“How can a young man keep his way pure?”
[Psalms 119:9-16]
We, who believe in Jesus, want to imitate the Lord's holiness in our hearts. But there are times when we see our weak body chasing sin. So the apostle Paul confessed: “… So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin” (Rom. 7:25). This is a spiritual fight. This is the spiritual battle with ourselves. In this spiritual battle, we must find the biblical view of ourselves, that is human corruption (sinfulness). This is what Proverbs 20:9 says: “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin’?” And this is what Job 15:14-16 says: “What is man, that he should be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? "Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight; How much less one who is detestable and corrupt, Man, who drinks iniquity like water!” Indeed, we are corrupt. Who are we to be clean? But in Psalms 119:9, the psalmist asks this question: “How can a young man keep his way pure? ….” Focusing on this verse, I would like to meditate on four ways how we can live a pure (holy) life.
First, in order for us to live a pure (holy) life, we must live according to the word of the Lord.
Look at Psalms 119:9 – “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.” The purifying ourselves and the word of God have a profound relationship. For example, the apostle Peter tells us that the way to purify our souls is possible through obedience to the truth: “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart” (1 Pet. 1:22). That is why the psalmist says in Psalms 119:9, that we must ‘keep’ our way pure according to His word. Here, the word ‘keep’ has two meanings. First, in a passive sense, there is an implied command, ‘to avoid’, that is, “Don’t”. One example is Deuteronomy 4:23 – “"So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the LORD your God has commanded you.” Another implied meaning is active, which implies a command, ‘to keep’, “Do”. One example is Genesis 18:19 – “"For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” So, what must we do to keep our ways pure according to His word? There are three guidelines:
(1) We must meditate on the Lord’s precepts.
Look at Psalms 119:15a – “I will meditate on Your precepts ….” We must meditate on the word of God. We must cultivate a good habit of meditating on His word. Meditating on God doesn't just mean reading the Bible. Meditation is thinking and thinking about the words that we read. And meditation is to think over and over again with a prayerful heart while pondering what the word we read means (v. 148)
(2) We must regard the Lord’s ways.
Look at Psalms 119:15b – “… And regard Your ways.” As we meditate on the word of God, we must find a way of God. In other words, through the Bible, we must discover Jesus and pay attention to His footsteps. Therefore, when we come to realize the Lord's way through the word of God, we must compare our walking way with the Lord's way. If the way we are walking on is different from the Lord’s way, we must repent of our sins and return to walk the way of the Lord.
(3) We must rejoice in the way of the Lord’s testimonies.
Look at Psalms 119:14 – “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.” We love riches. The psalmist confessed that he rejoiced in obeying the word of the Lord as he rejoiced in all riches. A Christian who tastes the joy of obeying the word of God cleanses his conduct in the joy of obedience.
Second, in order for us to live a pure (holy) life, we must seek the Lord with all our hearts.
Look at Psalms 119:10a – “With all my heart I have sought You; ….” Why are we seeking the Lord? Why are we praying to the Lord? We want to live a holy life want the way we are walking on to be clean and pure. So we meditate on the word of God and think the Lord’s way, but we fall and sin again and again. That is why we pray to the Lord with earnest desire to imitate His holiness. The psalmist's earnest prayer was “Do not let me wander from Your commandments” (v. 10). This should be our prayer as well. The reason is because we humans have a sinful instinct to turn away from the commandments of the Lord. Although we have holy desire to obey His commandments, there are countless times that we depart from His commandments because of our sinful nature within us. In particular, the pride within us is causing us to depart from the Lord's way and fall (v. 21). Therefore, like the psalmist, we must seek God with all our hearts. We must pray earnestly to God, “Do not let me wander from Your commandments” (v. 10). In the meantime, we must ask God, “Teach me Your statutes,” as the psalmist prayed (v. 12). We must acknowledge our human ignorance. We must admit that we ourselves cannot understand the statutes of the Lord. In the meantime, we must acknowledge the need for God's sovereign teaching (v. 34). We must seek the Lord with all our hearts in order to purify our conduct. We must seek the Lord with all our hearts in order to live by the word of the Lord. In acknowledging before God our ignorance and our inability to obey His commandments, we must ask God for wisdom and power. Therefore, we must live a holy life.
Third, in order for us to live a pure (holy) life, we must treasure the word of the Lord in our hearts.
Look at Psalms 119:11 – “Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” What does it mean to put the word of the Lord in our hearts? This means to keep the word of the Lord in our hearts. This is the will of the Lord for us. That is why the Bible recommends this in Proverbs 7:1 – “My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you.” Why should we keep the word of God in our hearts? The reason is not to sin against the Lord (Ps.119:11). If we put the word of God in our heart, we can be controlled by and drawn by His word.
How, then, can we keep the word of God in our hearts? There are two ways to learn from Psalms 119:9-16:
(1) In order for us to put His word in our hearts, we must delight in His word.
Look at Psalms 119:14, 16a – “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. … I shall delight in Your statutes ….” It is very difficult to read the Bible without enjoying the word of God. However, when we taste the blessings of God by obeying His word, then we are compelled to be close to His word. The psalmist urges us to rejoice in the Lord's way of testimonies as we rejoice in all our riches (v. 14). When we delight in the Lord's statutes (v. 16), we can keep the word of God in our hearts.
(2) In order for us to put His word in our hearts, we must be determined not to forget His word.
Look at Psalms 119:16b – “… I shall not forget Your word.” If we don't get close to God’s word, it's easy for us to quickly forget. Further, we harden our hearts. As a result, we are bound to disobey His word. We must not disobey His word. We must be close to His word. Like the psalmist, we must make up our mind not to forget His word. We must be committed to the word of God. In particular, in order not to forget His word, we must obey God's voice while meditating on His word. Then we can write down the word of God in our hearts. Then the word of God can become ours (v. 56). I think this is the best secret not to forget His word.
Fourth and last, in order for us to live a pure (holy) life, we must tell the Lord’s words.
Look at Psalms 119:13 – “With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth.” In order to keep the word of God in our hearts, we must proclaim it with our lips. Of course, in proclaiming His word, our life itself must first live as the word proclaimed. In living such life of testimonies, we must testify the word of God. In other words, we must proclaim His holy word while pursuing a holy life, a pure life. We must live a life of testimonies as witnesses of Christ. We must proclaim His word with an unbearable heart (39:1-3, 40:9).
How can we live the pure (holy) life? We must live by the word of the Lord (v. 9). We must seek the Lord with all our hearts (v. 10). We must keep His word in our hearts. And we must proclaim His word. Therefore, I hope and pray that all of us to live the holy and pure life.
Relying on His blood on the cross,
James Kim
(‘Must be washed clean’)