The Apple of His Eye

What kind of care does God give to his people?

Psalm 17:8 ESV

Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings,

Such beautiful language used to denote the special care God has for His people! Three times in the Old Testament God refers to his people as the “apple of his eye.” It's a Hebrew idiomatic expression, which refers to the pupil. It’s used in Deuteronomy, here in this psalm, and later in Zechariah. All three times God is referring to his people as the apple of his eye.

Think about all the things that God put in place on our body that protects our pupils. You have your eyelashes, your eyelids, your reactions…it's almost the most cared for portion of our bodies without us even thinking about it. God says about his people that they are the apple of his eye. His care for us is exquisite.

The parallel line of verse 8 speaks of our hiding in the shadow of his wings.

(8) Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings,

We are his. He will not allow us harm. He cares for us in a perfect way. He will protect us from our enemies, enemies who are described this way in verse 9:

(9) from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who surround me.

Which is a perfect segue into verses 10-12 which are arguments David gives in support of the second plea (The enemy is wicked!)

(10) They close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they speak arrogantly.

(11) They have now surrounded our steps;

they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.

(12) He is like a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion lurking in ambush.

David paints a vivid word picture where he's in danger and his enemies are closing in. Perhaps he felt that way in a literal sense. It certainly fits if we are correct in assigning this psalm to that period of David’s life when he fled from Saul. Read it again. The imagery is brilliant. We’re almost watching a scary movie.

You can see in these lines where the apostle Peter gets his simile describing the devil, the adversary, as a roaring lion prowling about, seeking whom he may devour. Which reminds us that while David, in the Psalms, has actual physical enemies whom he is addressing, you and I, as Christians in the New Testament, are waging spiritual warfare. Ours are spiritual enemies, described in the New Testament as Satan, our own flesh (or sinful nature), and that aspect of this world which is opposed to Christ and his kingdom. Jesus came to destroy our enemies, defeat them, and in a sense he already has. Listen to what Paul writes to the church of Colossae describing what Christ did at the cross:

Colossians 2:15 ESV - He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Jesus himself spoke of his coming crucifixion this way:

John 12:31-32 ESV - Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

And that is precisely what this passage looks forward to—the triumph of Christ over all our enemies.

What this gives us is the confidence, the boldness, to wage warfare against our spiritual enemies because Christ has already defeated them, they are on the run, they are bound in a sense, and through us God is triumphing over them even now, and will finish them off at his appearing and his kingdom. So don’t be afraid. Pray.