The Word is a Lamp
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Psalm 119:105
Perhaps you are like me: you could fall down just as easily going up the stairs as going down. Some of us are prone to making clumsy mistakes like that. I also know that if I would pay more attention, I would see my surroundings and act accordingly.
The unknown psalmist of Psalm 119, inspired by the Spirit, composed a rather unique chapter of Scripture. There are twenty-two stanzas with eight verses each, by far the longest chapter of the Bible. Yet not so unique is its message, one shared throughout the collection of sixty-six books of Scripture. The message is one of love for God and His law, as well as the reminder that God’s love is the love that compels Him.
Had God not revealed Himself to the world through His Word, the psalmist would not have the light he describes in verse 105. In His gracious love, God made Himself known, sent His only-begotten Son to the world in the flesh, and sent the Spirit to work through the means of grace so that the light would burn all the brighter for the path of believers.
God’s Word is described as a “lamp” and a “light.” One is a straightforward device that beams light. The other is the very thing we need to see. Sin may have darkened the world and left sinners grasping at nothing, but in Christ, we lay hold of salvation by faith, and we see the way clearly by the Word given to us.
The Word shows the bad. It shows us our natural selves that are dead and defeated apart from Christ. But more importantly, it shows us the gospel truth: that Jesus Christ lived, died, rose again, and reigns eternally as our Lord and Savior. It shows us that we stumbled and fumbled in vain, but He went the same path in perfect obedience, and won for us the victory.
How precious is the Book Divine, By inspiration giv’n!
Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine To guide our souls to heav’n.
The Lutheran Hymnal 285:1