The Believers Prayer for Divine Teaching

The “law” of God here spoken of is the Bible. In the days of David, the Law, or the Five Books of Moses, formed the greater part of the Bible, and so the whole was often called the Law. “The wondrous things” seem to be the great things of an eternal world. David had looked on the wonders of this world – he had turned his enquiring eyes upon the wonders of nature, but now he wanted to see the spiritual wonders contained in the Bible. He wanted to know about God Himself – in all His majesty, purity, and grace. He wanted to learn the way of salvation by a crucified Redeemer, and the glory that is to follow. Open mine eyes.” David was not blind – his eye was not dim. He could read the Bible from end to end; and yet he felt that he needed more light; to see deeper – to have the eyes of his understanding opened. He wanted divine teaching, and therefore he would not open the Bible without this prayer, “Open Thou mine eyes.”s

We Need Divine Teaching to See the Wonders of the Bible.

This is plain from the few that are converted under the preaching of the gospel. “Many are called but few are chosen,” has been the rule from the earliest times. If human teaching could reveal the wonders of the Bible, then all who are taught by man would believe. Noah was a preacher of righteousness, but with how few did he prevail. Isaiah complains, “Who hath believed our report?” In what plaintive terms did Jeremiah preach? And when our Lord was on the earth in the days of His humiliation how many thousands heard Him on the mountain, and by the seashore, and in the streets of Jerusalem? When Paul preached at Mar’s Hill, he stood among thousands, yet, scarcely more than one man and one woman believed. So now, many a faithful minister feels the same. There is much preaching, little saving. Many millions of Bibles – many children taught – many pious books spreading abroad the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. How we need to cry, “Open Thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law!”

God is the Only Effectual Teacher.

Because He only knows those wondrous things as they really are. Ministers have but a glimpse of those wondrous things, and it is no wonder that they cannot teach them effectually. They see but a very little of sin, the mountains of guilt, the shortness of time, the depth of hell, the love of God. They see but little into the heart of Jesus, His amazing atonement, His free righteousness. Books also are infinitely imperfect. The best of books are but sparks from the Bible, mingled with human darkness. But God knows; “all is naked and open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do. “He knows our sins, the mountains that are over us. He knows the shortness of life. The awful depths of hell are naked to his view. He knows His own love, the glory of Jesus. Do any of you feel your need of divine teaching? Then cry, “Open thou mine eyes.” God is the only effectual teacher because He only can teach the heart. Man can speak to the ear, to the understanding, to the memory, God alone to the heart. The reason why human teaching cannot convey light to the soul is that the heart is dead. But when God teaches, He breaks the heart, and it melts; He awakens concern in the dead heart, so that the person runs to hear the word preached. None can teach like God. He can teach a little child as easily as the oldest man; He can teach an idiot as easily as the wisest. We cry to God, “Open thou mine eyes.”

What is Divine Teaching?

It is giving the soul as sense of the wondrous excellency of the gospel way of salvation, “that I may see wondrous things.” Before conversion, the man read the same words in the Bible, repeated the same truths in the Catechism, but he saw no wonder in them. Now, he discovers the wondrous nature of them. A man looking at the sun in a mist, may see nothing wonderful; but if the mist be drawn away, and the sun shines out gloriously, the man is filled with a wondrous sense of the glory. So with the glory of Christ, that better Sun. If there were ten thousand other ways of salvation, he prefers this to all – giving glory to God, and safety to his soul.

Marks of Divine Teaching.

It causes souls to cleave sweetly to Christ. This is the sure mark of all who are taught of God. Before, they were quite puzzled about coming to Christ, believing on Him, closing with Him. But now, they see no difficulties at all; they cannot but believe. Just as one cannot doubt that the sun is shining when they see it, so they cannot doubt the word of Christ, or their interest in Him. They forsake their own righteousness for ever – pushed themselves aside as condemned – deny themselves – “count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.” They take up the cross; they let go what hides Christ.

Divine teaching sanctifies. Human teaching does not. A man may have the head-knowledge of an angel, and the heart of a devil. Human teaching civilises, it does not make Christians. But this sweet teaching of God sanctifies – it separates us unto God – and the sanctified one cries, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Divine teaching gives a desire that others might be taught. The heaven-taught soul delights to obey the command of Jesus, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them what great things the Lord hath done for thee.” He wishes that all the world might come to know Him who is so sweet, so full, so free. He prays – “Open thou their eyes that they may behold wondrous things out of thy law!”

So you, dear friends in Jesus, go home and ask – what can I do for Christ? How may I teach by words, by looks, by deeds, “by righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness?” How may I teach by letters, by books, by tracts? Dark, cold, and powerless in themselves, yet, filled with the Spirit of God, they may convey life, and light, and gladness into thousands of dwellings. The smallest tract may be the stone in David’s sling. In the hands of Christ, it may bring down a giant soul.

There is something inexpressibly pleasing to a justified mind to know that God has all the honour in our salvation, and we have none; to know that God’s honour is not violated, but on the contrary, shines more illustrious; to know that God’s law is not injured, but magnified and made honourable; to know that we are safe, and God has all the glory.

Robert Murray McCheyne