The Cleansing Word of God

Psalm 119:1-16

Psalm 119 is both the longest Psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible.  Today, though, we are only looking at the first 16 verses.  The writer who penned this Psalm truly loved God’s Word.  In just about every verse he speaks of His Word, how important it is, what a joy it is, and our need to follow it.  He uses several different words to describe the Word of God, such as law, testimonies, commandments, precepts, etc., but they all refer to the Word of God.

Let’s focus on verses 9 - 11 today.  Though verse 9 talks of a young man, it can refer to anyone - the young, older, or elderly, male or female.  That’s you and me, regardless of our age or gender.  It is so easy for anyone to get off the right path and make a mess of their life.  It’s so easy to fall into the muck and mire, so to speak, of sin.  If we could look at what sin does to our lives through spiritual lenses, we would see how filthy it makes us.  So how do we get clean?  As verse 9 says, we take heed of God’s Word.  Taking heed means to watch and obey.  When we drive we are to “heed” the traffic signs, to obey them.  It’s the same with the Bible.  We need to heed it.

The first thing to heed is the need to accept salvation in Jesus Christ alone.  As the old hymn says, “Are you washed in the Blood of the Lamb?”  Then, by heeding the Word of God, we can continue to keep our way clean from the stain of sin.  We may, and do, occasionally stumble and fall, but His Word will cleanse us again.

Verse 11 instructs us to hide His Word in our heart.  The more we do that, we can keep from falling into the muck of sin.  Hiding implies not just a casual, occasional reading, but daily reading, meditating, and even memorizing of God’s Word.  It’s there in our heart, we know it, and we love it.  That is the way to keep our way clean.

Finally, one quick look at verse 14.  If you won a big lottery today, inherited a windfall, or found some long-forgotten trunk of treasure in your attic, would you be rejoicing?  We all probably would.  The Psalmist here said he rejoiced in God’s Word equally as much as if he had all those riches.  The Bible should be that precious to us, even more so.  Riches are deceiving, and they don’t last.  Often riches can bring trouble and grief, but God’s Word never will.  May we all develop such a love for it that we rejoice every time we open its pages.