Marvellous in Our Eyes

David understood the maxim that “what fills the eyes soon fills the heart.” He understood that the wicked had “eyes full of conceit” (Psalm 36:2) just as Peter lived among those whose eyes were “full of adultery” (2 Peter 2:14).

In short, it matters what you feast your eyes on.

In Psalm 118 we are taught to fill our eyes with marvellous things.

This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. (Psalm 118:23)

You can put that on my tombstone if you like.

For David, contemplating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (Psalm 118:22) was a marvellous thing.

There is something so astonishing, so hard to comprehend in the glorious resurrection of Jesus from the dead that one can only stare in child-like wonder. And I wonder just what David saw, so many years before it even happened!

The Bible frequently tells us to consider, gaze, meditate and contemplate the work of God. It is one of the ways we stay true to His Word, are delivered from temptation, equipped for service, and draw nearer to God.

There are many things to marvel at in scripture, but none more marvellous than the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Here are some of those marvellous things that should steal our gaze from day-to-day.

First, it is a marvel that God Himself would become a Man. What was it like for Peter, James and John to look at Jesus and discover that they were seeing the Father of lights? What was it like to see the work of His hands day-by-day?

What will it be like when we behold Him face to face? Do you see His handwork in your life and the lives of those around you day-by-day?

Second, it is a wonder that those who longed most for the coming of the Messiah should be so blinded and bent by their own traditions that they failed to recognise Him when He appeared.

Are you so bound up in the commandments and expectations of men that you fail to recognise the simplicity that is in Jesus?

Third, we should marvel that He would die for us so that we would not be destroyed for our sin. Do you ever contemplate what it means to have all your sins forgiven so as never to revisit them again?

Do you know what it is to extend this mercy to others?

Fourth, it should leave us gob-smacked as we consider that a man whom God has raised from the dead now rules and reigns over all creation.

A New Adam who has all dominion and authority and power. Not a ghost. Not a vibe, a mystical force or a natural law.

As you read this sentence, the world beneath your feet, along with everything on it, is being governed by, upheld by, redeemed by, and will one day be glorified by a man!

A man to whom you and I must give an account. A man full of grace and truth. A man who is able to give us rest and save us from every fear. A man who hears our cries and knows our weakness. A man who delights to draw near and uphold our weary hearts with joy.

Of Him, we sing in jaw-dropping delight and wonder,

The Lord is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 118:27-29)

It matters what our eyes are full of. And it is good for us to contemplate, meditate and fix our eyes on these marvellous things.