Reflections on Psalm 17
Kyle Stutzman
As I was preparing for what I would share for this blog post, I had a hard time coming up with a real concrete idea. It’s always tough when you can’t think of something catchy. But in my daily reading I was in Psalm 17, and it stood out to me in a really powerful way, so I decided I would simply share the passage, and tell you what God spoke to me. Pretty simple! Let’s go for it.
I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Show me the wonders 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 are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.
This prayer is from David. And it sits in the middle of a Psalm where David is pleading with God to deliver him from his enemies. As we know from David’s story, there were plenty of those all throughout his life. The first part of the Psalm, David speaks of his genuine heart in his prayer, that there is no deceit in him, and he has done what he could to obey God’s command. The portion after this prayer David asks God to take down his enemies, to defeat them.
This part stood out to me though, for it’s pure faith and trust in the love of God. The faith to know that God saw David, loved him, and would take care of him. Here are the phrases that stood out most to me:
1. “I call on you, my God, for you will answer me.”
To trust completely that when we call on God, he will answer. He is always with us and listening to us.
2. “Show me the wonders of your great love”
His great love for us is what protects us from our enemy. Though sin and the enemy can try, nothing can come against the love that God has for you. His love for you is wondrous, mysterious, and all encompassing.
3. “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings”
To be thought of as the apple of God’s eye. What does this mean? It means when God our Father looks at you, he adores you. You are the subject of his affection. Christ died for you because of the Father’s great love for you. And then he hides you in the shadow of his wings. What a Father we have! He adores us and he protects us!
These are my reflections for you. Hopefully you find some encouragement in them. And maybe there’s something in here that stood out to you as well. So remember this today:
You are the apple of God’s eye. He will protect you, direct you, and empower you. Trust in his hearing of your prayers, and may the Lord our God fill you with the wonders of his great love today.