Spiritual Sight and Insight
Introduction:
As we continue in our series on Visionary View this evening, I want to encourage you to pray that God will give you Spiritual Insight.
As the focal point of the sermon, in Psalm 119:18 the Psalmist writes:
"Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions." (Psalm 119:18 NLT)
I wonder how often you and I have prayed in the same way?
For context, this verse comes from the third stanza of the longest chapter in the Bible.
Psalm 119 has 176 verses, divided into 22 stanzas, one for each of the 22 characters that make up the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 119 is both a hymn psalm - a song of praise for God's work and an acrostic poem, in the original Hebrew text, each of the eight verses of each stanza begins with the same Hebrew letter.
The theme of the verses in Psalm 119 is the prayer of someone who delights in and lives by the sacred law of the Torah –
Torah usually refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy – otherwise known as the Pentateuch or The Books of Moses.
I should point out that sometimes, the word Torah is used as a synonym for the whole of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, in which sense it includes not only the first five but all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible.
And just for completeness, there are times when Rabbinical Scholars will use the word Torah to mean the totality of Jewish teaching, culture, and practice, whether derived from Hebrew biblical texts or later rabbinic writings.
Hopefully, that is enough context for this Psalm!!!
Listen to Psalm 119:17–24
17 Be good to your servant,
that I may live and obey your word.
18 Open my eyes to see
the wonderful truths in your instructions.
19 I am only a foreigner in the land.
Don’t hide your commands from me!
20 I am always overwhelmed
with a desire for your regulations.
21 You rebuke the arrogant;
those who wander from your commands are cursed.
22 Don’t let them scorn and insult me,
for I have obeyed your laws.
23 Even princes sit and speak against me,
but I will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your laws please me;
they give me wise advice.
Wise words from a wise Psalmist.
There is a Rabbinic Tradition that David used this Psalm 119 to teach his young son Solomon the alphabet - but not just the alphabet for writing letters: the alphabet of the spiritual life.
There are three aspects I want to explore and consider this evening:
The importance of our motives in prayer,
The significance of seeking spiritual sight through God's Word, and
Our Gratitude in Troubled Times
I. The Significance of Proper Motives:
Jesus had much to say about praying with the proper motive listen to Matthew 6:5-8, “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. 7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!
James the half-brother of Jesus also gave a warning about unworthy motives hindering our prayers in James 4:3, And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong — you want only what will give you pleasure.
Here in Psalm 119:17-24, The psalmist prayed for the abundance God is able to provide.
Psalm 119:17 Be good to your servant,
that I may live and obey your word.
His petition here is that God deals graciously with him so that he can live a life of obedience to the Word of God.
He did not pray for what would be pleasurable to him.
He did not pray for comfort, riches, acceptance or popularity.
The psalmist prayed with a proper motive - that I may live and obey your word.
Friends, we need to examine our motives when we pray
Our motive for prayer must conform to the character and will of our Heavenly Father.
II. Praying for Spiritual Sight:
Then in Psalm 119:18 comes the prayer for Spiritual Sight
18 Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.
The psalmist's prayer is for God to open his eyes to see the wonders in God's law.
Sin and selfishness can blind us from perceiving spiritual truths.
It’s almost as if sin and selfishness create a cataract that stops us from having Spiritual Insight.
Sin and selfishness make it difficult for us to see anything except that which is tangible.
Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4,
If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
The Apostle Paul teaches us that Satan’s strategy is to put a blindfold on the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the truth of God as revealed in Jesus Christ.
During Jesus’ ministry, He was seeking not only to cure those who were physically blind but to open the spiritual eyes of His disciples so that they might see God’s truth.
It is significant that, following His resurrection, “Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45).
Every time we open up God’s Word, we need to pray for eyes that truly
see the marvellous things that spring up out of God’s truth.
We need eyes to see God as we study His Word.
We need eyes that will enable us to see ourselves as we read God’s Word
We need eyes that see with compassion for others as we study God’s Word.
We need to pray “Lord, take the veil from over my eyes and help me to see what you want me to see.”
We need to pray for spiritual sight and insight as we study God's Word.
III. Gratitude in Troubled Times
In verses Psalm 119:21-24, the psalmist speaks of troubles and of enemies who were plotting to bring about his downfall.
21 You rebuke the arrogant;
those who wander from your commands are cursed.
22 Don’t let them scorn and insult me,
for I have obeyed your laws.
23 Even princes sit and speak against me,
but I will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your laws please me;
they give me wise advice.
How often do you study God's Word as a listening experience?
How often do you seek to hear what God wants to say to you?
During this time of great trial, The Psalmist found strength, comfort, and help by listening to the great truths of God’s Word.
He had discovered that studying God’s Word could be a listening
experience.
We need to cultivate a spirit of gratitude and attentiveness to God's voice in times of blessing, trial or trouble.
Often, it is more important that we hear what God has to say than just
give voice to our wants, our needs, our petitions.
A quick summary as I draw to a close:
Examine your motives as you pray,
Seek spiritual sight & insight through God's Word, and
Express your gratitude to God in times of blessing, trial or trouble.
Listen to the voice of His Spirit as you pray about the circumstances or situations you are facing in your life today.
Read God's Word with an open heart and mind, and listen to the voice of God's Spirit.
I pray that God will give us a Visionary View and open our eyes with Spiritual sight and insight as we study His Word.
Amen
