How can a young man
keep his way pure?
By
guarding it according to your word.
I have stored up
your word in my heart
that
I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:9, 11
Here are three observations from these verses:
Purity is a priority: Notice the question on the mind of the
Psalmist is purity. This seems to mean without sinning. How can a young man
keep from sinning? This typically isn’t the desire of young men. In addition,
if the answer given is suitable to keep a young man from sinning, and young men
have loads of pitfalls, it is suitable to keep anyone from sinning!
Purity is personal: The goal of purity is to preserve a
relationship with God. He guards his way according to “your” word. He stores up
“your” word. Why? He does so in order that he might not sin against “you.” The Psalmist seems to understand that the
consequence of sin is severing the relationship with God. This is the higher
goal than even purity. The only reason he cares about purity is because he
cares about God. Knowing God’s word plays a key role in preserving the personal
relationship with God.
Purity comes from pondering: If someone is to walk with God they
must guard their steps by God’s word. This means only God’s word is a
trustworthy guide to direct our steps into his presence. Without meditating on
and pondering Scripture we are in danger of defaulting to human wisdom and
worldly philosophy. In other words, without Scripture to safeguard us, we will
be consumed with our own thoughts that tend to be self-centered. Memorizing
God’s word ensures that we ponder it, giving it a chance to transform our
thinking and ultimately our doing.
I invite you to join the elders of GCF in 2018 in memorizing the Fighter
Verses. There are wonderful resources for the Fighter Verses, including an app
for your smart phone. Additionally, we believe there is a lot of power in a
church-wide effort to memorize the same passages each week. Please consider
joining us in 2018!
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