Series: Inspired
Psalm 119:9 ESV
I have always found Psalm 119 interesting, but when we studied it in Seminary the Psalm took on new meaning.
See, this Psalm is a Acrostic using the Hebrew Alphabet and it has 22 sections and each section has 8 verses.
Each section begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet that has 22 letters.
Psalm 119:9 begins the second section with the Hebrew letter Beth.
The lengthy Psalm does not have an author who added his name to the work, and some experts have noted that it is believed that the Psalm was written over some period of time. Some have suggested it could have even been written by several authors.
In truth, we do not know.
What we do know is that it was inspired by God and it did become part of the ancient Hebrew text.
Over and over again throughout Psalm 119 the theme of God’s Word is repeated. Eight Hebrew words are used throughout the Psalm and when translated into English they mean God’s Law (Torah), God’s Spoken Word (debar), God’s judgment (mispatim), God’s Testimonies (edit/edut), God’s Commandments (miswah), God’s statutes (huqqim), God’s precepts (piqqudim), and God’s Word (imrah).
Today’s scripture is the first line of the second section.
Psalm 119:9 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”
Here, purity points to cleansed life and we need to note that the question is posed to a young man. So, we get a sense that at the beginning of his life his best choice is to seek purity.
Psychologists today know that patterns we learn early in life stay with us longer and the roots go deeper. What we learn and how we learn develops patterns.
Children that are taught at a young age to think of others, grow up thinking of others.
Children who are taught good study skills develop good study skills.
Children who are taught that God is love and loves them are more apt to believe in God’s love.
Children who are taught to value themselves are more prone to having a healthy opinion of “me”.
When it comes to children we can also explore the fullness of the meaning of purity or a clean healthy life by helping them build a way of thinking that gives them healthy value.
Purity can also refer to being free from anything that will contaminate the mind.
We might be tempted to focus only on sexual purity but in doing so we would be missing the big picture.
I once knew a girl who was mean. She was much taller than me and she once held me down for force me to hold a snake. I was terrified of snakes and I told her that I did not want to hold the snake. She laughed and she held me down and made me hold the snake. Her mind was set on controlling me.
When I went home my parents knew that episode was a warning sign that this was not a healthy relationship for me to pursue. I did not choose to play with her again and I told my parents I didn’t want to go back to her house. They agreed and I found other friends in My neighborhood who shared common interests (like reading or playing with Barbie).
The point is control in today’s world can take on many forms. I am of the opinion that the need to be in control of others does contaminate the mind.
Having a pure mind that is set free or cleansed from having to be in control of every situation, would mean that person could instead seek to learn a new skill, or seek to have fun with others, or allow themselves to love and be loved for who they are. The possibilities of being set free from planning and plotting to control others is virtually endless.
Being cleansed can also refer to being free of thoughts that cause us to feel excessively guilty or overly responsible (like for other people’s problems).
Broadly defined purity can also refer to learning to eat well and exercise to take care of our body. In other words, you seek to keep your body pure from any harmful substance.
The second part of the scripture is important because it gives us the clue as to HOW we can have or develop good thoughts.
The Psalmist wrote that we can guard our heart and mind by God’s word.
So, how do we study scripture?
Thankfully, because of the internet it’s a lot easier than it used to be. However, I advise others to pay close attention to the source. One of the tools we learn in Seminary is how to find trustworthy material. The main thing is to do research on good source material.
One choice could be a trusted Seminary.
For example:
Or if you are researching a specific text, you can read a commentary.
One online commentary link is: https://www.biblestudytools.com
I remember watching my dad study for his Sunday School lesson every week using a handful of hard copy books. He also prayed and listened letting the Spirit guide him.
Ultimately, praying and listening IS the best way to study. God does speak to us in many ways. We just need to be willing to listen!
Spiritual Practice: Choose a scripture
Let God inspire you! Pray and listen. Write down what you heard, or thought. God speaks in many ways that are personal to you.
In God, Deborah
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