Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path – Psalm 119: 105

The words of the Bible are like a lamp we hold as we walk along a dark path – they show us where to walk. The Bible is showing us a way of life.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119: 105

This verse summarises beautifully what the words recorded in the Bible are all about. As we read through its pages, we are presented with numerous lessons from the behaviour of Godly characters. We can learn from those lessons and make life-changing decisions.

Walking and stumbling in the dark

Most of us have at some point in our lives walked along a dark pathway without adequate lighting. Perhaps it was in a city park where you can barely see here the pathway at night time because of little lighting and thick foliage on both sides of the path. You take each step tentatively not knowing what the ground is like. Am I still on the path? Is there any tree roots here which will cause me to trip? Has the pathway got holes in it which I may step into and stumble?

Life can be like this dark path. It can be difficult to see where our life is taking us and as a result we trip or stumble when we encounter problems that we had not seen coming.

God is offering a light to help us walk along the pathway so we can see clearly where we are going. As verse 105 says to us, “Your word if a lamp to my feet”. The light is the words of advice in the Bible and these will help us along the pathway we know as life. Our journey through this life will be made a lot easier by reading and then applying the words of advice given by God. We will be able to see clearly where we are walking in life’s journey.

Those who accept the guidance of God’s law and bring them into daily use in their lives are said to be walking in the light of the Lord.

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. Isaiah 2:5

Isaiah tells the people at that time, and us, to live by the Lord’s rule. They will find peace if they repent and submit to Him in faithfulness. If we put our hand into the hand of God, It will be safe,

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13

But to do this, it is firstly essential that we must put the Law of God into our heart.  The desired result is not instantaneous; it is the work of a life-time. There is so much “foreign matter” in the heart of man.

The living word of God

Paul writes this about the Word of God:

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Those words describe well the Word of God – it is living and powerful. The Words in the Bible are talking about life itself. There is a graceful dignity of expression, an elegance of speech, a wealth of metaphor and poetic imagery – these aspects make us admire this book. They are words which provoke our enthusiasm, and they find their way into our inmost hearts.

When we love studying the living word of God, we will find that it brings changes in us. If we feel weary from the ongoing problems in this world around us then the Bible will refresh us. It will help us to look at things differently and give us a new hope.

The advice given in Colossians encourages us to do this:

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2

It encourages us to think about the words written in the Bible and use them to change our life, rather than thinking about this world as it will ultimately get us nowhere.

When we read the Bible, we will get a new enthusiasm as the dark path we walked along now has a light shining on it to show us where to walk. To encourage us to use God’s lamp (the Bible) this is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians:

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Cor. 2:9

Think about those words and dwell on them. What amazing things are promised for those who love God. We can learn about God and increase our love for him by picking up the Bible and reading it. It really is a light to our path – it does show us the direction we should take in our life. It is the living Word….it speaks of the words of life.

The sweetness of God’s word

King David wrote these words about the word of God:

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139:17

There are also the words of the main verse we considering:

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

Also, in the same Psalm at verse 103:

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

The Psalmist overwhelmingly appreciated the Word of God. It is very refreshing to read these words written by him in this modern age where there is widespread apathy and unbelief.

Do we think this way? Do not say it is too much to expect! It was written for our learning, and given to us to adapt our minds after its example.

If the greatness of God’s blessings surpasses our imagination we must not expect Him to give them to those who have so little appreciation of Him that they cannot live their lives as servants of Him. If God’s words are sweet unto our taste, we will be sustained through life’s trials and we shall esperience the “peace” that the Lord promised to give his servants.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

The light of the world

Jesus said,

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

The words are based on the record of the pillar of fire in the Old Testament at the time of Moses:

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. Exodus 13:21

The Israelites were being lead to the land that God had promised them. The Israelites followed this light at night (and cloudy pillar at daytime) to give them the direction to take. But the end of their journey was a mortal inheritance. Once they reached the promised land they would still at some point die from old age (or some other reason). However, there is another light – that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

To follow Jesus is to walk in light. For those who follow Jesus are mentally enlightened concerning God’s word. They are morally strong in obeying God’s commandments. By walking in the light there journey will ultimately lead them to the kingdom of God promised in the future. As it says in John 8:12 quoted above: [he/she]…will have the light of life.

The spiritual light in a world

This brings us back to the central verse we are considering in this article, Psalm 119 and verse 105:

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

We are being taught that the Bible is the only spiritual light in this world we live in. Without it, this world would be very dark indeed. The Bible is the light in our hands which shows forth every step we take.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. Proverbs 4:18

Those who obey God’s commands daily in their lives are like the light at dawn. They will go on increasing in brightness and intensity as the day advances, until after a time it reaches its full splendour and intensity (at the full day – high noon). Are we like this? As life passes are we a light that is shining every brighter as we grow in righteousness and obedience to the great God. To help us with this goal, let is use daily the word of God as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, Proverbs 6:23