Remember Madame Guyon and her second way of approaching prayer -- Beholding the Lord or Waiting in His Presence ? -- I said that I hadn't been able to proceed with that pattern because I had so much trouble sitting quietly? Well, maybe the Lord gave me this hymn this morning to help, encourage, and challenge me.
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!
What first comes to mind, for me, is, of course, an historical event: when the archaeologist (Egyptologist), Howard Carter, discovered King Tut's ancient tomb, with its incredibly wealthy collection of gold artifacts. When he at least found the narrow stairway leading down to the burial chamber, he called over to the man who was sponsoring the expedition, Lord Carnarvon, to come down so he could be present when the chamber door was actually opened. The workmen began to push back the final debris to reveal the opening. Lord Carnarvon asked urgently, "Do you see anything" and Carter answered triumphantly, "Yes, wonderful things!"
I remember that sometimes when I read the Scripture -- YES, wonderful things are here!
Clara was probably thinking, not about King Tut, since that discovery was not until 1922 and she died in 1897, but Psalm 119:18. "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."
This verse is in the 3rd stanza of Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the Bible, and the longest chapter, with 176 verses. All are about God's Word and how it enables us to live victorious lives and bring honor and joy to God.
The ancient poet who wrote this Psalm uses various words in this stanza to describe God's Word: "law," "commands," "laws," "statutes," "decrees,"
"word," and finally "counselors." What a comforting thought: "Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors."
A counselor, when they us well, can direct us and advise us.
Our Counselor knows us thoroughly, inside and out. He knows what we need and is eager to give us good gifts, far more than Howard Carter was able to bring out of King Tut's tomb.
Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem, with the verses of each stanza begining with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet (22 letters). Each verse of this 3rd stanza begins with Gimel, the 3rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
King Tut's tomb contained the most lavish and beautiful artifacts ever found. They are, at various times, paraded to musuems all over the world for public admiration and astonishment.
But none of them compares to what we find in God's Word.
The word "open" used here is the same word that appears in the account of Balaam when the Lord opened his eyes to see the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn (Numbers 22:31).
It is not talking about physically opening the eyes. It refers to removing a veil, or covering. A miraculous revealing of something God wants us to see. Like when Jesus walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. "Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him" (Luke 24).
It doesn't mean the Word itself is veiled or unclear. It means our eyes of understanding are clouded with our earthly experiences and preconceived notions.
Our eyes are not focused on the revelation before us. We are distracted and we are truly suffering from 'attention deficiency.'
It takes the Holy Spirit's power to settle us down, focus our eyes and minds, and lead us to dig, really dig deep, like Howard Carter did at that ancient burial site, to uncover the wealth of joyful truths God has for us in His Word.
Open my ears that I may hear
Voices of truth Thou sendest clear
And while the wavenotes fall on my ear
Everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for Thee
Ready, my God, Thou will to see
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit Divine!
And, finally,
Open my mouth and let me bear
Gladly the warm truth everywhere
Open my heart, and let me prepare
Love for Thy children everywhere.....
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