“Absorbed in God’s Word” (Psalm 119:9-16)

What this episode covers

Absorbed in God’s Word Absorbed in God’s Word Brad Mills / General Bible; Meditate; Purity / Psalm 119:9–16 One of my traditions has been to use the last Sunday of the year to prepare us for the new year. We have considered several psalms which help us to look back with gratitude. But I want to return to Psalm 119 and spend time picking up at vv.9-16. This is the quintessential chapter on God’s word. Almost every verse refers to God’s word (laws, statutes, decrees, etc.). It is not a mistake that this is the longest chapter in the Bible. The psalmist motivates us to prioritize God’s Word in our lives. The length of the psalm speaks to the importance of the topic, but so does its structure. The author organizes the psalm in 22 acrostic sections. Each section includes eight verses that begin with the same letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. The first eight verses begin with “Aleph”, then verses 9-16 begin with “Beth”, and so on. Few psalms are given such an intricate structure. God’s word is to be treasured. We ought to slow down and meditate upon it. Four years ago I preached on Psalm 119:1-8, but here is a brief summary. Verses 1-3 refer to the pursuit of joyful obedience, and verses 4-8 regard the practice of joyful obedience. The psalmist longs to walk in a way that is pleasing to God. He wants to prioritize God’s word in his heart and walk in obedience to what it commands. He is resolved to pursue a life of blessing by keeping God’s law. Read Psalm 119:9-16. My hope is that we would all seek to have a greater longing for the word of God in 2020. May this psalm encourage all of us to read our Bibles more. We will focus on two particular benefits of doing so. How to use the sword of God’s Word in your fight against sin and despair. 1. Storing Up God’s Word for Purity (9-12) The longing for a life of joyful obedience transitions into the psalmist’s practical answer to a disciple’s question about how he might maintain purity. If you have ever asked a question like this you likely had some external action in mind. How can I stop doing A? How can I make a habit of doing B? Oftentimes, our initial reaction to these kinds of questions is to prescribe some external forms of conduct. But notice what the psalmist does. His answer is almost entirely dealing with internal attitudes and commitments. If you desire to remain outwardly pure, you must consider what you are inwardly focused upon. This “young man” is seeking to “keep his way pure” (9). The psalmist’s answer follows the question and continues to the end of v.16. Whether or not this “young man” is hypothetical or a description of the psalmist himself (which turns this psalm into a passionate prayer rather than a pedagogical technique), the situation is quite relevant to everyone. It just so happens that the purity of young men are under particular attack. The disciple is concerned with temptation to depart—in any way—from the path that is laid out by God in Scripture. The Lord’s word serves as a guard upon his way. To remain steadfast on the path of godliness, he needs to seek God with all of his heart (10). This “seeking” reflects his transformed intentions and will. Yet, he also understands that he remains fully dependent upon God’s help. “Let me not wander” is a prayer that implies his need for God’s guidance and protection. Apart from God’s sustaining grace, every one of us would wander from his path. Calvin comments “that we immediately relapse into sin the instant [God] leaves us to ourselves.” These are often lessons that we learn with age. Just when we think we have overcome some particular sin, temptation comes knocking, and we stumble again. We are prone to wander, so we must cry out for God’s help like the psalmist. Wandering away from God’s commandments is how we wander off the path of purity. This is why the disciple must store God’s word in his heart (11). As important as memorization is in fighting temptation, his heart implies much more than memorization. He is no

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