“Open My Eyes That I May See”

by Chris Simmons

Psalms 119:18 reads, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Thy law.” This is the verse that Clara Scott was reading when she was moved to write the words to the hymn “Open My Eyes That I May See.” Not much else is known about the author of this song other than that she published a book of 79 hymns entitled “Truth In Song” (33 of which she wrote the music for and many of which, including this one, that she also wrote the lyrics to) just one year before she passed away in a carriage accident. It is evident from the words of this song and the title of the hymn book that truth was of utmost concern to Clara Scott. A portion of the first verse of that song reads:

“Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me …
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!”

It’s imperative that each one of us have a love for truth – without which we will perish (II Thessalonians 2:10). How does one get a love for truth and whose responsibility is it to open our eyes to see God’s truth? Many advocate that a love for truth and the ability to see and understand God’s will is dependent upon some divine source outside of ourselves – that it’s God who chooses who loves truth and who can see the truths in His word. Rather, it was Jesus who said that it’s man who makes the choice to see with his eyes or hear with his ears and if someone can’t see the truth, it’s either because they have tried or because they’ve “closed their eyes lest they should see with their eyes” (Matthew 13:14-16). Blessed is the man who chooses to open his eyes. We are commanded to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17) and are promised that we indeed can when we turn to God’s word (Ephesians 3:3-5).

So when Paul prays for the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:18-19 that, “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe,” he’s praying that they (and us) would choose to open their eyes to what God has revealed to us about hope, riches, and power. It takes work and effort on our part to study, know, and see God’s truth (II Timothy 2:15) and we have to invest ourselves in every opportunity in life to open our eyes to these “glimpses of truth” this song speaks of. There’s a cost to seeing truth as Jesus spoke of the need to “buy” from Him “eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see” as He spoke to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:18. That cost is our time, effort, and diligence to know and understand truth.

So Psalms 119:18 teaches us to pray for the knowledge and understanding of the “wonderful things of Thy law.” The key here is that we pray that we will see the truth God wants us to see and not the lies and deception that we might want to see. The problem is often not that man doesn’t go to God’s word, it’s that he goes to God’s word with the wrong objective: seeking to justify what he wants to do and say and think (II Timothy 4:3-4; Luke 16:15) rather than approaching God’s word in humility (James 1:21), wanting to see what God would have him to know.

What else should we pray that we might see? First, opportunities to teach and serve. Jesus said in John 4:35, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” The opportunities to teach and exhort are all around us Jesus said, if we’ll only open our eyes and see them. We need to see the immediate need for faithful brethren to “let your light shine” in any and all situations of life. Some just don’t see the opportunities to serve others that are right before their very eyes (Matthew 25:37-40, 44-46).

Second, we need to pray that we’ll see the temptations we need to avoid and the way of escape. God promised in I Corinthians 10:12-13 that the “way of escape” will be provided – we just need to pray that we’ll see it and have the courage to take it. We need the wisdom to see ahead of time those situations which provide for “the flesh in regards to its lusts” and make sure we turn away and flee from such situations (Romans 13:13-14). We need to pray for the sober mindedness to see our formidable adversary who continually “prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (I Peter 5:8) and make preparations to resist him (Ephesians 6:13ff).

Third, we need to pray that we’ll see the sin in our lives that needs to be repented of and aspects that we need to grow in. James wrote in James 1:22-24 of the need to look at himself in the mirror of God’s word and be honest in our comparison of our lives to God’s revealed word and then when there is a variance, do something about it – become a “doer of the word.” It takes courage, commitment, and godly character to honestly “test yourselves to see if you are in the faith” (II Corinthians 13:5). It’s tempting to see the faults and sins of others while failing to see them in ourselves (Matthew 7:3-5). May we see ourselves as we really are, confess, and repent of that which is contrary to His will, and address those things that are lacking in our lives (Luke 18:22).

Finally, we need to see with great clarity and conviction the goal we have before us. Again, Ephesians 1:18-19 addresses our need to see with the “eyes of your heart” the hope of heaven and the unfathomable inheritance to those whose faith and obedience persevere to the end. Jesus, during His time upon earth, focused on His goal of returning to the glory of His Father in heaven (Hebrews 12:1-2; John 17:5). We also must have as our “one thing” the “prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

May our prayers to God be that throughout our life, we see the truth, the dangers, the hope, the opportunities, the possibilities, and the solutions.