21 Days of Prayer: Day 15

Discipleship: Masters of God's Word


"How can a young man keep his way pure?” 

PSALM 119:9-16.

Through our twenty-one days of prayer and fasting, we have just studied how the word of God creates a community (the Body of Christ) which is devoted – to God’s word (particularly in the message of the gospel), to using spiritual gifts to serve others, and to sacrificially serving strangers. Now, we are changing gears to focus specifically on why community exists – to make disciples. A disciple is a follower, a learner. And we are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ. One of Jesus’ last words to His disciples before He ascended into heaven was a command to “… make disciples of all nations…” This is the Great Commission (see Matt. 28:16-20).

In the Great Commission, Christ laid out how to make disciples of all nations. Jesus said to baptize people in the name of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirt – in the name of the Trinity… And then Jesus commands them to make disciples by “… teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.” Jesus commands His disciples to make other Christ followers by TEACHING them the truth about God… But how do we do that?

That brings us to our text today. Psalm 119 is comprised of twenty-two sections, each beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The psalm, by and large, is an exaltation of God’s word from the viewpoint of the psalmist. Indeed, the psalmist begins the psalm by calling the people who keep God’s law “blessed” (v.1). It is fascinating that this same term is attributed to God: “Blessed are you, O LORD!” … How can this same descriptor that is used of the holy God be applied to us lowly sinners as well?

This is the same question asks by the psalmist in our text: “How can a young man [and by extension, everyone else] keep his way pure?” The psalmist answers his own question – “By guarding it according to your word.” In other words, the psalmist says that we keep ourselves pure (like God) through the means of God’s word. God’s word is the tool through which we can be blessed, as God himself is blessed… But how does one guard his or her way with God’s word?

The psalmist gives us divine instruction: “… I declare…” We are to speak the words of God to and with other people. This is one reason the people of God exist in a community with others – so that they can study with and remind one another of God’s word.

The psalmist also says that he “… delights…” in the way of God’s word. The psalmist takes pleasure in the word of God – he values God’s word as if it is a great treasure. Why? Because the word of God is the means by which we see God. The word of God is the window through which we see the dazzling brilliance of God’s glory. The Scripture is the lens through which we see the reality of God’s character and ways… Since God is the greatest good, the tool used to grow closer to Him (i.e. the Bible), should be valued as precious in our sight.

Finally, the psalmist says that he will “…meditate…” on God’s word. This is NOT Eastern religious meditation that seeks to empty the mind of every thought. On the contrary, this is the Ancient Near Eastern meditation of the Hebrew people which seeks to intensely focus the mind on one thought. And, according to the psalmist, that thought is to be on the truth revealed in God’s word… Meditation takes time, silence, thoughtfulness, and devoted prayer, to make the truth of God’s word a part of our being. 

These three things – declaring, delighting in, and meditating upon –God’s word seem to be easy enough on paper. Indeed, these are not hard commands to understand. But, as the psalmist makes clear, simply knowing these commands is not enough to make us like God… The psalmist cries out, “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” Evidently, the psalmist knew that he needed divine help to keep the commands of God. The psalmist knew God’s word inside and out – he had stored up God’s word within himself. Yet, the psalmist cries out because, though he knows God’s law, he CANNOT keep God’s law by himself. Indeed, by the end of Psalm 119, this same person who has spent twenty-two sections exalting God’s word, pleads with God saying, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant.” … Incredible! This master of God’s word says he cannot keep God’s word by himself. The psalmist needs divine help… The psalmist needs GRACE. 

 In our text, the psalmist cries, “Blessed are you, O LORD...” and then he begs God, “… teach me your statutes!” Indeed, the only way that the psalmist (and us today) can be like God is by God’s gracious help. We need God to help us declare, delight in, and meditate upon God’s word. More than that, we need God’s gracious help to make His word a part of our being so that we too will be blessed. We need God to empower us to keep His commands.

This may seem extreme to us in the American church (especially in the Bible Belt South). Among many of our churches there is a lie that pervades the minds of many. That lie is that God’s word is a superfluous part of being a Christ follower. Scripture is viewed as an unnecessary add-on to the Christian walk… This lie usually manifests itself in one of two ways: 1) since the Scripture is an add-on, then believers do not have to declare, delight in, or devote themselves to it – the word is optional, so it is ignored and people live ungodly lifestyles; or 2) since Scripture is an add-on, believers try to be godly without using the Bible (or God’s help) in being godly – people try to be godly without God… 

Both are serious issues within the church, and both have ugly effects in the lives of people. Yet, the lesson we learn from these issues is the same – we need God! We need God’s word to show us how to be holy and blessed like He is. And we need God to empower us to keep his word – because, in our weakness, we cannot keep His word in ourselves…

We need to be masters of God’s word so that we will see God and treasure Him as He deserves. We need to be masters of God’s word so that we can faithfully make disciples of the nations. And we need God’s gracious help to do this… Will we, like the psalmist, cry out for God’s help? 

Personal Questions:

  1. What is the tool used to become holy and blessed as God is holy and blessed?

  2. What does it mean to declare, delight in, and meditate upon God’s word?

  3. Do you declare, delight in, and meditate upon God’s word?

  4. Do you rely upon God’s gracious help to keep His word? Or do you buy into the lie of the Bible Belt South (viz. that the word of God is an extra, but not needed part of the Christian life)?

 Prayer Points: 

  • Pray that you and our church would see the urgency of declaring, delighting in, and meditating upon, God’s word. 

  • Pray that you and our church would reject the lie of the Bible Belt South.

  • Pray that you and our church would seek God through his word individually, but especially in community with other members of our church (specifically through Sunday morning worship, community groups, and D-groups).

  • Pray that you and our church would rely on God’s gracious help to keep His word.