Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.—Psalm 119:37

Impossible prayer! 

Man has filled the world with vanities. Vanities are concrete lies. Vanities are evil that appears good, corruption that seems whole, misery that offers itself as joy, death that pretends to be life. Vanity is a sweet and beautiful poison full of sin, death, and hell. As soon as you look at vanities, they will bite like an adder and strip you of all that is good, joyful, living, and lovely. Man created vanity in the beginning, and vanity is the object of man’s longing: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Man gave ear to a lie that he would be as God, and man created that lie in his mind when he saw that the fruit was good to make one wise. Man turned from God to vanity; and he can never turn again from vanity, but he must bring vanity to its bitter end in hell. Constantly, man creates in the whole world and in all of history vanities: vain riches; vain glory; vain pleasure; vain philosophy; vain religion. Wherever one turns and in every sphere of life, man has filled the world with vanities. To turn your eye from one vanity is to turn your eye to another: a lying wonder; a sweet poison; a delectable hell; a pleasing death. To turn your eyes from them would be to go out of the world. And yet even in your seclusion, the world of vanities would press itself upon you; for the soul, mind, and flesh of man are full of vanities.

Turn my eyes! The windows of the soul. With the rest of the senses, the eyes are that by which man receives and perceives the world about him. Through the eyes the world streams into his soul. Man had light. He beheld all in the light of the glory of God and pressed all into the service of that glory of Jehovah God. But what a vain creature he has become. He turned his eyes from God to vanity. The very light that is in him has been turned into darkness. He is full of darkness and thus of enmity against God and of love for the vanity of this world. To that world also the believer belongs by nature. His eye is naturally evil, and with it he is insatiable in his desires for the world’s vanities.

Turn my eyes! Not that he would not see. For he is in the world. It is impossible for him not to see vanity. But seeing, that I may turn away in disgust and abhorrence; that seeing, I might not admire and desire but hate.

Wonder of grace! Quicken thou me in thy way. Oh, a prayer for an entirely new way of seeing and an entirely new life. Flood my eyes with the light of the glory of God; cause me to see thy way; teach me; give me understanding; incline my heart to thy word. Not a life of the love of vanity but of love for God. Not a life walking in vanity but a life walking in Jehovah’s statutes. Jehovah’s statutes are the way through the world that the believer must walk. To observe the commandments of Jehovah he considers a very great good. In that way quicken me! Cause me to live, cause me to walk, cause me constantly by thy almighty power and grace to live in the way of Jehovah God.

Quicken thou me because I have yet the flesh, which is full of and lusts after nothing but vanity. To have confidence in self is itself vanity of vanities. Do thou quicken me. Do thou turn my eyes. For thou art my God, and I am thy servant. Confidence in God and his promise.