In 119:130 the psalmist says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light.” The Word has an entrance. This means that the Bible has an opening, a gate. According to my experience, the bar to this gate is not on the inside, but on the outside. It is on our side of the gate. This means that if the gate is closed, we are the ones who have closed it. Whether the Word is open to us or not depends on how we deal with it. Sometimes we pray that the Lord would open the Word to us. However, when we pray in this way, the Lord may tell us that, on His side, He has already opened His Word. Now we, on our side, need to open the gate of the Word. Our experience testifies that if we have no problems with the Lord when we come to the Word, the Word will be open to us. But if we come to the Word when we have problems with the Lord, the door will be shut. This indicates that the bar to the gate is on our side. When we come to the Word and open it, then in our spiritual experience, the Word will have an entrance, an opening.
I wish to emphasize the fact that whether the gate of the Word is open or closed depends on us. We need to thank the Lord that the Word has an entrance, a gate, and that the bar of the gate is on our side. We should say, “Lord, thank You for the entrance, the opening, to Your Word.” Often in our experience we sense that, because we come to the Word in the right way, the Word has an opening. This opening seems to depend on the Lord and come from Him. However, it actually depends on us and comes from approaching the Word in a proper way.
In verse 105 the psalmist says a practical word about light: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” This is not a matter of doctrine or teaching, but of experience in the daily life of the psalmist. Step after step in his daily life, the Word was his light.
In ancient times, there were, of course, no street lights. Those who traveled at night needed a lamp, lantern, or torch to light their way. This is what the psalmist has in mind when he refers to the Word as a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path. The Word was a lamp that enlightened his footsteps. In a very practical way, to the psalmist the Word of God was such a lamp casting light on his pathway.
Psalm 19:8b says, “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” This verse indicates that God’s living Word enlightens our eyes. If we do not sense that we are in light when we come to the Word, this is a sign that our condition is not right. It is not adequate simply to pray that the Lord will give us light. We need to humble ourselves, have a thorough dealing with the Lord, and ask Him to have mercy on us. The knowledge many Christians gain from reading the Bible actually becomes a veil or covering that keeps them in darkness. Those who have such a knowledge of the Scriptures need to humble themselves before the Lord so that the coverings may be removed. If we humble ourselves and receive the Lord’s mercy, the Bible will no longer be mere knowledge to us—it will be light to our eyes.
It is important to differentiate between knowledge and light. We may have the Bible just in the way of knowledge, or in our experience the Word may be the shining of the divine light.
The loving seekers of God also receive the life supply, the enlivening, the quickening, through His living Word (119:25, 50). In our spiritual experience we first have light. But then the light must become life. Life is deeper than light. Whenever light comes, life should come also. In fact, life is the container of light. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” It is difficult to determine which comes first, life or light. As a rule, light comes before life. According to Genesis 1, we first have light, then the various aspects of life.
In our experience it is possible to have light without life. Light is mainly in the realm of the soul, especially in the sphere of the understanding. Life, to be sure, is in our spirit. Although it is good to have light, the light must penetrate deeper until it becomes life.
We have pointed out that if our condition is proper or normal when we come to the Word, we have the sense that we are in the light. Whatever we read in the Bible thus becomes light to us. Then as we exercise ourselves to pray, we shall spontaneously exercise our spirit and go deeper into the Word. Through this exercise of spirit in prayer, the light will enter into our spirit and become life. In our understanding in the realm of the soul, the Word is light, but when the Word goes deeper, into our spirit, it becomes life.
Our experience indicates that the life supply does not come before the light. Light comes first. But whenever through our prayer this light goes deeper, reaching into our spirit, it becomes life, and we receive the life supply. This shows us the necessity of praying when we read the Word. It makes no difference whether we read first and then pray, or pray and then read. The point is that we need to pray as well as read.