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Psalm 119:18
Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law.
16I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word. GIMEL
17Do good to your servant. I will live and I will obey your word.
18Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law.
19I am a stranger on the earth. Don’t hide your commandments from me.
20My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times.
Notice
“Open my eyes” joins a desire to understand God’s law with an admission that seeing its wonders requires help from God.
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What do you expect to find in God’s law when you begin reading?
Write on thisWhat difference, if any, is there between reading God’s law and seeing wondrous things in it?
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Where else Scripture says this
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Ephesians 1:17–18that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,Both prayers seek help from God to understand: the psalm seeks wonders in his law, and Ephesians seeks wisdom in knowing him.
Acts 26:18to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance …Both speak of opening eyes, with the psalm seeking understanding of God’s law and Acts describing turning from darkness to God.
Luke 24:45Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures.The psalm asks God to open eyes to his law; Luke describes Jesus opening minds to understand the Scriptures.
Ephesians 1:18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the …Both connect inward sight with understanding: wonders in God’s law in the psalm, and hope and inheritance in Ephesians.
Isaiah 32:3The eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen.Both speak of eyes able to see, though the psalm directs that sight toward wonders in God’s law.
Isaiah 35:5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.Both describe eyes being opened; the psalm seeks understanding of God’s law, while Isaiah speaks of blind eyes and deaf ears.
Matthew 13:13Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.Both distinguish sight from understanding: the psalm asks for eyes to perceive God’s law, while Jesus describes people who see without understanding.
2 Corinthians 4:4–6in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should …Both use sight to speak about perception, though Corinthians describes minds blinded to Christ’s glory and the psalm asks to see God’s law.
Isaiah 29:18In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness.Both connect sight with access to words: the psalm seeks wonders in God’s law, while Isaiah pairs restored sight with hearing a book.
Matthew 16:17Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.Both connect understanding with help from God: the psalm asks for opened eyes, and Jesus names the Father as revealer.
John 9:39Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”Both speak of gaining sight, though John also speaks of judgment and of those who see becoming blind.
2 Kings 6:17Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, please open his eyes, that he may see.” the LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of …Both contain a prayer for God to open eyes; Elisha’s servant sees horses and chariots of fire, while the psalm seeks wonders in God’s law.
One step
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Encouragement
Needing help to understand Scripture belongs within the prayer of someone who delights in God’s word. The wonders are in his law; the request for sight goes to him.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).