John Calvin Commentary Psalms 17:9

"From the wicked that oppress me, My deadly enemies, that compass me about." — Psalms 17:9 (ASV)

From the face of the ungodly. The Psalmist, by again accusing his enemies, intends to present his own innocence as an argument for obtaining God's favor. At the same time, he complains of their cruelty, so that God might be more inclined to help him.

First, he says that they burn with an enraged desire to devastate and destroy him; secondly, he adds that they besiege him in his soul, by which he means that they would never rest satisfied until they had accomplished his death. Therefore, the greater the terror with which we are stricken by the cruelty of our enemies, the more we ought to be stirred to ardor in prayer.

God, indeed, does not need to receive information or prompting from us. But the purpose and goal of prayer is that the faithful, by freely declaring to God the calamities and sorrows that oppress them, and by unburdening them, so to speak, into His bosom, may be assured beyond all doubt that He is mindful of their needs.