How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
Psalm 119:9
The question that the psalmist asks is enlightening. Even as a young man he understands the perils to living a life of purity. This is an important question that every young person should ask. The advantage of asking the question when you are young is that you can stay on the right way when you are old!
The psalmist provides the solution in the next sentence with a rather broad statement. The way to walk in purity is to walk according to the word of God. The rest of this psalm will explain in detail what it looks like to walk according to God’s Word.
It is very easy for parents to focus primarily on controlling the external things that might lead their children down an impure road. They restrict phones and computers. They monitor television and movies. They are careful with friendships. And these things are appropriate. But they do not address the fundamental issue we have with our own hearts.
The Scriptures are clear that we must put off those things that are contrary to God’s word, but it is equally clear that we must put on righteousness. To do the first and ignore the second will not accomplish the goal.
As we continue through this chapter of the psalms, we will be reminded again and again about the critical importance of the word of God in the life of the believer. It is not enough to read the word. The word must become the joy and delight of our heart. We must love it and long for it. We must desire to understand it and apply its principles to our lives. It will teach us to hate unrighteousness and love righteousness.
It is hard to communicate the value and importance of God’s word. Charles Spurgeon once said:
“I hold one single sentence out of God’s word to be of more certainty and of more power than all the discoveries of all the learned men of all the ages.”[mfn] Steve Lawson, Holman Old Testament Commentary[/mfn]
The culture we live in today is pretty casual and careless with the word of God. If you want to walk in purity, if you want to walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord, there is only one way. Your love for God must be linked to an insatiable commitment to love the word of God.
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