Psalm 17, Apple of God's Eye

A prayer of David.

Psalm 17: 1-5, Righteous plea

Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea; 

listen to my cry. 

Give ear to my prayer-- 

it does not rise from deceitful lips.

May my vindication come from you; 

may your eyes see what is right.

Though you probe my heart 

and examine me at night, 

though you test me, 

you will find nothing; 

I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.

As for the deeds of men-- 

by the word of your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.

My steps have held to your paths; 

my feet have not slipped.

As typical of David's view (and the Old Testament view) of justice, David claims innocence before the judge and asks for a right ruling.  He has sought to be honest and to not sin in his speech.

Psalm 17: 6-9, Fix your eye on me!

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.

In verses 4 to 9, in addition to honesty and good actions, David has taken refuge in the Almighty. Several metaphors are used -- "apple" is a euphemism for "pupil" and so David claims to be in the very center of God's focus.  Presumably the Creator of a universe of billions of stars (and billions of galaxies!) has no trouble focusing on David at the same time.

Verse 9 has two metaphors.  Quickly on the heels of the "apple" phrase, David turns God into a mother bird spreading her wings over her chicks.  Both metaphors appear in the Song of Moses, in Deuteronomy 32: 10-11.  David echoes that psalm of Moses.

The mother bird metaphor is common in Scripture.  Boaz uses it in Ruth 2: 12 in his first meeting with Ruth.  Jesus calls himself a mother hen, desiring to gather Israel under his wing, in Luke 13: 34.  (A parallel passage occurs in Matthew 23: 37.)

In verses 8-9, David asks that God "keep" him as the "apple" of God's eye, as if David is aware that, so far, he has been loved and protected by God but David fears that might not continue!  In the prelude to these requests, David has tried to build up an argument (verses 1-7) that he, David, has been calling on God all along.

Once David's thoughts turn, briefly, to the wicked, to his enemies, he is off on a tangent, now bringing his complaints to God in verses 10-12:

Psalm 17: 10-12, Wicked hungry for prey

They close up their callous hearts, 

and their mouths speak with arrogance.

They have tracked me down, 

they now surround me, 

with eyes alert, 

to throw me to the ground.

They are like a lion hungry for prey, 

like a great lion crouching in cover.

The wicked are not just dishonest but arrogant and aggressive.  They seek out victims, like "a lion hungry for prey".

Psalm 7: 13-15, Rise up!

Rise up, O LORD, 

confront them, 

bring them down;

rescue me from the wicked by your sword.

O LORD, by your hand save me from such men, 

from men of this world whose reward is in this life. 

You still the hunger of those you cherish; 

their sons have plenty, 

and they store up wealth for their children.

And I--in righteousness I will see your face; 

when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

In verse 14, David describes people whose reward is (merely) "in this life".  Jesus speaks of these same people in Matthew 6: 5 and Matthew 6: 19-21 where he condemns the religious hypocrite.  James has a similar warning about the purely earthly life in James 1: 9-11.

What does verse 15 mean?  Is it awaking in the morning? or after death?