Throughout this precious portion of the Word of God the Psalmist is found pleading with the Lord, the God of his salvation. He desires things which are agreeable to the mind and will of God. He glories in God and makes mention of His goodness to him and thus makes thankful acknowledgement of the mercies of God. The Psalmist was a man after God’s own heart, who loved God’s blessed Name and who hungered and thirsted after righteousness. Christ pronounced such blessed. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6). He meditated upon God’s statutes. He thus showed that he was a “new creature” — that a principle of holiness had been planted in his soul. It is true of all God’s people that when they are regenerated or born again, a principle of holiness is implanted in their souls by the Holy Spirit. It is written, “Therefore if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are made new”.
The Psalmist also shows that he had been afflicted for his spiritual good. “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes” (verse 71). “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now I have kept Thy Word” (verse 67).
In the words of the text the Psalmist prayed to the Lord to be delivered from beholding vanity and he craved of the Lord that God would quicken him in His way. There were dangers in his way to Glory and he resorted to the Throne of Grace to obtain mercy and find grace in time of need.
We may notice, as enabled:
(1) His desire to be delivered from beholding vanity.
(2) His desire to be quickened in the way of God.
The Psalmist was evidently under the gracious influence of God the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Grace and of supplications when he prayed in this way. To him the throne of grace was precious. He was enabled by grace to pour out his heart before the Lord and he, therefore, shows his love for the name of God in seeking what was glorifying to God as well as what was profitable for himself. He is obviously afraid of sinning against God — of offending the Most High. He realises his own weakness and his inability to keep himself from sin, so he appeals to the Lord who alone could do this for him.
David shows that having come to love the Lord in truth, he loved what was real, what was substantial, what was true, what was of good report and he, therefore, abhorred lying vanities and he abhorred that which was vain, empty, foolish and unreal. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8). The Psalmist cried to the Lord that He would graciously, “Turn away his eyes from beholding vanity”. Well did he know how prone he was, by nature, to view vanity and to take pleasure in what was contrary to God’s revealed will in His Word, and how great was his need of being preserved by the Lord from desiring what was dishonouring to God and what was provoking to the eyes of His glory.
How true it is with regard to ourselves if we are left in any measure to ourselves, that we do seek what is unprofitable and vain and we desire to walk in a vain show. We thereby desire to walk according to the course and principles of this ungodly world. Man by nature loves what is sinful. He is in his element in a sinful way. The Apostle John, writing under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, mentions the love of the world and how those who profess to love God are not to love the world or the things which are in the world. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17). The Psalmist by his prayer was thus making it abundantly plain that while he was in the world he was not of it, but that he was chosen by the Lord out of the world to serve Him. “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15 v. 19). The Lord’s servant then found that the things of the world, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye and the pride of life, were a great burden to him. Because he loved God he was afraid of sinning against Him and he was therefore afraid of this present evil world. He realised the power of the temptations which beset him and which beset poor sinners in the world. He knew the power of Satan, the god of this world, who seeks to ensnare and entangle sinners to their eternal destruction. The Psalmist therefore cried to the Lord as one who was in great need and who realised, through the teaching of the Holy Spirit, his need of praying, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity”. Surely we see in this his genuine desire to be preserved by the Lord from the way in which destroyers go — the way of sin and death. It was not a case of drawing near to God with his lips while his heart was far from Him, but as one who was exercised in the Truth and whose heart was in what he desired, he made his request known to the Lord. He pleads with the Lord to do these things graciously for him. He could not do them for himself nor could others do them for him. The Lord alone was able to deliver him.
The Psalmist was not left to despair nor was he given over to a reprobate mind. He would not perish in his sins. When he appealed to the Lord to turn away his eyes from beholding vanity he was in effect praying that his affections would be set upon things above where Christ is and that he would not be left a slave to vile affections and to the lusts which war against the soul. He earnestly prayed to be kept by the power of God from beholding vanity or delighting in it, and by grace he did not desire to be given any liberty or license whatsoever to indulge in sin. He did not seek for an excuse to do what was contrary to the mind of God. His heart was sincere. Job made a covenant with his eyes (Job 31:1), and David is exercised in a similar way. His fervent prayer is that his eyes would not be avenues to allow sin to enter his soul, nor occasions of temptation to him and that he would be preserved from the lustful look. The Psalmist, as one who loved the Lord in sincerity, sought to keep the garments of his profession clean and unspotted from the world. He would not bring reproach upon the Cause of God in the world. His attitude was not that of those who said, “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou” (Isaiah 65:5), but rather was he afraid of taking fire into his bosom and so be burned.
“Turn away mine mine eyes from beholding vanity”: let me have no inclination towards those things which my soul ought to abhor. David was well aware of how those things were fitted to distract him and alienate his mind from the Truth and from the doctrines which are according to godliness. We notice in this respect his petition in verse 36, “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies and not to covetousness”. He was living in perilous times as far as the things of God were concerned, as we are, and if he needed this prayer, so do we. We need to be kept from that which dishonours God and that which takes our minds away from what pertains to the glory of God and belongs to our everlasting peace. How ready we are to be engrossed in the things of time and of sense and to forget the chief end of our creation which is to glorify God and to enjoy Him for ever: to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”. Do we not reverse the order and put our own things before the things of God? The Psalmist, as one who was taught by the Lord, was of another spirit as the desire of his heart was, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity”. Observe the holy fear he had, of being entangled or ensnared and his affections thereby drawn away from the Lord, from His Truth and from His testimonies and His statutes — which he found to be wonderful. “Thy testimonies are wonderful: thenceforth doth my soul keep them.” (verse 129). David had been ensnared, as many of the Lord’s people have, through the corruption of the flesh. He desired deliverance from what would cause him to err and in effect he is expressing the petition which Christ taught His disciples, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”. One can be placed, in the providence of God, in circumstances which are dangerous to one’s soul and can prove injurious. If one is in such a situation not because one chooses to court temptation nor to tempt God but in the course of one’s duties, in the Lord’s providence, how necessary it is for such a person to pray earnestly, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”. Turn away mine mine eyes from beholding vanity”.
In this age there are great dangers. Film shows, theatrical performances, lewd inventions of carnal men, serving the flesh and the devil incite others to evil. Television too can be a great evil in this respect. Picture houses, theatres, dance halls and public houses are places which should be shunned as places of temptation. If we go into such places wilfully, are we not tempting God to give us over to the lusts of the flesh? How necessary then is the prayer, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity”. That which is vain has this native tendency to lead one astray, to put one in a wrong way and to put one among those who are on that slippery path that leads to eternal destruction. How solemn it is to consider that this is the way that we naturally love, that we naturally choose and that is the way in which sinners are by nature, as Christ said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14). Is it true concerning you that you are not concerned about your soul’s salvation? Is it true of you that you have no desire to be preserved from the way in which destroyers go? If so, how unspeakably solemn is your condition on your way to the great eternity!
Thinking of what is brought before us in this Psalm alone, is there any petition here that corresponds with the desire of your heart? Could you put your Amen to any petition in this Psalm — even the portion we read? Observe how the Psalmist was praying “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law” (verse 18). The solemn truth is, that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:6, 7). No petition ever rose from the carnal mind which was in accordance with the mind and will of God. There is no desire towards God in the natural heart. By nature we are, as the Truth declares, “without God and without hope in the world” and we are “alienated from the life of God” through the evil that is in us. Therefore it is, and must be entirely of grace that any man or woman, boy or girl, should in truth desire what the Psalmist expresses here as his own desire. We naturally love sin. We naturally pursue what is evil both outwardly, if circumstances permit, and secretly in our imaginations. How much sin is committed through the thoughts and intents of our hearts — our vain imaginations. We ought therefore, to desire to be delivered from vanity. Bunyan’s Pilgrims, when passing through Vanity Fair, stopped their ears and closed their eyes and their cry went up, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity”. “Eye gate” as well as “ear gate” constitutes a great danger to sinners on their way to eternity.
(2) His desire to be quickened.
The Psalmist goes on to say, “and quicken Thou me in Thy way”. He knew very well that this was the way of God’s commandments and the way by which he would shun evil and cleave to what was good. He desired the Lord to enliven him and that he would be revived in his soul. Only the Lord could quicken him and David knew it. This was pleasing to the Lord because he looked to the Lord in faith and without faith it is impossible to please God. His heart, as it were, was beating in sympathy with the Word of God. His mind was in agreement with the mind of God and his affections were set on things that are above. In this he proved that his treasure was in heaven for “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34). The Lord was the object of his desire, as He was the object of his faith.
There are times when true believers feel very dead and barren — as if the things of God are tasteless and do not have the savour they once had. At such seasons it is as if the things of God are far removed from the believer as he struggles with spiritual darkness and a feeling of spiritual death. How appropriate then is this prayer. “Quicken Thou me in Thy way”. “While I feel”, the believer may say, “so dark, so brutish, so sensual and devilish, so hard hearted and so clouded in my understanding, yet ‘quicken Thou me in Thy way’”. It is the way of God, the way of His Truth as we read repeatedly. “I will delight myself in Thy statutes”. “I will meditate in Thy precepts and have respect unto Thy ways”. “I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches”. “I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart”. He believes that if the Lord would quicken him, if He would revive the graces of His Spirit in his soul and if the Lord would lift upon him the light of His reconciled countenance, then the things of God would again be most precious in his soul’s experience. “Quicken Thou me in Thy way”. The way of God is the Way of Life. It is the “path of the redeemed” — that narrow way that leads to everlasting life. It is the way of holiness of which the Prophet Isaiah speaks “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:8-10). While the way of God is the way of life, the way of holiness, the way of blessedness and peace for all Wisdom’s “ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace”, the way that we choose by nature is a slippery way that ends in eternal death for “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14 v. 12). The gracious soul knows that those have great peace who love God’s Law and the Psalmist also knew that if he were kept looking unto his Saviour then he would not desire to turn aside to vanity and lies. It is only through being quickened that his soul would love the Lord more fervently, serve Him more ardently and follow Him more fully. Truly thus would his soul prosper and be in health. One is in a backsliding condition if one is hankering after evil of any kind.
It is clear in the Psalmist’s case that his was a healthy state of soul and a wholesome frame of mind. When he prays, “Quicken Thou me in Thy way” he fervently desires to delight himself in God and to delight in the Word of God, and in those precious promises which he did “gladly hear”. “Remember Thy Word unto Thy servant upon which Thou hast caused me to hope”. There is in verse 65 a precious portion, “Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy Word”. What glory to God is in that confession of faith on the part of the Psalmist. He displays this banner because of the Truth in the midst of a perishing world, full of hypocrisy, vanity and lies and of God-dishonouring practices and principles. By grace he sought to adhere closely to the Word of God and to abide in the Truth as it is in Jesus. “Abide in me and I in you” said the blessed Saviour, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4).
The Psalmist was manifestly under the influence of grace and abiding in the Truth when he gave expression to these desires. We, too, should examine ourselves on this Lord’s Day whether we are in the faith, whether we have these gracious desires planted in our souls by the Holy Spirit of God. Do we know anything of the breathing of God’s Holy Spirit upon our souls? If so, we have breathings of soul after holiness. We have longings of soul which God alone can satisfy. “For He the soul that longing is doth fully satisfy”. The Psalmist in seeking to be quickened in the ways of God was setting to his seal that God was true and that by divine grace he had made choice of God’s testimonies. The Holy Spirit was making intercession within David’s soul and it was He who granted him those gracious desires, for, as it is true in regeneration that the Spirit of God works as He listeth so with respect to any spiritual appreciation of the Word of God or any true understanding of the things of God, these are from the same blessed Person. We, therefore, can safely conclude that all who truly fear the Lord have this prayer, “Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity and quicken Thou me in Thy way”. What was true then, is true now, that however great his needs were, the Lord was able to supply these according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
We should consider how solemn it is to hear the Gospel and to have the Word of God in our hands and in our homes and yet be completely destitute of saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are destined for the great eternity and none can afford to trifle with the Gospel of the grace of God. “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). It is common to call sin by some other name and thereby imagine that because sin is not admitted sinners can be excused in wrong-doing. Some may admit, while others deny, that there is right and wrong but it remains true that apart from divine grace sinners do not have a true conception of the real nature of sin. They do not understand that it is against God and is that abominable thing which He hates and which cannot be forgiven apart from the blood of the eternal Son of God in human nature. Nothing but the infinitely meritorious sacrificial death of the divine Redeemer could be a sufficient atonement for sin. “He gave His life a ransom for many”. Only thus could any sinner escape the damnation of hell. Yet if left to ourselves we will despise the blessed Saviour.
Those who are “the ransomed of the Lord” do desire to be quickened in God’s good and holy way, and earnestly pray to have a greater appreciation of God’s everlasting love as it is revealed in the Person and redemptive work of His well beloved Son and thus increasingly experience the communion of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle John writes, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ”. (1 John 1:3). Only by being quickened by the Spirit of God in the ways of God can one serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, and this the Psalmist knew as do all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. The living soul in harmony with the mind of God desires to be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. For this the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Great High Priest over the house of God, prayed in his great intercessory prayer as recorded in John chapter 17. “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.” Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God and being led by Him to the land of uprightness, even to heaven itself, value such desires as are here expressed in the words of our text, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken Thou me in Thy way”. May the Lord graciously grant that this prayer arise from our hearts. May He bless His Word.
D.M.M.