The words are an almost exact quotation from Psalm 119:105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” This is one of several sentences that were first printed in Shawnee Press’s Choral Sentences for the Worship Service in 1966.

Wihla Hutson was born April 29, 1901, in Lake Station (now part of Gary), Indiana. She was educated in the public schools there and in Michigan. Her music education was from private teachers and through attendance at many workshops and conferences. Following graduation from Central High School in Detroit, she worked for five years as a secretary for the Detroit Board of Education. For 44 years she served on the secretarial staff of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. During this time she held the post of assistant organist and organist/choir director for Episcopal churches in Detroit, Pontiac, and Southfield, Michigan. Her published works include anthems, organ pieces for church service, and some choral numbers for the educational and concert field. In 1982, Broadman Press published a book of her Christmas carols, for which she wrote both words and music.

📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.