The seventeenth Psalm has been the departing song of many Christian martyrs upon their unjust death. In 1685, this Psalm was the final song of Covenanter Daniel McMichael and later Alexander McRobin, who was said to have died, “in much composure and cheerfulness.” A couple of years later, another Covenanter, John Gibson was permitted to pray before he was shot – he sang part of Psalm 17. He reported to his family how it was the joyfullest day of his life; “the rest were shot without being allowed to pray separately,” he wrote. You cannot kill men with faith like this; they know they have eternal life. This Psalm has undoubtedly been the source of great encouragement to many a persecuted Christian through the ages, who, notwithstanding their chains, may enter the Lord’s presence at any time with a simple cry out.
