Praise to the One who Opens Blind Eyes: Psalm 146

Praise to the One who Opens Blind Eyes

Psalm 146

Jesus saw the man who could not see him.
BSF Lesson 13

In the Scriptures, there are two types of blindness: physical blindness and spiritual blindness. Both forms of blindness are a result of the fall. Now that sin and its curse has entered our world, our physical bodies bear the evidence of mortality. Our bodies, designed by our magnificent Creator, no longer function wholly and completely. Even more devastating is our spiritual blindness. When Adam sinned against God, all mankind fell with him in his first sin. He represented the whole human race, and because of his sin, mankind was plunged into spiritual darkness, spiritual blindness. And in our blindness, we don’t even know we’re alienated from God. 

In John 9, we read the story of the man who was born blind. But Jesus found him and gave him his sight. This is the story of every believer. We are born blind. The sin nature we are born with blinds us to our separation from God and our need for Him. In conjunction to that, the Bible tells us that the god of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of the unbelieving that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). Before we were saved, before grace came to us, we were part of the kingdom of darkness, and we loved it because our deeds were evil (John 3:19). We could not see Christ, nor could we see our need for Him. 

But then God found us. Just as Jesus saw the man who could not see him, God saw us and set His love on us in eternity past. At the right time, Jesus opened our blind eyes. The light of the world came into this world so that “those who do not see may see” (John 9:39). God, who at the beginning of creation said, “Let there be light” and there was light, has shone His light into our hearts so that we could see the beauty of Christ, see our need for Him, and embrace His free gift of salvation. Our testimony is the same as the blind man of John 9, “I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). Just as he “received his sight” (9:11), we too received spiritual sight. 

For those who are saved, we rejoice that God has inscribed us on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:6). We delight in the care of our Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for us and tenderly cares for us and gently leads us (Isaiah 40:11). We no longer fear sin and death for its power had been defeated. We begin to see things through the light of the truth of Scripture. We desire for His kingdom, the kingdom of His beloved Son, to come in its dominion and splendor. And we desire for others to come to know and see our Savior, “who opens the eyes of the blind” (Psalm 146:8). 

We all have loved ones who do not know Christ. They are ensnared by the devil to do his will, blind to the glory of God, and living in the kingdom of darkness. Psalm 146 is a hymn of praise which we will pray through to praise the Lord for His gift of salvation to us and to pray for those we love who are sitting in darkness. “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind” (John‬ ‭9‬:‭32‬). Until Christ. And now we direct our prayers to Him as the only One who can overcome spiritual blindness. 

146:1-2 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 
Praise:
▫️We have been brought from darkness to light.
▫️We were dead in our trespasses and sin, but God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5). 
Let’s pray:
▫️We would never grow tired of praising Him for this indescribable gift, indeed we would praise Him as long as we live and have our being. 
▫️The Lord would transform _________’s heart so that they too would have many reasons to praise the Lord.

146:3-4 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.
Praise:
▫️That salvation is not dependent on man, but on God.
▫️He is the author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). 
Let’s pray:
▫️We would not rely on our own ingenuity or striving to accomplish the salvation or spiritual growth of our loved ones. But we would fervently pray for their salvation and their maturity in the faith.
▫️The Lord would draw _________ to Himself (John 6:44). He would grant them spiritual sight so that they would turn to Him for salvation.

146:5-7b Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. 
Praise:
▫️The God of Jacob is our help.
▫️We have a sure hope in the Lord.
Let’s pray:
▫️Our loved ones would seek the Lord and His help. They would be aware of their need for His intervention.
▫️Our loved ones would flee for refuge to the Lord and lay hold of the hope set before them. This hope in Christ would be an anchor for their soul, a hope both sure and steadfast (Hebrews 6:18-19).

146:7c-10 The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!
Praise:
▫️The Lord sets prisoners free and opens the eyes of the blind! He alone can set free from sin and death and open spiritually blind eyes.
▫️He lifts up those who are bowed down with cares. We can cast our cares on Him knowing that He cares for us, and we can give the concern for our loved ones’ salvation to Him (1 Peter 5:7). 
Let’s pray:
▫️Our loved ones that are being held captive by Satan to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26) would be set free by our Savior Christ Jesus. Their eyes would be opened. Their testimony would be, “I was blind, but now I see!”
▫️The Lord would shine into their hearts to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). 
▫️Our loved ones would be awakened to new life in Christ and receive the free gift of salvation.

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Photo credit tobrunovdkraan

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