Psalms 102–3; 110; 116–19; 127–28; 135–39; 146–50: Lesson 107

Psalm 119

“Thy Word Is a Lamp unto My Feet, and a Light unto My Path”

Do you feel that your scripture study leads to guidance from the Lord? Psalm 119 expresses gratitude for the word of God and testifies of its power. This lesson can help students make a plan to study the word of God.

Student preparation: Invite students to personally study the scriptures before next class. Ask them to ponder if they feel the Lord’s guidance through their scripture study. If so, can they think of any examples?

Possible Learning Activities

Guidance and the scriptures

To prepare students to study about the scriptures, invite them to ponder how different people have different attitudes toward the scriptures. Ask students to consider how these different people might finish the following statement. You could also use this activity as student preparation. You could share the statement before class and invite students to bring an object that would help finish it.

Scriptures are like because .

If students need an example, you could say, “Scriptures are like a map or a GPS because they guide me.”

Invite students to share their thoughts. You might ask why some people love studying the scriptures but others do not.

Consider inviting students to ponder how they could complete the statement to reflect their attitude toward the scriptures.

At the end of the lesson, you will evaluate your scripture study goal or make a new one. Consider saying a silent prayer for Heavenly Father to guide you today as you study Psalm 119. Seek inspiration to make the goal that would best help you.

The word of God is like …

The writer of Psalm 119 used symbols to describe the word of God. These symbols emphasized the psalmist’s love for God’s word and the blessings that come through diligently studying and obeying His words.

For example, read Psalm 119:105–106, looking for what the psalmist compared to the word of God.

Consider dimming or turning off the lights in the room and turning on a lamp or flashlight. Allow students to share what they found.

• How is the word of God like a light or lamp?

  If students share something such as the following principle, write it on the board: As we study the word of God, He blesses us with guidance.

  If students need more help identifying the principle, consider asking, “How is walking in the light different from walking in the dark?” or “How can scriptures help us walk in the light?” Or you could write the principle and ask, “How do these verses illustrate the principle on the board?”

  Turn the lights in the room back on. Consider inviting students to cross-reference or link Psalm 119:105 to 2 Nephi 32:3. Ask students to note how these verses are similar. Or watch “How I #HearHim: Elder David A. Bednar” (1:15), Gospel Library.

  Read or display the following questions, and invite a few students to each select one and answer it:

• Why do you think God wants to guide us?

• How could knowing that God can guide us through the scriptures motivate someone to study them?

• When has the word of God been like a lamp or light to you or someone you know?

As students share their answers, you could ask how these ideas and experiences have affected their relationship with God.

Other symbols

The psalmist made other comparisons. (Note: the psalmist referred to the word of God by various terms such as testimonies, statutes, law, precepts, commandments, and ways.)

To help students study Psalm 119, write the following references on the board:

Psalm 119:14–16, 72, 127

Psalm 119:22–24

Psalm 119:33–35

Psalm 119:50–52, 54

Psalm 119:102–104

Divide the class into five groups and assign each group one of the references on the board. Display the following objects or pictures of these objects: a hymnbook, coins (or something representing riches), honey (or something sweet), a picture of a path, and a picture of a counselor (for example, a counselor in the First Presidency of the Church or a school counselor).

Display the following instructions:

1. Read your assigned scripture passage, looking for what the psalmist compared to the word of God.

2. Take the object or picture that corresponds to your assigned scripture passage.

3. Discuss how the object or picture could help someone understand the importance of the word of God.

4. Share examples or experiences from your life, the lives of others, or the scriptures that illustrate how the object or picture is like the word of God.

Invite students to finish the following principle according to what they studied: As we study the word of God, He blesses us with …

Some possible answers are joy (see verses 14, 16, 35, 103), comfort (see verses 50, 52), counsel (see verse 24), and understanding (see verse 104).

• How could the principle you found help someone want to study the word of God?

• How has God blessed you or people you know with joy, comfort, counsel, or understanding as you or they studied His word?

As students share their answers to the previous question, you could ask how these experiences have affected their relationship with God.

Your goal

Invite the Spirit as you reflect on your scripture study. If you already have a scripture study goal, record in your study journal what has gone well and what you might want to continue. You might include why you chose this goal and how it helps you feel closer to the Lord. Prayerfully ask Heavenly Father if He would want you to make any adjustments to your goal.

If you do not have a current scripture study goal, seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost as you make one. You might include the following:

• The amount of time you will study

• How often you will study (if possible, strive to study daily)

• What you will do to seek the Lord’s help with your study (for example, pray before you study or seek revelation about what you study)

• How you can remember, meditate on, or apply what you learn (for example, keep a journal of what you are learning from your scripture study, keep a record of what you are trying to apply, or discuss with someone else what you are learning once a week)

Invite volunteers to share their scripture study goal as well as any concerns they might have. If students share concerns, invite the class to share scriptures, statements from Church leaders, or personal experiences that might help.

Tell students that in “Assess Your Learning 7,” they will have the opportunity to report on their goals. They will share how their scripture study is going and what blessings they feel the Lord is giving them because of it.

If there is still time in class, invite students to quietly study the scriptures. Invite them to look for truths that God gives us that can guide them in their lives today. Invite a few students to share what they found.

Share your testimony of the principles in this lesson.

Additional Resources

Why are there Hebrew letters throughout Psalm 119?

Psalm 119 is divided into eight-verse sections. This psalm is “an acrostic poem with eight verses for each of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. … One Hebrew letter and its name appears above each eight-verse segment” (Ellis T. Rasmussen, A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament [1993], 455). Each eight-verse segment of the psalm begins with its corresponding letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

What are some blessings we receive from studying scripture?

President Russell M. Nelson pronounced specific blessings to those who participate in daily scripture study:

We simply cannot rely upon information we bump into on social media. With billions of words online and in a marketing-saturated world constantly infiltrated by noisy, nefarious efforts of the adversary, where can we go to hear Him?

We can go to the scriptures. They teach us about Jesus Christ and His gospel, the magnitude of His Atonement, and our Father’s great plan of happiness and redemption. Daily immersion in the word of God is crucial for spiritual survival, especially in these days of increasing upheaval. As we feast on the words of Christ daily, the words of Christ will tell us how to respond to difficulties we never thought we would face. …

What will happen as you more intentionally hear, hearken, and heed what the Savior has said and what He is saying now through His prophets? I promise that you will be blessed with additional power to deal with temptation, struggles, and weakness. I promise miracles in your marriage, family relationships, and daily work. And I promise that your capacity to feel joy will increase even if turbulence increases in your life. (“Hear Him,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 89, 90)

For other great resources on studying the scriptures, see the Gospel Study Guide for Scriptures in Gospel Topics (Gospel Library).

Supplemental Learning Activities

How to study the word of God

After they identify various principles, it might be helpful for your students to focus on how to study the word of God. If so, invite them to review Psalm 119:11, 15–16, 23, 34, 112, looking for phrases that indicate what the psalmist did with the word of God.

Write students’ answers on the board. Some examples are “Thy word have I hid in mine heart” (verse 11), “I will meditate in thy precepts” (verse 15), “I will not forget thy word” (verse 16), and “I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway” (verse 112).

• What does this phrase mean to you? How might we do this action today?

• What else have you done in your scripture study that has helped you?

If it would be useful, you can show “Texting Truth” (2:22). This video shows what one group of young men did that helped in their scripture study.

The word of God can help us avoid sin

It might be useful to your students to study how the scriptures can help us avoid sin. If so, consider inviting students to read Psalm 119:2–4, 9–11, looking for blessings that come when we follow the word of God.

As students share, write any true principles they mention on the board. If they do not mention it, consider adding: The word of God helps us avoid mistakes and sins. Students might want to write this principle next to these verses.

• How does the word of God help us avoid mistakes and sins?

Consider reading Matthew 4:1–11, looking for how the Savior demonstrated this principle.

Emphasizing the power and blessings of scripture

To begin the lesson, you could show the video “The Blessings of Scripture” from time code 0:00 to 1:55. Pause the video, and allow students to respond to Elder Christofferson’s question “What did they understand that we also should understand?” Students could then search Psalm 119 to identify principles of the power of the word of God. Consider showing the rest of the video, from time code 1:55 to 3:03. As they watch, invite students to look for ways the word of God guides us and the responsibility we have toward the word of God.

An example

To see a modern-day example of scriptures guiding a youth, watch the video “Prophets and Revelation—Hearing His Voice” (3:56). The first of the three examples is a young woman striving to find guidance through the scriptures.