Off & Running

69. God's Word

Have you ever really thought about how blessed you are to have the Bible? How wonderful it is to have a book that can be read and studied every day for the rest of your life and still leave you seeking more!

The writer of Psalm 119 was most likely David, but even though scholars are not totally sure, we do know that the author loved God and His Word. It is mentioned in 171 of the 176 verses! While that could have made for a monotonous piece of poetry, it instead makes it even more powerful!

You may remember having to write acrostic poems when you were at school. I'm sure you never wrote one as long as this Psalm but in fact it is written in the form of an acrostic poem. There are 22 stanzas with eight verses in each, all beginning with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet! Let's have a look at the second stanza now. It's interesting that in this section of the poem, apparently each line begins with the Hebrew letter 'beth', which also means 'a house'. It's special that it seems this section tells us how to make our heart a home for the Word of God.

"How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
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.
Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws
that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word."
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:9-16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There is so much to meditate on in this section, so we will just focus on the highlighted verse today. Purity is not a word the young or anyone else likes to speak of. Even in Christian circles, it suggests a standard that seems impossible to reach! However, it is God's standard and though we all fall short of it, with the Spirit's help, still we must strive for it. How do we do this? By living according to God's Word.

In God's Word we see:
* the standard of purity, so we know what is right and what is wrong.
* the reasons for purity, so we understand the wisdom and goodness of God's commands.
* the difficulty of purity, so we remember to be on guard.
* the blessings of purity, giving us incentives to make necessary sacrifices.
* how to be born again, so we can be transformed and by Jesus' blood be pure and righteous before our Heavenly Father.
* how to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, who gives us the spiritual resources to be pure.

I love these wise words about God's Word, from Charles Spurgeon: "Young man, the Bible must be your chart, and you must exercise great watchfulness that your way may be according to its directions. You must take heed to your daily life as well as study your Bible, and you must study your Bible that you may take heed to your daily life. With the greatest care a man will go astray if his map misleads him; but with the most accurate map he will still lose his road if he does not take heed to it."

Pray:

Heavenly Father,

I am so blessed to have Your Word which is my map, my refuge against temptation, my light that clears away the darkness and the mirror that helps me to see how I'm living. Thank You that it is the key to renewing my mind, which brings spiritual transformation and growth. It shows me what to do when I have been impure —not condemning me but guiding me back to the way I should live so that I can please You and be the light in the world You intend me to be.

With all my heart, I pray that today I will keep my way pure by living according to Your Word. I choose to make my heart a home for it!
For Your glory,
Amen.