The Nugget:
Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
My Comment:
There is much practical insight embedded in this verse. As I understand it, God’s Word will clean up the lives of young men (and women too). In fact, God’s Word, if read, studied, and applied will cleanse the life of everyone who follows it. Think of the devastating news heard daily of the crime committed in the inner cities of major metropolitan areas. The high crime rates and danger zones reflect the absence of the Gospel. Yet some of those very areas have hundreds of churches. People in those churches have an ideal mission field right at their doorstep. I’ve met many, many wonderful, gracious students in schools in those inner-city neighborhoods. There were many very bad students as well, many of whom dropped out. Students in my own classes rarely dropped out of school. Some of them came to know Christ as their Savior. Some of them in turn led others their age to Christ. That is the way it is supposed to work. Part of the key to seeing God work in the neighborhood is to reach out to the unsaved and get them interested in the Bible. Almost all of the young people and adults I’ve encountered have questions about the Bible and spiritual things. Give them straightforward answers from the Bible itself and they are good to go. Get them into the Bible itself and teach them how to find the answers to their own questions. Encourage them to learn key Bible memory verses by heart. You really want to see true hope and change? Politicians won’t do it. Educators and education can’t do it. Only the Bible can bring true hope and change and bring God’s cleansing power to the lives of people and to their neighborhoods.
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 627 for Psalm 119:9.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 672 or in Logos 5 Bible software for Psalm 119:9.
(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:
Psalm 119:9. shall. Ps *25:7. 34:11. 39:1. 71:17. 2 Ch 34:3. Jb *1:5. 13:26. Pr *1:4, 10. 2:1, 11. 4:1, 10-17. 5:7, etc. 6:20, etc. *7:7. Ec 11:9, 10. *12:1. Je 3:4. Lk 15:13. 2 T *2:22. T 2:4-6. cleanse. T#1045. Ps 19:9, 11, 12. Ex =30:18. Jn 13:4-10. *15:3. *17:17. 2 C 7:1. Ep *5:26, 27. 2 T 2:21. He *10:22. his way. ver. 59. 1 K 2:4. Pr 6:22. 20:11. 23:26. by taking heed. ver. **11, **97-105. Ps *1:1-3. *17:4. **19:7-11. 39:1. *74:4-8. Dt 4:15. 6:6-9. 17:18-20. Jsh 1:7. 2 K 10:31. Ne 13:3. Pr **4:23. Lk 22:61, 62. Jn **15:3. 17:17, 19. 2 T **3:15-17. He 2:1. Ja *1:21-25. according to. ver. +25, 154. Ps 103:18. 2 T +**3:15-17. thy word. Heb. dabar, S#1697h. ver. 16, 17, 25, 28, 42 (twice), 43, 49, 57 (plural), 65, 74, 81, 89, 101, 105, 107, 114, 130 (plural), 139 (plural), 147, 160, 161, 169. This word refers to the articulate form of what is said, whether spoken or written; to the mode or manner by which the ipsissima verba are imparted. The first occurrence is in Ge 11:1 (“speech”) (CB, Appendix 73, “The Ten Words of Psalm 119,” page 108). Ps 12:6. 17:4. 18:30. 19:14.
psm 21.13 be thou exalted, lord,in thine own strength; so
will we sing and praise thy power.
psm 119.9 wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
by taking heed according to his word.
several encouraging cross references on this verse.
1. prov 1.4 to give prudence to the simple, to the young man
knowledge and discretion.
2. prov 1.10 my son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
3. prov 4.1 hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and
attend to know understanding.
4. prov 4.7 get wisdom,get understanding; forget it not, neither
decline from the words of my mouth.
5.prov 4.14 enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the
way of evil men.
6. ecc 11.9-10 rejoice, o young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart
cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine
heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these
things god will bring thee into judgement. vs 10 therefore, remove
sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood
and youth are vanity.
7. 2 tim 2.22 flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith,
love, peace, with them that call on the lord out of a pure heart.
8.psm 119.97 oh, how love i thy law, its my mediatation all the day.
9. psm 1.2-3 but his delight is in the law of the lord; and in his law doth
he meditate day and night, vs 3 and he shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water,that bringeth forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall
not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
10. jn 15.3 now ye are clean through the word which i have spoken unto you.
psm 119.11 thy word have i hidden in mine heart, that i might not sin against
thee.