Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 17:8
Here David presents God with two requests for protection, drawing on two analogies which rely on God’s focused, compassionate protection. Let us explore each in turn today.
For the first analogy, David asks God: “keep me as the apple of your eye.” This is a common idiom in the English language to convey affection, pursuit, love and devotion. However, the Hebrew phrase is more strange to modern ears. It can be translated as “keep me as the pupil of the eye.” The CSB is one of the few modern translations that picks up on the Hebrew use of “pupil,” but most modern translations do not address how the word for “daughter” is attached to the word for “eye” in a noun construct, forming the phrase, “the daughter of the eye.” Most English translations are simply trying to convey the figurative idiom which resonates with most English speakers: “keep me as the apple of your eye.”
But what is this talk of “pupil” and “daughter of the eye”? What could this possibly refer to? Similar to English, this is the Hebrew way of talking about someone’s deep devotion and intense protection for another. The pupil is the central point of focus for the eye: whenever you desire to convey closeness to someone you love, your pupil gazes directly into theirs. In some sense, the pupil is one of the most personal parts of your body.
We all know the feeling when someone in a conversation avoids eye contact with us. What does that convey? Distance, shame, embarrassment, or possibly a perceived barrier between you and the other person. So for David to plead with God to keep him as his pupil, he is in essence saying: “don’t turn your gaze from me; hold me in your line of sight, no matter where I go!” David’s confidence is not in a God who gets distracted, like the person who has bad eye-contact. No, he knows God is focused, devoted and always guarding him. So it is the same for us. How comforting it is to know the Creator of the universe has his concentrated, beaming devotion on us at all times!
What about “the daughter of the eye”? The sense is similar here. When you look into someone’s pupil up close, you can see your own reflection in it. In a way, you are contained in their line of sight. When David speaks about a daughter of the eye, this is an affectionate analogy for how a father holds his precious daughter in his sight. If the daughter looked into her father’s pupil, face-to-face, she would see herself. What does this convey? Warmth, protection, love, devotion. When the daughter wanders or is in danger, though the father may be feet away, his watchful eye is on her. Having a daughter of my own has made me understand this: my watchful care over her is only a paltry shadow of the sovereign care the Heavenly Father has for me. How comforting to know he will never let us out of his sight!
Now for the second request. David asks, “hide me in the shadow of your wings.” This analogy is much easier for us to understand in modern times. We’ve all seen how a mother bird envelops her chicks with her wings: she guards them, protects them, and never lets them fall out of the nest. Jesus himself drew on this analogy when he mourned over Jerusalem: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Mt 23:37). Of course we must be quick to say that God does not have wings—He is spirit (John 4:24). So the use of this is simply to illustrate God’s tender, fierce care over those who are his.
To end, let’s focus on when David talks about the shadow of the wing. The shadow of a wing conveys the sense of covering. The best way I can describe it is like the feeling of a huge air jet flying over your head, creating a shadow you hide under for a brief moment; or perhaps like being under a waterfall, the roar of the waves crashing over your head. In both scenarios the rumbling, thundering sounds create a sense of awe, maybe even fear.Yet the enveloping shadows of such great things also, in a strange way, brings comfort. This is the same way a baby bird feels under the great wingspan of his mother. When an enemy comes near, the mother bird flaps her great wings, booming away the threat. The shadow of the wingspan creates a canopy of safety.
In the same way, when we are in the covering presence of God, his strength, power, and love all fight for us with such ferocity that no threat can thwart his sovereign will for our lives. The great promise is that, when we are in Christ, we are “hidden with” him (Col 3:3), now protected under the shadow of his sovereign grace. He will never desert us; he will never take his Spirit away.
So like David, when we are afraid, worried, or simply aware of our great need, let us pray: God, keep me in your watchful gaze and remind me of your covering grace. There is never a moment you fail to overshadow me with your care, so allow me rest in your sovereign will. Amen.