Psalm 17 | Psalms Reflection | Apple of His Eye

Welcome to Psalms Reflections on Scattered Moments. Before we begin, remember that all of our Psalms Reflections are gathered in a growing archive at scatteredmoments.org. Just click on Psalms Reflections and choose a psalm whenever you need a few quiet moments with God. And today, we come quietly to Psalm 17. A prayer of David. A prayer spoken from a place of danger. David feels surrounded. He feels threatened. He knows there are people who would gladly see him fall. And yet listen to what he asks of God. Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. There are times when my first prayer is simply, get me out of here. Get me out of this difficulty. Get me out of this uncertainty. Get me out of this conflict. Change the circumstances. Remove the problem. Silence the enemy. Calm the storm. And there is nothing wrong with asking God for deliverance. David certainly does. But here, in the middle of Psalm 17, David seems to reach for something deeper. His prayer isn't simply get me out of here. It is, keep me close. Keep me as the apple of your eye. Think about the human eye for a moment. It is one of the most sensitive parts of the body. Something moves towards your eye, and you don't have to think about protecting it. You blink. You turn. You raise your hand. The body instinctively guards the eye. And David takes that tender image and turns it into prayer. Keep me as the apple of your eye. Watch over me, Lord. Guard me. Keep your eyes upon me. Don't let me wander beyond your gaze. Keep me close. And then David gives us another image. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. The eye becomes a wing. And perhaps David imagines a mother bird gathering her young beneath her feathers. Outside those wings, there still may be danger. The wind may still blow. The rain may still fall. The predator may still be searching. But underneath those wings there is shelter. There is warmth. There is safety. And yes, there is darkness. Sometimes when everything around us grows dark, we assume God has left us. But perhaps some darkness is simply the shadow of his wings. Perhaps you are walking through such a season today. You cannot see very far ahead. You don't know how the story will end. You have prayed for circumstances to change. And they haven't changed yet. And you have asked God to open a door. But it remains closed. You have asked him to remove something painful, but somehow it remains. And perhaps today your prayer doesn't need to be, God, get me out. Perhaps for this moment it can simply be, God, keep me close. Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me beneath the shadow of your wings. Because Psalm 17 doesn't pretend that the danger isn't real. David speaks of enemies surrounding him. He describes them as hungry lions waiting for their prey. His circumstances haven't suddenly become easy. But David knows something greater than the danger surrounding him. He knows the God who surrounds him. And there is another beautiful movement at the end of this psalm. David begins asking God to look at him. Keep me as the apple of your eye. But he ends by talking about the day when he will look upon God. He says, as for me, I will see your face in righteousness. When I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. What a beautiful promise. Today God sees me. Today, God shelters me. And one day I will see Him. The one whose eye has always been upon us will one day be before us. The one whose wings have sheltered us through every storm will one day welcome us home. And we will be satisfied. So today we don't need all the answers. Perhaps we don't need to know how every problem will be solved. Dear friend, perhaps we don't even need to see beyond the shadows. We simply need to know whose shadow we are beneath. So breathe deeply. Release the things you cannot control. Release the questions you cannot answer. Release tomorrow into the hands of God. And pray with me these simple words. Keep me close. Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. When I am afraid, keep me close. When I cannot see the way ahead, keep me close. When my prayers seem unanswered, keep me close. When the night seems longer than I expected, keep me close. When the darkness comes, remind me that not every darkness means your absence. Sometimes the darkness is simply the shadow of your wings until that morning when we awaken and finally see your face.

For today I hide in you, knowing every word is true. Be my shelter, be my son, keep me close, keep me close as the egg of your eyes. Keep me close in the street. I just need your grace today. Keep me close. Keep me close. When the enemy draws near, and my heart gives away to fear. When I cannot understand, I will rest within your hands. You have heard my every cry. You have never left my side, though the darkness hides away. I will trust you. Until the morning comes.