Psalms 119:105-112

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. . .

Ah, here we are — a verse from my childhood. I memorized Psalm 119:105 when I was small, though at the time the words were merely poetry to me. How I often wish I could go back and talk to my childish self! I would love to tell her that there is more to this verse than just pretty lyrical imagery. What a labyrinth of murky and confusing paths I might have saved myself if only I had taken the words literally.

At my present season of life, I find great comfort in knowing that I have a Lantern at hand to light the way. All too often in my journey, I find myself in a place where the path ahead branches and both ways are dark and uncertain, disappearing into the blackness no matter how hard I try to discern the direction each takes.

It is at moments like these, of course, that I need the Word to light my path. However, I have found that just as it is not handy to have a lantern without fuel, wick, or understanding of how to operate it, neither is it particularly useful to have a Bible without some basic understanding of the need to do what it says. Doubtlessly, this is why the psalmist follows with “I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep Your righteous rules.”

I must be honest, however. Sometimes I do stray from His precepts. Always when I find myself in a state of confusion or turmoil, it is not because God’s word is unclear; it is because I have allowed my sin nature to take over. Doubt has crept in and distracted me momentarily. But when I finally direct my gaze back to the path from which I wandered, I find my Lamp shining just as brightly as ever, illuminating the way I need to go. It is up to me to walk in His ways.

Before I close, I want to express how much I love this image of the Word as a lamp, especially as I consider that the Lord is, Himself, the Light of the World. So many images from throughout the Scriptures coalesce here. I hope to explore this more in depth sometime soon, but for now, allow me to finish by considering just two of them:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Revelation 21:23

Dear ones, I urge us all to look to the written word that we may know the Living Word. For us, too, may His testimonies become the joy of our hearts as we incline our hearts to perform His statutes forever, to the end. Though the world around us may darken and fall to gloom, let us, Believers, walk always in the Light.