How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.—Ps 119:9-11
Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the LORD! The word is our best weapon against encroaching sin. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 in Matthew 4:4.
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert, He overcame by employing the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God to counter Satan’s accusations. There is no substitute for the truth, and there is no truth more useful to the Christian in his battle with Satan than the truth of Scripture. Just as Jesus quoted Scripture when Satan tempted Him, we too, can use it in the temptations that we face. Earthly food provides only for our physical need. The word of God nourishes and nurtures our spiritual needs in a way that benefits us eternally.
How can we cleanse our way and become more like Jesus? We can do this by hiding His word in our heart...by internalizing it and allowing it to become part of the very fabric of who we are. God uses the truth of His word to sanctify us and set us free from bondage to sin. He begins at salvation. We have been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God. Hebrews tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by His word. He continues this sanctification process throughout our earthly lives.
You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”—John 15:3
"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.—John 17:17
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,—Ephesians 5:26
Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of manfn as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.—1 Peter 1:22-25
We are not just to internalize it though...we are to receive it without argument and heed it by surrendering to it. We are to keep our “way” according to His word by conforming our lives to His precepts.
I love David’s prayer that comes in the middle of these three verses.
With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
David declares his heart here. He is committed to seeking and following His God while simultaneously acknowledging his weakness and need. It is clear that the Psalmist didn’t want to just obey a set of rules...His heart sought God Himself. David understood that without God’s abiding Presence in his life, he was helpless and hopeless and could do nothing good. He knew it was God who would keep Him in the way. It is the same with us.
One last thing about this second set of verses...they begin with the Hebrew letter Beth which also means a house. According to David Guzik some have suggested that this section tells us how to make our heart a home for the Word of God. I love that. That is what I want.
Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! —Psalm 25:6-7
No comments:
Post a Comment