By Protus Seda
Ps. 119:105-123. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119 is the longest Psalmody in the Bible. It narrates the psalmist love of God’s laws and how dependent he is on its teachings as a guide towards spiritual growth and faith. The whole sum is divided into 22 stanzas in beautifully crafted repetitive poetry. Monday Psalmody (Ps. 119:105) starts powerfully with a narration of God’s word as a lamp that gives light to our path towards salvation. The psalmist is focused on the covenantal law given by God throw Moses. He uses several words interchangeably – precepts, decrees, principles, commands etc. all referring to God’s prescribed ordered life of righteousness. But wait a minute. Do we really like laws? Don’t we find them restrictive and hard to live by? Don’t they deprive us off our ‘happiness’ and freedom? Who like laws? Yet without laws, society will degenerate into complete chaos. Laws are a social contract that keeps us sane in a world so full of scarcity mentality and selfishness. God’s laws keep us from sin, emptiness and condemnation. The psalmist recognizes that God’s word is the law that brings us into being righteous with God. God’s word is lamp and a light guides us into the path of salvation.
In the last few weeks we have been reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans in our daily prayers. Allow me connect the word in the psalms as a foretelling of the Word that that was with God in the beginning, the Word that became man (John 1:1-9). The Word who lived amongst us. The Word that brings light into the world. The light that cannot be overcome by the darkness of this world. That is Jesus Christ. Now reread Ps. 119:1 Jesus Christ is a lamp and a light through whom our salvation comes. It’s only through Jesus that we are qualified as co-heirs to the Kingdom of God (Rom. 8:17). Through Christ we have become sons and daughters of God (Rom.8:14). When we accept Jesus Christ and walk with him, we are assured of a life in abundance in this world and the life to come. Jesus is the lamp and the light in our otherwise dark and empty life. In him we find life. Trust in him because he is the way, the truth and the life. He speaks today to you and me through the Holy Spirit. If only you would hear the quiet still voice of the Holy Spirit today, you then will walk in the light of righteousness and be right with the Lord, flourishing in the fruits of the Spirit of the living God. Have a wonderful and blessed week ahead. Amen
