{"id":16014,"date":"2022-09-24T06:18:12","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T11:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-psalms-119105\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T06:18:12","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T11:18:12","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-psalms-119105","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-psalms-119105\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 119:105"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 align='center'><b><i> Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<p> <strong> 105<\/strong>. Cp. <span class='bible'>Pro 6:23<\/span>. God&rsquo;s word is a light to guide him safely amid the dangers which beset his path through the darkness of this world. Contrast the fate of the wicked, <span class='bible'>Psa 35:6<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> <strong> 105 112<\/strong>. <em> Nn<\/em>. Knowing the value of God&rsquo;s law as the guide of life the Psalmist is resolved to keep it, whatever may be the risk.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\"><B>Thy word is a lamp unto my feet &#8211; <\/B>This begins a new portion of the psalm, indicated by the Hebrew letter Nun (<span class='_800000'><\/span> <I>n<\/I>), equivalent to our n. The margin here is candle. The Hebrew word means a light, lamp, candle. The idea is, that the word of God is like a torch or lamp ton man in a dark night. It shows him the way; it prevents his stumbling over obstacles, or failing down precipices, or wandering off into paths which would lead into danger, or would turn him away altogether from the path to life. Compare the notes at <span class='bible'>2Pe 1:19<\/span>.<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\"><B>And a light unto my path &#8211; <\/B>The same idea substantially is presented here. It is a light which shines on the road that a man treads, so that he may see the path, and that he may see any danger which may be in his path. The expression is very beautiful, and is full of instruction. He who makes the word of God his guide, and marks its teachings, is in the right way. He will clearly see the path. He will be able to mark the road in which he ought to go, and to avoid all those by-paths which would lead him astray. He will see where those by-roads turn off from the main path &#8211; often at a very small angle, and so that there seems to be no divergence. He will see any obstruction which may lie in his path; any declivity or precipice which may be near, and down which, in a dark night, one might fall. Man needs such a guide, and the Bible is such a guide. Compare the notes at <span class='bible'>Psa 119:9<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Albert Barnes&#8217; Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><span class='bible'>Psa 119:105<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Divine lamp<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gods Word as a lamp is&#8211;<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I. <\/strong>Ever needful. Man needs a guide through life. His mental eyes are dim, and the road is drear, intricate, and dark.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>Always available. It Suits every path in life. The path of the young and aged, the celibate and the married, the rich and the poor, the merchant, statesman, and philosopher, etc.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>III. <\/strong>All-sufficient. It throws light on every conceivable step in life, and the light is clear and sufficient. None need stumble anywhere who hold it before them.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>IV. <\/strong>Inextinguishable. It burns as brightly in the hands of the youngest disciple to-day as it did in the hands of the old patriarchs. It is a quenchless light. The advancing intelligence of humanity will never supersede its necessity or dim its lustre. (<em>Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gods guiding light for heavenward travellers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I. <\/strong>It directs the intending traveller to the starting-point&#8211;to the point whence he must set out on his heavenward journey. It takes him to the Cross, it bids him look to Jesus, and then to set out with holy resolution for the celestial city.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>It warns the traveller&#8211;having now commenced his journey&#8211;of the perils that will beset his path.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>III. <\/strong>It shows the traveller how he may safely advance along his journey step by step. It is not only a light to the path, showing which is the right way, but a lamp to the feet, showing whether the traveller is keeping in that path. This step-by-step help it furnishes by laying down general principles to be faithfully and conscientiously applied by the Christian (<span class='bible'>Rom 12:1<\/span>). By plying him with motives, the force of which, if he is a Christian, he must feel (<span class='bible'>1Co 6:20<\/span>), in all the details of his life, and by giving specific precepts, as notably is done in the closing portions of some of the epistles (<span class='bible'>Eph 4:1-32<\/span>., etc.).<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>IV. <\/strong>It assures the traveller that the hoped-for termination will be reached. It is important there should be light on the travellers starting-point; of equal importance that there should be light on the goal at which he hopes to arrive. If this be shrouded in darkness he will lack the stimulus of expectation to hold on his way. He will be ready to halt by reason of the<strong> <\/strong>discouragements and difficulties he meets with. (<em>J. F. Poulter, B. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>The lamp of the Word<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I. <\/strong>Every man has a path of his own. God has undoubtedly fashioned our hearts alike; that is, there are certain broad resemblances which every heart bears to every other heart. There are also equally well-known and<strong> <\/strong>accurately marked differences. Each man possesses the same elements, so to<strong> <\/strong>speak, but has them in different proportions. Contend as we may, our natural bias, our education, our position, the general and trivial events of our lot, do help to make our paths, which seem outwardly parallel, like two lines running side by side, yet as two lines still, separate and distinct.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>Our paths are manifestly divergent; yet in one respect we find them alike: they are often shrouded in gloom.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>The very lamp itself sometimes perplexes. The Word of the Lord tries us: its principles, its promises, even its facts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>Perplexity arises from duty. We feel great difficulty in coming to any decision; not because we are reluctant to obey, but because we cannot quite see which has the first and Superior claim.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <\/strong>Perplexity comes from bereavement, and comes to all of us, sooner or later, from this source. We find it hard, in the first paroxysm of sorrow, to see anything but harshness in our loss. We think of others we could have better spared.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>III. <\/strong>In all our darkness Gods Word supplies the true illumination. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. This light is pre-eminent. God has not left us without other aids to lessen the darkness. Reason is a light kindled by Jehovah Himself. Companions are as lights. But this light of Gods Word stands before all other lights. Reason helps; this helps reason. Companions help; this helps companions. When we are ready to receive them, there are no words that they can utter so cheering and so full of comfort as the words of God. (<em>J. J. Goadby.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Human life<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Three thoughts are here suggested concerning human life.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I. <\/strong>It is a walk. My path. In this walk&#8211;<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>There is no pausing. Every beating pulse we tell leaves but the number less.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>There is no returning. Every step takes us into the new and unknown.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>It is a walk requiring light. The path of our life is not only very intricate, but, morally, very dark. Black clouds of ignorance, sensuality, and superstition obstruct the rays of sun and stars.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>III. <\/strong>It is a walk for which light is provided. (<em>Homilist<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Religion the constant guide and friend of man<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wouldst<em> <\/em>thou then make religion the guide of thy life, wouldst thou have her truly to be a lamp to thy feet and a light to thy path?<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>Combine her with all thy occupations. Ask her often, ask her particularly on every critical and doubtful occasion, and ask her always in the sincere intention of following her precepts: how thou shouldst regard and prosecute thy affairs, in what dispositions thou shouldst conduct them, what views thou shouldst have in them, how thou shouldst begin and finish them, what thou shouldst do and omit at every time, in every place, according to the particular emergency?<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>Let her be thy constant companion in society, thy counsellor in thy intercourse with others. Ask her how thou shouldst regard, judge of, treat mankind, thy brethren, how thou shouldst be disposed and behave towards them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <\/strong>Let her be thy friend and companion in solitude. There hearken the more attentively and sedately to her suggestions, her doctrines, her encouragements, her consolations, her demands. There grow more and more familiar with her and ever enjoy more completely the happiness of this familiarity. Accompanied by her, solitude will never be a burden, never seem tiresome or tedious to thee. Informed and enter-rained by her, the solemn hours of silence will be thy most delightful hours of recreation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. <\/strong>Let her be the partner in all thy joys and pleasures. She would by no means oppose or disturb thy joys and thy pleasures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. <\/strong>Let her be also thy friend and comforter in affliction. (<em>C. J. Zollikofer.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>My lamp<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In<em> <\/em>the text the Word of God is compared to a lamp or lantern such as that which is carried on dark nights in country places in all lands.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I. <\/strong>Like a lighted lantern on a dark lonely journey it is a pleasant companion. A lamp cannot, indeed, talk with us, or even listen to our voices, but its cheerful light, close by us, and going on continually with us, takes away our loneliness, and we feel that a light is pleasant company.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>The Word of God is a protection against danger<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>III. <\/strong>The principal value of a lamp is that it shows us the way: and it is in this respect especially that the truth of God is most precious to us. (<em>R. Brewin.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bible a lamp<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There<em> <\/em>are many kinds of lamps, all of them having different uses and yet all of them intended to give light, but in very different places. Let us look at a few of them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>There are beacon lamps. Out upon the coast, here and there, all along there are these lamps. They are<strong> <\/strong>lighted as soon as it grows dark. As the ship comes up the channel, these lights, all of them different, show the captain of the ship where he is, and he knows by their help how to steer the ship so as to get to port in safety. Gods Word does all this. It shows men the true way, and keeps them from wreck and death. I have heard of men putting strange lights on the rocks, so as to mislead the sailors, and then the doomed ship has coma ashore and been lost. Now there are spiritual wreckers, who want to have you and What you have got. These wreckers have false lights, the word, not of God, but of man. Shall I show you two or three of these false lights? When a boy or girl does not wish to go away from school or chapel these wretches will sneer, I would not be tied to my mothers apron string! But what says the beacon? See it how it flashes. Forsake not the law of thy mother. Another of these false lights is, Its only once. Just this once, I wont ask you any more. Ah! you are in peril if you listen to this. Look to the beacon. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not! There is yet another of these false lights I will show you. When you are hearing the preacher, and are beginning to think you had better be a Christian while young, the wreckers will show their false light: Plenty of time yet. But what says the beacon? I love them that love Me, and they that seek Me early shall find Me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>Did you ever hear of what are called<strong> <\/strong>hurricane lamps? There is a kind of lamp so made that you might carry it in the wildest of storms, and the strongest wind could not blow it out. Now, the Word of God is a hurricane lamp&#8211;it will not blow out. Oh! how Satan has tried in times of persecution; but you know when the Word of God gets into a mans heart there it sticks. You may, some of you, before you die, be persecuted for your religion. You may have to smart for being lovers of God, but dont be afraid. The Bible was made, like the hurricane lamp, to stand the storm. Not so with the schemes and plans of evil, they shall all be put out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <\/strong>The Bible is an invalids lamp. When people are ill, and have to lay awake all the night in pain, they dont want to be left in the dark; and yet, they, dont want any glaring light. They want a cheerful, yet soft light, and there are parts of the Bible just suited, such as The Lord is my Shepherd. Let not your hearts be troubled. Came out of great tribulation. I will give to him that is athirst. Neither shall there be any more pain.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. <\/strong>The Bible is a signal lamp. You have noticed the signals at night, when you have been in the train. There they are, white, green, red. Do you know what white means? Come on! Yes, that is it; and the Bible says to those who are doing right, Come on, you are on the right track; come on. All is well. Go ahead! But what does the green light say? Caution! Slowly! Beware! Yes; when the driver sees that he knows that it will be wise for him to slacken speed, and look about him. And so says the Word of God, when it sees that there is need for caution. When a man is wanting to be rich, and there is some danger that he may be tempted to make money at the risk of his soul, then the lamp signals: Godliness with contentment is great gain. They that will be rich fall into temptation. But can you tell me what the red light means? Stop! Danger! Shut off the steam! Yes, all of these. Oh! how the Bible calls out to men. If people would but mind the red light of Scripture we should have a great deal less of sin and sorrow. (<em>T. Champness.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>The wonderful lamp<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I. <\/strong>What sort of a lamp is the Bible?<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>It sheds wonderful light.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(1)<\/strong> The length of time during which it has been shining. When Adam sinned, the Saviour who was afterwards to come was like kindling one little thread in the wick of this lamp. And then, as other parts of the Bible were written, the lamp burned brighter and brighter, till Jesus came and the New Testament was finished. And now for near two thousand years this lamp has been fully lighted and burning all the time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(2)<\/strong> The distance to which it shines. All the way from heaven to earth.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(3)<\/strong> The power with which it shines, No tempest that ever beat, no wind that ever blew, no atmosphere, however foul, can put it out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>It yields wonderful comfort.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(1)<\/strong> Under the trials of life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(2)<\/strong> In the prospect of death.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <\/strong>It affords wonderful safety. This world is like a great coal-mine, and all its inhabitants are like miners. The sins that abound here are like this dangerous gas, and, when they come in contact with our evil passions, violent explosions are often produced, and great damage is done. We need a safety-lamp to show us where the dangers lie, and help us to escape from them. And just such a lamp we have. The Bible is a safety-lamp which God has invented for this very purpose. It will always warn us when danger is nigh, and show us how we may escape it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>What should those who have this lamp do with it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>Use it themselves.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>Send it to others. (<em>R. Newton, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lantern lessons<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I. <\/strong>This lamp and light guides us. It shows us our lost state, how far we have wandered from God, how sad our condition is, and that we shall<strong> <\/strong>surely perish unless we find the way of life. It shows us Jesus.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>This lamp and light guides us with safety. What pitfalls, what temptations, what snares and covert assaults of the wicked one it keeps Gods people from!<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>III. <\/strong>This lamp and light guides us with comfort. (<em>J. B. Johnstone.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The lighted lamp:&#8211;<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>I. <\/strong>For the dark. The Gospel was first brought to our land about the year 600 by a missionary named Paulinus. Eadwine was then king. His wise men gathered to consider the new faith. To many of them its charm lay in the light it throws on the darkness covering mens lives&#8211;the darkness of the future as of the past, To be without light is among the greatest of calamities; to get light after darkness the sweetest of blessings.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>II. <\/strong>For our use.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>This lamp is for the feet. Our museums abound with beautiful lamps taken from ancient tombs. Such-like is an unused Bible by the side of a dead soul. A lamp he has, but sees not, neither does he walk in its light. But all the light the Bible gives is meant to guide you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <\/strong>As it is a light for the feet, you must hold it low. It is not for the head merely, to fill you with curious notions: it is for the feet, to guide you in your actions. The motto of the early Church was, Hearts on high, and they might have truly added, Light and eyes low.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <\/strong>You must use it always. Never live without its light.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>III. <\/strong>For a time only. It is a thing of the night, not of the day. (<em>J. Wells.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bible the best parlour light<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In<em> <\/em>parlours all aflash with gaslight, and gleaming mirrors, and<strong> <\/strong>blazing chandelier, and candelabra, there may be Egyptian darkness; while in some plain room, which a frugal hand has spread with hospitality and refinement, this one lamp may cast a glow that makes it a fit place for heavenly coronations. Gods lamp hung in the parlour would chill no joy, would rend no harmony, would check no innocent laughter. On the contrary, it would bring out brighter colours in the picture; it would expose new gracefulness in the curtain; it would unroll new wreaths from the carpet; it would strike new music from the harp; it would throw new polish into the manners; it would kindle with light borrowed from the very throne of God all the refinements of society. Oh that the Christ who was born in a barn would come to our parlour! We need His hand to sift the parlour music. We need His taste to assort the parlour literature. We need His voice to conduct the parlour conversation. (<em>T. De Witt Talmage.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bible the best street lamp<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When<em> <\/em>night comes down on the city, crime goes forth to its worst achievements. Not only to show honest citizens where to walk, but to hinder the burglar, and assassin, and highwayman, and pickpocket, we must have artificial lights all over the city. I remember what consternation there was in Philadelphia when one night the gasworks were out of order and the whole city sat in darkness. Between eleven oclock at night and three oclock in the morning, in the dark and unlighted places of the town, crime has its holiday. If the lamplighter ceased his work for the week the town would rot. But there is a darkness beyond all power of gaslight. What is the use of police-station, and almshouse, and watchmans club, if there be no moral and religious influence to sanction the law, and to purify the executive, and to hang over legal enactment the fear of God and an enlightened public opinion. The first want of such a city as that is the street lamp of the Bible. (<em>T. De Witt Talmage.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bible the best store lamp<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What<em> <\/em>is the reason so many who started in merchandise, with good principles, and fair prospects, and honourable intentions, have become gamblers, and defrauders, and knaves, and desperadoes, and liars, and thieves? They did not have the right kind of a store lamp. Why is it, in our day, merchandise is smitten with uncertainty, and three-fourths of the businesses of our great cities is only one huge species of gambling? And why are ten thousand of our business men ridden with a nightmare enough to crush Hercules and Prometheus? It is the want of a right kind of store lamp. Oh, what thrones have fallen, what monuments have crumbled, what fleets have sunk, what statues have been defaced, what barbarisms have been created, what civilization retarded, what nations damned, all for the want of the right kind of a store lamp! (<em>T. De Witt Talmage.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bible the best church lamp<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Glorious<em> <\/em>church lamp, this Bible. Luther found it in the cloister at Erfurt, and he lifted it, until the monasteries and cathedrals of Germany, and Italy, and France, and England, and the world saw its illumination. It throws its light on the pulpit, making a bulwark of truth; on the baptismal cup, until its waters glitter like the crystals of heaven. It strikes penitence into the prayers and gladness into the thanksgiving. It changes into a church John Bunyans prison, and Covenanters cave, and Calvins castle, and Husss stake, and Hugh MKails scaffold of martyrdom, Zwinglius carried it into Switzerland, and John Wycliffe into England, add John Knox into Scotland, and Jehudi Ashman into Africa. (<em>T. De Witt Talmage.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Light to get home by<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In<em> <\/em>the stress and vicissitudes of our earthly pilgrimage we know it as a lamp for our own difficult way: Thy Word a lamp unto my feet. This recalls Charles Kingsleys phrase. On a dark, misty night he was cheerful, for, said he, there is light enough to get home. That is all we really need&#8211;light enough to get home&#8211;and, if we follow His Word, that at least we shall not miss. We need not too wistfully and anxiously anticipate long futures, but live and walk from day to day in the light vouchsafed. (<em>W. R. Nicoll.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P ALIGN=\"CENTER\"><B>LETTER <\/B><B> <\/B><B>NUN. &#8211; <\/B><I><B>Fourteenth Division<\/B><\/I><\/P> <P> <\/P> <P> Verse <span class='bible'>105<\/span>. <I><B>Thy word<\/B><\/I><B> is <\/B><I><B>a lamp<\/B><\/I>] This is illustrated thus by <I>Solomon<\/I>, <span class='bible'>Pr 6:23<\/span>: &#8220;The <I>commandment<\/I> is a <I>lamp<\/I>; and the <I>law<\/I> is <I>light<\/I>; and <I>reproofs<\/I> <I>of instruction<\/I> are the <I>way<\/I> of <I>life<\/I>.&#8221; God&#8217;s word is a <I>candle<\/I> which may be held in the hand to give us light in every <I>dark place<\/I> and <I>chamber<\/I>; and it is a <I>general light<\/I> shining upon all <I>his works,<\/I> and upon all <I>our ways<\/I>.<\/P> <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Adam Clarke&#8217;s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P STYLE=\"margin-left: 7.75em\"><B>NUN<\/B> <\/P> <P>To direct me in all my doubts and difficulties, to preserve from sin and misery, both which oft come under the name of darkness, and to comfort me in all my fears and distresses. <\/P> <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P><B>105.<\/B> Not only does the Word ofGod inform us of His will, but, as a light on a path in darkness, itshows us how to follow the right and avoid the wrong way. The lamp ofthe Word is not the sun. He would blind our eyes in our presentfallen state; but we may bless God for the light shining as in a darkplace, to guide us until the Sun of Righteousness shall come, and weshall be made capable of seeing Him (<span class='bible'>2Pe 1:19<\/span>;<span class='bible'>Rev 22:4<\/span>). The lamp is fed withthe oil of the Spirit. The allusion is to the lamps and torchescarried at night before an Eastern caravan.<\/P><\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown&#8217;s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>n, <strong>NUN.&#8211;The Fourteenth Part<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p> Ver. 105. <strong>NUN. Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet<\/strong>,&#8230;. The same Solomon says of the law and commandment, the preceptive part of the word, <span class='bible'>Pr 6:23<\/span>; and the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it &#8220;law&#8221; here. This shows a man what is his duty, both towards God and man; by it is the knowledge of sin: this informs what righteousness that is God requires of men; by the light of it a man sees his own deformity and infirmities, the imperfection of his obedience, and that he needs a better righteousness than his own to justify him in the sight of God; it is a rule of walk and conversation; it directs what to do, and how to walk. The Gospel part of the word is a great and glorious light; by which men come to have some knowledge of God in Christ, as a God gracious and merciful; of Christ, his person, offices, and grace; of righteousness, salvation, and eternal life by him; and it teaches men to live soberly, righteously, and godly. The whole Scripture is a light shining in a dark place; a lamp or torch to be carried in the hand of a believer, while he passes through this dark world; and is in the present state of imperfection, in which he sees things but darkly. This is the standard of faith and practice; by the light of this lamp the difference between true and false doctrine may be discerned; error and immorality may be reproved, and made manifest; the way of truth and godliness, in which a man should walk, is pointed out; and by means of it he may see and shun the stumbling blocks in his way, and escape falling into pits and ditches; it is a good light to walk and work by. The Targum is,<\/p>\n<p> &#8220;thy word is as a light that shines to my feet.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> It follows,<\/p>\n<p><strong>and a light unto my path<\/strong>; the same thing in other words. Now it should be observed, that the word of God is only so to a man whose eyes are opened and enlightened by the Spirit of God, which is usually done by means of the word; for a lamp, torch, candle, or any other light are of no use to a blind man.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: John Gill&#8217;s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> The eightfold <em> Nun <\/em>. The word of God is his constant guide, to which he has entrusted himself for ever. The way here below is a way through darkness, and leads close past abysses: in this danger of falling and of going astray the word of God is a lamp to his feet, i.e., to his course, and a light to his path (<span class='bible'>Pro 6:23<\/span>); his lamp or torch and his sun. That which he has sworn, viz., to keep God&#8217;s righteous requirements, he has also set up, i.e., brought to fulfilment, but not without being bowed down under heavy afflictions in confessing God; wherefore he prays (as in <span class='bible'>Psa 119:25<\/span>) that God would revive him in accordance with His word, which promises life to those who keep it. The confessions of prayer coming from the inmost impulse of his whole heart, in which he owns his indebtedness and gives himself up entirely to God&#8217;s mercy, he calls the free-will offerings of his mouth in <span class='bible'>Psa 119:108<\/span> (cf. <span class='bible'>Psa 50:14<\/span>; 19:15). He bases the prayer for a gracious acceptance of these upon the fact of his being reduced to extremity. &ldquo;To have one&#8217;s soul in one&#8217;s hand&rdquo; is the same as to be in conscious peril of one&#8217;s life, just as &ldquo;to take one&#8217;s soul into one&#8217;s hand&rdquo; (<span class='bible'>Jdg 12:3<\/span>; <span class='bible'>1Sa 19:5<\/span>; <span class='bible'>1Sa 28:21<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Job 13:14<\/span>) is the same as to be ready to give one&#8217;s life for it, to risk one&#8217;s life.<\/p>\n<p style='margin-left:1.8em'> (Note: Cf. <em> B. Taanth<\/em> 8<em> a<\/em>: &ldquo;The prayer of a man is not answered       , i.e., if he is not ready to sacrifice his life.&rdquo;)<\/p>\n<p> Although his life is threatened (<span class='bible'>Psa 119:87<\/span>), yet he does not waver and depart from God&#8217;s word; he has taken and obtained possession of God&#8217;s testimonies for ever (cf. <span class='bible'>Psa 119:98<\/span>); they are his &ldquo;heritage,&rdquo; for which he willingly gives up everything else, for they (  inexactly for  ) it is which bless and entrance him in his inmost soul. In <span class='bible'>Psa 119:112<\/span> it is not to be interpreted after <span class='bible'>Psa 19:12<\/span>: eternal is the reward (of the carrying out of Thy precepts), but in <span class='bible'>Psa 119:33<\/span>  is equivalent to  , and <span class='bible'>Psa 119:44<\/span> proves that <em> <span class='bible'>Psa 119:112<\/span><\/em> need not be a thought that is complete in itself.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Keil &amp; Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><TABLE BORDER=\"0\" CELLPADDING=\"1\" CELLSPACING=\"0\"> <TR> <TD> <P ALIGN=\"CENTER\" STYLE=\"background: transparent;border: none;padding: 0in;font-style: normal;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: none\"> <span style='font-size:1.25em;line-height:1em'><SPAN STYLE=\"background: transparent\"><SPAN STYLE=\"text-decoration: none\">14. NUN.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> <TD> <P ALIGN=\"LEFT\" STYLE=\"background: transparent;border: none;padding: 0in;font-style: normal;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: none\"> <BR> <\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> <P>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 105 NUN. Thy word <I>is<\/I> a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.<\/P> <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Observe here, 1. The nature of the word of God, and the great intention of giving it to the world; it is a <I>lamp and a light.<\/I> It discovers to us, concerning God and ourselves, that which otherwise we could not have known; it shows us what is amiss, and will be dangerous; it directs us in our work and way, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. It is a lamp which we may set up by us, and take into our hands for our own particular use, <span class='bible'>Prov. vi. 23<\/span>. The commandment is a lamp kept burning with the oil of the Spirit; it is like the lamps in the sanctuary, and the pillar of fire to Israel. 2. The use we should make of it. It must be not only a <I>light to out eyes,<\/I> to gratify them, and fill our heads with speculations, but a <I>light to our feet<\/I> and <I>to our path,<\/I> to direct us in the right ordering of our conversation, both in the choice of our way in general and in the particular steps we take in that way, that we may not take a false way nor a false step in the right way. We are then truly sensible of God&#8217;s goodness to us in giving us such a lamp and light when we make it a guide to our feet, our path.<\/P><\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Matthew Henry&#8217;s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p style='margin-left:10.595em'><strong>The Nun Section<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Scripture v. 105-112:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 105<\/strong> sets forth the idea that the word of the Lord is a guide for dark hours, like a lamp or candle light to guide the footsteps of God&#8217;s people, as He did Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and firelight by night, Through all her dark days, <span class='bible'>Pro 6:23<\/span>; <span class='bible'>2Pe 1:19<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Exo 14:19-20<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Exo 14:24<\/span>; <span class='bible'>1Ti 2:15<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verses 106, 107<\/strong> witness that the psalmist had sworn and was determined to perform his promise, that he would keep, guard, or respect God&#8217;s righteous judgments, a thing all men should also do, <span class='bible'>Neh 10:29<\/span>; Even as Israel had sworn <span class='bible'>Exo 19:8<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Exo 24:3<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Exo 24:7<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Eze 11:9<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Eze 11:20<\/span>; <span class='bible'>2Co 3:5<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Jas 1:22<\/span>. <br \/>Verse 107 calls on the Lord to quicken or revive the psalmist from his affliction, according to His word of honor and integrity, as he obeyed Him, <span class='bible'>Lev 18:5<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Deu 6:24<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verses 108, 109<\/strong> call on the Lord to accept the freewill offering of the psalmist&#8217;s mouth, his prayers and praise and teach him (Through it all) His judgments, <span class='bible'>Hos 14:2<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Heb 13:15<\/span>. He adds that Though his soul (life) is continually in his hand (in danger), yet he did not forget, or neglect the law of the Lord, faint, or fall out, <span class='bible'>Jdg 12:3<\/span>; <span class='bible'>1Sa 19:5<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Job 13:14<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 110 asserts <\/strong>that Though his enemies had laid a snare for him the psalmist did not err (turn away) from the Lord&#8217;s precepts, v.109; See also v. 10,21.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verses 111, 112<\/strong> <strong>disclose <\/strong>that the psalmist had taken hold on the Lord&#8217;s statutes, as an heritage to follow and obey forever, to perform them with all his heart, as a source of rejoicing, always, even to the end of his life, a noble resolve, <span class='bible'>Joh 7:17<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Deu 33:4<\/span>. His word is a compass for the sea and wilderness of life and a trustworthy road map to glory, with many danger and detour markers along the way. Blessed are all who seek to obey and follow it, <span class='bible'>Isa 54:17<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Rom 2:14-16<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Col 1:12<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Heb 9:15<\/span>; <span class='bible'>2Ti 3:16-17<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Joh 15:14<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Joh 14:15<\/span>; <span class='bible'>1Jn 5:3<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> 105.  Thy word is a lamp to my feet.  In this verse the Psalmist testifies that the Divine Law was his schoolmaster and guide in leading a holy life. He thus, by his own example, prescribes the same rule to us all; and it is highly necessary to observe this rule; for while each of us follows what seems good in his own estimation, we become entangled in inextricable and frightful mazes. The more distinctly to understand his intention, it is to be noted, that the word of God is set in opposition to all human counsels. What the world judges right is often crooked and perverse in the judgment of God, who approves of no other manner of living, than that which is framed according to the rule of his law. It is also to be observed, that David could not have been guided by God&#8217;s word, unless he had first renounced the wisdom of the flesh, for it is only when we are brought to do this, that we begin to be of a teachable disposition. But the metaphor which he uses implies something more; namely, that unless the word of God enlighten men&#8217;s path, the whole of their life is enveloped in darkness and obscurity, so that they cannot do anything else than miserably wander from the right way; and again, that when we submit ourselves with docility to the teaching of God&#8217;s law, we are in no danger of going astray. Were there such obscurity in God&#8217;s word, as the Papists foolishly talk about, the commendation with which the prophet here honors the law would be altogether undeserved. Let us, then, be assured that an unerring light is to be found there, provided we open our eyes to behold it. The Apostle Peter (<span class='bible'>2Pe 1:19<\/span>) has more plainly expressed the same sentiment, when he commends the faithful for taking heed to the word of prophecy, &#8220;as unto a light that shineth in a dark place.&#8221; <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Calvin&#8217;s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><strong>NUN.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> (105) See <span class='bible'>Pro. 6:23<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>So Wordsworth calls Duty:<br \/>A light to guide.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Ellicott&#8217;s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>  , <em> Nun.<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong> 105-112<\/strong>. <strong> <\/strong> <strong> Thy word is a lamp <\/strong> The writer comes to an experience like that of a traveller by night on a dangerous road. He enters upon it with a firm resolve <strong> <\/strong> a hold upon the divine law as a guiding clew; while, as with the other hand, he carries the lamp of the word. <\/p>\n<p><strong> Freewill offerings <\/strong> Voluntary confessions of the divine goodness, and utterances of praise.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Whedon&#8217;s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> NUN.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> I pass over several very interesting observations which might be offered on the verses in this portion, (for there is not a part of them but is well calculated to make our meditation sweet); but I pass them over to call the Reader&#8217;s attention, and my own, to that very precious thought, contained in these expressions, as considered with reference to Jesus: Accept, I beseech thee, the free-will offering of my mouth. I beg that I may be clearly understood on this grand point. According to my apprehension, it is the willingness of Christ in his human nature, which is here spoken of, and which is highly proper to be considered, and well weighed and pondered in our thoughts; for it gives validity, importance, and efficacy, to the meritorious sacrifice. The human nature of Jesus, as distinct from the divine nature, had a distinct will also: for although, in the assumption of the human nature for the purposes of salvation, the Son of God coming into the world, putting his name among creatures, and entering into covenant engagements before the world began; though these purposes were solely in the acts and trans actions of the Persons of the Godhead, yet the free will and full consent of the human nature, when taken into union with the Son of God, and becoming one Christ by the junction of both, became necessary to make the offering of Christ&#8217;s body a free-will sacrifice. Now, without enlarging on this subject, doth not such a view of Jesus in his human nature, thus speaking, and thus acting, refresh the soul? Thy law, saith Jesus, in another Psalm, is within my heart; not put there, but habitually there, formed there; or in a stronger expression, as the margin hath it, in the midst of my bowels. <span class='bible'>Psa 40:8<\/span> . Either of which phrases would be unsuitable, and indeed improper to be applied in the least respect to the divine nature, and can be only meant of the human. So that God&#8217;s holy law is natural to his holy nature. And his zeal for that law made all his services, in the human nature as well as the divine, altogether free and voluntary. May my soul feel the blessedness of this view of Jesus! Here then is seen in our great Head and Husband, a holy nature, devoted to Jehovah. And such (by virtue of his people&#8217;s union with him) are his people also. <span class='bible'>Hos 2:19-20<\/span> ; <span class='bible'>Jer 23:6<\/span> ; <span class='bible'>1Co 1:30<\/span> .<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Hawker&#8217;s Poor Man&#8217;s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> Psa 119:105 NUN. Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.<\/p>\n<p> Ver. 105. <strong> Thy word is a lamp unto my feet<\/strong> ] Without the direction whereof, both for my whole course of life, and for every particular action thereof, I cannot but be in dreadful darkness and desperate downfalls.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: John Trapp&#8217;s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 119:105-112 (Nun)<\/p>\n<p> 105Your word is a lamp to my feet<\/p>\n<p> And a light to my path.<\/p>\n<p> 106I have sworn and I will confirm it,<\/p>\n<p> That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.<\/p>\n<p> 107I am exceedingly afflicted;<\/p>\n<p> Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.<\/p>\n<p> 108O accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord,<\/p>\n<p> And teach me Your ordinances.<\/p>\n<p> 109My life is continually in my hand,<\/p>\n<p> Yet I do not forget Your law.<\/p>\n<p> 110The wicked have laid a snare for me,<\/p>\n<p> Yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts.<\/p>\n<p> 111I have inherited Your testimonies forever,<\/p>\n<p> For they are the joy of my heart.<\/p>\n<p> 112I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes<\/p>\n<p> Forever, even to the end.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:105 There is no verb in this verse. God&#8217;s word illumines life (cf. Psa 43:3; Pro 6:23; 2Pe 1:19). Life is described as a path, a clearly marked path, marked by Divine revelation (cf. Psa 89:15; Isa 2:5; 1Jn 1:7). To deviate to the right or left brings disaster.<\/p>\n<p>We know from the NT that God&#8217;s ultimate revelation is Jesus (cf. Joh 1:1-14; Php 2:6-11; Col 1:13-16; Heb 1:2-3). He is the light of the world (cf. Joh 1:4; Joh 8:12; Joh 9:5).<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:106 The psalmist asserts that he has walked on God&#8217;s path of revelation. The verb forms imply an initial decision and a continuing commitment to God&#8217;s revelation. Biblical faith is a gate (initial, personal encounter with God) and a path\/way (continuing lifestyle, daily obedience). Jesus teaches this in Mat 7:13-14. It is a decision and a discipleship.<\/p>\n<p>In modern Jewish life, young people study the Hebrew Bible, and at age 13 for boys and 12 for girls, they commit themselves to keep it (Bar-Mitzvah, Bat-Mitzvah).<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:107 The nature of the affliction is uncertain. It could be<\/p>\n<p>1. the wicked, Psa 119:110 (cf. Job 24:13)<\/p>\n<p>2. God Himself for the psalmist&#8217;s previous disobedience (cf. Psa 119:67; Psa 119:71)<\/p>\n<p> Revive me This is literally give me life (BDB 310, KB 309) and is a recurrent request (cf. Psa 119:25; Psa 119:37; Psa 119:40; Psa 119:50; Psa 119:88; Psa 119:93; Psa 119:107; Psa 119:149; Psa 119:154; Psa 119:156; Psa 119:159; Psa 119:175). Here it probably means physical life, but one who knows God&#8217;s revelation also knows it denotes a healthy spiritual life also. Life comes according to Your word.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:108 a This verse and others like it are the origin of the Jewish people worshiping YHWH in words and not sacrifices because their temple has been destroyed (cf. Isa 57:19; Hos 14:2; Heb 13:15).<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:108 b Understanding is impossible without Divine help. God seeks to open our minds to Himself and His guidelines for life (cf. Psa 119:12; Psa 119:26; Psa 119:64; Psa 119:66; Psa 119:68; Psa 119:124; Psa 119:135; Psa 119:171).<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:109 soul This is the Hebrew term nephesh (BDB 659). See full note at Gen 35:18 online.<\/p>\n<p> in Your hand This Hebrew idiom can be understood in two ways.<\/p>\n<p>1. in a negative sense, where hand refers to power over another (cf. Jdg 12:3; 1Sa 19:5; 1Sa 28:21; Job 13:14, see Special Topic: Hand)<\/p>\n<p>2. in a positive sense, where hand refers to God&#8217;s keeping power and protection (i.e., Psa 31:5)<\/p>\n<p>The MT has in my hand, while the LXX has in Your hand. The first would denote that following God&#8217;s revelation means opposition in a fallen world. The second would denote God&#8217;s keeping power and care (cf. NJB).<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:110 The psalmist is being accused of some covenant violation but he asserts his fidelity to God&#8217;s revelation.<\/p>\n<p>The snare, like the pit of Psa 119:85, is an animal trap, here used as a metaphor for human aggressive attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:111-112 God&#8217;s revelation to Israel was evidence of their special relationship to Him. The psalmist affirms his loyalty and obedience to that revelation. See Special Topic: Keep.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:111 they are the joy of my heart Israel gloried in God&#8217;s revelation (cf. Psa 1:2; Psa 19:7-11). To those who know God it is not a burden but a delight (cf. Psa 119:14; Psa 119:16; Psa 119:24; Psa 119:35; Psa 119:47; Psa 119:70; Psa 119:77; Psa 119:92; Psa 119:143; Psa 119:162; Psa 119:174).<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:112 forever See Special Topic: Forever (&#8216;olam) .<\/p>\n<p> to the end See the same expressing of continual commitment (Psa 119:106) to God&#8217;s revelation in Psa 119:33.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>lamp: or lantern, for light on the path for the feet; not merely a light for the eyes (Psa 19:8). <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>Psa 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.<\/p>\n<p>We are walkers through the city of this world, and we are often called to go out into its darkness; let us never venture there without the light-giving word, lest we slip with our feet. Each man should use the word of God personally, practically, and habitually, that he may see his way and see what lies in it. When darkness settles down upon all around me, the word of the Lord, like a flaming torch, reveals my way. We should not know the way, or how to walk in it, if Scripture, like a blazing flambeau, did not reveal it. It is a lamp by night, a light by day, and a delight at all times. David guided his own steps by it, and also saw the difficulties of his road by its beams.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:106. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.<\/p>\n<p>Under the influence of the clear light of knowledge he had firmly made up his mind, and solemnly declared his resolve in the sight of God. Perhaps mistrusting his own fickle mind, he had pledged himself in sacred form to abide faithful to the determinations of his God. Whatever path might open before him, he was sworn to follow that only upon which the lamp of the word was shining.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:107. I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.<\/p>\n<p>According to the last verse he had been sworn in a soldier of the Lord, and in this next verse he is called to suffer hardness in that capacity. Our service of the Lord does not screen us from trial, but rather secures it for us. The Psalmist was a consecrated man, and yet a chastened man. Quickening is the best remedy for tribulation, the soul is raised above the thought of present distress, and is filled with that holy joy which attends all vigorous spiritual life, and so the affliction grows light.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:108. Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.<\/p>\n<p>He offers prayer, praise, confession, and testimony  these, presented with his voice in the presence of an audience, were the tribute of his mouth unto Jehovah. He trembles lest these should be so ill uttered so to displease the Lord, and therefore he implores acceptance. When we render unto the Lord our best, we become all the more concerned to do better. If, indeed, the Lord shall accept us, we then desire to be further instructed, that we may be still more acceptable.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:109. My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.<\/p>\n<p>He lived in the midst of danger. He had to be always fighting for existence  hiding in caves, or contending in battles. This is a very uncomfortable and trying state of affairs, and men are apt to think any expedient justifiable by which they can end such a condition, but David did not turn aside to find safety in sin. They say that all things are fair in love and war; but the holy man thought not so: while he carried his life in his hand, he also carried the law in his heart.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:110. The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.<\/p>\n<p>Spiritual life is the scene of constant danger. The believer lives with his life in his hand, and meanwhile all seem plotting to take it from him, by cunning if they cannot by violence. We shall not find it an easy thing to live the life of the faithful. Wicked spirits and wicked men will leave no stone unturned for our destruction. He was not snared, for he kept his eyes open, and kept near his God.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.<\/p>\n<p>He chose them so his lot, his portion, his estate; and what is more, he laid hold upon them and made them so,  taking them into possession and enjoyment. Davids choice is our choice. If we might have our desire, we would desire to keep the commands of God perfectly. To know the doctrine, to enjoy the promise, to practice the command,  be this a kingdom large enough for me.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:112. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.<\/p>\n<p>He was not half inclined to virtue, but heartily inclined to it. His whole heart was bent on practical, persevering godliness. He was resolved to keep the statutes of the Lord with all his heart, throughout all his time, without erring or ending. He made it his end to keep the law unto the end, and that without end.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:113. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.<\/p>\n<p>The opposite of the fixed and infallible law of God is the wavering, changing opinion of men. David had an utter contempt and abhorrence for this, all his reverence and regard went to the sure word of testimony. In proportion to his love to the law was his hate of mans inventions. The thoughts of men are vanity; but the thoughts of God are verity.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.<\/p>\n<p>To his God he ran for shelter from vain thoughts, there he hid himself away from their tormenting intrusions, and in solemn silence of the soul he found God to be his hiding-place. When called into the world, if he could not be alone with God as his hiding-place, he could have the Lord with him as his shield, and by this means he could ward off the attacks of wicked suggestions.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:115. Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.<\/p>\n<p>If we fly to God from vain thoughts, much more shall we avoid vain men. Evildoers make evil counselors. Those who say unto God, Depart from us, ought to hear the immediate echo of their words from the mouths of Gods children, Depart from us. We cannot eat bread with traitors.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Spurgeon&#8217;s Verse Expositions of the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>Psa 119:105-112<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:105-112<\/p>\n<p>STROPHE 14<\/p>\n<p>THE PSALMIST REJOICES IN GOD&#8217;S LAW AS HIS INHERITANCE AND AS A LAMP EXPOSING SNARES OF THE WICKED<\/p>\n<p>Nun<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,<\/p>\n<p>A light unto my path.<\/p>\n<p>I have sworn, and have confirmed it,<\/p>\n<p>That I will observe thy righteous ordinances.<\/p>\n<p>I am afflicted very much:<\/p>\n<p>Quicken me, O Jehovah, according to thy word.<\/p>\n<p>Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill-offerings of my mouth, O Jehovah.<\/p>\n<p>And teach me thine ordinances.<\/p>\n<p>My soul is continually in my hand;<\/p>\n<p>Yet do I not forget thy law.<\/p>\n<p>The wicked have laid a snare for me;<\/p>\n<p>Yet have I not gone astray from thy precepts.<\/p>\n<p>Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever;<\/p>\n<p>For they are the rejoicing of my heart.<\/p>\n<p>I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes<\/p>\n<p>Forever, even unto the end.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Yates&#8217; summary of the teaching here is that, &#8220;The word of God is the Light of Life, a lamp; and the psalmist&#8217;s pilgrimage through life is under the guidance of God&#8217;s teachings. He thus vows to follow the light wherever it may lead and whatever dangers may be involved.  A number of the thoughts and expressions of this psalm are included in Isaac Watts&#8217; famous hymn, &#8220;How Shall the Young Secure Their Hearts?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Accept the freewill-offerings of my mouth&#8221; (Psa 119:108). This is the exciting new idea that adorns this strophe. In it there is an indication of the time when the bloody sacrifices of the Law of Moses shall no longer be &#8220;the way&#8221; to worship God, but he shall be worshipped with the &#8220;fruit of our lips&#8221; (Heb 13:15).<\/p>\n<p>E.M. Zerr:<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:105. This verse is a very similar saying and full of beautiful thought. When one has to make his way through a pathway that is somewhat obscure, and that is beset with dangerous snares and pitfalls, he feels the need of a light to guide him in his walk. The word was that light for David and will be so for all who will accept it. <\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:106. Oaths were permitted in the Old Testament but not in the New. (Mat 5:33-37; Jas 5:12.) David had made an oath that he would keep the judgments of the Lord. He here affirmed that he would not break it and thus violate Lev 19:12. <\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:107. The Psalmist asked to be quickened, which means to be enlivened or cheered up, by the consolation in the word. <\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:108. Some sacrifices were literal or material, such as the offering of animals or products of the ground. Others consisted in the offerings of praise and thanksgiving. Paul set forth this truth in Heb 13:16. In reward for such offerings David expected to be taught the judgments of the Lord. <\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:109. The first clause is a figure of speech, somewhat like saying &#8220;my heart was in my mouth,&#8221; meaning that the danger of death was very near. In all such circumstances the Psalmist relied upon the law for help. <\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:110. A snare is a trap that is generally set near a beaten path and not right in it because such a path would be clean of anything with which to hide the trap. But being to one side it could be covered in the hope that the traveler would leave the path through the spirit of adventure or perhaps of thoughtlessness and then be caught. The literal meaning of &#8220;err&#8221; is to wander to one side. The clauses of this verse are hence logical, for David says he did not err (wander) from the Lord&#8217;s precepts; he kept within the strait and narrow way. Psa 119:111. Heritage is used in the sense of a possession, and the Psalmist considers the testimonies as a valuable inheritance that he is holding for ever. <\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:112. It is not the most natural thing for a human being to prefer the spiritual rules of life. But David acted upon his own heart and inclined or trained it for the performance of the statutes of the Lord. This service was not for a brief period only but unto the end. <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>The Light of Gods Word<\/p>\n<p>Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,<\/p>\n<p>And light unto my path.Psa 119:105<\/p>\n<p>1. This psalm is a hymn in praise of the Mosaic Law, which, either as Gods law, or His statutes, or His commandments, or His testimonies, or His precepts, or His ceremonies, or His truth, or His way, or His righteousness, is referred to in every single verse of it except two. There is not much reason for doubting that it was written quite at the close of the Jewish Captivity in Babylon by some pious Jew who had felt all the unspeakable bitterness of the Exile, the insults and persecution of the heathen, the shame, the loss of heart, the trouble above measure which that compulsory sojourn in the centre of debased Eastern heathendom must have meant for him. The writer was a man for whom sorrow did its intended work, by throwing him back upon God, His ways, and His will; and so in this trouble, when all was dark around, and hope was still dim and distant, and the heathen insolent and oppressive, and the temptations to religious laxity or apostasy neither few nor slight, he still could say, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path.<\/p>\n<p>2. The witness of the captive Jew who wrote the psalm, thinking only of the Mosaic Law, has been echoed again and again by Christians, with reference to the whole Bibleboth the Old Testament and the Newand in a deeper sense. They have found this book a lamp unto their feet, and light unto their path. They have found that the two parts of the verse are not different ways of saying the same thing. The Word of God is a lamp or lantern to the feet by night; it is a light, as that of the sun, by day. It makes provision for the whole of life; it is the secret of lifes true sunshine; it is the guide when all around is dark. It thus throws light on the path and the feet, on the true course which thought and conduct should follow, and on the efforts which are necessary to that end. With the Word of God at hand, we should be in no doubt about the greatest practical question with which man has to deal: the true road to everlasting happiness in another life.<\/p>\n<p>I<\/p>\n<p>The Function of the Bible<\/p>\n<p>1. The text aptly describes the true function of the Holy Scriptures for the Christian soul. Their use in the first instance is practical, not speculative. It is in the earnest, devotional study of the Bible that we may look to obtain light. This is the use of it which all alike must make, whether child or peasant or philosopher, if they will become wise unto salvation. The Bible was designed to be to us in our journey through life what a lantern is to a wayfarer who would pass in safety along a dangerous pathway during a dark night. He wants the light to fall upon the ground over which he must walk at each successive step. The illustration is simple enough, but not so the carrying out of the principle with which it deals. The ease or difficulty will vary with the disposition of those who use the Bible. They who seek to know the truth that they may walk in it, who would know the will of God that they may do it, shall never lack the light; they will both perceive and know what things they ought to do. On the other hand, those who do not strive by Gods help to live up to the light which they have, those who know what they ought to do and do not make the honest effort to do it, those who shrink from knowing their duty, or wish to get it alteredto such the sacred oracles give no message; no light from Gods Word will fall upon their path. Such persons are like Saul, whom the Lord would not answer by Urim and Thummim. Let us but will to do Gods will, and we shall never lack guidance in the way of duty.<\/p>\n<p>The Society of Illuminating Engineers and others too have long sought for a light which would, by excluding the ultraviolet rays, become fog-penetrating. An inventor has just made the desired discovery, and produced an electric lamp which can penetrate the densest fog. The Bible in the world of the soul is such a lamp. It is effective alike by what it includes and by what it excludes. The sincere, prayerful student of the sacred page will find his way through black and blinding illusions and delusions. Let me use it as a lamp to my feet for practical, personal uses; not as a Chinese lantern, engaging the fancy by virtue of its artistry and imagery, but as a signal lamp on the railway, a Davy lamp in the mine, an electric lamp in the fog. And the more we apply the sacred truths to action and experience, the more precious and luminous do they become. The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he acts never acts, writes Amiel; but, bringing the statutes, commandments, and promises to bear on life, they become ever clearer, and more fully evince their divinity.1 [Note: W. L. Watkinson.] <\/p>\n<p>Let no man confound the voice of God in His Works with the voice of God in His Word; they are utterances of the same infinite heart and will; they are in absolute harmony; together they make up that undisturbd song of pure concent; one perfect diapason; but they are distinct; they are meant to be so. A poor traveller, weary and waysore, is stumbling in unknown places through the darkness of a night of fear, with no light near him, the everlasting stars twinkling far off in their depths, and the yet unrisen sun, or the waning moon, sending up their pale beams into the upper heavens, but all this is distant and bewildering for his feet, doubtless better much than outer darkness, beautiful and full of God, if he could have the heart to look up, and the eyes to make use of its vague light; but he is miserable, and afraid, his next step is what he is thinking of; a lamp secured against all winds of doctrine is put into his hands, it may in some respects widen the circle of darkness, but it will cheer his feet, it will tell them what to do next. What a silly fool he would be to throw away that lantern, or draw down the shutters, and make it dark to him, while it sits, i the centre and enjoys bright day, and all upon the philosophical ground that its light was of the same kind as the stars, and that it was beneath the dignity of human nature to do anything but struggle on and be lost in the attempt to get through the wilderness and the night by the guidance of those natural lights, which, though they are from heaven, have so often led the wanderer astray. The dignity of human nature indeed! Let him keep his lantern till the glad sun is up, with healing under his wings. Let him take good heed to the sure  while in this  this dark, damp, unwholesome place, till the day dawn and the day-stararise.2 [Note: Dr. John Brown, Hor Subseciv, ii. 470.] <\/p>\n<p>2. If it be the case that, in a great proportion of cases, the Bible fails of its true purpose, and men read it, if at all, without securing the gift which it is meant to bestow, what is the reason? The answer is, that certain conditions are attached to the guiding and illuminating office of the Bible, and that, if it fails to guide and enlighten, these conditions are not complied with. What are they? One important condition is that the Bible should be diligently searched for those truths, those precepts, those examples, which will directly guide us through life to our eternal home. But, in order to succeed in this search for the true import of Scripture, we need method, order, regularity, purpose in reading it. Just as a single purpose in life, steadily pursued, lights up surrounding interests, and quickens energy for a hundred objects besides itself, so, in reading the Bible, the mental intentness which is necessary to the steady pursuit of one truth sheds rays of intelligence on other truths which sparkle around it. The keen searcher for diamonds tells us that he often finds, over and above that for which he is looking, crystals and precious stones which intrude themselves on his gaze in the course of his search.<\/p>\n<p>In joy and sorrow, in health and in sickness, in poverty and in riches, in every condition of life, God has a promise stored up in His Word for you. If you are impatient, sit down quietly and commune with Job. If you are strong-headed, read of Moses and Peter. If you are weak-kneed, look at Elijah. If there is no song in your heart, listen to David. If you are a politician, read Daniel. If you are getting sordid, read Isaiah. If you are chilly, read of the beloved disciple. If your faith is low, read Paul. If you are getting lazy, study James. If you are losing sight of the future, read in Revelation of the promised land.1 [Note: D. L. Moody.] <\/p>\n<p>3. The Word of God is a light to us, not because we say so, but when we carefully observe everything on which its rays are fallingthe path we tread, the objects we pass, the companions of our journey, the view it gives us of ourselvesand when we forthwith rouse ourselves into action. An example which we have striven to follow, a precept which we have honestly endeavoured to obey, and which is by the effort indented on the soul, means much more than it could have meant if we had read it with cheap admiration and passed on. Just so far as the will is exerted in order to make truth practically our own, does truth become to us present and real; not merely a light without, but a light within us; a light transferred from the pages of the Bible to the inner sanctuary in which conscience treasures up its guiding principles; a light which illuminates the humblest path with the radiance of the just, shining more and more unto the perfect day. The clearest evidence of the divinity of the Book is to be derived from personal experience, the inward sense of its powera kind of witness that admits of daily renewal and lies within the reach of any thoughtful and devout reader. Only let Holy Scripture have its assigned place in the regulation of conduct and life, and the supernatural element in its composition will for certain come to light. Christ made the experimental to be the supreme test or line of proof: If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from myself (Joh 7:17).<\/p>\n<p>In another letter to an old pupil, full of profound ethical and spiritual counsel, Miss Pipe writes: Do thy work, and leave sorrow and joy to come of themselves. Do not limit the work to the outward activities of life. By work I mean not these only, though these certainly, but also the regulation of our moral feelings,strive against pride, vanity, ostentation, self-righteousness, self-satisfaction and dissatisfaction, resentment, impatience, alienation, discontent, indolence, peevishness, hatred or dislike, inconstancy, cowardice,untiring, hopeful effort after obedience to the will of God, and resolute, believing war with every temper contrary to the mind of Christ. It can be done, and it must be done. It is promised: it is commanded: it is possible. If you wish for something that you may not lawfully grasp, or cannot grasp, begin to fight, and never leave off until the wish is mastered and annihilated as completely as if it had never been once felt. This must be done not by desperate struggling so much as by calm, resolved, fixed faith. Do thus thy work, and leave sorrow and joy to come of themselves. You see to obedience, faith and righteousness. God will give you peace and joy in such measure as He pleases, and in increasing measure as the years go by. Until I was five or six and twenty, I think I had no peace or joy at all. Indeed, I never found any until I had given up caring for, praying for, hoping for, or in any way seeking after, comfort and feeling. I took up with just an historical faith in the Bible and said: He will not make me glad, but He shall not find me, therefore, swerve from following Him. I will do His holy will so far as I can, I will serve Him as well as I can, though not perhaps so well as others to whom the joy of the Lord gives strength. I will be content to do without these inward rewards, but with or without such wages I will do my best work for the Master. With this resolve, arrived at after years of weary strife, rest began for me, and deepened afterwards into peace, and heightened eventually into joy, and now from year to year, almost from week to week, an ever greatening blessedness.1 [Note: A. M. Stoddart, Life and Letters of Hannah E. Pipe, 119.] <\/p>\n<p>II<\/p>\n<p>The Right Use of the Bible<\/p>\n<p>1. If the Bible, then, is to do its work, we must be careful to act upon each truth which it teaches us as we learn it. For there is one great difference between moral or religious knowledge on the one hand and purely secular knowledge on the other, a difference which we cannot lay too closely to heart. It is that, while secular knowledge is, as a rule, remembered until the memory decays, moral and religious knowledge is soon forgotten if it is not acted on. The reason for this is that in the one case the will is interested, and in the other it is not. The will is interested in our losing sight, as soon as may be, of a precept which we disobey, or of a doctrine which we have professed, but which we feel condemns us; and so the will exerts a steady, secret pressure upon the intellect, a pressure which anticipates the ordinary decomposition and failure of memory, and extrudes the unwelcome precept or doctrine, gradually but surely, from among the subjects which are present to thought.<\/p>\n<p>When the Duke of Wellington accepted the commission to form a Government in 1834, it was resolved to prorogue Parliament, and Lord Lyndhurst was desired by the King to go to Lord Grey and tell him such was his pleasure. Lyndhurst forgot it! In after-times, those who write the history of these days will probably discuss the conduct of the great actors, and it will not fail to be matter of surprise that such an obvious expedient was not resorted to in order to suspend violent discussions. Among the various reasons that will be imagined and suggested, I doubt if it will occur to anybody that the real reason was that it was forgotten.1 [Note: The Greville Memoirs, iii. 50.] <\/p>\n<p>2. The many-sidedness of the Bible, its immense resources, the great diversity of its contents and character, its relations with ages so wide apart as are the age of Moses and the age of St. Paul, its vast stores of purely antiquarian lore, its intimate bearings upon the histories of great peoples in antiquity, of which independently we know not a little, such as the Egyptians and the Assyrians, the splendour and the pathos of its sublime poetryall these bristle with interest for an educated man, whether he be a good man or not. The Bible is a storehouse of literary beauties, of historical problems, of materials for refined scholarship and the scientific treatment of language, of different aspects of social theories or of the philosophy of life. A man may easily occupy himself with one of these subjects for a whole lifetime and never approach the one subject which makes the Bible what it is. And, indeed, much of the modern literature about the Bible is no more distinctly related to religion than if it had been written about Homer, or Herodotus, or Shakespeare. It deals only with those elements of the Bible which the Bible has in common with other and purely human literature; it treats the Bible as literature simply, and not as the vehicle of something which distinguishes it altogether from all merely human books. And, therefore, a serious effort is needed to set these lower aspects and interests of the Bible sufficiently aside in order to study its true and deepest meaningthe message which it conveys from God to the soul of man.<\/p>\n<p>There is a story told of a man crossing a mountain in Carnarvonshire one stormy night. It was so cold that in order to shelter his hands from the biting wind, he put the lantern under his cloak, and as the moon shone dimly through the clouds he thought he could trace his way without the lantern. All at once a gust of wind blew aside his cloak; the light shone forth, and suddenly revealed the edge of a large slate quarry, over which, in another moment, he would have fallen and have been dashed to pieces. He soon retraced his steps, but he did not hide the lantern under his cloak that night again. There are many who think that they can go through lifedark and dangerous as the way often iswithout this lamp of Gods truth; they therefore hide it out of sight, or neglect to trim it by constant and prayerful study. In many instances they do not find out their mistake and folly until it is too late. Others have had this light unexpectedly cast upon their path, to reveal to them some great danger; thus their steps have been suddenly arrested, and they have learnt never to try to do without that light again.1 [Note: D. Davies, Talks with Men, Women and Children, i. 114.] <\/p>\n<p>3. God hides Himself from those who would saunter with easy off-handedness through the pages of the Bible, as though they were taking a stroll up and down a back garden, and languidly noting the Immensities as if they were daisies or dandelions growing on either side of the path; as though, forsooth, nothing was so easy of comprehension at a glance as the Self-unveiling of the Eternal Mind! No, we find in the Bible what we seek in it: we find that which we can find as well in other literatures if that is all for which we search; but we find depths and heights, glories and abysses, which language can but suggest, and thought can but dimly perceive, if we are indeed, and with earnest prayer, seeking Him whose Word the Bible is. Only to those who sincerely desire and labour to have it so, is the Bible a lamp unto the feet, and light unto the path. The Bible was given us by God to shed light on the purity and vileness of our souls, to brace our wills in the hour of temptation, to elevate our thoughts amid the strife for bread, to lift our drowsy eyes to the sunlit summits of faith and prayer, and to send a thrill of Divine aspiration through lives that are ever becoming stupefied amid the murky damps of lifes low levels. If we seek for a spirit of uncompromising and ringing righteousness that shall keep us from making a truce with wrong, we find it in the pages of Jeremiah. If we look for a valuation of life that puts first things first, we follow St. Paul over mountains and seas, and hear him say, Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy. If we look for a pattern of a life truly Divine, and wish to see what God would do if He were a man, we walk with Christ around the Sea of Galilee. Indeed, it is in the light of His character that we interpret the whole Book.<\/p>\n<p>When a man holds out his lantern, and asks you if there is a light in it, you may be able to convince him that there is; but the very circumstance of his asking such a question makes you fear that he is blind; and at all events five minutes of clear vision would be worth a world of your arguments. When a man asks, Do you think the Bible is inspired? Is it really the light of God which is shining there? you may prove it by unanswerable argument, and yet you cannot help regretting that he should need to appeal to others; nor can you help remembering how it stands written, The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. To any one who finds himself in this predicament, the best advice we can give is, Read and pray. Pray, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. And as you pray this prayer, read the Book, and ponder its sayings; and better feelings will spring up in your mindholy thoughts and loving, grateful thoughts towards Christ, kind thoughts towards your fellows, devout and contrite thoughts towards God. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; and it opens the eyes by rejoicing the heart.1 [Note: J. Hamilton, Works, ii. 17.] <\/p>\n<p>III<\/p>\n<p>The Uniqueness of the Bible<\/p>\n<p>1. Do we value, as we ought, the priceless heritage that we have received in the Word of God? As a rule we value things just in proportion to their rarity. Many people will give fabulous sums of money for a book, a picture, a piece of china, an old article of furniture, and even a postage stamp, if it happens to be rare. But what is common, and can be purchased anywhere for a few pence, is, generally speaking, but little valued. This, it is to be feared, is too often the case with regard to the value that we put on the Bible. When copies of the Holy Scriptures were few in number and very costly, when the Bible was chained to the desk in our churches for fear that it might be stolen, people were much more eager to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the teaching of Gods Word than they are to-day.<\/p>\n<p>I have been seriously perplexed to know how the religious feeling which is the essential base of conduct can be kept up without the Bible. By the study of what other book could children be so humanized and made to feel that each figure in that vast historical procession fills like themselves but a momentary interspace between the two eternities, and earns the blessings or curses of all time according to its effort to do good and hate evil, even as they also earn it by their works?1 [Note: T. H. Huxley.] <\/p>\n<p>2. Other books are for special times or separate races; the Bible has been for every clime. Other books are for the poor or for the rich, the great or the obscure; this Book, ignoring the inch-high distinction of rank and wealth, regards men solely in their relationship to God as heirs of the common mysteries of life and death, of corruption and immortality. Other books are for the mature or the youthful; this Book alone neither wearies the aged nor repels the child. Other books are for the learned or the ignorant; this Book, in the sweetest and simplest elements of its revelation, is not more dear to the German philosopher than to the negros child. In it mind becomes spontaneously luminous, heart flashes to heart with electric thrill. The North American Indian reads it in his rude wigwam on the icy coasts of Hudsons Bay; the Kaffir in his kraal, the savage of the Pacific in his coral isle, the poor old woman in the squalid slum, no less than the emperor in his royal chamber and the scholar in his college-room. And, as St. Augustine said, we shall find here what we shall not find in Plato or in Aristotle, in Seneca or Marcus Aurelius: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. This Book it was that fired the eloquence of Chrysostom and St. Augustine, that inspired the immortal song of Dante and of Milton; Shakespeare and Wordsworth and Tennyson are full of it; it kindled the genius of Luther, the burning zeal of Whitefield, the bright imagination of Bunyan. With the hermits it made the wilderness blossom as the rose, with the martyrs it was as the whistling wind amidst the torturing flames; it sent the missionaries to plant the Rose of Sharon alike in the burning wastes of Africa and amid the icy hills of Nova Zembla; it inspired the pictures of Angelico and Raphael, the music of Handel and of Mendelssohn.<\/p>\n<p>I grant you that the Bible will have no power over my life if ever it ceases to command my conscience, or appeal to my judgment. It may contain passages of transcendent beauty that touch my sthetic sense. It may arouse my curiosity by the light it sheds on the customs of strange people in the far-distant past. It may even start the tears, like the memories aroused by the sweet echoes of the prayer of a child. But its grip on my life will be gone. Of what use is a lamp unto my feet that goes out on the edge of the first precipice I meet? If the Bible deserves to be called the Word of God, ought not its message to be so plain, and clear, and reliable, that all honest and earnest men who turn to its pages shall be in substantial agreement as to its teachings? I answer that it ought. I say more, it is. In all ages men have been in substantial agreement that in the pages of the Bible, if read with discrimination, we can find the true ideal of human life and character. I do not know one critic who would deny the power of its pages to quicken faith, to renew hope, to start the impulses of prayer, to thaw the frozen fountains of the affections, and to help the man of God to be furnished unto every good work. But when men have gone to it to discover an authoritative account of the making of the mountains and the birth of the stars; when men have gone to it to cover a complete and infallible system of church polity that would lock up the Kingdom of God in a first-century mausoleum; when men have gone to it to mine out proof-texts, to bolster up a system of metaphysics and settle for ever the question between nominalism and realism, between evolution and transcendencethen they have been in a hopeless tangle of disagreement and strife.1 [Note: G. H. Ferris, in The Homiletic Review, lx. 237.] <\/p>\n<p>3. The lamp spoken of in the text has often been found fault with. Complaint has been made of its shape, of the media through which the light shines, of the materials of which the reflectors are made, and of the manner in which the light is supplied. The answer that the lamp gives is to shine. No modern invention has caused this lamp to be cast aside among old lumber. It is sometimes covered over with dust, but its light is so great that it pierces every obstruction, and is always sufficient to guide heavenward. An American writer tells us that, going two miles to read to a company, and at the close being about to return through a narrow path in the woods where paths diverged, he was provided with a torch of light wood or pitch pine. He objected that it was too small, weighing not over half a pound. It will light you home, answered the host. And to all objections came, It will light you home. So if the Bible be taken, it will be found sufficient to light us home. Some may object to this part of the Bible and others to another part; but the answer of the Bible to all objectors is, It will light you home. This is our practical, everyday needa light to guide us home. The stars are sublime, meteors are dazzling; but a lamp shining in a dark place is close to our practical needs. Such is the Word of God.<\/p>\n<p>It is the darkness which makes the lantern so welcome. And it is the darkness of the sick-room or the house of mourning in which this Night-lamp emits such a soft and heavenly radiance. You will find it so. Fond as you are of books, there is only one that you will value at last; with your head on the pillow you will hardly care to be told that a new history is published, or a marvellous epic. No; read me the Twenty-third Psalm. Let me hear the fourteenth of John. When your strength sinks yet lower it will for a moment rally the worn faculties to hear the whisper, My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.1 [Note: J. Hamilton, Works, ii. 30.] <\/p>\n<p>However mingled with mystery which we are not required to unravel, or difficulties which we should be insolent in desiring to solve, the Bible contains plain teaching for men of every rank of soul and state in life, which so far as they honestly and implicitly obey, they will be happy and innocent to the utmost powers of their nature, and capable of victory over all adversities, whether of temptation or pain. Indeed, the Psalter alone, which practically was the service book of the Church for many ages, contains merely in the first half of it the sum of personal and social wisdom. The 1st, 8th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 23rd, and 24th psalms, well learned and believed, are enough for all personal guidance; the 48th, 72nd, and 75th have in them the law and prophecy of all righteous government; and every real triumph of natural science is anticipated in the 104th. For the contents of the entire volume, consider what other group of historic and didactic literature has a range comparable with it. There are<\/p>\n<p>i. The stories of the Fall and of the Flood, the grandest human traditions founded on a true horror of sin.<\/p>\n<p>ii. The story of the Patriarchs, of which the effective truth is visible to this day in the polity of the Jewish and Arab races.<\/p>\n<p>iii. The story of Moses, with the results of that tradition in the moral law of all the civilized world.<\/p>\n<p>iv. The story of the Kingsvirtually that of all Kinghood, in David, and of all Philosophy, in Solomon: culminating in the Psalms and Proverbs, with the still more close and practical wisdom of Ecclesiasticus and the Son of Sirach.<\/p>\n<p>v. The story of the Prophetsvirtually that of the deepest mystery, tragedy, and permanent fate, of national existence.<\/p>\n<p>vi. The story of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>vii. The moral law of St. John, and his closing Apocalypse of its fulfilment.<\/p>\n<p>Think if you can match that table of contents in any otherI do not say book but literature. Think, so far as it is possible for any of useither adversary or defender of the faithto extricate his intelligence from the habit and the association of moral sentiment based upon the Bible, what literature could have taken its place, or fulfilled its function, though every library in the world had remained, unravaged, and every teachers truest words had been written down.1 [Note: Ruskin, Our Fathers Have Told Us, chap. iii.  37.] <\/p>\n<p>No metal can compare with gold, which is of small volume, and of even quality, and easy of transport, and readily guarded, and steady in value, and divisible without lossbesides being beautiful, brilliant, and durable almost to eternity. This is why all civilized nations have adopted it as the standard by which they measure the value of every other kind of merchandise. We habitually think and speak of wealth in terms of gold. Naturally, the name of this standard metal comes to be used as a symbol or metaphor to stand for whatever we prize as most precious of its kind. There is a special sense in which the Bible deserves to be called more golden than gold, because it remains the supreme standard for the Christian Church, by comparison with which we measure and test all spiritual values. The Bible, said Newman, is the record of the whole revealed faith; so far all parties agree. It is the one book which preserves for us all that we certainly know about the life and words and character of Christ Himself. The teaching of the great Reformers on this matter has been summed up by a profound modern scholar, whose verdict we may venture to quote: If I am asked why I receive Scripture as the Word of God and as the only perfect rule of faith and life, I answer with all the Fathers of the Protestant Church, Because the Bible is the only record of the redeeming love of God, because in the Bible alone I find God drawing near to man in Christ Jesus, and declaring to us in Him His will for our salvation. And this record I know to be true by the witness of His Spirit in my heart, whereby I am assured that none other than God Himself is able to speak such words to my soul.1 [Note: T. H. Darlow, More Golden than Gold, 9.] <\/p>\n<p>Literature<\/p>\n<p>Aglionby (F. K.), The Better Choice, 21.<\/p>\n<p>Armstrong (W.), Five-Minute Sermons to Children, 20, 32.<\/p>\n<p>Beecher (H. W.), Sunday Evening Sermons, 31.<\/p>\n<p>Bevan (S. P.), Talks to Boys and Girls, 75.<\/p>\n<p>Davies (D.), Talks with Men, Women and Children, i. 113.<\/p>\n<p>Fleming (A. G.), Silver Wings, 116.<\/p>\n<p>Griffiths (W.), Onward and Upward, 13.<\/p>\n<p>Hamilton (J.), Works, ii. 5.<\/p>\n<p>Hodgson (A. P.), Thoughts for the Kings Children, 10.<\/p>\n<p>Lamb (R.), In the Twilight, 76.<\/p>\n<p>Liddon (H. P.), Advent in St. Pauls, 471.<\/p>\n<p>Macmillan (H.), The Spring of the Day, 197.<\/p>\n<p>Norton (J. N.), Old Paths, 18.<\/p>\n<p>Phillips (S.), The Heavenward Way, 39.<\/p>\n<p>Christian World Pulpit, xlix. 312 (F. W. Farrar).<\/p>\n<p>Church of England Pulpit, lii. 38 (J. B. Crozier).<\/p>\n<p>Church Pulpit Year Book, 1913, p. 249.<\/p>\n<p>Churchmans Pulpit: Sermons to the Young, xvi. 77 (J. R. Macduff).<\/p>\n<p>Clergymans Magazine, 3rd Ser., xiv. 331 (W. Burrows).<\/p>\n<p>Homiletic Review, liii. 377 (H. Anstadt); lx. 237 (G. H. Ferris).<\/p>\n<p>Preachers Magazine, iv. 127 (R. Brewin).<\/p>\n<p>Record, Dec. 11, 1908 (E. S. Talbot).<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>word: Psa 19:8, Psa 43:3, Pro 6:23, Eph 5:13, 2Pe 1:19 <\/p>\n<p>lamp: or, candle, Psa 18:28, Job 29:3 <\/p>\n<p>Reciprocal: Exo 25:37 &#8211; give Exo 40:24 &#8211; General Lev 24:2 &#8211; the lamps Num 4:9 &#8211; General Num 8:2 &#8211; General Psa 19:7 &#8211; law Psa 119:24 &#8211; my counsellors Psa 119:98 &#8211; they are ever Psa 119:130 &#8211; entrance Pro 2:9 &#8211; General Ecc 2:13 &#8211; light Joh 3:21 &#8211; he that Rom 2:18 &#8211; being instructed<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>NUN.<\/p>\n<p>Psa 119:105-108. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet  To direct me in all my doubts and difficulties, and to comfort me in all my fears and distresses. I have sworn, and will perform it  I have solemnly vowed, and, by Gods grace, will fulfil my vow; that I will keep thy righteous judgments  Thy commands, which are consonant to the eternal rules of equity, and which it is our duty to observe carefully. Accept the free-will-offerings of my mouth  The sacrifices of prayer and praise, which I do freely and frequently offer unto thee.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>119:105 NUN. Thy word [is] a {a} lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.<\/p>\n<p>(a) Of ourselves we are but darkness and cannot see unless we are lightened with God&#8217;s Word.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:bold;text-decoration:underline\">14. The illumination God&rsquo;s Word provides 119:105-112<\/span><\/p>\n<p>God&rsquo;s revelation is a light that illuminates the path of life, and for this reason the poet determined to follow it (Psa 119:105-106; cf. Psa 119:130; Pro 6:23). The Scriptures give us the information we need to determine God&rsquo;s will. The writer had called on God for help while meditating on His Word (Psa 119:107-110), and he would continue to follow it forever (Psa 119:111-112).<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 105. Cp. Pro 6:23. God&rsquo;s word is a light to guide him safely amid the dangers which beset his path through the darkness of this world. Contrast the fate of the wicked, Psa 35:6. Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-psalms-119105\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 119:105&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16014\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}