Psalm 119.17-24 (2)

Pray Psalm 119.17, 18.
Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.

Sing Psalm 119.17, 18.
(Open My Eyes: Open My Eyes, That I May See)
Open my eyes, Lord, let me see wonderful truths to transform me.
I am a stranger here in the earth; hide not from me Your glorious worth.
Deal with your servant graciously that I may live obediently.
Open my eyes, Lord, let me see glory divine!

Read Psalm 119.17-24; meditate on verse 18.

Preparation
1. What did the psalmist want God to do?

2. What did he want to see?

Meditation
The word here translated “wondrous things” is worth pondering. We can see that it connects to the idea of God’s Law being beautiful, which we observed in stanza 2. We delight in things beautiful, and all beautiful things lead us to wonder. The psalmist knew that the Law of God contains many “wondrous things” – extraordinary insights, excellent judgments, ways of being that surpass what sinners like us typically aspire to or experience.

The Law of God, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, can do wondrous things in transforming us into the likeness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3.12-18). But we need God to open our eyes and show these wonders to us.

Paul reminds us that the Spirit of God, Who is at work within us, is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we could ever ask or think (Eph. 3.20). Our problem is not lack of ability to understand wonders and do extraordinarily good works; our problem is lack of vision and faith. These come from the Spirit and Word of God, but we must wait on the Lord in prayer for Him to open our eyes and show us wondrous things, abundant and surpassing-beyond things, things we would never think to undertake, but that God shows us and, by His Spirit, encourages and empowers us to know.

This also is a work of God’s grace. By His grace, He has stored up wondrous things in His Law. By His grace He has given His Law to us, and His Spirit to teach it to us. By His grace He welcomes us into His Presence, to request of Him the ability to see wondrous things in His Law. And by His grace He both shows us these exceedingly abundant wondrous things and empowers us to walk in them.

And that’s the most wondrous thing of all!

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
The prophet Elisha prayed for his helper that he would be able to see God’s protection for them. He said, “‘LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kgs. 6.17). Wondrous.

David added another of our five senses when he said, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good…” (Ps. 34.8). He also encourages us to, “Come and see the works of God…” (Ps. 66.5). Wondrous good.

The shepherds who visited the baby Jesus said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us” (Lk. 2.15) Wonder of wonders. Jesus.

Jesus, was the Fulfiller of the psalmist’s prayer: “And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” (Lk. 24.45).

And we now take up the psalmist’s prayer, and the request of the Greeks who came to Philip and requested of him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (Jn. 12. 21).

Our main desire, our hope for sight is this: “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law” (Ps. 119.18). First, we see His Law, then we must do it. Then we discern, perceive, glimpse, identify, notice, comprehend, and actually see wondrous things in that Law. We no longer shy away from it, as a negative thing, but we are drawn to it like bees to honey, or bugs to a light. Like a magnet to steel. We cannot get enough of the wonders found in His Law. In His Word. In our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In this Law we see Jesus, the One Who kept the Law perfectly for our salvation. And He wants us to do the same, not to earn our salvation, but in appreciation for it. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (Jn. 15.10).

But the only way we will ever truly see is through the power of God. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…” (Is. 9.2). “So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him” (Matt. 20.34). The wondrous point.

“And by His grace He both shows us these exceedingly abundant wondrous things and empowers us to walk in them.”

For reflection
1. What would you describe as some “wondrous things” you have seen in God’s Word?

2. In what way does the Law of God show us Jesus?

3. How can you become more consistent in seeing “wondrous things” from God’s Law and all His Word?

And what wonder is it the Spirit works life, who enlivens as does the Father and as does the Son? And who can deny that giving new life is the work of the eternal Majesty? For it is written, “Give life to your servant.” He, then, is enlivened who is a servant, that is, a person, who before he did not have life but received the privilege of having it. Ambrose of Milan (333-397), On the Holy Spirit 2.3.29-31

Pray Psalm 119.19-24.
Pray that God will show you many wondrous things from His Law throughout the day. Ask Him to open your eyes to opportunities to show Jesus or to proclaim Him to others.

Sing Psalm 119.19-24.
(Open My Eyes: Open My Eyes, That I May See)
My soul with longing breaks for You; all of Your judgments I would do.
For You rebuke the proud and the cursed, who from Your Law have strayed, and worse.
Take from me all contempt, O Lord, for I have kept Your holy Word.
Lift all reproach from me, O Lord - my soul renew!

Princes oppose me day by day, for I continue in Your way.
I will Your statutes hold in my mind. What great delight in them I find!
Lord, let Your testimonies be light on my path to counsel me.
Lord, what delight You bring to me out of Your Word!

T. M. and Susie Moore

You can listen to a summary of last week’s Scriptorium study by going to our website, www.ailbe.org, and clicking the Scriptorium tab for last Sunday. You can download any or all the studies in this series on Psalm 119 by clicking here.

Now you can receive our monthly Personal Mission Field Workshop through email on your desktop. Just click here, enter you email, and choose the teaching letters you’d like to receive, including the Personal Mission Field Workshop.

If you find Scriptorium helpful in your walk with the Lord, please seek the Lord, asking Him whether you should contribute to the support of this daily ministry with your financial gifts. As the Lord leads, you can use the Contribute button at the website to give with a credit card or through PayPal or Anedot, or you can send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 360 Zephyr Road, Williston, VT 05495.

Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.