By seeking You with all our hearts, by hiding Your word in our hearts so we don't sin against You. We also see that the psalmist asks You not to let him stray from Your commands. In addition, he asks You to teach him Your decrees so when You are keeping and teaching, coupled with the hiding and seeking You, the outcome is greater purity. This not just for young men but anyone of Your children willing to follow Your will and ways.
Do to the hiding of Your word in the heart, verse 13 says, the lips will,
"...recount all the laws that come from your mouth" (NIV).
"All the laws!" That's amazing. There are so many things, if we read the whole Bible, so many laws, but he could recount it all! Granted he only had the Torah but that's still lots, Father, for his lips to recount. He must have really been studying and memorizing!
Lord, when we're hiding Your Word in our hearts, and our desire is to fully seek You, able to recount the laws, not to have a big head, proud that we know chapter after chapter to recite, but Lord, that we have truly hidden it in our hearts and not just filed it in our heads, as theory. Rather, getting the "nutritional essentials" extracted as spiritual food, making it our life and breath, assimilated into our DNA, so to speak. Then we can rejoice at following Your statutes.
Many times we rebel but here the Psalmist says he rejoices as with great riches. When people think of having great riches, like winning the lottery, everybody's so happy. Then often, those riches get the recipients into trouble, bring about their downfall. Evaporated. Emptiness.
Nevertheless, Father, when we think of having great riches, we do rejoice. If we use whatever riches You do give us for Your glory and honor to store up treasure in Heaven then we can rejoice we have wealth be instrumental in that.
Further to all that, the psalmist says he meditates on Your precepts and considers your ways. He does not just have it in his head and heart. He doesn't just ask You to teach, because what's the point of teaching if the student's not going to learn and get the good of it?
Teachers can teach til they're blue in the face, and their hearts come out, but it's up to the students to take it in, so Lord, this psalmist is a good student because he meditates upon, considers, and delight in Your teaching. What's more, he does not neglect Your Word.
The combination of all of these elements can help us too, in keeping pure. Thank-You for giving us these "ways and means" Father. It's up to us now, to put them to good use.
There's an expression, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." You've given us Your Word, Your Holy Spirit, and we can ask for You to teach us Your will and ways via these ways and means. Yet, do we joyfully rejoice, do we seek, so we do not stray? That was the desire of this Psalm writer. He did not want to stray from them. He wanted You to teach them with the desire for him to keep them.
Father, I ask You to teach and keep me too, in all the ways You have for me. So often we want to jump off that track. Father keep all of Your children on the right track. Help us to make a habit of meditating, considering and reciting Your words. Consequently, when we do, the desired effect of being pure and living a life of integrity will emerge.
Yes, we make mistakes and You, Heavenly Father, forgive the repentant heart. Generally, although we can never attain 100% purity here on earth, we are moving and keeping in the right direction of being and keeping pure, because You are pure. We want to imitate and emulated You, dear Father.
Keep us pure and ever cleaving to Your Word.
I ask in Jesus most Holy Name.
~ERC July 2020~
Based on Psalm 119:9-16 (Beth)
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