PSALM 119:9-16 BIXBITE BITES OF BLESSING

BIXBITE BITES OF BLESSING

PSALM 119:9-16

ב (Bet)

Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

Psalm 119:9 (VOICE) How can a young person remain pure?    Only by living according to Your word.

Susie: The psalmist addresses how a person can remain pure in his or her youth, in the time of raging hormones and tantalizing temptations. When my “adopted” children were teenagers, they both made the “True Love Waits” commitment to practice abstinence until marriage. Therefore, I purchased a “True Love Waits Bible” for each of them.

Susan: Purity is only accomplished by making the teaching of the Lord your treasured lifestyle. Reading, abiding in, and obeying God’s word is the only way to remain physically, spiritually, and mentally pure.

Susie: This applies to those of us who are no longer young as well. The key to righteous living, is to listen to the Holy Spirit who speaks to us through the word of God. God’s word is instruction for living a life pleasing to Him.

Psalm 119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

Susan: The psalmist pursued God with every fiber of his being. . .

Susie: . . .as should we.

Susan: The psalmist is asking God to guard him and keep him in His ways. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who guards His sheep, protecting them from evil.

Susie: We are incapable of keeping God’s commands without His Holy Spirit within us. We were all hopelessly dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1) which is why Jesus, the Lamb of God, came to atone for, be the sacrifice to pay for our sin (Ephesians 2:5).

Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalm 119:11 (NASB) Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

Susan: To hide the word in my heart has the connotation of treasuring, holding onto, valuing, and locking away God’s word deep within me.

Susie: I have always taken this to mean that I should memorize scripture. As a child, we had a weekly memory verse and received a small prize for being able to recite it correctly the next week in Sunday School. When I taught in a Christian school, the children memorized entire passages, the length of which were age appropriate. However, as adults, we tend to let that good habit fade away.

Susan: When I have internalized God’s words and made it a part of who I am, my actions are more likely to line up with those words.

Psalm 119:12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.

Susie: Another recurrent theme in Psalm 119 is the psalmist imploring the Lord to teach him. Therefore, the words “teach me” will be in blue ink throughout the study. Another of my favorite Psalms asks the Lord for instruction:

Psalm 25:4-5 Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Susan: One of the hats worn by the Holy Spirit is that of teacher. He helps us to comprehend, remember, and apply God’s word.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Psalm 119:13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

Susan: The scripture is a tool God has placed in our minds—for teaching and preaching, as our sword in spiritual warfare, for admonishing others as well as ourselves to live rightly.

Hebrews 4:12 (NASB) For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB) All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Susie: Jesus employed the word of God to resist temptation when confronted by Satan himself in the wilderness:

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Psalm 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.

Psalm 119:14 (VOICE) I have celebrated Your testimonies as though rejoicing over an immeasurable fortune.

Susan: The Psalmist felt that reading God’s words was liking sitting down to a banquet table and being served a smorgasbord of culinary delights. God’s word is better than a bull stock market because His word never crashes. He repeats this idea later in this same Psalm:

Psalm 119:72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

Psalm 119:127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.

Susie: Not only is the Bible a banquet. Job said it was more important to him than the food he needed to stay alive!

Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

Psalm 119:15 I will meditate in thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways.

Susan: To meditate on God’s word is to let it soak in, to bask in it, and absorb it into your being. It is to ponder and reflect on what it means in all its nuances.

Susie: When we take the time to understand God’s word with the aid of the Holy Spirit, we will find ourselves respecting and obeying it more readily.

Psalm 119:16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

Susie: How often do we truly get excited about something we have read in the Bible? The Psalmist used the word “delight.” He took joy in reading and knowing the word of God.

Susan: Most of us do not forget our three, square meals a day for nutritional purposes, but how many of us look at God’s word the same way, or even in a greater way as our nourishment. This verse, to me, that the Psalmist looked at his time in the word as critical to his well-being.

Points to Ponder:

·     Purity, righteousness is found in living according to God’s word

·     Pursue God wholeheartedly

·     Memorize scripture

·     Declare the word

·     Celebrate and value the word

·     Focus on and internalize scripture

·     Let God’s word be a source of joy

Reflection Question: When was the last time that reading a passage of scripture caused you to break out into your “happy dance?” Has it been too long?