diff --git a/t/test-lib-functions.sh b/t/test-lib-functions.sh
index b895366fee..7d620bf2a9 100644
--- a/t/test-lib-functions.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib-functions.sh
@@ -782,11 +782,8 @@ verbose () {
 # otherwise.
 
 test_must_be_empty () {
-	if ! test -f "$1"
-	then
-		echo "'$1' is missing"
-		return 1
-	elif test -s "$1"
+	test_path_is_file "$1" &&
+	if test -s "$1"
 	then
 		echo "'$1' is not empty, it contains:"
 		cat "$1"