The Eye, a Similitude

"Keep me as the apple (or pupil) of the eye." Psalm 17:8

This prayer is full of meaning, and is the outflow of a well-instructed mind. It is no parrot cry, but the upleaping of a living desire from a grace-taught and thoughtful heart. The man knows something of himself who sincerely offers this plaintive petition to his God, "Keep me." Is there not a deep and sorrowful confession implied in this brief utterance of the suppliant? As though he should say, "Preserve me from my own heart, for it is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: guard me from the uprising of my natural corruptions, for the carnal mind is enmity against God; it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be: defend me from the turbulence of my own passions, those household foes which are the worst enemies to the peace and purity of my mind: keep me from that evil man--myself!"

Has not the man who utters this request a clear perception of the evils surrounding him in his circumstances, and his relations, and his position in life? conscious of danger, he desires to be held back from pride, if he be in prosperity; and withheld from pining and unbelief, if he be in adversity; he would be restrained from sinning in public or transgressing in private; he desires that he may not be imperilled even by the objects of his joy and affection, lest they should become idols, and so provoke the Lord to jealousy, and cause him to withdraw his dear presence and sweet communings from the soul. The prayer has a singular sensitiveness, it seems to shiver like the leaves of the aspen, to shrink like the sensitive plant. Knowing that there are snares all around him, the pleading soul is desirous that God should at all times encompass his path- "Keep me."

The man has some idea of the craft and malice of Satan ,therefore he appeals to God that he may be preserved from that fowler, who first decoys, and afterwards destroys unguarded souls. He sees his danger feels his weakness, and seeks to the strong for help. "Love and keep us, blessed Jesus, Keep us from denying you; Keep our wayward feet from straying Into paths of vanity; Love and keep us, blessed Jesus, Keep us from denying you."An eye that has looked on the weakness and the wickedness of the little world within our bosom, bedews with briny tears the supplication, "Keep me."

But the man who prays thus intelligently must have some knowledge of the God he prays to. He has learned the vanity of all other reliances, and has left forever the arm of flesh. The invocation is addressed to the Most High, for he is well aware that no other can respond to his call, or interpose for his aid. He who uses this prayer intelligently perceives the omniscience of Jehovah. "You see all my dangers, you foresee all the attacks of my enemies, you are acquainted with all my ways; to you, therefore, I look for safeguard. Better than a hundred eyes are you to me, you who can see all my foes, from whichever quarter they may come. Ever watchful guardian, keep you me." He believes also in God’s omnipotence, that there is no assailant so strong, but he who is his Israel’s refuge and fortress is stronger, nor is there any danger so imminent that he cannot anticipate and avert it. He relies, moreover, upon the love of God that he is willing of his own heart to espouse his interests; upon the faithfulness of God that he will perform the mercy promised to the fathers, and upon the immutability of God that he will never turn back, but finally achieve the salvation of his servant through keeping him to the end.

Thus, as I have said, the man who could first offer, and the man who can constantly appreciate this devout prayer, must know something of himselfand something of his God. He who has learned these two things has mastered the elements of wisdom. "Man, know yourself," said the heathen sage, and he uttered a goodly maxim. "Man, know your God," says the Christian, and he points to wisdom far more sublime. Put the two together- to know ourselves in our weakness and dangers, and to know our God in his glorious strength and willingness to protect us, is to have the seed of divinest knowledge implanted in our breasts. Knowing these two, we can not only pray this prayer with a fervent spirit, but there are many things which we shall be enabled to do by virtue of the good hand of the Lord our God upon us. Such, then, is the importunate request of the Psalmist, to which I am persuaded everyone that is godly among you will say, "Amen." "Keep me as the apple of the eye.

Now, brethren and sisters, I intend only to touch upon one point, and that is the metaphor here used - not, perhaps, limiting myself entirely to the precise and definite meaning which it in this place presents, but uttering with more freedom and latitude some of the thoughts which it suggests.

1. The keeping desired by the earnest Christian is of that kind which men accord to the apple of the eye. What sort of keeping is this? First, the Psalmist as good as prays, Lord, keep me with many guards and protections. In the providence of God, the pupil of the eye is defended with peculiar care and transcendent skill. Those who have studied the formation of the pupil itself will tell you with how many coats the retina is preserved. Then the commonest observer knows how the eyebrows, the eyelashes, and the eyelids, are formed as outworks, fences, and barricades, to protect the pupil of the eye, which is thus made to dwell securely like a citizen within the entrenchments of a fortified town. God has bestowed extraordinary pains upon all that concerns you eye; being one of the tenderest organs of the physical frame, he has used many devices that it should be well preserved, notwithstanding its exceeding sensitiveness. Nor is it merely sheltered in its own barricade, but sentries keep ward lest it should be exposed to peril. Whenever it is threatened with even the appearance of danger no time is lost in consultation with yourself, but with agility so brisk that it seems almost involuntary, the arm is lifted up and the hand is raised to screen it from harm or to resist attack. If you are about to stumble into a bush, you naturally put out your hands to save your eyes.

Instinct seems to teach you at once the value of eyesight, and your whole strength is put forth to preserve it. In fact, all the members of the body may be regarded as a patrol for the wardship of the eye; and all the incorporated powers of manhood are in constant vigilance to guard and protect that precious orb.

Admiring then this beautiful arrangement to conserve the delicate organ of vision, we may pray, "Lord, keep you me as the apple of the eye, with many protections. You have been pleased with the strong bastions of your providence to surround your people: I ask for such protection. Lead me not into temptation; do not allow the events of my career or the incidents of my daily life to entangle me so that I shall be unable to escape out of the perplexing snares. Let the powers of heaven fight for me as of old the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. Let me be in league with the stones of the field, and command the beasts of the forest to be at peace with me. Let my tabernacle be in peace; and let no plague come near my dwelling. O God, visit my habitation; and so abide with me beneath that lowly roof that I may not by any means through outward circumstances or inward thoughts be led into sin. Guard me, O my God! by all the power of those mysterious wheels, whose motions I cannot understand, but of whose results you have said, All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose."

And, Lord, be pleased to shield me by your grace as well as by your providence. Keep me as the apple of the eye with tutelage of your restraining mercy. Teach me to sing -
"Oh, to grace how great a debtor,
Daily I’m constrained to be."

Brethren, how wonderfully does grace preserve the heirs of heaven with operations marvelously diverse, but all fulfilling one loving purpose! Sometimes grace lowers me into the dust, at other times grace lifts me up to the throne. It is grace that empties and grace that fills my earthen vessel; grace that shows me my ignorance, and grace that makes me wise unto salvation. Let the manifold operations of your grace, O you God of all grace, be brought into full play to guard me as the apple of the eye.

Whenever I hear a sermon preached, may it keep me from stumbling, lest otherwise my feet should trip; whenever I bow my knee in prayer, may it be a safeguard against some temptation or besetting sin, which otherwise might have been too strong to resist. When I read your book, make its words to be as wholesome counsel and faithful warning, to deliver my soul from the paths of the destroyer. Grant unto me, Lord, that the ordinances of your house- baptism, and the Lord’s supper - yes, and whatever else you have enjoined to us by precept, or handed down to us with the example of your holy apostles - things commanded and things set in order - let all these be used as auxiliaries to repel assault, and preserve our peace.

From wandering into any false way, from staining the purity of a good conscience, from bringing dishonor upon the name of Christ, "good Lord, deliver us." "Keep me as the apple of the eye" with the guardianship of your Holy Spirit. O that the Divine Comforter might always dwell within me, so that when Satan comes to invade my heart, it may be like the house in which abides the strong man armed who is stronger than the spoiler, and therefore keeps his goods in peace; thus shall he drive away the thief who would break in to steal my possessions and make me his prey. "Keep us, Lord, O keep us ever, Vain our hope if left by you; We are yours, O leave us never, Until your face in heaven we see; There to praise you Through a bright eternity." Holy Spirit, I invoke you, whether reproving or comforting, whether quickening or enlightening, whether chastening or sanctifying, whether humbling or perfecting me, be pleased to abide with me, and hold watch over me in all your sevenfold power, in all your diversified operations.

And, O God, let your angels have charge concerning me, to keep me in all my ways, for I need many guards, even as the eye has many bulwarks. Bid, then, those ministering spirits, who minister to the heirs of salvation, that they bear me up in their hands, lest I dash my foot against a stone. Brethren, do such appeals seem to you like a rhapsody? Do you forget the existence of angels, who excel in strength; or do you give no heed to the capacities with which they are endowed by him who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire? I am afraid we are wont to think too lightly of those blessed spirits. Is it necessary to remind you that the being of such an order of God’s creatures is not an allegory of the poets; no, not even of sacred inspired poets? Facts abound in both the Old and New Testaments to attest the reality of their services. Have you never heard how that in the creation, when God laid the foundations of the earth, the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? And have you not heard that when the law was given to Moses, it was received by the disposition of angels? You cannot be unaware of the comfort which Daniel found from the mission of Gabriel, when, while speaking in prayer, the angel appeared as a man flying swiftly, touched the prophet, talked with him, brought a message to him from heaven, and came forth to give him skill and understanding? Think, I beseech you, brethren, of the company of angels caroling that sweet hymn of the nativity on the plains of Bethlehem on that night wherein our Savior was born. And never overlook their visit to the wilderness, where, after Jesus had been tempted forty days and forty nights, "behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

Yet again in the dark night of his betrayal, when our Lord was enduring the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, mind you that "there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him"? After these things it may seem needless to tell how angels repaired to the tomb from which Jesus had risen, and there at the sepulcher cheered the hearts of the sorrowing women; or to recount to you the story of Peter, released by an angel of the Lord from the prison into which Herod, willing to please the Jews and vex the church, had cast him. But I must mention this one thing more. Angels were the bearers, not with black wands, methinks, but with flying colors, who carried Lazarus into Abraham’s bosom. Such guard I crave in life and death, I crave it of you, O my God! My soul is enraptured at the multitude of your loving kindnesses and tender mercies. Keep me, with every provision for my safety, keep me with all your hosts and holy troops, with cherubim and seraphim, with providence, and grace, and love. "Keep me as the apple of the eye." In such sense, I think, the metaphor is not strained.

2. Secondly, the prayer may be interpreted with a view to the constancy, the unintermitting continuance of that keeping which we require of the Lord.Is not the eye always guarded? You are not always thinking of it, it is true, for that would distract you from the duties of life; if you had to reckon the dangers and provide against the mishaps to which the eye is exposed, your mind would never rest; but to save you such care, the protections God has provided are always ready. If a grain of dust, perchance, should enter the eye, forthwith by some wonderful arrangement a watery mixture is exuded in which, if you cannot extract the impediment, by-and-by it becomes dissolved, and is carried away. Though an intruding substance may pain you, the pain is a mercy, for it makes you restless until you get relief for the priceless eye. When you fall asleep, and are no longer able to protect the eyeballs, the curtains fall, the blinds of it were drop down, and the windows are shut up securely with lash and lid. How graciously does God preserve the health of the eye and renew its brightness! It needs many protections, and they are all supplied. The fineness of its organization, and the variety of its curious arrangements, require adequate provisions to keep it in proper condition, and these are all furnished; yes, and continue to be supplied when the eye’s functions are suspended in your times of slumber. Without care or thought on your part, at all times, asleep or awake, the eye is guarded like the bed of Solomon, about which were three-score valiant men.

Right well does the parable of the eye suggest the prayer of the text: Lord, keep me thus, as the apple of an eye is kept. Evermore, O Lord, watch over me. Brethren, permit me to remark here, that I believe at no season is a Christian more in danger than when he has just been in communion with God. Thus I have proved it myself. It is not very often I lose my temper, at least I think not, but it has happened sometimes; and I have noticed that when this sinful frailty has overtaken me, it has been just after I have been near to God in prayer. At such a time somebody has come right across my path and ruffled my spirit. Something has been said or done so cold, so cruel, so un-Christlike, so irritating, and withal on the part of myself so unexpected, that I have in horror spoken unadvisedly with my lips.

Ah! I should not wonder if many of you have found the same surprising sin assail you. When you felt happy and blessed, beyond the reach of fear, the baneful action of the world has so grated upon your too susceptible feelings that you have felt as if it were well for you to be angry. Always beware when you are rich with grace in present possession. The robbers in olden times did not meddle with the farmers as they went to the market; it was when they were coming home, having sold their crops and bringing back their money-bags full, that they planned their attacks. When our ships of war went after the Spanish galleons, they did not attack them as they were going to America, but when they came back enriched with bars of gold - when they knew them to be loaded to the water’s edge - it was then they stormed the Spaniard to win his bullion. The devil may not make a dead set upon you when you are poor in grace and indolent, not trading with the merchandise of wisdom, or seriously engaged in the King’s business; but if you have had much spiritual commerce with heaven, whereby your soul has been enriched and your heart has been cheered, and your face has shone, then beware of temptation.

In watchfulness and prayer, however, put it thus: "Keep me, Lord, alike in my high estate, and in my low estate. Keep me when I am engaged in business; that I fall not into the tricks of trade, or the excitements of desperate speculation; keep me when I am at the table, that I sin not against you in the midst of social communion with my family or my friends. Lord, where shall I go from the presence of sin, or where shall I fly from the reach of temptation? If I seek the desert and become a lonely hermit, sin is there. If I plunge into the thick of the city, and find solitude among the crowds of men, behold, sin reigns there. If I betake me to my chamber, sin can haunt me there; or if I go abroad into the fields, to listen to the voice of nature, I can be seduced to rebel against you there in full view of all your marvellous works. If I should take the wings of the morning, and fly unto the uttermost parts of the earth; if, like the shipwrecked, I lived on an isolated and desolate island, and saw not the face of man, even there the face of sin would disquiet me, and rebellious thoughts would rise to taint my daily life." You need keeping, then, always and at every moment. Seek protection, brethren, seek it constantly. Begin not the day without saying, "Keep me." Finish it not without crying again, "Keep me." All day long be not far away from the horns of the altar, to which you may run with the brief ejaculation, "Keep me, keep me, as the apple of the eye." It means constant care, a perpetuity of divine guardianship. You need that. Seek it. "Lord, we are blind, and halt, and lame, We have no stronghold but your name. Great is our fear to bring it shame. Let us not fall. Let us not fall.

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