You're with me back to Psalm
17. Psalm 17, I have something for
us tonight that to me is truly wonderful and precious and amazing
and sweet. That's the word that stands out
in my mind most concerning what we're going to look at tonight.
This is sweet. Precious, amazing, and sweet. With all of the Psalms, whoever
the writer is, David being the writer most of the time, David
being the writer of Psalm 17, as we read these words, we are
reading the words of the man who wrote it. We are reading
the words of the man who wrote this. The man who wrote this,
the man who penned this, felt this. I've said this before,
I've said this many times before, because it's true to realize
that David said this and we say this. David felt this, David cried
this, but in each one of the Psalms, These are not just the
words of men. These are all the words of the
Lord Jesus Christ. These are the words of Christ,
and we get a true understanding of why this was written when
we read this as being the words of Christ himself. If you look
at Psalm 16, the Psalm right before it, David felt this, and
he cried this from whatever situation the Lord had him in. But these
are the words of Christ from the grave while He was in the
process of suffering for His people, paying the sin debt for
His people. This is Him crying from the grave
that spared His people from that grave. This is Him as their substitute,
laying there for them. Look at Psalm 16, verse 7. The
Lord Jesus Christ said, I will bless the Lord who hath given
me counsel. I'll bless the Lord in this.
Just think about that. My reigns also instruct me in
the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before
me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore,
my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth My flesh also shall
rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. Neither
wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt
show me the path of life, in thy presence is fullness of joy
at thy right hand. There are pleasures forevermore. That's amazing, isn't it? That's
the faithful endurance of the death of Christ for his people.
Psalm 18, the Psalm after Psalm 17. This has 50 verses, so we're
not gonna read it. But you read it sometime, and
you'll hear the voice of Jesus Christ all through it. Just look
right here at the beginning. Psalm 18, verse one says, I will
love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock. and my fortress,
and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust,
my buckler and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who
is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from mine
enemies. The sorrows of death compassed
me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows
of hell compassed me about. The snares of death prevented
me. In my distress, I called upon
the Lord and cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his
temple and my cry came before him even into his ears. Then
the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the hills
moved and were shaken because he was wroth. There went up a
smoke out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth devoured.
Coals were kindled by it. That's the substitute suffering
of Christ for His people. That's Christ under the judgment
of God. The earth shook. Darkness covered
the land. That's the Father dealing with
Christ in the stead of His people. One more right here. Look at
Psalm 22. Psalm 22 verse 1 says, My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from
helping me and from the words of my roaring? Is there any doubt
that those are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ? The direct
words of Christ to his father. Well, we're going to read from
a few locations tonight. And in this first one, I want
to read the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. I showed you that
to say, these are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I
want to read this in that way. Look back at Psalm 17. Let's hear his voice in this,
and I'm going to read to one specific line. Psalm 17 verse
one says, hear the right. That means justice. Hear justice. Oh Lord, attend unto my cry. Give ear unto my prayer that
goeth not out of feigned lips. Feigned means deceitful, lying,
sinful. He said, Lord, hear my prayer
that is not coming out of sinful, lying, deceitful lips. Only Christ
could say that. Only Christ was truly without
sin. Verse two, he said, let my sentence
come forth from thy presence. You judge me. He's saying, Lord,
you judge me. Let my sentence come forth from
thy presence. Let thine eyes behold the things
that are equal. Weigh me in the balance for the
sake of my people. Weigh me, judge me, try me, weigh
me. Verse three, thou hast proved
mine heart. Thou hast visited me in the night,
Thou hast tried me and shalt find nothing. I am purposed that
my mouth shall not transgress." What he's saying is, I am worthy
to stand for them. I'm worthy. A sinner cannot take
sins from another sinner. A sinner cannot stand for another
sinner. He's saying, I'm worthy to stand
for them. And in what they receive of me through this, what they
receive in return, what I give to them will be perfect in your
eyes. You've tried me in the night
season. You've seen it all. You know it all. I was made to
be their sin and they're going to be made to be my righteousness. I can hear in this the prayer
of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane and this great transaction
that he was about to make. I'm not saying this was his prayer,
but I can hear the tone of what he would have prayed to the Father
in that moment. Just listen to this as we read
it. Verse four, concerning the works of men, by the word of
thy lips, I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. Hold
up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not. I have
called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God. Incline thine
ear unto me and hear my speech. Show thy marvelous, loving kindness. O thou that savest by thy right
hand them which put their trust in thee, from those that rise
up against them. Now listen to verse eight. Keep me as the apple of the eye. Keep me as the apple of the eye. He said, Father, I'm going to
accomplish this great transaction of our loving kindness for our
people. Keep me, keep me as the apple
of your eye. Now that's what I wanted us to
get to. The apple of thine eye. That's our subject matter tonight.
That's the title of this message. The apple of thine eye. Keep
me as the apple of thine eye. There are three components to
this message and the first component is this. Christ is the apple
of the Father's eye. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
apple of the Father's eye. The apple of the eye means the
center of it. It means the focus of it. It
means the fondness of it. The special, peculiar treasure
of it. It means the delight. That's
what it means. Christ is the Father's delight. Christ is all
the Father's delight, and that's the truth. Christ is the Father's
delight. What does the Father delight
in? He delights in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is all of the Father's
delight. In Isaiah 42, the Father said,
Behold Christ, behold my serpent, whom I uphold, my elect, in whom
my soul delighteth, I put my spirit upon him. I choose him. I desire him. My soul delights
in him. In Matthew three, the father
said, this is my beloved son. The Lord came to John the Baptist
and he said, you are to baptize me. John said, I'm not worthy
to baptize you. The Lord said, suffer it to be
so. And he did. And coming up out of the water.
The heavens opened, the Spirit descended like a dove, and the
Father said, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. So well pleased with Him. John
3.35 says, the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things
into His hand. Everything, everything. We just sang a song a moment
ago where we talked about our crowns we're going to be wearing.
Well, the scripture says we'll receive one, but we'll cast it
at His feet. Everything goes to Him. All things
go to Him. Ephesians 1 says we were chosen
in Him. Why would God choose us? Christ. That's the only reason. Christ.
We were chosen in Him. It says we were adopted in Him. It says we are accepted in Him,
only accepted in Him. The Father first trusted in Christ. Christ is the apple of the Father's
eye. Philippians 2 says because Christ
humbled Himself, and accomplished the work of His Father for His
people because He suffered and died and bled and paid the sin
debt and redeemed and reinstated and did all the work start to
finish. The Father has highly exalted
Him. And aren't we so glad that's
so? There's only one person in glory that all of heaven desires
to be exalted. And that's Jesus Christ. The
Father has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is
above every name, that at the hearing of His name every knee
should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the Father. Christ is the apple of the Father's
eye. Everything. All His desire is
in Christ. It's all in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God's people love hearing that because Christ is the apple of
our eye. That's the second component to
this message. Turn with me, if you would, to
Proverbs chapter seven. Proverbs chapter seven. Now again, we can see Christ
in these words. We can hear these words being
spoken directly to the Lord Jesus Christ, but we can also hear
these words being spoken to us, and that's how I want us to look
at it right here. All right, listen to the Father
speaking to us. Verse 1, Proverbs 7, verse 1
says, My son, keep my words. Keep, hold to, cling to. My son, keep my words and lay
up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments and live
and my law as the apple of thine eye. Keep, cling to, look to
my word. Look to my word. Who is the word
of God? Christ is. The Lord Jesus Christ
is. Who is the law? Who is the character
and the fulfiller and the end of the law for righteousness?
Christ is. One of these days, the end of
our text, which we're not going to make it that far, David said,
I'll be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. Our sister
awoke roughly two hours and 40 minutes ago
with his likeness. And that likeness is this law. This law is who Christ is. This law is who God is. The demands
of God, what he's saying in this, this is who I am. The law is
Christ. All he has to do is be, is exist,
and the law is fulfilled because that's who he is. The Father is saying, look to
Christ, look to Christ, keep Christ, cling to Christ as the
apple of your eye. Your desire, your focus, your
everything, your all, and we do, don't we? God's people do.
If the Spirit has come to a child of God and quickened that child
of God, created a new creation in that child of God, one that
actually lives in and loves the Lord Jesus Christ, then Christ
is the apple of our eye. Christ has been made to be the
apple of that new man's eye. The Lord Jesus Christ is all
the world. to me, my life, my joy, my all. That's what we just sang. In
Psalm 27, David said, one, he said one thing, but that word
thing is in italics. One, have I desired of the Lord. That will I seek after, that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple."
He said, that's it, that's all my desire. One. One person, Christ, the
apple of my eye. Can't we say that? In Philippians 2, the Apostle
Paul said, I count all things lost for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, For whom I have suffered
the loss of all things and do count them but done, that I may
win Christ and be found in him. He said, I just want to know
him. He is the apple of my eye. We say the same thing, don't
we? By the grace of God, by the work of God, by the accomplishment
of God. Because of the love of God, we
love him because he first loved us. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
our God, our King, is the apple of our eye. Christ is the apple
of the Father's eye. Christ is the apple of our eye.
Now, here is the third component of this message, and this is
what made me want to look at this subject in the first place,
all right? Turn with me, if you would, to Zechariah chapter 2. Page 1170 in my Bible. Zechariah, second to the last
book in the Old Testament. Zechariah chapter 2. We were in the book of Zechariah
last Wednesday night. And I had it in my mind that
we would move on to another place for tonight. But the Lord just
wouldn't let me do it. I could not get away from this
thought. I kept trying to go somewhere
else and I did pick Psalm 17 for a text. But everything I've
said is because of this. I tried to study and study and
study and I just kept thinking about this and. This has amazed
me, this has humbled me, this has comforted me. This is the
Lord Jesus Christ telling his people, I'm going to destroy
everyone and everything that is an enemy of you. I'm going
to destroy everyone and every, you know, our Lord Jesus Christ
is a God of vengeance. Exodus says he's a man of war.
Everybody envisions him as being this weak little, you know, carpenter
who didn't want to hit his thumb and all that kind of stuff. He's
a man of war. And he said, I am going to absolutely
slay and destroy everything that is the enemy of my people. Sin,
the effects of sin, I'm going to destroy it all. And he is
saying to his people right here, you are going to dwell safely.
You're going to. All right, look at Zechariah
two, verse one, it says, I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked,
and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand." That's Christ. Christ holding a measuring line.
Verse 2, "'Then said I, Whither goest thou?' And he said unto
me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof,
and what is the length thereof.' He said, I'm going to survey
out my people." I'm going to mark stakes. I'm
going to hedge about my elect. Verse three, and behold, the
angel that talked with me went forth and another angel went
out to meet him and said unto him, run, speak to this young
man saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls. for the multitude of men and
cattle therein. For I saith the Lord will be
unto her a wall of fire round about and will be the glory in
the midst of her." He said, you go tell her she is going to dwell
safely. I will ensure it. I will be a
wall of fire round about her. She does not need a wall from
any other source. I'm her wall. I will be the glory
in the midst of her. Verse six, he said, ho, ho, come
forth and flee from the land of the North, saith the Lord.
For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven,
saith the Lord. Come to me. That's what he's
saying. Come unto me. Verse seven, deliver thyself,
O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus
saith the Lord of hosts, after the glory, that means the great
weight of jealousy and desire, the great weight of jealousy
and desire, after the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which
spoiled you. He said, the Lord sent me, and
here's the reason why. He said right here at the end
of verse eight, for he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his
eye. He said, you're the apple of
his eye. Chosen, elect, hedged about, center, you are the apple
of Christ's eye. Christ is the apple of the Father's
eye. Christ is the apple of His people's
eye. And His people are the apple
of His eye. Isn't that beautiful? To His
people, He says, I have loved you with an everlasting love.
To His people, He says, you have ravished my heart. It just amazes
me to think of His desire for His own. Verse 8 says, For thus saith
the Lord of hosts, After the glory hath he sent me into the
nations which spoiled you, for he that toucheth you toucheth
the apple of his eye. For behold, I will shake mine
hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants. And you shall know that the Lord
of hosts hath sent me. He said, Deliverance is coming.
Deliverance is coming and deliverance came on the cross of Calvary.
That's when it came to God's people. So, verse 10, he said,
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for lo, I come and I
will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations
shall be joined to the Lord in that day and shall be my people,
and I will dwell in the midst of thee. And thou shalt know
that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall
inherit Judah his portion in the holy land and shall choose
Jerusalem. He said, rejoice, rejoice, because
I am coming for the apple of my eye. And many nations from
every tribe, nation, kindred, and tongue from all over this
world shall be my people. And I will inherit them to be
my portion. And I will choose them again.
They were fallen in Adam. but chosen again, regenerated
again, given life again in the one who loved him and gave himself
for the apple of his own eye. Verse 13 says, Be silent, O all
flesh, before the Lord, for he is raised up out of his holy
habitation. Raised up means stirred up. incited to action. He is stirred
up. He said, you just be silent and
sit still. The Lord will do it. The Lord
will do it. This salvation will be all of
the Lord. That reminds me of when Naomi
told Ruth that after Boaz told Ruth that he would redeem her.
Naomi said, sit still, my daughter. until thou know how the matter
will fall. For the man will not be in rest
until he have finished the thing this day. You just sit still
and look to the Lord. His holiness is stirred up for
you, for his people. He'll take care of it. He'll
take care of everything for the apple of his eye. That's sweet,
isn't it? Pray the Lord will make that
to be a blessing. All right, let's stand together.