[ 1 minutes to read ]

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

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity
[V]anity has a wide range of meaning. It encompasses from destructive evil to falsehood to empty uselessness. The Psalmist doesn’t want to fix on any of these. We are not to be steeped and expert in evil and malice (1 Corinthians 14:20; Romans 16:19), and the first step from that is to turn away from beholding it.

and quicken thou me in thy way
The turning away on one hand must be a turning toward on the other hand. Quickening is being made alive. The Psalmist pleads for reviving and life energy to pursue the ways of God. Success here requires not only the emptying of vanity but also the filling with good (Philippians 4:8). The vigilant and persistent prayer is to God to turn us from vanity and toward His way.

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