew. rasha’. App-44.

sword. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Psa 17:13-15

Psa 17:13-15

“Arise, O Jehovah, confront him, cast him down:

Deliver my soul from the wicked by thy sword

From men by thy hand, O Jehovah,

From men of the world, whose portion is in this life,

And whose belly thou fillest with thy treasure:

They are satisfied with children,

And leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness;

I shall be satisfied when I awake, with beholding thy form.”

With a fervent prayer like this from the very heart of David, hunted and tracked like a beast of prey in the wilderness by King Saul, there was no way that Saul would be able to prevail against him. God would indeed answer David’s prayer to confront Saul, cast him down, and deliver David out of his murderous hands.

Ash has pointed out the difficulties of determining the exact meaning here. (1) One way of understanding it is that the wicked indeed have many precious blessings but not the ultimate blessing of Psa 17:15. (2) Another interpretation refers God’s “filling the belly of the wicked” with his treasures to God’s punishing judgment upon the wicked. The context would seem to favor the latter view. Kidner paraphrased the more likely meaning thus: “They are men … of the world, give them their fill of it.”

“I shall behold thy face, etc.” (Psa 17:15). Psa 17:15, as Kyle Yates noted, “May refer to the next morning after this experience or to a vision of God beyond the sleep of death.” To us, the only possible understanding of the place is that of seeing God after the sleep of death. This is certainly not too much to expect of one who had just prophesied the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Son of God to the right hand of the throne of God in heaven.

Furthermore, the application of the verse to waking up after a night’s sleep would have, by no stretch of imagination resulted in the psalmist’s seeing the “face of God,” or “beholding the form of God.” To accept such an interpretation, it appears to us, would be to abuse the very principle of conveying thought by the use of words.

E.M. Zerr:

Psa 17:13. David wished his enemy to be disappointed in his plans. The defeat was to consist in the very thing he had planned against David by being himself cast down. Which is thy sword was said in the sense of a comparison. If God would reverse the plan of the enemy by giving him the very thing he had intended against David, that would be the most effective sword God could use against the evil plot.

Psa 17:14. Which are is like the same words in the preceding verse and means “by.” The thought is that David was praying God to rescure him from worldly men and to do it by his (God’s) hand. Portion in this life means such men will find their only joy in this life, none can be expected for the next. Jesus taught the same idea in Mat 6:2; Mat 6:5; Mat 6:16. Belly thou, fittest refers to the temporal prosperity that God had provided for their people. They having many children to help enjoy their temporal blessings, that gave the occasion to have an abundance so that the youngest of the family would find a remainder of the wealth left after their father was gone.

Psa 17:15. Behold thy face in righteousness means David would not expect to behold the face of God unless he lived a righteous life in this world. Such a life would finally end in death, but it would not be “an eternal sleep.” He believed there would be a resurrection at which he and all other righteous persons would awake in the likeness of the Lord. This is taught also in the New Testament. (1Jn 3:2.)

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Arise: Psa 3:7, Psa 7:6, Psa 44:23, Psa 44:26, Psa 119:126, Isa 51:9

disappoint him: Heb. prevent his face

which is: or, by, Psa 7:11-13

thy: Isa 10:5, Isa 10:15, Isa 13:5, Isa 37:26, Hab 1:12, Act 4:28

Reciprocal: Lev 11:29 – creeping things that creep 2Sa 20:1 – a man Psa 5:10 – let Psa 6:4 – deliver Psa 18:27 – bring Psa 22:20 – soul Psa 31:15 – deliver Psa 37:40 – from Psa 57:4 – among Psa 71:4 – out of the Psa 95:2 – come before his presence Psa 109:27 – General Isa 30:31 – which smote Isa 34:5 – my sword Jer 47:6 – thou sword Eze 21:3 – will draw Eze 30:24 – and put Zep 2:12 – my Rev 6:4 – and there

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Psa 17:13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him Hebrew, , kadmah panaiv, prevent his face; that is, Go forth against him, and meet and face him in battle, as enemies are wont to do. Or, prevent the execution of his mischievous designs against me: stop him in his attempt, and give him the first blow. The wicked, which is thy sword Or thy hand, as it follows, Psa 17:14, that is, thy instrument to execute vengeance upon thine enemies, or to chastise and exercise thy people; for which latter reason the Assyrian is termed Gods rod, Isa 10:5, as being raised up and appointed for the correction of Gods people, Hab 1:12. The sense therefore is, Do not punish me by this rod: let me fall into thy hands, and not into the hands of wicked men, 2Sa 24:14. The words, however, may be rendered, Let thy sword deliver me from the wicked: thy hand, O Lord, from men: Psa 17:14, from those men, who are of this world: the sword and hand of Jehovah being frequently used to denote his power and vengeance.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

17:13 Arise, O LORD, {k} disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, [which is] thy sword:

(k) Stop his rage.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

3. The prospect for the future 17:13-15

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

David’s mention of the Lord’s sword may mean he expected God to use a human army to deliver him, or this may be just a metaphorical way of speaking about deliverance. His description of the wicked draws attention to the fact that they live only for the present. They are content with the many blessings God gives all people in this life through His "common grace." They occupy themselves entirely with their families and estates to the exclusion of spiritual matters.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)