This study comes from Reading Plan week 94, Psalms 119. Master: [ pdf | docx ] Group: [ pdf | docx ] Other studies from this week's reading: The Walk with the Word Study Guide for Psalm 119: The Complete Psalm 119 Study Series: |
Introduction There are different words used throughout Psalm 119 to describe God’s “law” or “Word”. Make note of their individual definition, each time they’re used, and the context in which they’re employed. These are not all synonyms that mean the same thing, but communicate something very specific. |
| 9How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. |
[Read v.9] Q: What is the biblical significance of the word “pure”? A: It describes something that is sin-free, something not polluted by sin. Q: What is identified as being kept pure or unpolluted by sin? A: One’s “way”, the path on which one’s life has chosen to travel. Q: Why specify “young man” and not just “man” or “everyone”? A: “Young” often speaks of immaturity and/or inexperience. It’s a way of stating that if a young man can do this, anyone can too. It’s not a matter of age but obedience. Q: So how is the path on which one has chosen to journey kept sin-pollution-free? A: By keeping it according to the matters spoken by God, His Word. The word “keeping” is an action verb that speaks of our taking what we have heard and putting it into practice, not just passively listening. Application: Do you struggle with a particular sin or sin in general because you “know” God’s Word but don’t actually “keep” it or put it into actual practice? |
| 10With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. |
[Read v.10] Q: Is it enough to seek and acknowledge God? According to this verse, what is the proper life response once we have found Him? A: To take what was initiated as a desire of our heart and allow it to grow into obedience that never again strays from our covenant relationship with Him. Q: What is the key word in this verse that dovetails with the last verse? A: “Wander”. It’s building upon the initial question of how to keep one’s “way” pure, to stay on the right path and not wander from it. Point: “Commandments”—the responsibilities God has communicated to His people to maintain a covenant relationship with Him—builds upon the “way” or life’s path on which they choose to travel. |
| 11Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. |
[Read v.11] Q: What is the goal of being established in God’s path, never straying from a covenant relationship with Him, and valuing His Word more than anything else? A: “That I may not sin against You.” Q: Why is this important? Isn’t “sin” just an “observation” that we’re not perfect and occasionally stray a bit? A: The biblical definition of sin is to be polluted and therefore unable to come into the presence of God. A person with sin is sometimes described as “filthy”. God uses the terms “abhor” and “hate” to describe how He feels about sin—and how WE ought to feel about it as well. Application: What does your heart treasure most? Is it a person, a possession, a job, your family? Jesus said, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) What would happen if you treasured His Word above everything else? |
| 12Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. |
[Read v.12] Q: How does this fit with the overall theme of how to daily travel the pure path of God? A: It’s an appeal to learn from God the tasks and boundaries that must be maintained to stay on His path. Application: Do you even WANT to know the tasks and boundaries? Are you traveling a path that you’ve bothered to stop and ask God to identify the duties and limitations associated with it? |
| 13With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. |
[Read v.13] Q: How are we to imitate God in the course of our walk? A: By repeating what He has spoken. We don’t merely agree with His decisions but espouse them, confirm them, testify to them our self. |
| 14I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. |
[Read v.14] Q: Given the definitions of “way” and “testimonies” provided above, how might you re-phrase the first part of this verse? A: “I have rejoiced in the right path to travel, confirmed by Your personal testimony that it’s indeed the right way to travel.” God Himself is an eye witness of the validity of the way to walk in Him. Application: If you were to list all your assets, where would keeping God’s Word rate? |
| 15I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. |
[Read v.15] Q: What is significant about the term “meditate”? What does it denote on our part? A: It’s not just having knowledge—even all-encompassing wisdom—but taking the responsibilities He has assigned to us before Him in constant prayer to not just understand them, but to constantly seek His strength for compliance with them. Q: What is significant about the term “regard”? A: When the train crossing signal sounds, we “regard” the warning and don’t pass over the tracks until the train—the danger—is past. We clearly know the benefits and penalties of complying or not. The same with having “regard” for His path. We are to come to understand the benefits and penalties so well of staying on His path that we would never want to stray, just as we do not want to be crushed by a passing train. Application: How much of God’s Word do you make a part of your prayer life? Do you come to Him acknowledging the responsibilities He’s given and your need to act on them according to His parameters? |
| 16I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. |
[Read v.16] Q: Now why would we “delight”—exhibit joyful emotion—over the tasks and boundaries that He has assigned to us? A: They keep us on the right path. Obedience eliminates the burdens of sin and all its baggage and the effort required to return from it to the right path. Q: What is the benefit of not forgetting His Word, to always remember what He has spoken? A: It’s much more difficult to stray from the path when it’s in the foreground of our memory. |
Overall Application
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