Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy Law.
- Psalm 119:18
The "Law" is a contentious subject with some Christians.
These days few seem to read it. It is almost anathema to progressives within the church, so little do they understand it. Yet, here we have David, a man after God's own heart, desiring to behold the "wondrous things" within it. I am talking about Exodus to Deuteronomy.
David commences with "Open thou mine eyes." He knew in his heart that the Law held things he couldn't yet see with the eyes of that heart. The line is similar to anyone being Born Again, when the Lord opens our heart-eyes to an entirely new spiritual world.
We can dismiss the Law too quickly, thinking it is irrelevant in today's Christianity; old, old-fashioned instructions, a set of rules for a time long past, harsh, judgemental directives for Israel that don't apply to us who live in the freedom of Christ.
Psalm 19 says the "Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.” Anything that is already perfect doesn’t require updating or archiving. This passage was also written long ago by David, but, if we remove the Law from Christianity, how does the soul get converted?
The Apostle Paul, in the New Testament, wrote in Romans 7:7, "... I had not known sin, but by the Law: for I had not known lust, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet."
Paul confirms that the Law was relevant to the proper conversion of his soul. He was converted intelligently, as the Lord expects. His heart was smitten, and his eyes were opened to the sin of lust, and whatever else he was shown. We cannot have a proper conversion without the Law, as we must know against what we have sinned.
Preachers and bible students take the stories out of the Law, like Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10, or the serpent of brass in Number 21, yet leave the Law which guides society. We are not called to selectively separate real life from the system that converts us to that life.
David wanted to understand the intricacies and orderliness of the holy system and how one becomes converted to it — how one falls in love with it. David said, "O, how love I thy law, it is my meditation all the day." When one is in love, we find it IS our meditation all day long.
There is more to the Law than showing us the truth of our nature. The case studies in Exodus 21-23 show us how proper judgment must be dispensed. It provides the benchmark for decisions.
Leviticus shows us how to love our enemies, how to love our neighbours, and how to deal with societal conflict. It also shows us the sacred manner in which we should treat our holy royal priesthood into which we are called. Deuteronomy shows us what we can and cannot do as a society.
The Law shows humanity how to be clean before God.
Proverbs 6:23 says, "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:”
Societies, including ours, have removed God’s Law from their constitutions and legal framework, and from our public schools. As a result, they have lost their way of life and governing light. They are left with little to provide the reproof held within godly instruction, and their societies have broken down under the burden of false legislation with no purity. Their people’s minds and souls are decaying, requiring specialists, psychological help and more blind legislation.
Similar to how we ask the Lord into our lives, David asked for a conversion so he may behold the wondrous things the Law presents. He, like Paul, eventually understood the love within the Law due to a conversion to it.
The Law is not the enemy of grace; it is its co-worker. It is the schoolmaster (instructor) leading people to Christ. It illuminates the sin in our lives, and leads us to the only redeemer, Jesus Christ, for a qualified and thorough repentance.
Today's Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the Law, and thank you for David's passion for it. He saw things I cannot. Please help me to see what he saw. Open thou my eyes so I, like David and Paul, may see wondrous things in thy law.
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