Proverbs 20 and verse 12, and
this takes in a lot, gives us a lot of opening to study other
things and make spiritual applications as well. Proverbs 20 and 12 said,
the hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even
both of them. Let's think about David. David
in Psalm 139 is a wonderful place of scripture. He marveled when
he thought upon it, how God had given him being, how God had
formed him and how God had made him and put him together. He
said that he was fearfully, that he was wonderfully made, and
his soul was aware of it and that right well. He says he was
curiously wrought, that all of his members were flat-fashioned,
and that the human frame is made up of some amazing members, each
contributing to the function of the body as a whole or overall. Because each one of the members
that God has created has a purpose to serve in the operation of
that body. It has a mind to think and feet
to walk, hands to reach and work, and a nose to smell, and so forth
down the line. You may remember that Paul, in
his epistle to the Corinthian church, used the bodily members
as an analogy to illustrate the different gifts and the different
administration that they were in the church of the Lord or
in the body of Christ. And this he does in 1 Corinthians
chapter 12, saying in the 14th verse there, for the body is
not one member, but many, and they work in symmetry as they
operate for the overall good of the body. Each member serving
the body overall, but each member also serving each other. However, There are in our text
today two other little members of the body, and they may be
small as we would say inside, they may be spiritualized more
perhaps than any other member of the body anywhere in the scripture. that though they are actual physical
members of this frame, so they are spiritualized, that they
function and they serve the fleshly body, is also capable of a spiritual
application, and our Lord made it on more than one occasion. And of course, I speak of those
two members that are mentioned in Proverbs chapter 20 and verse
12. That would be the eye and the
ear. And we notice the scripture said
that God hath made even both of them. They are not the result
of millions and millions of years of evolution. As Charles Bridges
wrote in his commentary on Proverb Bay, that is, The eyes and the
ears are component parts of that divine made structure, which
is so fearfully, wonderfully made, unquote. That's how David
expressed it. One other writer, please, and
that'd be Ralph Wardlaw, from his commentary on the book of
Proverbs, who said, and I quote, Our whole frame is of divine
contrivance, divine workmanship. Truly, it is a structure of most
complicated and exquisite mechanism, a little world of wonders where
the longer and the more we examine, the more we are confounded and
lost in admiration at the work of God," unquote. And then he
adds, the one who can inspect it and doubt of a God is beyond
any argument that we might bring forth at all. So if the atheist
is a fool, then the evolutionist is certainly a twin brother unto
him. They have one and the same father
that guides them. Now, suffice it to say, with
all of that, in a marvelous way, that we are able to receive and
distinguish sounds by the eye and by the ear, and that those
are communicated unto us in such a way that we hear, we see, and
we learn. Now, that having all been said,
it must be admitted that Solomon is speaking of something more
than the physical eye or the physical ear. He's speaking of
something more than that which we actually see with our eye
or take in with our hearing ear. In other words, he's speaking
of more than the optic or the auditory nerve. Even as the Lord
did in speaking unto his disciple, he used this kind of language. Listen to Jeremiah, chapter 5,
verse 21. O foolish people and without
understanding, which have eyes and see not, which have ears
and hear not. You'll see that again in Ezekiel
chapter 12 and verse 2. But scripture speaks frequently
of hearing and seeing from two aspects. Number one, from the
aspect of depravity in unregeneracy, when we are besotted by our sin
and every sinful thought that crowds in through and out of
the mind, so that we are deaf unto truth and blind unto the
truth of the things of God. But it also speaks of these things
in the state of grace and regeneration. For God has enabled us to see,
he has enabled us to hear with discernment and with perception
the things of God and to understand them to our spiritual profit
and growth. Such text as that one in Jeremiah
5 and 21 that speaks of some who have eyes to see, but they
do not see. They have ears to hear, but they
do not hear. they are blind and they are deaf
in a sin so that they lack insight into the things of God and they
lack understanding of the things of God and the prophet here exposes
their folly and their stupidity, and their lack of common sense,
their blindness, and their ignorance in the things of Almighty God. And even though they had prophets
among them, they had teachers that taught them and that spoke
the things of God, and they had the written law or the word of
God that they might be instructed Still, they remained, many of
them, in spiritual darkness. There's a passage found, you
might consider, it's in Deuteronomy chapter 29, and it is verses
1 through 4. I won't turn there, but verse
1 states that the Lord has Moses to declare the covenant God was
about to make with them and beside the one made at Oreb in order
that he might prepare them for it, the various promises that
were attached to it and such like. But verse 4 of that chapter
catches our eye, that the Lord had not given them, one, a heart
to perceive, or two, a seeing eye, or three, a hearing ear. The Lord had not granted these
three things under so many of the people. This is marvelous
again and amazing in light of the fact that they had seen the
wonders, they had seen the plagues upon Egypt by which they were
delivered. They had seen the house of Pharaoh
destroyed and overthrown. They had seen the death of many
of the firstborn in the land of Egypt. They saw the parting
of the Red Sea. And they went across upon dry
land. And then it came again and swallowed
up Pharaoh and all of his army. How then could they still be
without a good and a strong belief in God and in the things of God
and in the word of God? How could they be yet without
a seeing eye and a hearing ear? Now, the verse confirms what
our first text declared unto us in the beginning, and that
is that these things are a special gift. They are a work of God. The Lord is the author, and the
only author, by the way, of these spiritual gifts. That when one
sees, when one hears the truth of God, it is a result of God's
gracious internal work in that individual. Moses does not say
to them, you have not opened your heart, you have not opened
your eye, you have not sharpened your ears. Rather, Moses says
unto them, God has not wrought these things or these works in
you. And by the way, there are a few
commentators that understand Proverbs chapter 20 and verse
12 as speaking of his all-seeing and knowing, that is, of God
being omnipotent. But how then is he the creator
of all things? How could he create a part of
his very own attribute? Then they make the application
that God made the eye and God made the ear, shall he not see
and hear? That's how they apply that. Theoretically,
the last is true, but is it what Solomon is saying or what he
is meaning here in this passage of the scripture. Does it fit
the text or the context? I, for one, agree with John Gill
that the seeing eye and the hearing ear are synonymous with an enlightened
and converted person. who perceive and understand the
things of God, who have their understanding enlightened, as
Paul puts it in Ephesians chapter 1, the eyes of your understanding
haven't been opened, so that they understand the things and
the work of God. They hear with understanding.
They believe the truth, and that truth is sealed up in their heart
because they have seeing eyes and a hearing ear. Consider that
passage. I know you've read it a lot of
times in the 13th chapter of Matthew. Having spoken the parable
of the soils, the disciples asked the Lord, Why is it that you
speak unto the people in parables? That's in the 10th verse. Now
parables are not easily understood and they need to be explained.
In verse 10 of Mark chapter 4 shows not even Christ's closest and
most enlightened disciples understood what this parable meant until
he opened up its meaning unto them. As to why the Lord spoke
in parables, Matthew 13, 11 through 17. Consider verse 11 as the
first part of the answer of the Lord. He said, because or for
the reason on this account, and then two factors are entered
into it. Number one, he said, and watch
this contrast or distinction. To you, it is given to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. This is a privilege that is given
free and by sovereign grace. Well, the second thing is, to
them, to those without, to those, it is not given them to know
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. And Mark's version
has it, them that are without, Mark 4 and verse 11. Now, note
that here we have discriminating grace, and it is very clearly
declared in the scripture here in this parable, but also in,
we see it again in Matthew 11 and verse 25. Father, you have
hid these things from the wise and the prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes. Paul writes in Romans 11, verse
7, The election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Paul reminds the Corinthians
in the first chapter of the first epistle, verse 26 to verse 29,
God has not called many of the mighty, of the wise, of the noble,
but he has called the common ordinary person of no high degree
and enlightened them in the things of God. Now we know from history
and from the scripture that the Greeks were great lovers and
admirers of wisdom, how they prided themselves in their wisdom. Better educated, they think.
And you know, there are a lot of people in our day, elitist
people, I guess we might call them, that think that the more
wise and the more learned, the better educated would be those
quicker to receive, to understand, and to grasp the things of God
and the deep mysteries of our God and of our Christ. That the most intelligent, they
think, would certainly be the first one to grasp the truth
and to recognize it as the truth. Instead, we find that the opposite
is true. Not many wise are called, 1 Corinthians
1.26. These things are hidden from
the wise and the prudent, Matthew 11, verse 25. Let's go to Matthew
13. We'll not go there, but I want
to remind you of some of the verses, how it uses the term
and the images of our original text the eye and the ear, the
seeing eye and the hearing ear. In verse 9 of that chapter, when
he had given the parables, he said unto them, the one having
ears to hear, let him hear. Now this is used several times
in this chapter of the scripture. In verse 13, verse 14, 15, 16,
and 17, He that has eyes to hear, or
ears to hear, let him hear. Now the section begins in verse
9. Who has eyes to hear? Let him
hear. And he says to his followers
down in the 16th verse, Blessed are your eyes for they see, and
your ears for they hear. Now, there are two things for
us to consider here. A, in the 12th verse, I incline
to agree with those such as Spurgeon and Gill, who think that the
Lord referred to understanding, to light, and to truth, and spiritual
knowledge. And then the Lord shall give
more and more. On the other hand, He who has
not the things above, from him shall be taken away. And we wonder, is this a contradiction? Can what has not been be taken
away? But in Luke 8, verse 18, it's
helpful as he writes, from him shall be taken that which he
has, or as the margin has it, which he thinks he has. He thinks he's so wise and learned
in the things of God, and even that shall be taken away. In
John, we were there this morning, chapter 6, verse 39 through verse
41, an amazing principle, amazing passage, but it uses the same
principle as Matthew chapter 13 and verse 12. But then, B,
the second thing in Matthew 13, Verses 13 through 15 in answer
to their question. Why do you speak unto them in
parable? The Lord tells them that in such
things the prophecy of Isaiah 6 was being fulfilled and he
quotes from Isaiah 6 verse 9 and verse 10. You remember the amazing
6th chapter of the book of Isaiah? When Isaiah saw the Lord in a
vision and exalted and his, that is, Isaiah's lips were purged
by a live coal of fire from off of the altar and then he was
commissioned by God to go and preach unto the people. Go tell
this people. God forewarns the prophet, despite
his being made fit and cleansed, despite his being sent by God,
despite his having his commission from the Lord, his preaching
would not yield great increase among those among whom he ministered
that is Calvin noted on Isaiah chapter 6 and verse 9 he would
be preaching to an obstinate and rebellious people but their
preaching would bring forth little fruit unto God in fact his message
would have the effect to harden and a blind many and rather than
the opposite. In verse 9, they would hear without
understanding, and they would see without perceiving. In verse 10, their hearts would
be made fat, their eyes heavy, and their eyes closed or blinded
to the things of God, so that they do not see with their eye,
nor do they hear with their ear, nor do they understand with their
heart, and convert unto the Lord God. So, in Matthew chapter 13,
where the Lord is speaking, he tells the Chosen One that the
words of the prophet, which were fulfilled in Isaiah's time, and
in the times of the later prophet, were even being fulfilled under
the ministry of the Messiah. and that that grim prophecy reached
its climax under Messiah when he appeared. Not even did they
believe, though one came from God, down from God, out of heaven. Though he spake as never a man
spoke, John 7 and verse 46, when he said, I am, the men fell backward
who were in his presence. He taught them as one having
authority, not like the scribes and the Pharisees. He went well
beyond them in skill and knowledge, Matthew 7 and verse 29. Still,
all were not converted who heard our Lord Jesus Christ Himself
speak the things of God. And the reason? They did not
have seeing eye or hearing ear or a heart made to understand. So in Matthew 13 and verse 16,
the Lord pronounces blessedness to be upon your eyes and your
ears, for they see and hear, he says to his own. Blessed are
those who saw and heard the Son of God in person. And by special
grace, they believed on Him. They believed that He was the
Christ, the Son of God, that He had come down from heaven,
the Son of the living God. For this was not revealed unto
them by men, nor did they learn it in the seminary, but it was
revealed to them by the Father which is in heaven. Matthew 16,
16, and 17. And in the context there, in
Matthew chapter 13, they were blessed on two accounts. Twice blessed for having seeing
eyes and hearing ears. First of all, they were blessed
to see and to hear. When so many in their nation. So many in their generation were
blind and deaf and remained so all of their life to the truth
spoken in their very midst. They were privileged to have
seeing eye in a sea of blind men. They were privileged to
be able to see the things of God in an ocean of ignorance
and unbeliever. For there were in their generation,
in their age, blessed men who saw and heard the Son of God
in the flesh. But secondly, in verse 17, they
were personally blessed in having seen and heard the incarnate
Son of God, since in the ages and generation past, the prophets
and even the kings Luke 10 24 and righteous one had desired
to see what they saw and hear what they hear and did not see
it and did not hear it but they died without hearing it or without
seeing it the old testament saying but many like simeon found it
in luke chapter 2 and 25 waited for the consolation of Israel. And in Hebrews 11, 13, how many
died in the faith, not having received the promise, but having
seen them from afar off, as Abraham saw Christ's day. John chapter
8, verse 56, he saw it by the eye of faith, the day of our
Lord. Now that generation of Jews to
whom Christ appeared in the flesh with both most blessed and the
most cursed blast from God has come upon them, seeing Messiah,
rejecting him, crucifying him as an imposter and a deceiver. Oh, how blessed are they who
are able to see and to hear the Son of God in person, but who
also have been able by inward grace, regeneration, and enlightenment
to see and to hear him. in the words of the Bible and
in the words and the preaching of the gospel whose heart has
been opened like that of Lydia in Acts 16 and verse 14 and how
in Luke 24 25 the Lord opened the understanding of those two
men that he met on Emmaus road that they might see and understand
the scripture and the word of God. How our blessed God caused
the scales to fall off of our spiritual eyes like he did Saul
of Tarsha in the ninth chapter of the book of Acts. As it were,
scales like fell from his eye. Oh yeah, Solomon said, God has
made, God has created, God has given both the seeing eye and
the hearing ear. Who then among us can deny that
regeneration is the work of God that results in and that produces
spiritual elimination in an elect? In the case of Lydia, the Emmaus
travelers, God's inward work was prior to the spiritual action
of the individual. God works and then opens our
eyes and opens our ears and our understanding. Yes, it is God
who gives seeing eyes, hearing ears, and understanding. by quickening those faculties
that once were dead in trespasses and in sin. Now, thanks to his
grace, are able to see the things of God, to hear and understand
the things of God and the word of God. Blessed be the name of
our God.