Psalm 17 Continued…
Psalms 17:6-9 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.
David knew that God heard him. “I call on you”; it has been, and still is, and shall be my constant policy, to come to you for assistance and deliverance. The Lord Jesus Christ identified himself with his own. When He prayed, God heard Him. We can be sure, my friend, that He hears and answers our prayers when we are in trouble.
The enemy had surrounded him (vv. 9, 11; and see 1 Samuel 23:19-29), and though David was a masterful military tactician, he knew that without the Lord’s help, he could not escape.
These words could have been uttered by the Lord Jesus during that long night of agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. We should pray like that—that doing God’s will might become an instinctive, intuitive thing in our lives, even in the face of testing, temptation, and trial. There are times in life when the enemies attack is so malicious, so persistent, so pressing that nothing but holy habit keeps us from destruction.
In verses 6 and 7, David recalls God’s loving-kindness to him; that in history and experience the Lord has shown himself to be a God who answers the prayer of the innocent, shows wonderful kindness in His dealings, and saves those who look to Him for safety and protection.
Yahweh is a God of marvels and wonders (Exodus 15:11) and great unfailing love (15:13), and His right hand works for his people (15:12). If God could deliver His people from Egypt, He could deliver David from the hand of Saul (In Pssalm 18 David will celebrate that victory.). David asked for a “marvelous” demonstration of God’s love in the defeat of his enemies.
Here, and in verse 9, the petition is restated in more moving terms. David uses two images—the eye and the wings—to remind God that he was precious to Him. The “apple” of the eye is the pupil, the most delicate part of the eye. He is thinking of how it is protected by the eyelash, lid, brow, bony socket, and the swiftly uplifted hand. The Hebrew literally reads, “The little man of the eye,” for when you look into someone’s eyes, you can see yourself. Just as we protect our eyes from injury, David wanted the Lord to protect him.
Years ago, God had used a similar expression when He said to Israel, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself” (Deuteronomy 32:11; Exodus 19:4). This is a picture of where we are placed—in the shadow of His wings.
During Israel’s long sojourn in the land of Egypt, the Israelites became very familiar with their false god’s. The phrase “the shadow of Your wings” may have been a figure of speech suggested by the wings of the symbol of the Egyptian sun-god, or by the wings of the Cherubim, or more simply by the protecting wings of a mother bird. The need for defense is urged by the characterization of the adversaries as “my mortal enemies (v.9).”
He is sincerely convinced of his own innocence; therefore, in loyalty and faith the psalmist cries out to God for shelter from his opponents, who are wicked men lying in wait for him; enemies who are seeking his life. David asked the Lord to make his hiding place a Holy of Holies, the place of God’s throne and God’s glory, protected by the angels of God (see 36:7-8; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; Ruth 2:12). Because of the heavenly intercession of Jesus Christ, God’s people today can enter into the Holy of Holies and fellowship with God (Hebrews 10:1-25).
PRAY
Father, be my hiding place. Cover me and protect me against my enemy, Satan.