Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 119:18

"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold Wondrous things out of thy law." — Psalms 119:18 (ASV)

Open thou mine eyes — Margin, “Reveal.” This is also the rendering of the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate.

The Hebrew word means to be naked, then to make naked, to uncover, to disclose, to reveal. Here it means “uncover”—that is, to remove from the eyes whatever obstructs clear vision. Compare Numbers 22:31; Numbers 24:4, 16.

That I may behold wondrous things — These are things suited to excite wonder and amazement: that is, things secret or hidden from the common view, namely, the deep, spiritual meaning of the word of God.

By natural vision, one might see the surface—the letter; but to see the deep, hidden, real meaning, one needs the special influence of God. Compare 1 Corinthians 2:12, 14-15. The psalmist believed that such things were in God’s law, and he desired to see them.

Out of thy law — This means out of the written word, out of the Scriptures. The word “law” here denotes all that God has revealed to humankind, all that is contained in the volume of inspiration. The truths taught here are:

1. That there are deep, hidden, secret things in the word of God, which are not perceived by the natural man;
2. That those things, when understood, are suited to excite wonder, or to fill the mind with admiring views of God;
3. That a special illumination of God is necessary that one may perceive these things; and
4. That the proper understanding of these things is connected with prayer, and can be hoped for only in answer to prayer.

No one has a proper appreciation of divine truth—of the beauty, the spiritual meaning, the grandeur, the sublimity of the Bible—until he is a renewed, praying man. Compare the notes at 1 Corinthians 2:6–15.