The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalm 19.8b (ESV)
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spoke these words “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” Matthew 6.22 which is a statement with both physical and spiritual depths.
We probably take our physical eyes, and indeed all our bodies, for granted until such time as some problem arises with them when we begin to be concerned while what we should be doing is actively caring for them for, as David says in Psalm 139.14, they are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made.’
In 1 Samuel 14 we read of a significant victory over the Philistines that God initiated through Jonathan, Saul’s son, and his armour bearer who were operating in this instance without Saul’s knowledge. However when Saul heard of it he issued a decree that the Israelite armies should not eat till the initial advantage had been driven home. It was a foolish decree as clearly fighting men need strength from food. Jonathan however, not knowing of the decree, found honey and ate, and v.27 records the result ‘his eyes became bright’ . Read the whole chapter to see the results.
If a simple taste of honey (we will encounter honey shortly in Psalm 19) had this effect on the body how we should take on board the verse we are focussing on today!
If our spiritual eyes are dark or dim then we are in a dangerous situation, for faced with the challenges of living for Christ in an increasingly godless western world, (praise God that his church is growing fast in many other areas), eyes that do not work properly will lead us to stumble and fall.
How do we avoid this? By turning to the commandment of the Lord. David does not specify this commandment but it is likely that it encompasses the whole counsel of God but let us narrow it down this morning to the first and greatest commandment which is
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.” Matthew 22.37-39
Here is the secret of enlightened eyes.