How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103
On Chicago Day in October 1893, the city’s theaters shut down because the owners figured everyone would be attending the World’s Fair. Over seven hundred thousand people went, but Dwight Moody (1837–1899) wanted to fill a music hall at the other end of Chicago with preaching and teaching. His friend R. A. Torrey (1856–1928) was skeptical that Moody could draw a crowd on the same day as the fair. But by God’s grace, he did. As Torrey later concluded, the crowds came because Moody knew “the one Book that this old world most longs to know—the Bible.” Torrey longed for others to love the Bible as Moody did, reading it regularly with dedication and passion.
God through His Spirit brought people back to Himself at the end of the nineteenth century in Chicago, and He continues to speak today. We can echo the psalmist’s love for God and His Scriptures as he exclaims, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103). For the psalmist, God’s messages of grace and truth acted as a light for his path, a lamp for his feet (v. 105).
How can you grow more in love with the Savior and His message? As we immerse ourselves in Scripture, God will increase our devotion to Him and guide us, shining His light along the paths we walk.
In what ways does your life change when you read the Bible regularly? How could you ensure you don’t lose this practice in the busyness of your daily life?
Gracious God, You’ve given me the gift of Scripture. Help me to read it and digest it, that I might serve You faithfully.
INSIGHT
In the ancient Near East, lamps were made of clay bowls designed to support a wick and hold oil. Because oil could easily spill, the lamps were generally only used either indoors or in spaces of complete darkness such as a cave, where not even moonlight could be seen. Nighttime could be a particularly dangerous time in those days (Psalm 91:5), making a lamp a particularly powerful metaphor for hope and safety in what would otherwise be a desperately dangerous situation. Similar to Psalm 119:105’s comparison of Scripture to the illuminating guidance of a lamp, Psalm 18:28 praises God by saying, “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”