Lord, Open My Eyes That I Might See “The desire to see spiritually is essential to clear perception of truth.” – The People’s New Testament “It is far better to have the eyes opened than to be placed in the midst of the noblest prospects and remain blind to their beauty.” – Charles Spurgeon “Ignorance is represented by the eyes being closed, and the instrument of the gospel by the opening of the eyes.” – Barnes’ Notes “Moral blindness is the worst kind of blindness.” ~ “Man by nature is spiritually blind.” – Biblical Illustrator – Old Testament The Psalmist in Psalm 119:18 cried out to God – “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” Certainly, he was not talking about his physical eyesight here. His physical eyes were opened, yet he realized that he was not seeing everything there was to be seen in God’s law. Something was impairing his spiritual vision. He was only gleaning the surface knowledge of what he was reading and had a great desire to dig deeper. His prayer was basically asking God to give him an understanding…enlighten his mind by the light of the Holy Spirit…dispel all ignorance and error…take away from his eyes whatever was preventing clear vision…take off the veil of darkness and ignorance from his heart…and allow the scales to drop from his eyes so that he could discern divine and spiritual things. He realized that the more God opened his eyes, the more wonders he would be able to see in the Word. “Open Thou mine eyes” – This was a very familiar Eastern figure of speech that was based on the fact that the eye is dependent on the mind and the will. It was a figure of speech used to represent the quickening of spiritual discernment. Why did the Psalmist pray such a prayer? Wasn’t he able to discern the deep things of God as he read through His Word? Weren’t spiritual truths supposed to simply open up before him as he continued in his study? Apparently not. The things that are seen and temporal that surround us have the power to dim and darken the vision of things normally unseen and spiritual. We simply cannot see into the spiritual realm without the help of Almighty God. The worldly things that we have looked upon all day long have a tendency to lay scales and veils over our eyes and hearts. Hence, it is imperative that every time that we open God’s Holy Bible, we pray this prayer – “Open Thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” This is the reason why so many open the Bible and read and yet get nothing out of their time of reading. The Bible is as a closed book to them. They don’t quite understand what God is trying to say. They get the basic gist of the reading but don’t realize what is beyond the surface. This is also the reason why some folk will read the Bible for years and years and never be changed by its power. They are the same way they were when they got saved twenty…ten…five…or one year ago. They never break through to God nor allow Him to break through to them. It is as though they are reading this “open” book with a veil or scales over their eyes. And they wonder why – after so many years – they still show forth a total ignorance of spiritual things. They have never had their eyes opened to see all that God has hidden for them to see. In Isaiah 29:18, we read – “And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.” It is God’s will to bring His people out of gross ignorance into a clear and saving knowledge of the truth. Isaiah 32:3 says – “And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim…” God desires that all of His people have a clear view of divine truth. No more does He want them to see spiritual things obscurely but to have a sharp discerning of Gospel truths. In Isaiah 35:5, we read – “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened…” God’s grace alone has the power to open the eyes of our understanding. Notice that the Scriptures state that God alone is the One who can opens our eyes to see Biblical truths as He wrote them. This is implied in Deuteronomy 29:4 which says – “Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” It is the workmanship of God to give “eyes to see” – the ability to understand and learn His wonderful truths. It is boldly proclaimed in Psalm 146:8 which says – “The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind…” Yes, He opens the eyes of the physically blind. But let’s not forget that He also gives the knowledge of divine things to those who are spiritually blind as well. It is possible to see and yet not see. In Matthew 13:13, the Lord Jesus referred to a people who – “…seeing see not…” In Jeremiah 5:21, the Prophet Jeremiah described them in this way – ” Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not…” And, in Ezekiel 12:2, the Prophet described them yet another way – “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not…” These are the people who don’t understand spiritual signification. They don’t see the true Light on account of spiritual ignorance and depravity. They have closed their eyes against the Light. They have rejected divine teaching. They are unwilling to understand the things of God. They don’t have more knowledge because they don’t use what they have already. Their understanding is darkened. Hence, they are willfully blind. They have the capacity to understand, yet they do not understand. Their hearts are hardened . They have become preoccupied with mere temporalities. What about you, O Christian? Whenever you open God’s Word, do you pray that He would open your eyes to see “wondrous things” out of His law? Or do you simply read to fulfill a religious obligation? Are you aware of the fact that you can have eyes to see and yet not see what God is trying to say to you at the time? You may wonder why nothing is happening in your life – why nothing seems to change for the better. Days run into weeks…weeks run into months…months run into years – and you are not changed. You are still the same as you have always been – spiritually speaking. You are not seeing into God’s Word for several reasons. You may be living in sin which will definitely cause spiritual blindness. You may have shut your heart to some divine teaching or truth in His Word because it didn’t fit into your denominational mold. Resultantly, your heart is hardened to receive any other truths. Or you may be so preoccupied with all that is happening around you that your heart and mind are totally distracted from the things of God. Go before the Lord and cry out to Him to examine the state of your heart right now. Allow Him to remove the scales from your eyes that keep you from seeing all that He has for you in His Word. Your answer is found in the Holy Scriptures. You may not see it now, but it is there. It isn’t that God is hiding it from you. You are not seeing it because your eyes have become dim or blinded through sin, compromise, or worldliness. From the depths of your heart, why not cry out to Jesus and say – “Open Thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law” ? ~Bible, By the Spirit, Little Nuggets
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 15:16:54 +0000
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