A Good Flashlight

A Good Flashlight

Psalm 119:105

Rev. Mike Browder

February 20, 2011

We thank the scouts who are helping with our worship today. Many years ago, I was a Boy Scout. You know the life of a Boy Scout. – They are fond of taking long hikes, with backpacks. Hiking over mountains and rough terrain. Camping trips. – All scouts love camping trips. (I am not such a good scout nowadays. From now on, when I camp, I want a Holiday Inn over my head.) But, back in the day, I was a rugged, camping-trip, boil-your-water, no-tent-needed, make-a-fire-without-matches type of scout.

Now, the motto of the Boy Scouts is what? Be prepared! That’s it. And so, to be prepared, the most prized possession of every scout, who is out camping after dark is what? His flashlight. Yes it is.

When I used to camp, I had some great flashlights. I had small ones that would go in my pocket. And normal sized ones. And plenty of extra batteries. (The batteries in those days did not last as long as they do now.) And I had one light with a huge bulb, powered by a huge battery, [about yeah big]. And that thing would light up the whole campsite. That wasn’t just a flashlight, it was a lamp!

Walking through the campsite at night, with my trusty flashlight, is what I always think about when I read our scripture, Psalm 119:105:

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalm 119 itself is an interesting psalm. You might say that it is a school-lover’s psalm. Do any of you kids love school? But you love snow more!

As you may recall, the Book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible. (When I was a kid in Sunday School, they taught us how to find Psalms. Do you remember it? You just open your Bible right to the middle, and there it is.)

Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, and Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm. Even so, it was originally written to be memorized. How do we know this? Well, Psalm 119 is written as an acrostic. Each section begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

If you have the old King James Version, or even a few modern versions, you will notice that verse one begins with the world ALEPH. And verse 9 begins with the word BETH. These are the Hebrew equivalents for Alpha and Beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, where we get our word alphabet.

It was the Hebrews who invented the alphabet, and their Semitic cousins, the Phoenicians, who gave it to the world. The Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Hindus: most all of the true alphabets of the world, can be traced back to the earliest known alphabet, which was found near Mt. Sinai.

So, we see this alphabet in Psalm 119. The Psalm is made up of 22 poems, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each poem is 8 verses long. And so, poem 1, which starts at verse 1, begins with the letter A (Aleph). Poem 2, which begins at verse 9, starts with the letter B (Beth), and so forth. Psalm 119 was meant to be memorized, and the letters of the alphabet are there to help the young student along, giving a clue to the first word in each poem. Of course, poems are much easier to memorize than prose.

One more thing I should tell you. In English, we usually call something poetry because it rhymes: “Roses are red; violets are blue. Sugar is sweet, and so are you.” (Obviously Susan didn’t marry me because of my poetry.)

In Hebrew, poetry does not rhyme. It is considered poetry because it is written in parallel. In other words, it repeats the same things in different words. Look at our verse: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Do you see the parallel? Lamp and light. Feet and path.

Psalm 119 has a number of unforgettable passages. Your homework this week is to go home and read it. Listen to verses 9-11: How can a young man keep his way pure? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You! [] That is good advice for the Christian; to have God’s word so thoroughly filling our heart that it keeps us from sin.

Look at verse 103: “Your words,” O God, “Are sweeter than honey!” V. 47 “Your commandments fill me with delight. I love them deeply.” V. 16 “I delight in your statutes. I do not forget your word.”

And look at verse 164: “Seven times a day I praise you.” Do you pray and worship God 7 times a day? The psalmist did. Ancient Jews had the custom of praying 7 times a day. The early Christians continued this custom. There are some communities of monks and nuns who still practice the seven times for prayer daily. John Wesley was not a monk, but he followed the 7 times of daily prayer.

Muslims adopted the custom of praying five times a day, because they saw Christians doing it. (They did not see the two times of prayer during the night.) Think of this. What an irony: That nowadays Muslims pray 5 times a day, and that we Christians pray so little.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Just as a good flashlight guides the feet of the scout, so the Word of God guides the feet of a Christian. And, when you are prowling around in the woods at night, there are some good reasons why you need a flashlight to guide you. There are at least three unseen things that threaten you in the night.

First, there are stumps. And logs. Without a light, you don’t know when you might trip over a stump and break your neck. So it is with the Christian. Without the light of God’s word to guide us, the obstacles of life trip us up and hurt us badly.

Next, as every scout knows, there is the threat of poison ivy. It looks so beautiful. It feels so good to the touch. But, O my, is it deadly. And, at night, you don’t know what bushes are poison ivy, and which ones are not.

One time, when I was a scout, our troop picked a camping place after dark. When we woke up, we were in the biggest patch of poison ivy I have ever seen in my life. The results were devastating. We scratched for months after that. Just one word of advice for you campers: Make sure it is daylight, when you decide where to put your latrine. ’Nuff said.

Poison ivy to the camper is like sin to the Christian. It can look mighty good, but it is very harmful. And we are much more likely to get entangled in it, if we wander in the darkness.

Finally, in the darkness, there are scary noises like the screech of the Owl. When it’s dark, everything seems scary. Your imagination goes wild. The sound of the Hoot Owl sends chills of fear down your spine. Now, in the daylight, or even by flashlight, the Owl seems like a harmless old bird. But, when you are walking in pitch-black darkness, everything seems scary.

My friend, without the light of God, the world can be a scary place. But, when the Lord walks with us, we can know that we are safe in him. I John 1:7 says, that “If we walk in the light as He is in the light,” we have fellowship with him and love for one another. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. By the way, the lamp, in Jesus day, did not have batteries. It burned on oil. From the Bible’s point of view, the Holy Spirit is the oil, which keeps our lamp burning, and shining God’s light on our path. My friends, you and I have wandered in darkness, but Christ shines his light on us.

Let us pray: Lord, write your word on our hearts, that we might not sin against you. Be a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path. Steer us away from the stumbling blocks. Keep us out of the poison ivy of sin. And drive away our fears in the noises of the night. Amen.