The Vanity of Lust
Turn away my eyes that I may not see vanity; Give me life in Your way (Psalm 118(119):37)
Memorization of the Psalms are the way to hack into a prayer life with the God who made the heavens and the earth. The temple worship of the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth grew up around did not know the numbers of the Psalms. They would say the first few words, and recall the rest of the psalm. They used these words to sing and humble themselves. We have neglected the Psalms in North America, and I want to encourage all of my Christian sistren and brethren to become more familiar with the Psalms than with the radio & television jingles, or the latest popular tracks from Beyonce, Iggy Azalea, Taylor Swift and Maroon 5.
Turn away my eyes that I may not see vanity; Give me life in Your way
Every sin is rooted in pride. Vanity is another way of saying that. We place ourselves in the clouds. We exalt ourselves when we should be humbling ourselves. God is the exalter of the humble. If we want to seek life, we must crucify our fleshly, earthly and base desires. We must rejoice in the redemption and salvation we have in the eternally interceding and honorable blood of Jesus Christ spilled at Calvary and Golgotha. He was marginalized with the curse of dying on a tree, and being outside the 'holy' grounds of the city. Truly, truly I say to you all, the only holy place is wherever Christ is, and He is in us. If we speak his truth with gentleness, we will be marginalized, otherized and made poor.
Turn away my eyes that I may not see vanity; Give me life in Your way
The NT and the OT are inseparable. They are the veritable words of God. We should not be surprised when they tell the same story. Lust can be the most devilish (slanderous toward God) form of vanity on a daily basis. Aesthetically pleasing women on billboards advertising strip clubs, cards strewn on Las Vegas ground advertising harlots and strangers with round derrières that walk by us at bus stops and on streets have a gravitational pull on our eyes.
You have heard that it was said, "you shall not commit adultery"; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell (Matthew 5:27-29)
The holy scriptures are a library of writings from sundry people, in sundry places, in sundry times and in sundry genres. Please don't literally rip your eye out. When others look and catcall, turn away or close your eyes and pray the Jesus prayer. If she is not your wife, you have no business lusting after her in your thoughts. As adultery carries a death sentence, so does lusting, according to Jesus Christ the God-man.
Turn away my eyes that I may not see vanity; Give me life in Your way
Because of his goodwill toward us, he grants us a second chance. We must repent and accept eternal life by obeying his instructions.
Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on us sinners.
Furthermore, we must love each other.