Psalm 17 Devotional

Guarded as Something Precious

“Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings”Psalm 17:8 (BSB)

David prays this psalm as a hunted man. David's enemies have tracked him down and surround him, watching like a lion eager for prey (17:11-12). He appeals to God as the judge who has tested his heart in the night (17:3), and he asks God to show the wonders of his loving devotion by saving those who take refuge in him (17:7).

Two pictures carry the prayer. David asks to be guarded as closely as the apple of an eye, and hidden in the shadow of God's wings (17:8). His enemies are people whose whole reward is in this life (17:14). David's hope is larger: when he awakes, he will see God's face and be satisfied (17:15). God guards his people closely now, and he has something better than this world's rewards waiting for them. Jesus used the same image of sheltering wings when he grieved over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37). Being precious to God is not a feeling you have to manufacture. It is how he regards those who run to him.

To think about: What would change in your prayers this week if you began from the fact that God guards you as something precious?