Psalms 119:9-16

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (v.9)

We see, first, the cleansing power of the Word. Oh what joy there is in total cleansing, few things feel better to us when we are weary, than a nice hot bath or shower. A young man finds cleansing here, as the young seem to get the dirtiest, but there is a cleansing for all of us at any age in the Word. Where is the cleansing found? In v. 11, by hiding God’s Word in our hearts. Oh that we would realize the power of the Word of God, and allow It to do Its wonderful work in us.
Notice the psalmist repeats his zeal in v. 10, and in the whole-hearted seeking. This cannot be emphasized enough. A heart totally given to the Lord’s will, is one that has already hid Him in it, and will walk accordingly, and has learned to rejoice in Him, “as much as in all riches”, (v. 14).

In Psalms 138:2 we see that God magnifies His Word even above His Name! This seems like an amazing thing to us, but it shows how important God’s Word really is to Him. The psalmist in Psalms 119 treats the Word of God much the same way that God does, he “delights “ in It, (v.16); he meditates on It, and has respect unto It, (v.15), and it is no wonder that that he can hide It in his heart, and is afraid to sin against God! Folks, that Bible you hold in your hand is a very precious Book, let’s take care of it and respect it, and obey it. First we need to read It, then we need to heed It! We sometimes respect the American flag even more than the Word of God! We throw our Bible on the floor, or in a closet, but proudly display the flag, and forbid it to touch the ground even! Shame on us! When we learn to love the Lord with all our hearts, we will learn to treat His Word with the great respect It deserves. Let’s get our priorities right!
“Blessed art thou, oh Lord: teach me thy statutes” (v.12). The Lord will teach us, if we will learn of Him. The Word will cause us to bless the Lord too. We will appreciate His goodness, and His graces. We will desire to know Him better, and to get closer to Him. The joy He gives us through His Precious Word, will guide us through the storms of life with confidence in Him, if we can learn to delight in Him.