Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path.
106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it,
    that I will follow your righteous laws.
107 I have suffered much;
    preserve my life, Lord, according to your word.
108 Accept, Lord, the willing praise of my mouth,
    and teach me your laws.
109 Though I constantly take my life in my hands,
    I will not forget your law.
110 The wicked have set a snare for me,
    but I have not strayed from your precepts.
111 Your statutes are my heritage forever;
    they are the joy of my heart.
112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees

If it seems a bit random to drop into Psalm 119 at this point, I need to explain that, basically, since beginning to look at Habakkuk, I have been following the pattern in my ‘Bible in a Year.’ So, going forward there will be a mixture of Old Testament and New Testament readings (including Psalms and Proverbs from time to time).

In Psalm 119 the psalmist has made a commitment to obey God’s Word (see especially verses 106 and 112). It is clear that he is in danger, but the ”set” of his life is in the direction of faithfulness to God and His Word. The world around us is all pervasive in its influence. It is so easy to get ‘squeezed’ into its mould. There must be a determination on our part that, with God’s help, we will go His way. The Bible shines a clear light on our path amid the encircling darkness

Verse 105 is one of the most famous verses in the Bible. David Pawson said it refers the the shepherd’s lantern in Israel which gave just enough light for the next step. Then when you took it you would have light for the next, and so on.

It reads like this in ‘The Message’:

By your words I can see where I’m going;
    they throw a beam of light on my dark path.

Warren Wiersbe comments: ‘God gives you the light you need a step at a time. If you want more light, you must obey what He says; then more light will come (John 7:17).’

Elizabeth Elliot asks:

”Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person’s seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next.”