Psalm 119:9-11
Beth
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
Do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
I kept asking myself, “What could possibly be so interesting about that tattered old book? Why would this frail old woman get up every morning at 5:30 and read it? And when she finally finished reading through this massive volume, why did she go right back to the first page and start reading it all over again?”
These were some of the questions I was pondering when I was ten years old. The frail old woman was my paternal grandmother, who lived with us on our farm. And the tattered old book was an ancient German Bible, written in a gothic script that was completely indecipherable to me. There were no pictures in that old Bible. Yet, this mysterious book continually held my grandmother’s interest. What secrets did those pages contain?
One day I asked her, “Grandma, how many times have you read through that old Bible?”
The Word of God — photo by David Kitz
“Thirteen times,” she said with a smile, and then she added, “I’m onto the fourteenth time now. I hope to finish it again before I die.”
Grandma talked about dying quite often. She addressed the topic with an enthusiasm that I found quite disturbing. She looked forward to leaving this world for what she said was a far better place. I thought she was a bit selfish in this regard. She didn’t seem to care about how sad we would feel about her departure.
She was a curious old woman, or so I thought. But, she was always more than kind in everything she said and did, and I loved her dearly. Maybe that tattered old book had some influence on her personality and the warm affirmative life she lived before us all.
At age ten, it was pure curiosity that sent me on a grand quest to discover what was written in that ancient book. Without prompting from anyone, I began reading the Bible. Actually, it wasn’t grandma’s German Bible that I read, but rather, an enormous King James family Bible, which my parent’s had recently purchased.
Yes, there were some indecipherable parts, but I soon mastered the thee’s and thou’s. After a bit of mental gymnastics I was able to hath, doth and saith right along with the seventeenth century translators.
Though it was curiosity that brought me to the Bible, it was the Holy Spirit that brought the Bible to life. I quickly cruised through all four Gospels. I picked up speed as with wide-eyed interest I read the Book of Acts. Then, I tackled the Epistles and the Book of Revelation head on. In a relatively short time I read all of the New Testament. Instead of watching television I was devouring the Bible. After doing my family chores and homework, I would head straight for that huge family Bible. The Old Testament was next on my list, and one by one, the books of the Pentateuch went into my mental hopper. Next I churned through the Old Testament historical books. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, were a bit tough on the circuits in my literary processor, but I conquered them. Finally I reached the major and minor prophets; I read them all.
At age ten, in the space of about three months, I read the entire Bible. It was a remarkable feat—one that I have repeated several times over the years—but never since then, have I done it in such a short time. There was a divine hunger inside me for God’s word. It was hunger stoked by curiosity, and fanned by the wind of the Holy Spirit.
“How can a young man keep his way pure?”
When I reached my teen years, this question rose up to haunt me. Suddenly a whole new set of temptations came slithering down the path of life. Many of those temptations were very attractive. The psalmist’s question came echoing across the ages. It’s a question that is as relevant now, as when it was penned almost three thousand years ago. Is it possible for a young man to live a pure life? The Psalmist’s question reminds me of Jeremiah’s question, “Can a leopard remove its spots?” (Jeremiah 13:23).
The simple, straightforward answer to both questions is, no. Leopards by their very nature are spotted. Young men by their very nature are sinful, sex obsessed and brim full of testosterone drenched bravado. Young men and purity do not easily fit in the same sentence. They clash like lions among lambs—like lacy pink frills on a boar in a mud wallow.
“How can a young man keep his way pure?” Why attempt the impossible? Why even set such a goal? Why try to reverse the course of human nature? The human soul is a sin spotted soul. Can this manly leopard remove his spots?
Why would a young man want to keep his way pure? Why not chase every pretty skirt in town? Why not have some fun? Why not eat, drink and be merry? We only pass through this life once. Why not live it up?
But if the God of the universe has called men into relationship with Him, then purity and holiness are at the very core of that relationship. If we are called to be with God—to dwell in harmony with Him—then we must embrace holiness. To embrace God is to embrace holiness. Those sin spots have got to go. If we are to walk with God, we must willingly walk away from soul-fouling sin.
Why would a young man want to keep his way pure? So he can walk with God. So he can hear His voice. So he can know the love of the Father. That’s some of the reason why. If we fix our eyes on the one who calls us to walk out of our sin spotted skin, then there is hope for the way. There is a reward for that take up the purity challenge. As my grandma knew so very well, the pure way—the way of holiness—has its rewards in both this life and the next.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews urges on the young faith runners with these words:
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Young men need to fix their eyes. Young men have wandering eyes. Purity requires fixed eyes—eyes that are fixed solely on Jesus.
In a world awash in pornography, we all need fixed eyes—eyes fixed on Jesus—eyes that see the cross—eyes that see the blood drenched cross. Purity comes at a price. It cost the heavenly Father the life of his very own Son.
He was pierced for our transgressions.
A young man named Jesus—in flesh like my own—in skin like my own—poured out his life’s blood to make me pure.
Fix your eyes on Him!
There is a spot remover. It’s called the blood of Christ. At the foot of the cross this manly leopard can remove his spots. Jesus can make me pure; he can make you pure.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.”
After this blood-based spot remover has been applied, there is still a life to live. Now with your sins forgiven, with your sin spots removed, live according to God’s word. Pray for God’s word to come alive and walk off the pages of your Bible. Make the following words your confession and your prayer:
“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.”
You may ask, “How do I go about seeking God with all my heart?”
You simply start by looking for God. Watch for Him. He is at work in your life. He will not abandon the one He has redeemed at the cost of His own dear Son. He’s not a deadbeat dad. This heavenly Father cares about the sons and daughters He has brought into this new life. Daily watch for His guiding hand. He is not far away. The LORD has given us His promise on that. “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth (Psalm 145:18).
God arranges your circumstances. Whatever your age, you are His man or woman now. Expect to meet Him around the next corner, and He will show up. When you need Him most, God is there. When you least expect Him, the LORD will take you by surprise. You are His son or daughter now, and His presence in your life is more certain than the next sunrise.
Manitoba sunrise — photo by David Kitz
Obedience to God’s commands does not always come easily. Our old nature rebels. Ask for the LORD’s help. Speak out your prayer, “Do not let me stray from your commands.”
If you seek after God, soon this will become your faith profession, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Now here is one of the deepest secrets to be found in my grandma’s tattered old book. Hiding God’s word is a rather curious metaphor. How do I hide God’s word in my heart? The answers may seem obvious. Hear it. Read it. Study it. Meditate on it. Apply it to life. Commit it to memory.
All of these methods will get God’s word into my heart. Right?
Wrong.
Simply hearing God’s word will not get it into your heart. Hell is filled with hearers of God’s word. Perhaps you don’t believe me? Let’s check in on Jesus’ teaching regarding this topic. Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar is a perfect illustration of this point. See Luke 16:19-31. The rich man and his brothers were regular hearers of the word of God, but it made no difference to the eternal destiny of their souls. The word of God lay lifeless on the surface of their hearts.
Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed sheds some real light on this metaphor of hiding God’s word in our heart. Hearing is a shallow experience. All too often, the heard word has no depth. To get depth we need understanding. Most often understanding springs out of application, not out of hearing. I can hear a particular truth a thousand times but it isn’t really mine until I apply it to my own life. Applied truth bears fruit. It yields results. The applied truth of God’s word is self-validating. It has the life of the Spirit within it. Only when we apply the word, are we living according to it.
But heard truth lies on the surface—a tasty morsel ready for the devil to snatch away. The heard word has all the potential of the applied word, but none of the yield, because it has not penetrated the heart.
We need to become pregnant with God’s word. Pregnancy is never achieved through the ear. Young men need a deeper experience. We all need hearts that are warmed by the love of God and wide open to His Holy Word—His seed—His eternal life producing Word.
Yes, hide God’s word in your heart. Hear God’s holy word. Read it. Study it. Meditate on it. Commit it to memory. And above all apply it to your life that you might not sin against Him! In that way the written word will be transformed into Spirit-born words that will live in your heart.
This is after all, all about Him. This is all about being close to Him! This is about loving “the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).
You have not come to a truth. You have come to the Truth, the Life and the Way. You have come to Christ the spotless One—the One whose way is pure. You have not come to just a tattered book. You have come to the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. This living Word “was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:2-4).
His life was the light of men—even young men—even ten-year-old boys.
Oh yes, and grandmas too.
Bringing Life to the Psalms
- What are you doing to hide God’s word in your heart? What routines have you established that bring you into daily contact with God’s word?
- Preaching is most often the focal point of any church service. It is a format that produces hearers of the word, but does it produce disciples? Jesus commanded us to make disciples not merely hearers of the word. What can you or your church do to help facilitate the heart changing application of God’s word?
- What special challenges do young men face as they try to live a pure life? Have you personally taken up the purity challenge? Jesus worked with young men whose faith grew as they lived with him in fellowship. These men changed the world. Are you part of a network of men who are in heart opening fellowship with Christ?
- Take a moment to read Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus as found in Luke 16:19-31. What application may this account have on how you hear God’s word?
- The applied truth of God’s word is self-validating. What does that statement mean? Have you experienced an instance when God’s word proved itself true when you applied it to your particular life circumstance?
Today’s post is Chapter 22 from the book Psalms Alive! Connecting Heaven & Earth by David Kitz. To find out more or purchase click here.
Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
I love the Psalms 