In a dark night and on a bad road the value of the lamp to the feet will be most appreciated. Upon an even path in broad daylight no one wants a lamp, but, says the psalmist, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psa. 119:105105NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)). For to walk aright in the world was to him not easy to do. He needed divine light to guide his steps, and in the Scriptures he owned with joy that he had that light. Moreover, he addresses God respecting His word, saying, “Thy word,” and a happy thing for us it is to receive the Scriptures as the word personally given us of God.
Thy word ... my feet! How happy are the “Thy” and the “my” here! Most personal is this interest in the Word of God. And this is how we must take up the Scriptures. We need to receive the Word of God for light for our own feet for each step we take. The world is a dark place; our path is a difficult one; we can take only a step at a time aright as we do so in the light given to us by the lamp of divine truth.
“A light unto my path” is a most gracious truth. The light thus given does not shine many footsteps in front of our feet, but just far enough to preserve us from pitfalls. All around may be dark, but there is sufficient “light unto my path” to keep us traveling on safely.
Evidently the psalmist made use of the Word of God as his guide. Sometimes men go out at night with a dark lantern; they pull the cover over the light. Now, we must make use of the light if we would walk thereby, and, however dark our way may seem to be, we shall never fail of our God’s guidance if we humbly go to His Word to be shown by that light what our steps in life should be.
Faithful Words for Young and Old, Vol. 16