John Calvin Commentary Psalms 119:37

"Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, And quicken me in thy ways." — Psalms 119:37 (ASV)

Turn away my eyes. By these words we are taught that all our senses are so filled with vanity that, until they are refined and rectified, their alienation from the pursuit of righteousness is no surprise. In the previous verse he informed us of the reigning of that depravity in human hearts, which he now says also reaches the outward senses.

“The disease of covetousness not only lurks in our hearts, but spreads over every part, so that neither eyes, ears, feet, nor hands have escaped its baneful influence; in a word, nothing is exempt from corruption.” And we know certainly that the guilt of original sin is not confined to only one human faculty; it pervades our entire constitution.

If our eyes must be turned away from vanity by the special grace of God, it follows that as soon as they are opened, they are eagerly set on the impostures of Satan, by which they are beset on all sides. If Satan only laid snares for us, and if we possessed sufficient prudence to guard against his deceits, it could not properly be said that God turned away our eyes from vanity. However, since they are naturally set upon sinful allurements, they need to be withdrawn from them.

Whenever, then, we open our eyes, we must not forget that two gates are opened for the devil to enter our hearts, unless God guards us by His Holy Spirit. The remarks he makes concerning the eyes are equally applicable to the other senses, since he again employs that figure of speech by which a part is taken for the whole.

The other clause of the verse corresponds well with the meaning given here. Others may propose different interpretations; I think, however, the following is the most natural: Lord, as the whole life of humankind is accursed as long as they use their powers to commit sin, grant that the power I possess may aspire to nothing except the righteousness You appoint for us.

To manifest this better, we must lay it down as a first principle that seeing, hearing, walking, and feeling are God’s precious gifts; that our understandings and will, with which we are equipped, are an even more valuable gift; and that, after all, there is no look of the eyes, no motion of the senses, no thought of the mind unmingled with vice and depravity.

This being the case, the prophet, with good reason, surrenders himself entirely to God for the mortification of the flesh, so that he might begin to live anew.