Psalms 119:105 NIVUK
[105] Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. https://bible.com/bible/113/psa.119.105.NIVUK
The city of Glasgow used to have a real problem with crime in two particular lanes. Young people used to hang around late into the night around the Gallery of Modern Art, and the two side streets nearby – Royal Bank Place and Exchange Place – became quite risky places to be.
So the council came up with a unique solution. Both streets were often lit with pretty fairy lights at Christmas, which caused crime to reduce.
So what did they do?
They left the fairy lights up all year long.
Now there was light for nearby CCTV cameras to see into the alleyways. This has the desired result: crime decreased, because the light made it possible for the perpetrators to be seen and get caught.
These verses have a parallel in 1 John 1:5-10. In a sense, they are their predecessors.
You see, we might assume that walking in the light has something to do with being happy and encouraged and joyful and blessed. And we would be correct. In fact, the Hebrew letter that starts this section – the letter ‘Nun’ – also means ‘fish’ in Hebrew. Fish were associated with prosperity, given the plentiful supply of fish in the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee. They were particularly related to prosperity which, unlike farming, came largely from itself, in that nothing needed to be planted, cared for and then harvested – you simply looked for it and gathered it up.
It is also telling that the first word of this section – the one beginning with the letter ‘Nun’ – is ‘Word’. This letter means more than simply God’s commands. It means His words through His prophets, and also His business dealings – His deeds – on earth.
Later on, the idea is picked up, also by John, when he uses the Greek word ‘Logos’ in the famous John 1:1, where it refers to God’s logic, His thinking, His mind, and the expression of these. John introduces Jesus as the ultimate expression of the Mind of God.
So, back in Psalm 119, we see a direct connection here between obeying God and having a full, fruitful life.
That is why we must first look at The Word.
I realise that I am entering treacherous territory here, but hang on.
There are many who do not make this connection. They see disobedience of God as the way to prosperity, and obedience as the way to poverty. They see back-handed, under-the-table corruption as the path to a better life.
And not only in developing countries. Corruption exists everywhere.
In the early days of the Covid pandemic, the British government bypassed lengthy procurement procedures and cut deals to get personal protective equipment such as masks and gowns to our health service to allow it to function.
Nothing wrong there, you might imagine.
However, the suppliers they selected were not exactly the best.
One was someone a Minister had met in his local pub, who, out of nowhere, started a limited company and began exporting Chinese-made gowns.
Another was a member in the House of Lords from the governing party, who had made her wealth from making skimpy lady’s underwear – mostly full of holes and very thin – but became a key supplier of gowns and masks for our health service with a contract worth over £100 million.
Corrupt people were profiting hand over fist while ordinary people suffered.
I even heard of an American pastor who had fraudulently claimed so much Covid funding that he bought two properties and a fancy car.
It is examples like this that seem to teach us that disobedience causes us to prosper, and obedience seems to cause us poverty.
Asaph struggles with this in Psalm 73.
But there is one truth that is essential for us to know. In the short term, yes, these people seem to prosper.
However, in the long term they will not.
Proverbs 3:31-32 NIVUK
[31] Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. [32] For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. https://bible.com/bible/113/pro.3.31-32.NIVUK
Proverbs 24:19-20 NIVUK
[19] Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, [20] for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. https://bible.com/bible/113/pro.24.19-20.NIVUK
The Bible teaches that there is justice. One day it will come.
And while we wait, this Word of God, this expression of His character and nature, is what we cling to.
But there us something immensely practical about this.
You see, as we saw in our last study, the Word of God as the Psalmist understood it was likely the Law. And this section of the Psalm repeats that understanding:
Psalms 119:108-112 NIVUK
[108] Accept, Lord, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. [109] Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law. [110] The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. [111] Your statutes are my heritage for ever; they are the joy of my heart. [112] My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
But what relevance does this have for us, as people of grace?
Let me provide you with an example.
Let’s say you are walking in the dark with a flashlight, and in its beam the flashlight shows you that there is a massive danger ahead – a steep cliff edge. You know about it. The light has shown it to you. Now you have to do something about it. You have a decision to make.
You either keep going and fall down the cliff edge, or you heed the warning the flashlight has shown you and you walk away from the cliff edge.
The Law is the light.
It shows us behaviours and attitudes that are ultimately destructive.
It’s then up to us to listen to that advice and admonishment.
And not everyone does. Because the light of the Law – the Word of God – also has another effect:
John 3:19-21 NIVUK
[19] This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. [20] Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. [21] But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
So as well as the darkness around us, the Word of God also exposes the darkness within us:
Hebrews 4:12-13 NIVUK
[12] For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. [13] Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. https://bible.com/bible/113/heb.4.12-13.NIVUK
And that is not a comfortable experience. It’s the spiritual equivalent of going for a scan or an x-ray to locate a tumour. The light exposes something bad and threatening within our own life.
So the Psalmist is correct: the Word of God is a light; a light that removes every excuse from us. It shows us the threats around us. It shows us the threats inside us. It leaves us with the ultimate responsibility to obey or disobey.
Just because we have it does now mean that we will obey it. Often the darkness it exposes is the very thing that causes us to stray (see Romans 7:14-25).
But the more we understand it’s purpose and intention, and the more we obey, the safer and the better we will be.
So we see that the light is the Word of God. But light needs something else to be effective: it needs direction.
The Psalmist goes on to talk about the two directions into which the Word shines.
The first of these is The Lamp.
This lamp illuminates a very specific place: our feet.
We can best understand this by imagining ourselves walking down a forest path at night, in the dark. There are many hazards in this situation: puddles and bogs, tree roots and rocks, wild animals and undergrowth. We need to be very careful where we put our feet.
In other words, the Psalmist is saying that the Word of God guides our next step. It helps us with the small decisions of life – what we should do next.
That help is badly needed.
There are several times when this was needed in Jewish history.
Take, for example, when Josiah wanted to lead the people back to God. It was the discovery of the Word of God in the Temple that was key to this (2 Chronicles 34:14-32).
Take, for example, the national revival under Ezra and Nehemiah. It was the Word of God that told them what they should do next to purify the people (Nehemiah 7:73-10:31).
That is why we see this admonition in Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 6:16-19 NIVUK
[16] This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, “We will not walk in it.” [17] I appointed watchmen over you and said, “Listen to the sound of the trumpet!” But you said, “We will not listen.” [18] Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them. [19] Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.
This part of verse tells us that God is interested and involved in the little decisions of our life, the seemingly insignificant decisions, and is there to help us so that we don’t walk ourselves, step by step, into to big trouble.
But the Word of God isn’t just a lamp for our feet, it is also a Light, for our path.
What does that mean?
Imagine yourself walking down a darkened street. Unlike in a forest, you are less concerned with what is beneath your feet. The surface is mostly good. You are more concerned with what is up ahead. You are more concerned with the future than what’s happening now.
That’s what this part of the verse is about. It is about what lies in front of us.
We see the same concept elsewhere in the Bible:
Psalms 37:3-6 NIVUK
[3] Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. [4] Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. [5] Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: [6] he will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
Proverbs 16:1-3 NIVUK
[1] To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. [2] All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. [3] Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. https://bible.com/bible/113/pro.16.1-3.NIVUK
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIVUK
[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. https://bible.com/bible/113/pro.3.5-6.NIVUK
The idea is not that we make the plans and then ask God to bless them, but that we seek to please Him and live our everyday lives in obedience to His Word, and this then shapes our future.
Now, some people might have a great deal of trouble with this. Uncertainty is the enemy of planning. If things happen to us - bad news about a potential career or poor exam results or the loss of a job – we can feel like the lights have gone out for us.
But what this verse says is that if we seek to obey God, then His Word becomes the light that illuminates the future and shows us the way to go.
The US songwriter Amy Grant wrote a very famous song based on this verse that has become hugely inspirational to millions and source of great hope for generations.
But that hope doesn’t come from the music. No, it comes from the message. That message is that yes, life is dark – it was for the Psalmist too. It doesn’t take too much for us to see it in these verses.
However, through the darkness, God’s Word can be for us a light for our feet that shows us where to place our next step. It can also be a light for our path that illuminates the way ahead and tells us where to go.
But it only works for us if we obey it. As the Psalmist says:
Psalms 119:106, 112 NIVUK
[106] I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.
[112] My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end. https://bible.com/bible/113/psa.119.106-112.NIVUK
We want the light. We need the light. That much is clear.
But will we heed the light?
That is up to us.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I recognise right now that I need a lamp for my feet and a light for my path, however uncomfortable I might be when it exposes my sins and shortcomings. Show me, O Lord, how to obey it and turn from my sin. Amen.
Questions
1. What does it mean when this verse says that the Word of God is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path? What does this mean?
2. What does it mean for you? How will it help you?
3. What do we need to do for the Word and lamp and light to be most effective in our lives? Will you do it?
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