Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 17:1

"Hear the right, O Jehovah, attend unto my cry; Give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips." — Psalms 17:1 (ASV)

Hear the right - Margin, as in Hebrew, “justice.” The prayer is that God would regard what was “right” in the case, or that He would vindicate the psalmist from what was wrong. It is the expression of his confident assurance, even in the presence of God, that his cause was right and that he was asking only what would be consistent for a “just” God to do. We can offer an acceptable prayer only when we are sure that it would be right for God to answer it, or that it would be consistent with perfect and eternal justice to grant our requests.

It is to be observed here, however, that the ground of the psalmist’s petition is not that “he” was righteous; that is, he did not base his petition on his own merits, but that his “cause” was righteous and that he was unjustly oppressed and persecuted by his enemies. We cannot ask God to interpose on our behalf because we have a claim to His favor on the ground of our own merit; we may ask Him to interpose because wrong is done, and His glory will be promoted in securing what is just and right.

Attend to my cry - The word used here—רנה rinnâh—means either a shout of joy (Psalms 30:5; Psalms 42:4; Psalms 47:1) or a mournful cry, outcry, or wailing (Psalms 61:1; and often). It is expressive, in either case, of deep feeling that expresses itself in an audible manner. Here it denotes the earnest “utterance” of prayer.

Give ear to my prayer - See the notes at Psalms 5:1.

That goes not out of feigned lips - Margin, as in Hebrew, “without lips of deceit.” This means it is sincere, or that it proceeds from the heart. The utterance of the lips does not misrepresent the feelings of the heart. True prayer is that in which the lips “do” represent the real feelings of the soul. In hypocritical prayer, the one is no proper representation of the other.

It is evident that the prayer here was not mere mental prayer or a mere desire of the heart. It was uttered prayer, or oral prayer; and, though private, it was in the form of uttered words. The feeling was so great that it was expressed in an audible cry to God. Deep emotion usually is expressed in such audible and fervent expressions. Compare the Savior’s earnest prayer in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:41 and following).