12. The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
KJV Psalms 17:8
8. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
KJV Psalms 36:7
7. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
KJV Psalms 57:1
1. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
So what is this thing that God has with wings? Is it the physical wings that God is referring to here? If we were created in God's image, why don't we have wings?
There is one verse that set my mind to find the answer to that. I was reading Psalm 91. I got half way through it and realized that this Psalm was about Jesus. KJV Psalms 91:11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. That was so obvious I had to go back. There seemed to be so many words that I could see so many spiritual meanings to. But I had not yet determined the meanings for many of the words. And there was that verse. The one verse that set my mind into action. KJV Psalms 914. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Since I had already determined that this Psalm was about Jesus my mind instantly went to the book of Matthew. And there I found the key that would explain the spiritual meaning God was giving us when He was using wings as an illustration.
KJV Matthew 3:16
16. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
This is further illustrated in the other books of the Gospel. I think Luke illustrates this point the best when he writes, KJV Luke 3: 22. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And the book of John. How can we ever forget John. He seems to write so quickly. As if he is always in a hurry to get to the point. And there are so many words in his book that bring out the point to another degree of understanding. Here John writes, KJV John 1:32. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. Interesting enough. But the word abode is kind of lost in today's translation. When was the last time you saw that one used in a conversation? Well the word used for abode actually means, to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): There it is. What appeared to be the form of a dove was the Spirit of God coming down to Jesus from above, to stay with Him.
Now we can see that when God uses the word wings, or dove He is referring to His Spirit. His protection and grace.
KJV Psalms 61:4. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
KJV Psalms 63:7. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
KJV Psalms 68:13. Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.
KJV Psalms 55:6. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest
Jesus tried to get this point across to those he talked to while He walked this earth. We can see Him pleading with the leaders of the Jews when He says, " KJV Matthew 23:37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! I think Jesus meant that He had been spreading His wings (His Spirit) over His chosen people. I am sure Jesus was hoping and praying that there would be many of them that would go back and search the scriptures. Looking for the text that contained the word wings. And in them find the promises God had been giving them. I am sure there were many that did follow this course, and had the scriptures opened to them. The book of Acts tells us of many thousands that instantly became followers of Christ. I think this was brought about by a combination of the words Jesus taught, the words the apostles taught and the books of the Bible the people had at that time to go back and test these words they were hearing. After all wasn't this one of the main points of teaching in the early church? Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. (1 Thessalonians 5:21, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 4:2)
Are the lessons that were so important to learn in the early church any less important today? Where does it say, any where in the Bible that one day man will know everything God has to say in the Bible. And in those days we can just sit back once a week and follow the words of man? I never remember reading anything like that. Quite the contrary, the Bible teaches that each one of us is approved of God when we prove the words of man.
Even in the use of the word doves I think God is trying to give us a warning about trusting our salvation to the words of others. KJV John 2:16. And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. If we take and substitute the spiritual meaning of dove in John 2:16 we can see that Jesus is trying to tell us that we need to beware of those that make a living selling the "Spirit of God".
I can speak through experience when I say those that understand the word of God are willing to give it away. And even more willing to have those "prove" the truth for themselves. That really is the point of the of everything. To draw each individual into a closer, personal relationship with God.