Thank you for listening to the media ministry of the Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California. If you are blessed by what you hear and would like to help keep our little church going as a ministry partner with your cheerful gifts, please listen for instructions at the end of this message. As you sang this morning, Psalm 119 verse 105 is our text for our sermon today. I'd like to review a few things we just sang on page 267 of Psalm 119 verses 17 to 24. You don't need to turn back there, but I just want to highlight a few things. Notice there's such an emphasis on helping me keep your word, helping me to know your word, open my eyes that I can see the light in your word. Because of our own darkness, we need the Word to penetrate. As Psalm 119 says in verse 111, I believe, Notice there's just this longing to know and serve and do His Word. I would also point out the meditation of it in verse 23 because we're going to be encouraging us with Psalm 119 verse 105 to be giving ourselves to God's Word and to be trusting it really is God's Word that's always the answer. God's always the answer, but He gives Himself to us in His self-revelation of His Word and by His Spirit. And so verse 24, notice, my comfort. my heart's delight." And then notice also, our counselors to me, your word, your testimonies are counselors to me. And so, counseling that we would receive needs to be with God's word. It doesn't mean there may not be other aspects that can be helpful, but it has to be all God's word. The answer is God, the answer is God's word. God's word is what will comfort us, God's word is what must counsel us. Okay, I did turn on the recording. I thought I hadn't. With that, let's give ourselves to Psalm 119 verse 105, and you'll notice that it starts the section of 119 with the Hebrew letter Nun. As you recall, Psalm 119 is divided into sections by the Hebrew alphabet, and we're singing through them with Psalms of the month or a time for opening morning and evening worship. Psalm 119 verse 105 opens this section. And let me read it for us now. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I may go back a little bit with the other sections here, the other verses in this section, but I would like to draw to your attention verse 107. Gideon, get away from him now and sit still. Don't touch him again. Verse 107, I am afflicted very much, quicken me according unto thy word. It's something I want to draw to your attention as we've studied about God's word and we've looked at this before seven times in Psalm 119. Do something to me according to thy word. And this idea of quicken is like enliven me, awaken me, work life in me according to thy word. It can't be overstated according to thy word. The power of God's word, Hebrews 4.12, it's living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, divided between the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart. As Paul says, the word of God is able to save you and build you up. It's why we want to have it in our lives as our comfort and counselor. We also want to have it ready to be able to quote and share with others. and it needs to be that light, that lamp to guide us along the way in the darkness. The word is what will guide us to Jesus, who is the light of the world. Let me read once more, verse 105 of Psalm 119. Excuse me. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I encourage you, beloved, to have this memorized, as I generally do, but I find when I try to say it quickly, especially, it's funny how you try to recite something publicly if you haven't revisited it, such as when I butchered one of your last names, which I know your last name. It's funny how when you're public you kind of mess it up because you're afraid that you might. I have to get lamp and light in the right order sometimes if I'm not slowing down. But I encourage you to have it memorized. It's an easy one to memorize and I'll mention another song that can help you think it through. This is an important scripture for us. Thy Word. is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Think of the imagery there, and think of if you find yourself in a dark forest without light. You are in danger of being attacked by wild animals or thieves, and you're in danger of getting terribly lost, walking in circles all alone until you might starve to death. What keeps you safe? A lamp and its light. You need, we would probably say today, a flashlight. I think they do call them lanterns in Britain still, right? Or they call them lamps, I think, actually, flashlight, something like that. But we need a light. Could be a candle, right? But we need a light. We need something to see what we can't see without it. Could fall off a cliff, fall into a hole, break our leg, go to an area where dangerous people or animals are lurking in the bush or behind the trees, and the light exposes, cause them to flee, cause us to know to flee from them. And beloved, today the word says to you that God's word is your lamp. God's word is your light. God's word guides your present situation and your future direction. Out of darkness into light. Off the broad road that leads to destruction and onto the narrow way that leads to life. In the Hebrew, I offer to you, I think there's a bit of a chiastic structure, a chiasm, and that just means a poetic form that God often uses in the Proverbs and in the Psalms, sometimes much larger texts in other places, but especially in the Psalms and Proverbs. I think it's appropriate to suggest that's here in the literal Hebrew in the structure. What you see in the Hebrew, it doesn't start with the word thy word, it starts with lamp to my feet. And then it closes with light to my path. So lamp to my feet, light to my path are the bookends. Same idea expressed different ways. In the middle is thy word. And so when you have two things like that, they're emphasizing usually what's in the center as the main topic, thy word. It can't be overemphasized. Thy Word. And it's importance for me to have life, eternal life, and also live an abundant life along the way. Thy Word. It's a lamp to my feet. It's a light to my path. Thy Word. It's in the middle for emphasis. Thy Word. But remember this same idea and illustration. Lamp and a light to my feet. To my path you might say the closeness and the distance you know God's Word is a lamp in your hand that glows upon your feet to give you a sense of where you are and In what direction to step? And that first step can often be a doozy as they say you want to know where to take that first step next But God's Word is also light that sheds shines ahead onto which path to continue for your future destination and preservation. So it gives you direction of where you are and it gives you guidance in the destination that you want to be finding yourself in. I want to review what I preached on this text at another time along with another part of Psalm 119, just a few little things, not the whole sermon. But in the Westminster Larger Catechism series years ago, some of you who survived that will remember it was four and a half years in the evening, and I encourage you to go back and let that be useful for you as you use the Larger Catechism to study the Word. But we had a sermon on Psalm 119 verse 18 that I've read for you, and I will again, as well as our verse today, Psalm 119 verse 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And I want to share with you a few things of that. It's in the section of the larger catechism on the means of grace. The way that God helps us grow in grace, cleanses us of sin, refines us, revives us, reforms us. And one of those main things is His Word, read, preached, heard, and much discussion is given to all those things. But I want to read for you some things from the question 156 that we looked at. Westminster Larger Catechism 156, with the word as a means of grace, and the particular question and answer was this, 156, although all are not to be permitted to read the word publicly to the congregation, Yet all sorts of people are bound to read it apart, by themselves and with their families, to which end the Holy Scriptures are to be translated out of the original into the vulgar languages. pick those sections and I address them and make applications and I won't share all those different things there, but what I want to highlight today is that all sorts of people are bound in their personal lives and in their family lives to read the Word of God. The scripture, the other scripture for that was Psalm 119 verse 18 that says, and as you sang, open thou mine eyes. that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. And we need to remember to be praying as we give ourselves to the word. It is what it is, but we can be so deadened to it and dark, covered in dust and darkness. And so as I think I shared with you, especially during the sermon series on Psalm 23, I think it was Macmillan who said, it's important that we pray before we read the Bible. So much more will come of it. Now, I would also share, I think it's Thomas Watson, if not someone else, who said, sometimes to assist in our prayers, pray the word. Start with the word and help pray off of that. But so much prayer needs to be applied before we should expect that much will happen, because we can tend to be in darkness, and we need God to make his light shine in us for what it is. The point of the text of Psalm 119.18 is this I gave to you. David asks God to show him the word's brilliant light to safely guide him through the world's darkness. And that's what we need to ask as we study God's Word, that He'd help us to see it, that He'd show to us God's brilliant light of His Word to safely guide us through the world's darkness. And the question that needs to be asked pastorally, whether it's formally of the servants of God in office or one another, all who are able to counsel according to Romans by His Word, one question that needs to be asked of our beloved is tell me about your reading of God's Word as we're counseling and helping through troubles, especially sinful habits. Are you going to God's Word? Tell me about your time in God's Word, praying it, reading it, singing it, talking about it with others. letting it influence you through the radio. How much time are you giving to God's Word? And there's going to usually be naturally a correspondent to the more time we're with the Word in prayer, the more we're growing in grace. The less time with God and His Word, and especially there's going to be a lack of prayer, the less we're growing. And often, in fact, we're declining. We've got to give ourselves to the word and ask God to give it to help us walk out of darkness and in and with the light, following Jesus who is the light of the world and who is the word. One section I will share with you from that sermon that relates to, again, Larger Catechism 156, this part. All sorts of people are bound to read it apart by themselves and with their families. Here's the section title of that section from that sermon. Turn to God's light and follow it straight into heaven. Turn to God's light and follow it straight into heaven. And the sermon point, the sermon message was this, be guided by the light. Let me ask you, beloved, as you face any topic, as you study any topic, as you give yourself to any topic or issue, please stop clicking your pen. speaking to my children. As you deal with any sin, as you seek to grow in any grace, are you guiding yourself by the light? As you go about your daily walk, are you walking in the light? How will you know, is the word of God present regularly? Something that I often share with my family and I share with you, is I encourage you to regularly, while you're driving, Some of us, like myself, have long commutes. Largely give yourself to Christian radio and the better ones. Largely give yourself to Christian podcasts, Christian music. And avoid the talking heads, especially when they are clearly not Christians and sometimes only pretending to be. And they will fill you with angst and anger and not kindness and not love and not holiness. I recall even a pastor years ago who encouraged us in a sermon, even watch out for playing anything sometimes. Make sure you have time that you're just praying while you're driving. And you pick the time of your day and the time of your week in your life, but does God's word permeate your time? And if it isn't, you are always going to be in danger of darkness and danger. If you do not have the word as the lamp at your feet, where you find yourself, and you do not have it shedding out its light on the path to know where you're supposed to go and keep you on the straight and narrow, then there's no reason to expect that you won't fall. That you won't fall to temptations of Satan and the wrong communications that corrupt good morals. And even be faking it in certain places. Light of God's Word has to be shining in your heart. And it certainly needs to be shining from the pulpit and in our worship. So I'm thankful that the Word of God is largely what happens here. It's read, it's preached, it's sang, it's prayed. It's got to be God's Word. Not only what we do, but it's got to be God's Word that fills us up. And I am profoundly reminded in certain contexts of how God's Word isn't always most of a worship service in its different regards. But it's particularly what you want to be thinking about as you go about your week, go about your days in life. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And beloved, every day It's full of danger and darkness. Every day, the wolves, often in sheep's clothing, are there waiting to get you, waiting to blow out the light, waiting to have you put aside behind you, get a little ways further from it, so you're in its dimness and its effect, but not where you need to be with it. And they're gonna get you. You're gonna fall. As I often say, it is that simple. It's hard to be disciplined. But it gets better as you grow with the Lord. We can have our moments, we shy away. But it's always simple, God is always the answer. Through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. And the word of God is always the answer. As Peter writes, God has given us everything we need for godliness and life. Faith and godliness. The scriptures we know from Timothy, from Paul to Timothy. The scriptures God gives us that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And we will nod to that and say amen to that while our Bibles collect dust and our Bible apps, if we were to compare how much they're opened compared to other apps that we open, it would be embarrassing for all of us, including me. But the answer is to get back to it, beloved. The answer is to grow in it. The answer is to get closer to Jesus, who is the light, by coming to his word that gives light and light upon our eyes about him. that we find ourselves following him the way, the truth, the life, the light, the resurrection. Beloved, prepare to read the Bible by praying some of these scriptures from the Bible. Psalm 36 verse 9, for with thee is the fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light. Isaiah 2 verse 5, O house of Jacob, Come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord. As we look ahead down the path of our pilgrimage in the return of Christ, Revelation 21, 23-24, And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it. And the Lamb, that is Jesus, is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it. And the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor unto it. This is the vision given to us of when God's kingdom in Christ comes down from heaven, the new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem, wherein righteousness reigns. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever, all from Revelation. This is what it looks like at the end. We're all walking in the light. We don't even need the moon or the sun. God is our light, the Lamb is our light, and we are just all walking in the light. Can you imagine how beautiful that day will be? No darkness. No shadows. No sin. No lies. No compromise. No dirtiness and dangerous things done to us or one another. How glorious, beloved, we'll be walking in the light. But we are to be called upon to be walking in that light more and more now as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. That we will be more of that light of the world with Christ, who is the light of the world, shining through us. But it's gonna come by His Word, not without it. 1 John 1, verses 6 and 7. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, We lie and do not the truth. Now that is not necessarily saying, and I hope to share with you some insights from my review of highlights of Andrew Bonar's book, if it's not Horatio, the way of godliness that I've picked off my shelf again. And there's some amazing footnotes. It's practically a systematic theology, but it's on holiness. It's so good in so many ways. But he does point out that when it says, you know, if we say we're Christians, but, you know, we do sin, we're lying. But it's not saying that we never sin. It's saying that this isn't the way it ought to be. And this isn't the way we ought to ever be content with. And it won't be, and it can't be. If we say that we have fellowship with him and we walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth and we certainly don't walk in fellowship with Jesus and we're walking in the darkness with Satan. Just as much as 1 Corinthians 10 teaches us, we can't be partaking of a fellowship meal in a corporate worship service with different religions because that's where demons are and you can't have fellowship with demons and then be having fellowship with Jesus at his table. It doesn't work. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us. from all sin. Get out of the dirty fellowship. Get into the holy fellowship. Walking with Jesus who is the light. How? In his word which we've seen today is the light. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. He is the light. He is the word. Gospel of John. Beloved, let this psalm, 119-105, be among the songs in your heart to keep your feet on solid ground and along safe passage, not only for yourselves, but for others who might follow you. Michael W. Smith, you might know it often by Amy Grant, but Michael W. Smith wrote the song Thy Word. Let me recite it for you. Psalm 119 verse 105, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And then they repeat, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I encourage you to look that up if you haven't heard it or to review and encourage you can find that easily on the internet. First verse, when I feel afraid, Think, I've lost my way. Still, you're there, right beside me. As long as you are near, nothing will, excuse me, and nothing will I fear as long as you are near. Please be near me to the end. You can think of Psalm 23. And you can think of Hebrews 10 verse 5, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. That's one of the reasons you need the word, is to remember, I won't leave you. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I will not forget your love for me, and yet my heart forever is wondering, Jesus, Be my guide and hold me to your side and I will love you to the end. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And it repeats that for a time, closes with this, you're the light unto my path. Remember, God's word is a self-revelation. He is light. The Lamb is the light of the world. And to have more of that light, the Holy Spirit would breathe in you that light as you read it, and respond to it, and keep it close to you in your heart, and at your feet, and before your path. This needs to be the song that you stand on. This needs to be the song that you travel by. To stay out of the danger of darkness, and so you don't blindly lose your way. Walk safely in the light of God's word. That's the message for you this morning. Walk safely. in the light of God's word. Recognize again those bookends. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. That darkness without it, dangerous even to get started. It's a light unto my path. Oh, without that light, gonna be easy to fall off and get hurt or dead. Literally in the Hebrew, lamp unto my feet, light unto my path is your word. It's dangerous without God's Word. It's dangerous right where you're standing at this moment without God's Word. It's dangerous where you are about to move without God's Word. And so many, beloved, the truth is of your and my mistakes in life are decisions that were not counseled by God's Word. We knew what it said. We found other scriptures that weren't actually speaking to it. Or we found other people who say they speak for the Lord who spoke something else to us because we wanted what our itching ears gave us. And we'll pay for it because if it isn't by the light of God's word, it is going to be Satan taking you down in darkness. Right where you're standing or where he'll take you and lead you. Be people of God's word. Know it. Read it. Sing it. Breathe it. Live it. permeate your day with it, fill your eyes literally with it, fill your ears literally with it, fill your heart, fill your body, fill your soul with the light of God himself as he reveals himself in his life-giving word, which is thus called light in our text today. And walk in the light as he is in the light. Let me repeat 1 John 1, 6-7. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, which has to be understood as without his word, either in reading or application, we lie and do not the truth. But, and beloved, walk away with this. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. Here's something you also need to remember to walk in, mercy and forgiveness. Something I hope to give to you this evening, depending on time I have to edit things. But Bonar points out in his book, Way of Godliness, holiness starts with forgiveness. So you just as much as anything else need the word of God that talks about forgiveness constantly, mercy, forgiveness. You can't walk in your own strength. You can't get up or go anywhere without the light of Christ. And how often is the word teaching us, if we confess our sins, the word of God, if we confess our sins, God who is faithful will forgive us our sins and lead us in righteousness. Also first John. Walk in the light as he is in the light. Walk safely with the light. Walk safely in the light of God's word. Again, the message for you this morning, walk safely in the light of God's word. Let us pray. Almighty God, forgive us for lying so often to ourselves about walking in your light when it's clear we aren't, because it isn't with us. We're not reading or listening to it. We're not applying it. We may be like the James man who looks in a mirror, but as soon as we hear it, we go away and we're not a doer of it. Lord, walking in the light is walking with your word, memorizing it, praying it, singing it, applying it to our lives, letting it help us decide what we will do and what we won't do, what we will think about and what we will not allow ourselves to think about. Lord, as we'll see, if we give ourselves to the Spirit, we will not satisfy the lusts of the flesh. If we have your light in us, darkness will not want to be with us. It may stray around the edges trying to draw us out of the light. But darkness cannot be with light, as Ephesians talks about. And evil, like the cockroaches, will scurry away from the light. If we keep your light with us, the dangerous things will stay away, including in our heart. Let us hide your word in our heart that we sin not against you. O Lord, build us up with your word. Sanctify us in thy truth. Thy word is truth. And as we take of the Lord's Supper, sanctify us and feed our faith, including what light you shine upon us now, that in Christ we are forgiven, we are cleansed, and we are called to go and sin no more. And we're called by all of this to have your word, your light with us and within us, and guiding our feet and our path. Let it guide us, O Lord, that we see that we are always following after Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, in whose name we pray, and all your people said, amen. Thanks again for listening to the media ministry of the Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California. 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