Read Psalm 119:17-24.
Countless people read the Bible without ever being transformed by it, because they approach the task with purely human understanding. They put themselves in authority over it, assuming they can read and study it as they would read and study any other book. Since God’s wisdom is entirely different to human wisdom (1 Cor 1:18-25), this approach may yield academic understanding but does not take us far in our journey towards God.
Ps 119:18 says ‘open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.’ Without illumination from above, the Bible can be baffling and bewildering. When, however, our eyes are opened to its truths (a process described in 2 Cor 4:1-5 and 1 Cor 2:6-16), we are ‘consumed with longing for Your laws at all times.’ (Ps 119:20) We realise an eternal perspective is necessary (being strangers on earth, Ps 119:19). We understand God’s ultimate justice (Ps 119:21, 23). It’s like looking through a corrective lens which enables us to see properly. Now we have a new counsellor (Ps 119:24), a guide on our journey of life.
The University of Oxford’s motto is ‘Dominus illuminatio mea’, the opening line of Psalm 27:1 (‘The Lord is my light.’) We need divine light if we are to travel well on our journey of life, a light provided through God’s Word (Ps 119:105) and by God’s Spirit.
