"How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping Your word.
I have sought You with all my heart;
don't let me wander from Your commands.
I have treasured Your word in my heart
so that I may not sin against You.
Lord, may You be praised;
teach me Your statutes,
With my lips I proclaim
all the judgments from Your mouth.
I rejoice in the way revealed by Your decrees
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on Your precepts
and think about Your ways,
I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word."
Bare with me as I try convincing you of how GOOD this is.
After reading this over and over, I asked a few people how to stay pure. Of course two people answered right away saying "Psalm 119:9." Know-it-alls!! :) I got a few other answers back such as keeping yourself unstained from the world (James 1:27), we are holy because God is holy so we are made pure by the blood of Jesus, or fixing your eyes on Him daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to change you. All really good answers, right?! I was just curious what other people thought. Anyway, really just look at verse 9. You keep your way pure by keeping His word. Sounds simple right? NO. Man do I wish it were that easy!
This passage seemed to resonate with me very much, but I wasn't sure exactly why yet. So, what better thing to do than....GOOGLE!? I googled commentaries on Psalm 119:9-16 and I looked over a few, but this one just really caught my eye. John Piper. Now, if you know me, you know that his sermons fly over my head quicker than...anything quick. He's one of Josh's main men on theological "stuff." Josh could listen to him speak or read his books all day every day...I however...couldn't. He is a GREAT man. He's just too deep of a thinker for this local college gal.
Piper says this:
The Ultimate Goal of Life
There are two ways to state the ultimate goal of life, one positively and one
negatively. Positively we could say: the ultimate goal of life is to glorify God by
enjoying him forever. Or negatively, we could say: the ultimate goal of life is not to
sin. They both mean the same thing because sinning is falling short of glorifying
God by embracing other things as more enjoyable.
So if we could learn how to glorify God by enjoying him, we would know how not to
sin. And if we could learn how not to sin, we would know how to glorify God by
enjoying him.
Verse 11 tells us one of the keys to not sinning. It says, speaking to God, "Thy
word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee." The way not to
sin is to treasure the word of God in your heart. Which means that the way to
succeed in the ultimate goal of life -- to live for the glory of God by enjoying him
forever -- is to treasure the word of God in your heart.
Two Things that Keep us from Sinning
It's not just one thing, but two things that keep us from sinning and move us to
glorify and enjoy God. It is not just having the word stored. Nor is it is just valuing
the word. It is both. Both are crucial. We value the word and therefore we have it
stored in our hearts. And the two together give us the power to stand against the
temptations to sin. It is a (1) superior treasure, (2) present and active, that
conquers sin.
So I believe that the Bible teaches us to memorize scripture the way an ant
gathers food in summer: because it is so valuable and will be needed in the winter
months. "[The ant] prepares her food in the summer, and gathers her provision in
the harvest" (Proverbs 6:8). Memorizing scripture is not a discipline for its own
sake. It is because the scriptures are a treasure and will be needed before the day
is done to help you escape a sinful attitude and live a life that glorifies God.
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My thoughts: Read Psalm 119:9-16 at least three times. Take your time. Verse 11 is what is so
convicting to me. "I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You."
I can't truthfully say I treasure the word ENOUGH. I'm a sinner--I am a BAD steward of my time.
I am NOT disciplined enough. I do NOT seek Him enough. I tell you what I (or WE) CAN do though.
We can read this passage and take pure delight in IT. The psalmist says exactly what to do:
keep His word (vs. 9)
seek Him (vs. 10)
treasure the word (vs 11.)
ask for Him to teach you (vs. 12)
proclaim (vs. 13)
rejoice (vs 14)
meditate and think (vs. 15)
delight and not forget (vs 16).
My prayer is for you (and especially me) to read this passage with full intentions of knowing Him better.
May you be open to receive His word with humility and set aside your life for a moment and
seek Him, asking Him to teach you His statutes. Keep His word. Treasure His word. Proclaim His name.
Rejoice in Him. Meditate and think about Him. Delight and not forget His word. May we daily enter
in His word with full regards to know Him.
Love!
Piper's notes: http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper97/1-5-97.htm
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