Psalms 17:3
Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
Psalm 17:3 belongs to a prayer that commits the speaker's case to the Lord in faith, trusting that He cares and will judge in truth and righteousness. In its setting the prayer asks God to hear sincere prayer from unfeigned and honest lips, to let the sentence and verdict come forth from His presence, and to behold with His eyes what is equal and fair. The verse declares that God proves the heart and visits in the night, trying and examining a person even then and finding nothing wrong or deceitful.
It expresses integrity before God in a settled and firm purpose to guard speech, that the mouth shall not transgress and shall not sin in word. Kept by the word of His lips from the paths of the destroyer and from destructive ways, the one praying asks God to hold up his goings in His paths so that his footsteps slip not. He asks God to hear his call, to show marvelous lovingkindness and save by His right hand and power those who put their trust in Him from those that rise up against them, and to keep him as the apple of the eye hidden under the shadow of His wings as most precious under protective shelter. Offered as humble prayer, this brings strength from above for the work.