Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord!

Introduction:

“Open My Eyes That I May See”

Open my eyes that I may see

Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp, and set me free;

Silently now I wait for Thee:

Ready, my God, Thy will to see;

Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Within this awesome volume lies

Mystery of mysteries.

Happiest they of human race

Who from their God have gotten grace

To read, to wonder and to pray,

To lift the latch and face the way; But better had he ne’er been born

Who reads to laugh, who reads to scorn

Let me give you kind of a bird’s eye view of this portion of Psalm 119.

I. Prayer for divine illumination (vs. 17-19)

A. Prayer as a servant (v. 17)

B. Prayer as a student (v. 18)

C. Prayer as a stranger (v. 19)

II. Prayer for divine satisfaction (v.20)

III. Prayer for divine opposition (vs. 21-24)

A. Some discredit the Word (vs. 21-23)

Spirit of rebellion (v. 21)

Spirit of ridicule (v. 22)

Spirit of those reigning (v.23)

B. Some delight in the Word (v.24)

As believers we have so much to look forward to, but until the Lord calls us home, our desire should be to live our lives for Christ in order to keep, and guard, and treasure, and put into practice the Word of God. You cannot mature spiritually unless you have that desire in your life.

This morning I want to key in on two points; First, the prayer for divine illumination, and Second, seven prayers for spiritual growth. We will springboard off just one verse in this section; verse 18.

I. Prayer for Divine Illumination as a Student of the Word (119:18)

Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wondrous things from your instruction.”

If you are going to grow spiritually, then you need your eyes opened. In other words, you need wisdom and understanding of what God is trying to get across to you in His Word. The word “open” is from the Hebrew word galah {gaw-law′} which not only means “to open,” but also “to uncover, unveil, or reveal.”

Someone has said, “When it comes to God’s Word, many times we are playing “Hide and Go Seek” or “Blind Man’s Bluff.” Our eyes are covered just like they are in these games. The Word of God is not covered or unclear. We are the ones that have a problem with dullness. Our eyes are covered or blinded.”

No wonder we can’t find our way or get lost. We don’t understand what is going on, what we are doing, where we are heading, or what decision to make. Notice how Isaiah described the condition of those living in sin and rebellion against God.

Isaiah 59:10 “We grope along a wall like the blind; we grope like those without eyes. We stumble at noon as though it were twilight; we are like the dead among those who are healthy.”

The psalmist wanted his eyes opened so he could “behold, regard, or pay attention” to wonderful things in the Word of God. If we are going to mature, or grow spiritually, then we need to understand God’s message so we can put it into practice. The question I want to address is, “What covers up our eyes? What spiritually blinds us?”

A. What Spiritually Blinds Us?

1. Our Sovereign King and Lord

It is God’s desire that all men be saved, but unfortunately, all men will not obey the Lord. Many are defiant against Him.

God can withhold understanding from the wicked who are rebellious against Him and refuse to believe in Him, as an act of His judgment.

He can also open the eyes of those walking in darkness or confusion when they are seeking the truth, salvation, and God’s direction. He wants men to know Him.

John 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”

John 9:39 “Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.””

The Pharisees were the rabbis of the age, the most seeing and learned men of that time. Carnal men are puffed up with a conceit of their own abilities, and so are obstructed by them from profiting by the gospel.

Psalm 146:8 “The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises up those who are oppressed. The Lord loves the righteous.”

2 Samuel 22:29 “Lord, you are my lamp; the Lord illuminates my darkness.”

2. Bitterness toward Others

1 John 2:11 “But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

In spite of the hurt we might receive from others, we do not have to become bitter. In fact, the pain or trial can actually be used of God to be a blessing.

The famous, blind songwriter Fanny Crosby wrote more than 8,000 songs. This fact and other interesting highlights in the life of Miss Crosby were revealed by Warren Wiersbe in his book Victorious Christian. Wiersbe explained that when Fanny was only 6 weeks old a minor eye inflammation developed. The doctor who treated the case was careless, though, and she became totally and permanently blind.

Fanny Crosby harbored no bitterness against the physician, however. In fact, she once said of him, “If I could meet him now, I would say “Thank you” over and over again for making me blind.” She felt that her blindness was a gift from God to help her write the hymns that flowed from her pen.

According to those who knew her, Miss Crosby probably would have refused treatment even if it could have assured the restoration of her sight. Wiersbe concluded by commenting: “It was said of another blind hymn writer, George Matheson, that God made him blind so he could see clearly in other ways and become a guide to men. This same tribute could be applied to Fanny Crosby, who triumphed over her handicap and used it to the glory of God.”Yes, this talented woman allowed her tragedy to make her better instead of bitter.

May we not be blinded by bitterness. Are you mad at someone? Go ahead and forgive them and move on with your life.

3. Selfishness and Greed

1 Samuel 12:3 “Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and his anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Who have I wronged or mistreated? Who gave me a bribe to overlook something? I will return it to you.””

Selfishness and greed blind us to the needs of others and the blessings that God has already given to us. We can’t enjoy what we have because we are looking for more, leaving us unfulfilled and dissatisfied.

Two old friends bumped into one another on the street one day. One man looked very sad and discouraged, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has the world done to you, my old friend?” The sad fellow said, “Three weeks ago, a rich uncle of mine died. To my surprise, he included me in his will. His lawyers sent me a check for $40,000!”

“That’s terrific,” said the friend. “That’s a lot of money.” “Yes, but two weeks ago, they sent me another check—this time for $100,000!” “Wow, that’s incredible!” said the friend. “You’ve really been blessed!” “You don’t understand,” the man whined. “Last week I got another check in the mail that was larger than the first two. It was for a quarter of a million dollars!”

The friend was getting very confused. “You’re right, I don’t understand. Why then are you so unhappy? Why do you look so glum?” “Because this week I haven’t received anything,” came the reply.

4. Pride and Self-Independence blind us.

Revelation 3:17 “For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”

Ephesians 4:17-18 “Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.”

1 Corinthians 8:1-2 “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know it as he ought to know it.”

5. Stupid, Foolish Attitudes blind us.

Ecclesiastes 2:13-14 “And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness. The wise person has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.”

6. Our Sinfulness and love for our Sin will blind us.

Sinfulness and love for sinful living blind men from the truth. Many do not want to know the truth because they do not want to change the way they are living. Their eye is evil or focused on doing evil.

Isaiah 59:2, 8, 9 “But your iniquities are separating you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not listen. They have not known the path of peace, and there is no justice in their ways. They have made their roads crooked; no one who walks on them will know peace. Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light , but there is darkness; for brightness, but we live in the night”

Matthew 6:23 “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!”

7. Satan

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

8. Spiritual Ignorance

People without Christ are spiritually blind. This is why they have difficulty understanding the Bible or the dedication of faithful Christians.*

1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.”

9. Shallowness in Spiritual Maturity and Character

2 Peter 1:5-9 “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.”

In his book Folk Psalms of Faith, Ray Stedman tells a story of a woman who had been a school teacher for 25 years. When she heard about a job that would mean a promotion, she applied for the position. However, someone who had been teaching for only one year was hired instead. She went to the principal and asked why she was not hired. The principal responded, “I’m sorry, but you haven’t had 25 years of experience as you claim; you’ve had only one year’s experience 25 times.” During that whole time the teacher had not improved.

Listen, God wants us to mature in our walk with Him. He wants us to fulfill His purpose and will for our lives by reaching others for Christ. When we fail to mature and develop Christian character, we fail to see what God wants for us and have difficulty knowing His will. May our prayer be, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”

B. Seven Prayers for Spiritual Growth

1. Pray that God would Counsel Us and teach us His Word

If we are going to learn God’s Word, we are going to need His help.

Psalm 119:12 “Lord, may you be blessed; teach me your statutes.”

Psalm 119:33 “Teach me, Lord, the meaning of your statutes, and I will always keep them.”

Psalm 119:135 “Make your face shine on your servant, and teach me your statutes.”

2. That God would not Conceal His truth

The Bible warns of the dreadful chastisement or judgment of the Word of God being taken from us.

Psalm 119:19 “I am a resident alien on earth; do not hide your commands from me.”

3. For Clarity and Clearness in order to Understand His truths and put them into practice.

You can’t apply what you do not understand.

Psalm 119:27 “Help me understand the meaning of your precepts so that I can meditate on your wonders.”

Psalm 119:34 “Help me understand your instruction, and I will obey it and follow it with all my heart.”

Psalm 119:73 “Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding so that I can learn your commands.”

4. That God would Align our Will with His.

The Bible is not hard to understand, it is hard to obey. Many times it is our will that gets in the way of obeying God’s Word and putting it into practice.

Psalm 119:36 “Turn my heart to your decrees and not to dishonest profit.”

5. That God would Charge Us Up and bring Joy into our heart.

Our tendency is to run down like an uncharged battery. We need recharged continually.

Psalm 119:88 “Give me life in accordance with your faithful love, and I will obey the decree you have spoken.”

6. That God will help us to Carry Out His Word.

We need God’s strength to put the Scriptures into practice.

Psalm 119:133 “Make my steps steady through your promise; don’t let any sin dominate me.”

7. That God would Chase and Convert Us when we stray away from Him.

Our tendency is to drift away from the Lord.

Psalm 119:176 “I wander like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commands.”

If you are going to mature as a Christian, then pray for illumination from His Word and spiritual growth.

Treasures from Treasured Psalms, Volume 3, Psalm 119 (II. The Request for Enlightenment & Illumination (119:18))

Conclusion:

The Psalmist was very much aware of his need for spiritual growth through the Word. The Apostle Paul, after spending three years in Ephesus, had a similar desire for the Ephesians and you and I.

Ephesians 1:15-21 “This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength. He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens—far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”