Enlightening the Eyes

A[kt Lo3s

Psalm 19:7-11

Did you know that during Soviet era there used to be a ministry in the government of Armenia called the Ministry of Enlightenment? This had nothing to do with the Department of Utilities, electricity and the like. We are talking about the Department of Higher Education. Soviet philosophy was that only education could enlighten you. Today Armenia has a Ministry of Education.

In the 5th century, Armenia lived it’s Golden Age. It was called “Golden” not necessarily for material richness or extended territories but for being enlightened through our alphabet. The first thing the intellectuals did was to translate the Word of God to Armenian. The Alphabet helped us to see the light that God gave us in His Word. The Armenian translation was called the Queen Translation.

Here is a Psalm that I would like to share with you this morning. It talks about enlightenment.

“The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”(NIV)

“The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” (RSV)

Psalm 19:8b

The verse has two parts. The Word of God, the precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. This is what happens inside. This is an inward joy that only God can do in our hearts. The second part of the verse is the result of the first part. The commands of the Lord are pure, without sin, and they spread out rays of light.

Because the Lord is pure and radiant, He can also give us an outward sign: our eyes will shine, our eyes will be enlightened.

Application:

When our eyes are enlightened we will see things differently.

In “Amazing Grace” John Newton says, “I once was blind but now I see.” Likewise, the further I continue in being enlightened by our Lord Jesus, the more I look at things in my life from another perspective. For example, trials and temptations become opportunities for my growth. When I look back, and I see how many times God has been there in the midst of troubles, like my war experiences in Lebanon, like in my struggles against sin, and in all aspects of life. There have been days when I was blinded. I could not see anything. I could see just myself and my problems and the world around me with me in the center.

When you are in trouble, the Word of God can enlighten you.

One more application for having enlightened eyes:

When we are in uncertainty, the Word of God can give you guidance.

Last week, some of my friends took me to sailing trip in the Bay Area. We came back to the harbor late at night. I noticed poles in the water with green and red blinking lights. Those lights gave a clear direction to our boat and guided us safely into the harbor. I was looking at the eyes of the captain; they were enlightened. In the same way, the Word of God will “blink”, will awaken us, will guide us, sometimes rebuke us, and sometimes encourage us. Our eyes will be enlightened in our uncertainties.

One of the nice idioms in Armenian is achket louys (your eyes are enlightened). We use it when something good happens like when a loved one returns home. We look at your eyes and we see light shining in them.

“Ackernis Louys”, our Lord is in us through His Word.

May God enlighten us.

Amen