Wayne Walker here with another weekly hymn study.

"OPEN MY EYES, THAT I MAY SEE"
"Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law"
(Ps. 119:18)

INTRO.: A song which expresses the desire that God would open our
eyes that we might behold wondrous things out of His law is "Open My
Eyes, That I May See" (#126 in Hymns for Worship Revised, and #65 in
Sacred Selections for the Church). The text was written and the tune
(Scott) was composed both by Clara (not Charles, as erroneously appears
in some books) H. Fiske Scott, who was born at Elk Grove in Cook County,
IL, on Dec. 3, 1841, the daughter of Abel and Sarah Rockwell Jones Fiske.
In 1856 Clara attended the first musical institute in Chicago, conducted
by C. M. Cady, who later formed the music publishing firm of Root and
Cady with brothers E. T. and George Frederick Root (1820-1895). George
was the author and composer of "Why Do You Wait, Dear Brother?"

In 1859, Miss Fiske began teaching music in the Ladies' Seminary at
Lyons, IA. Two years later, in 1861, she married Henry Clay Scott and
returned to the Chicago area where she became an acquaintance of Horatio
Richmond Palmer (1834-1907). Palmer was the author and composer of
"Yield Not to Temptation." He greatly encouraged her in creative writing
of hymns and tunes, helping her to publish many of her songs, and she
contributed a large number of hymns and tunes to various collections, as
well as writing numerous piano pieces in sheet music form.
Unfortunately, only one of her many songs is still in popular use.

In addition, Mrs. Scott published three hymnbooks of her own, The
Royal Anthem Book in 1882, one of the first hymnbooks published by a
woman; Happy Songs: Truth in Song for Lovers of Truth in 1896; and Short
Anthems in 1897. The exact date of the writing of "Open My Eyes, That I
May See" is unknown. It first appeared in Best Hymns No. 2, published in
1895 by the Evangelical Publishing Co. of Chicago and compiled by Harold
F. Sayles and Elisha Albright Hoffman (1839-1929). Hoffman was the
author and composer of "I Must Tell Jesus." Mrs. Scott was tragically
killed when she was thrown from a buggy by a runaway horse while on a
return trip to Iowa visiting friends in Dubuque, and died there on June
21, 1897, the day after the accident.

Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord's church during the
twentieth century for use in churches of Christ, "Open My Eyes, That I
May See" appeared in the 1921 Great Songs of the Church (No. 1) edited by
E. L. Jorgenson and the 1975 Supplement to the 1937 Great Songs of the
Church No. 2 originally published by Jorgenson; the 1963 Abiding Hymns
edited by Robert C. Welch; the 1965 Great Christian Hymnal No. 2 edited
by Tillit S. Teddlie; and the 1978 Hymns of Praise edited by Reuel
Lemmons. Today it may be found in the 1978 edition of the 1971 Songs of
the Church, the 1990 Songs of the Church 21st C. Ed., and the 1994 Songs
of Faith and Praise all edited by Alton H. Howard; the 1986 Great Songs
Revised edited by Forrest M. McCann; and the 1992 Praise for the Lord
edited by John P. Wiegand; in addition to Hymns for Worship and Sacred
Selections.

The song asks God to open all our senses to learn and do His will.

I. In stanza 1, God is asked to open our eyes
"Open my eyes, that I may see Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key That shall unclasp, and set me free."
A. Some people, although able to see physically, refuse to open their
spiritual eyes, while others are blessed because they see with their
eyes: Matt. 13:13-17
B. What we need to be looking for is the truth that is found in God's
word: Jn. 17:17
C. This truth is the key which sets us free: Jn. 8:32

II. In stanza 2, God is asked to open our ears
"Open my ears, that I may hear Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
And while the wave-notes fall on my ear, Everything false will
disappear."
A. Jesus is God's beloved Son, and the Father wants us to hear Him: Matt
17:5
B. In Sacred Selections, Ellis J. Crum changed "voices of truth" to "Thy
word of truth," I suppose to avoid the possibility that someone might
think that God speaks to us directly today in a still small voice, but
the only real "voices of truth" that we can hear come from those teaching
the word of God: Rev. 1:3
C. And it is by using the truth as our standard that we shall be able to
discern what is false and what is true, like the Bereans, who searched
the scriptures: Acts 17:17

III. In stanza 3 God is asked to open our mouths and hearts
"Open my mouth, and let me bear Gladly the warm truth everywhere;
Open my heart, and let me prepare Love with Thy children thus to share."
A. If our lives are truly guided by the word of God, then our mouths
will want to proclaim it at every opportunity: Eph. 6:18-20
B. In this, we shall be like the Thessalonians, who sounded out the word
of the Lord in every place: 1 Thess. 1:8
C. However, it is not enough just to have an open mouth; we must also
have a heart that is opened by love of the brethren: 1 Pet 1:22

IV. In stanza 4 God is asked to open our minds
"Open my mind, that I may read More of Thy love in word and deed;
What shall I fear while yet Thou dost lead? Only for light from Thee I
plead."
A. We need to make sure that our minds are open to God's message if we
are going to love the Lord with all our mind: Mk. 12:30
B. Yet, the only way that we can be open to God's message is to read it
in His written word, the scriptures: 2 Tim. 3:16-17
C. In this way, we shall have light for our pathway: Ps. 119:105

V. In stanza 5 God is asked to open our way
"Open my way, that I may bring Trophies of grace to Christ, my King;
Echoed in love Thy word shall out-ring, Sweet as the note the angels
sing."
A. If we have the right attitude toward God's word, He will open to us
the way that leads to everlasting life: Matt. 7:13-14
B. One aspect of traveling that way is to bring trophies of grace to
Christ, our King, by leading others to Christ: 1 Cor. 3:5-10
C. By living according to God's way, our lives will radiate to others
the light of the world: Matt. 5:14-16

CONCL.: The chorus sets forth the requisites on our part for us to
be open to God in all things.
"Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready, my God, Thy will to see:
Open my eyes (etc.), illumine me, Savior divine!"
The original last two words of the chorus were "Spirit divine," but
almost all of our books have changed that to "Savior divine." Some have
objected to this song because they think it pictures people just sitting
and waiting for God to speak directly to their hearts. However, it does
not require God to act in some direct, mysterious, miraculous way but
simply to speak to me through His word for Him to answer my prayer, "Open
My Eyes, That I May See."

Brotherly,
Wayne S. Walker
503 S. Jefferson St.
Salem, IL 62881
home phone: (618) 548-6286
office phone: (618) 548-1774
e-mail: wswalker310@...
website: www.defenderoftruth.com

Notes: Other hymn studies are available at the Defender of Truth
website. Also, some of my previous hymn studies are now included in book
that I have written entitled Songs of Zion. It can be ordered from the
publisher by calling 1-800-423-2484 or going to www.faith-facts.com .
And I have a Hymn Studies blog at
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hymnstudies/ . In addition, since this
has been called to my attention, I now feel it necessary to include this
disclaimer with each message. As owner of this list, I have nothing to do
with the ads and links that Yahoogroups sends out with the Hymn of the
Day posts nor do I have any control over them. I do not necessarily
approve of them and I do not always endorse those who have placed them
with Yahoogroups.

(Note: My family and I are going to be out of town next week, so
there will be no Hymn of the Day until the weekly hymn study next
Saturday. WSW.)
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