Psalms of Comfort 2: The Gospel Compass

Psalm 119

105 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.

Prov 6

23 For this command is a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and correction and instruction
are the way to life,

I was given a canvas when I left the mission team when I left Martin’s Memorial Church and on the canvas was a picture of a compass with every direction boxed with bible verses. The very centre of the compass contains a proclamation of Gods love and the from that source radiated God’s word in all directions.

Before ships had power they used the magnetic compass to steer by. As the wooden sailing ship gave way to steel powered ships the magnetic compass was still needed as a secondary steering device. When I was studying at the nautical college one of the tasks we learned was to correct or calibrate the magnetic compass. Because of the magnetic interference of the steel in the ship’s structure, this had an effect on the magnetic needle of the compass. The way you had to correct the compass was by sliding in steel bars to the compass stand which corrected the compass, so that when the ship was heading Magnetic North, the compass needle was as close to North as you could get it. There were small errors, depending upon which way you were heading and you knew these errors so you applied them to your compass and you headed in the right direction.

God’s righteous laws are like the correction bars that were added to the compass; when we follow these laws we have a chance of heading in the right direction. There will always be errors caused by the fact we are human beings and we often deviate from the path God would have us follow but as long as we have a desire to follow in the direction the gospel compass leads us then we will stay safe. So let God’s word calibrate your life. It will be a lamp for your feet and a light for your path.