John Calvin Commentary Psalms 17:13

"Arise, O Jehovah, Confront him, cast him down: Deliver my soul from the wicked by thy sword;" — Psalms 17:13 (ASV)

Arise, O Jehovah. The more furiously David was persecuted by his enemies, the more earnestly he implores God to provide him with immediate aid; for he uses the word face to signify the swift vehemence of his adversary, restraining which required the utmost haste. By these words, the Holy Spirit teaches us that when death seems imminent, God has perfectly prepared remedies through which he can deliver us in a moment.

The Psalmist not only attributes to God the role of delivering his people; he at the same time equips him with power to crush and shatter the wicked. He does not, however, wish them to be brought lower than was necessary for them to be humbled, so that they might stop their outrageous and harmful conduct towards him, as we can gather from the following phrase, where he again implores God to deliver his soul. David would have been content to see them continuing in their outward comfort and prosperity, had they not abused their power by practicing injustice and cruelty.

Therefore, let us understand that God acts for the good of his people when he overthrows the ungodly and breaks their strength. When he does this, it is to deliver from destruction the poor innocents who are harassed by these wretched men.

Some commentators interpret the passage this way: From the ungodly man, who is thy sword, and also, From the men who are thy hand; but this does not seem to me to be a correct translation. I admit that regardless of where afflictions come from, it is the hand of God that chastises us, and the ungodly are the scourges he employs for this purpose. Furthermore, this understanding is very suitable for leading us to exercise patience.

But as this way of speaking would be somewhat harsh here, and at the same time not very consistent with the prayer, I prefer the interpretation that presents 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, had possessed power and prosperity. He contrasts God’s sword with human help and human means of relief, and the meaning of his words is: If God himself does not come forward to take vengeance and draw his sword, there remains no hope of deliverance for me.