Many of David’s psalms are autobiographical poems set to music. He had so much to record about his life as a child of God that what he experienced became the theme of his songs. Big things, little things, he wrote and sang, all so real in his life, laced with God’s presence and God’s love, so that we can also identify with what he has preserved for us.
One of his great songs, Psalm 119, is an epic poem about the perfection and purpose of God’s law. This Psalm represents, for us, the entirety of the Word of God as the constitution of His kingdom that He has given us to navigate our perilous journey through life.
David makes some simple yet profound statements that set a course and promise assistence on our way to the Father.
Take, for example, verse 105
Psalms 119:105 NLT
[105]”Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
I have a headlight that has two functions. It has a strip light that illuminates a broad area of the garden, lighting up what I need to see around me, and a spotlight that shines brightly on a specific area ahead of me.
What an apt illustration of God’s Word!
When we put on the “headlight” of Scripture, we engage God’s Word in our minds to set the direction of our lives. We wear the light that illuminates the area around us and shows us the path among many paths on which we should walk, “a light for my path”.
We are faced with many options and many choices in our daily walk. The path of truth is narrow. Sometimes the path leads us through tricky and dangerous terrain. Our choices range between one way of truth and many devious ways to escape trouble. God’s Word gives clear direction that will keep us on the path. Every other way will lead us into the wilderness.
The strip light reveals not only where the path is that we are following but also the dangerous terrain on either side of the path. We must know the alternatives and their consequences if we are not to walk blindly along an unknown way.
1 John 2:15-17 NLT
[15] “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. [16] For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. [17] And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”
The Word provides both the alternatives and the solution to keep us from wandering mindlessly along the path of life. We must know both our destination and the way to reach it. God’s Word is the road map and the light.
We need the spotlight of the Word to give us direction in the specific details of our daily walk, “a lamp for our feet.”
“Knowing the truth”, said Jesus, if we are His disciples who are determined to follow His teachings, “will set you free.” From what do we need to be free? We need to be free from the sin that trips us up, catches us unawares, and hides along the way to ambush us when we are unwary.
Hebrews 12:1 NLT
[1] “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
We have the light of the Word that shines the spotlight at our feet to keep us from stumbling over the obstacles that lie directly in our path. We have a flesh nature to which we habitually give way if we are caught off guard. Anger, revenge, retaliation, harsh words, judging…these slip out without thinking. We must practise the new nature until its way becomes our spontaneous response. The lamp shining at our feet will clearly show us the ways of the God’s nature at work within us.
Colossians 3:12-15 NLT
[12] “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. [13] Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. [14] Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”
The qualities of the Holy Spirit in us do not come automatically. To change the metaphor, Paul said that we must put off the old garments of sinful responses and dress up in the garments of righteousness, responding and doing what is right in each situation, even loving even those who don’t love us.
So, we walk along the path towards God, one step at a time. This is not a Formula 1 rally. This is a slow and steady, lifelong way, from birth to death, towards God. If we are to reach our destination, we must follow the map and let the light guide the path we choose and the lamp guide our footsteps until we reach our journey’s end.
A final word…if we don’t use God’s Word to light our path, nothing else will. Without God’s light to shine on our way, the world is in utter darkness. You see, God is the source of all light.
Psalms 36:9 NLT
[9] “For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.”
John 1:4-5, 9 NLT
[4] “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
[9] The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”
John 3:18-20 NLT
[18] “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. [19] And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. [20] All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.”
1 John 1:5-7 NLT
[5]” This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. [6] So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. [7] But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
Isaiah 50:10-11 NLT
[10] “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. [11] But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment.”
John 8:12 NLT
[12]”Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
“And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied:
‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.”
(The Gate of the Year – Minnie Louise Haskins (1875-1957))