Psalm 17:8b  
Cover me
    This surprising and momentous verse has not finished with us yet! “Hide me in the shadow of Your wings” is another phrase full of depth of meaning. When a male bird mates with a female it covers her with its wings! When Ruth visited Boaz in the night and asks him to spread his wings over his handmaid, she was literally suggesting that they get married! Ruth 3:9. It was Jewish practice for a bridegroom to cover his bride with his outer garment which was his prayer shawl. Today at Jewish weddings they use a “huppah” or canopy made of a prayer shawl on four poles.  The prayer shawl, or “tallit”, was commanded to be worn by all Jewish males [Numbers 15:37-41] and is still worn today by orthodox Jews. It is mentioned many times in Scripture and in relation to the Lord Jesus, for the prayer shawl had fringes or wings [tsitsit] and the “Son of righteousness shall rise with healing in His wings.” Malachi 4:2. That is why a woman of great faith who had an issue of blood for 18 years, reaches out to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment – His tsitsit! This is a huge subject and well worth a Bible study on its own, sufficient to say that David asks for the Lord God to draw him close, as a bride, and to protect him with the covering of His garment! There is no more intimate picture that can be painted in all of Scripture, than this one, describing the cherished friendship between God and man. Have we ever considered how loved we are, how precious we are? We are God’s special possession, His Royal Priesthood, His holy nation, we belong to Him, we are the anointed bride of Christ, the apple of His eye, the loved ones who are so close we come within the protection of His prayer shawl. 

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