Psalm 119:9-16 - The Path to Purity

Sanctification is an exponential process.

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Psalm 119:9–16 (NASB95)

ב

Beth.

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping it according to Your word.

¹⁰ With all my heart I have sought You;

Do not let me wander from Your commandments.

¹¹ Your word I have treasured in my heart,

That I may not sin against You.

¹² Blessed are You, O LORD;

Teach me Your statutes.

¹³ With my lips I have told of

All the ordinances of Your mouth.

¹⁴ I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,

As much as in all riches.

¹⁵ I will meditate on Your precepts

And regard Your ways.

¹⁶ I shall delight in Your statutes;

I shall not forget Your word.

Canons of Dordt

Point V, Article 14: God’s Use of Means in Perseverance

Just as it has pleased God to begin this work of grace in us by the proclamation of the gospel, so he preserves, continues, and completes his work by the hearing and reading of the gospel, by meditation on it, by its exhortations, threats, and promises, and also by the use of the sacraments.

Summary

Most people just know Psalm 119 as the longest chapter in the Bible, weighing in at 176 verses. But this passage is much more than one really long poem - it's actually twenty-two separate psalms, with each of the eight lines in every strophe (section) beginning with a particular letter in the Hebrew alefbet. Hence the reason today's passage has a funny looking header: ב - indicating that each line begins with the second letter in the alefbet, beth.

And though all of these twenty-two strophes in this massive psalm are all different and nothing ever gets repeated, they all center around one primary theme: the surpassing value of God's Word. Notice all of the ways Scripture gets referred to just in our passage today:

• commandments

• statutes

• ordinances

• testimonies

• precepts

You also may have noticed - and maybe even were a bit perturbed by it - the somewhat limited demographic today's psalm targets: young men. Certainly this doesn't mean that these words are not applicable to anyone else, especially young women and ladies. But it does acknowledge a reality demonstrated over and over again throughout history: societies go where young men take them.

Too many of the young men in our day and age have completely abdicated their responsibility to keep their way - and subsequently their society - pure. So this week's psalm is one that needs to be proclaimed often, because as Paul Baynes, described as a "radical puritan" who died in 1617 put it, "God's word is the glass which discovereth all spiritual deformity, and also the water and soap which washes and scours it away."

  Dig Deeper  

You're likely familiar with the famous proverb that when you train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). But you're also likely familiar with lots of children who were properly trained up, but went on to depart from the way he should go as soon as he got the chance.

Of course the proverb, as Biblical proverbs often do, is speaking generally, not universally. As important as biblical training is for our children, God's Word also lays down an expectation for them to keep their way pure (remember, the humble word keep is one of the most important words in Scripure).

This week's psalm lays out some of these expectations. A you must:

• keep your way pure according to the LORD's Word;

• seek the LORD with all your heart;

• not wander from the LORD's commandments;

• treasure the LORD's Word in your heart;

• not sin against the LORD;

• be taught by the LORD's statutes;

• tell of the LORD's ordinances with your mouth;

• meditate (mentally chew on / think deeply about) on the LORD's precepts;

• not forget the LORD's Word.

Just grudgingly going through these motions will not be enough to keep your way pure. You must rejoice in the way of the LORD's testimonies and delight in His statutes.

You already know you can't do this on your own. This is why you must remember what we've learned in the book of Acts these past few weeks: that you are not on your own! To borrow one of Luke's favorite descriptors, you are filled with the holy Spirit.

The more you realize what you're filled with, the more you'll live into these expectations from Psalm 119 and keep your way pure. And the purer you keep your way, the more you'll realize what you're filled with!

This is the how it is that your sanctification (coming to look more and more like Christ) is an exponential process.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose Word guides, guards and protects our way;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that as one who is filled with the Spirit, you will keep your way pure;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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