Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You from those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings, from the wicked who oppress me, from my deadly enemies who surround me. (Psalm 17:7-9)
As God leads us through life on the path that He has ordained, it is inevitable that the Adversary will attempt to disrupt God’s purpose for us, seeing that we are called to advance the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why he incites those who are inclined to follow the whims of the flesh to rise up and harass God’s people in any way they can. The point is, that is often why the straight and troublesome path is, in fact, troublesome — not to mention all the while we are being provoked to die to our own carnal inclinations. As David prayed, we all need the LORD to show His lovingkindness to us and guide us by His right Hand.
In conjunction with His guiding Hand, David requested that God would keep or “guard” him as the “apple of Your eye” and shelter him under the “shadow of your wings.” I’ve often thought that to be the apple of God’s eye is to be cherished in His sight — I still believe that. While Jewish commentators generally agree with that, still they offer a bit more detail as to what David might have meant. The Hebrew word translated as “apple” refers to the pupil — the part of the eye through which light passes, thus allowing us to see. Being sensitive to light and, consequently, critical to our sight, God protects it with an eyelid and lashes that always cover it. David was asking God to protect him in the same manner — to be his covering and shelter him under His wings.
We have never been promised we will be exempted from trouble or those who make trouble for us. We have been promised that God will be there with us in every situation that life may bring our way. We may hear their threats and feel the heat from the fire they ignite against us, but the LORD has promised to be a shield to us and to deliver us from their ultimate goal — our destruction. Envisioning His protection for us has always reminded me of the words David wrote in another psalm: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalm 23:5). Even as the LORD protects us from the enemies who surround us, He also provides everything we need as our enemies look on. In other words, though surrounded by darkness, His light shines upon us and through us that we may see His guiding Hand — and that our enemies may know that we are the apple of His eye.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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