The Battle for Purity

How can a young man keep his way pure?  
By guarding it according to Your Word.  
With my whole heart I seek You;  
let me not wander from Your commandments!  
I have stored up Your word in my heart,  
that I might not sin against You.  
Blessed are You, O LORD;  
teach me Your statutes!  
With my lips I declare  
all the rules of Your mouth.  
In the way of Your testimonies I delight  
as much as in all riches.  
I will meditate on Your precepts  
and fix my eyes on Your ways.  
I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your Word.

Psalm 119:9–16

This text begins with a subtle note of danger. You may not catch it at first. “How can a young man keep his way pure?” could be read in a conversational, hypothetical tone. But the intensity of response in what follows sheds light on the Psalmist’s estimation of the threat. The response conveys a fierce resolve and even desperation to avoid a particular fate--drifting from the Lord’s way. This danger is found in the verbs wandering (v10), sinning (v11), and forgetting (v16).

My oldest son, Eli, is leaving for college this fall, and there is an air of excitement in this coming transition. Friends, football games, and fun are all highly anticipated. But he’ll also be leaving the protective eyes of his parents and entering a world in which freedom and corresponding temptation will be in great abundance. A Barna study approximates that roughly 70% of high school students who profess faith will graduate from college with minimal to no faith at all. In light of these realities, the opening question of this passage is especially relevant and weighty: “How can a young man keep his way pure?” (v9)

The Word of God is depicted as a key weapon in this effort against a lukewarm, licentious life. D. L. Moody, speaking on the necessity of regular exposure to God’s Word, once said, “The only way to keep a broken vessel full is by keeping the faucet turned on.” This is surely correct, but Psalm 119:9-16 warns us against a passive reception of God’s Word. Young people (and all of us really) are in a fight, and the Word of God should be pursued and employed in a manner befitting this perilous context. Instead of the image of a jar being filled with water, think of the ubiquitous movie scene where a weapon drops to the ground and the hero and villain dash to grab it. It’s a life-and-death situation. Do you seek the Word of God with this kind of resolve?

This passage describes a whole-hearted pursuit of the Lord (v10), a pledge to internalize the Word through memorization and meditation (v11, 15). There’s a level of delight in God’s Word reserved only for the greatest riches of this world (v14). The Psalmist also depicts a determined resolve that the Word would not only be internalized but would also find external expression declared by his lips (v13).

How can a young man keep his way pure? In other words, how can a young man follow God’s way? The answer in this Psalm is that God’s Word must find its way from His mouth (v13) to our hearts (v9, 11), and from our transformed hearts to our lips (v13) and ways (v11, 15). How our hearts receive God’s Word is critical in this pathway to following God’s way. We must store up (v11), meditate upon (v15), and delight in (v16) God’s testimonies.

Resolve towards these actions is not the only answer. Prayerful dependence is also prescribed in this passage. The Psalmist pleads to the Lord, “Let me not wander from Your commandments!” (v10) and “Teach me Your statutes!” (v12). Our strength comes from the Lord.

So, my prayer for my son will be that he exhibits determined resolve, a heart absorbed with the Word, and prayerful dependence. May God develop these traits within us and all our young men and women at PCPC so that we are ready to engage in the battle for purity.