A Lamp to My Feet



Psalm 119:105-112 – Nun
105Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
106I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.
107I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word!
108Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your rules.
109I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.
110The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts.
111Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
112I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.

This stanza of Psalm 119 utilizes the letter Nun as it’s foil. (The meaning of this letter is "fish" which one cannot help but associate with the early Church.) In the first line, we read words that probably ring as so familiar as many have appropriated this verse for songs and sermons. It is fantastic image for us to hold in our minds as we navigate the life that we have been given. If God’s Word shows you the next step your foot should take, you’ll be inside of His will and that is our primary goal.

I am captivated by “I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep Your righteous rules.” When we decide in advance to do something, we have a far greater chance of success. When I set my mind at the beginning of the day to walk with the Lord and heed His voice, the day is better. When the ways of God are a part of my mindset, things go differently; definitely not always perfectly, but better.

The psalmist admits that life isn’t perfect. He is afflicted by the wicked, but God’s testimonies are still the joy of his heart. I pray that I might be able to say that all day long.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more