Psalms 119:18

18 Open my eyes, and I shall behold the wonders of thy law.

Psalms 119:18 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 119:18

Open thou mine eyes
The eyes of my heart or understanding, as Kimchi; or, "reveal mine eyes" F20; take off the veil from them: there is a veil of darkness and ignorance on the hearts of all men, with respect to divine and spiritual things; their understandings are darkened, yea, darkness itself. This veil must be removed; the scales must drop from their eyes; their eyes must be opened and enlightened, before they can discern spiritual things contained in the word of God; and even good men need to have the eyes of their understandings more and more enlightened into these things, as the psalmist here petitions, and the apostle prays for his Ephesians, ( Ephesians 1:17 Ephesians 1:18 ) ;

that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law;
the law strictly taken, which had great and excellent things in it; and was wonderful for the compendiousness of it; for the justice, holiness, and equity of its precepts; especially for its spirituality, and above all for Christ, being the end of it; the two last more particularly could only be discerned by a spiritual man: or rather the five books of Moses, the almost only Scriptures extant in David's time, in which there were many wonderful things concerning Christ; some delivered by way of promise and prophecy of him, under the characters of the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the Shiloh, and the great Prophet; and many others in dark figures, types, and shadows, which required a spiritual sight to look into; of which the rock and manna, the brasen serpent, passover, &c. are instances: but rather, as the word "law" signifies "doctrine", the doctrine of the Gospel may be meant; which contains mysteries in it, respecting the trinity of Persons in the Godhead, the person of Christ, his incarnation, sufferings and death; the blessings of grace through him; the doctrines of peace, pardon, righteousness, eternal life, and the resurrection of the dead; with many others.


FOOTNOTES:

F20 (ynye lg) "revela oculos meos", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; "velamen detrahe oculis meis", Tigurine version.

Psalms 119:18 In-Context

16 I will delight myself in thy statutes; I will not forget thy words.
17 GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy slave that I may live and keep thy word.
18 Open my eyes, and I shall behold the wonders of thy law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth; hide not thy commandments from me.
20 My soul is broken from desiring thy judgments at all times.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010