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Open your Bibles to Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is our text this morning. And verses 9 through 16 is our task this morning. Verses 9 through 16 of Psalm 119. The title of our message this morning is God's Word is living and active. God's Word is living and active. Let's read Psalm 119, verses 9 down through to 16. How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you. Let me not wander from your commandments. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes. With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes. I will not forget your word. Well, may the Lord bless the reading of His Word this morning, and let's pause for a moment of prayer. Father, please speak to us through your word, through your spirit. May you allow this to fall as seed on good soil that we pray that we are in our hearts. May we yield, acquiesce our will to you, and allow you to teach us we pray. In Christ's name we ask this. Amen. Well, the writer of Psalm 119 is emphasizing the importance of God's word. In the second stanza, he offers us great truths. Last week, God gave us the grace of looking at those great truths in the first eight verses, and if you were with us, I trust you gleaned some good fruit from that. We continue in studying and understanding what the psalmist has for us in this next stanza by pointing out a few good things. The first thing the psalmist shows us in our passage is God's word cleanses. God's word cleanses. Verse 9 says, How can a young man keep his way pure by guarding it according to your word? Well, the psalmist asks the question of how a young man can keep his way pure. That is, how a young man can have a way of righteousness and without the blemish of sin. How can a young man be holy in his way is the question that is asked. Well, how is purity and how is holiness possible? The question by the psalmist is important for us. Now the psalmist answers his question in a poetic manner and says, God's word keeps one's way pure. In other words, the one who guards his way in accordance with God's word keeps his way pure and holy. The one who guards their way unto God's counsel stays pure. What good fruit to know from this, Christian, that God's word ensures purity and we could say a holy direction. Purity and a holy direction. God's word is the purest moral compass. It's the purest possible way. God's word is the most holy direction. It's the best advice. It's a leading counselor. It's the perfect teacher. And the one who lives by it is kept pure and righteous and holy. Well, cleanliness is a vital part of our lives. We have lots of cleansing agents at our disposal. Think of that aisle or two or three, it seems, at the store of these household items that are meant to clean. Soaps for dishes, soaps for our bodies, soaps for household items, and all of them are being sold to clean something. Notice there's nothing at the store that says on it, and it cleans your way. Nothing says that. In fact, it would be rather interesting if it did, wouldn't it? This is because nothing exists in the disposal of man's creation to cleanse the soul or the way of a man. Merely what man sees the outside. But God looks inwardly. God cares about the way of his people. Tozer says, quote, religion only addresses man's external condition, not his internal confusion. End quote. What does he mean by that? There are many religions that deal with the external, but only God deals with the internal. Only God's word addresses the soul. Only God's word addresses the way of a person. And so this first phrase tells us a wonderful truth for each Christian to know that their way can be pure in following God's word. Because God's word keeps one pure. Now we pause for a few questions, one in particular to ask. And it's to ask the question of the hymnist. Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? What does the hymnist mean by that? Well, the word of God cleanses, not externally, but it cleanses because it teaches what is needed internally, and that is the gospel. 1 John 1 9 says, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the gospel. The gospel regenerates a spiritually dead person and makes them alive unto Christ. The gospel cleanses a spiritually defiled soul and brings them to be cleaned. How can someone keep their way pure? How can someone have a cleansed soul? By guarding it according to God's word. And God's word shows the greatest purity is the gospel. A cleansing of the soul. So, what the hymnist is asking, and what we will ask now, is this Is your soul cleansed by the transformative work of God? Are you washed in the blood of Christ? Are you born again? Have you been cleansed spiritually by God? Because all of these things before us in a sermon like this might interest you, but all fall short if you are not cleansed spiritually and born anew. Well, the second thing the psalmist shows us is God's word, firstly, is not only a cleansing agent of the soul, if you will, but it's also directive. God's word is directive, it leads to a place, it leads somewhere. Following God's word does not lead to sin. When Israel followed the law of God that he gave them, they looked and acted a certain way. Noah and his family followed God's ways while the world thought evil continually. Following God's word does not lead to unrighteousness. Following God's word leads to holiness. It's directive, and it's directive to a place of purity and righteous living. Psalm 23 says this: He leads in paths of righteousness. Later, the psalmist in Psalm 119 is going to say this your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. What does he mean by that? It shows him the way, it helps him to walk. Paul told Timothy that to follow the word of God was how to learn to behave in the church. 1 Timothy 3, 15. The pillar in support of truth. Therefore, if someone says I'm living by God's word and their life is filled with sin, they're not actually living in accordance with God's word. If someone says they're living in accordance with God's word and they're being tempted to sin, but they're battling against it and pursuing righteousness, they are. God's word directs towards purity. God's word does not lead to unrighteous living. It does not lead to destruction. God's word does not leave one in a terrible state of despair. The destination of adhering to God's word is holiness and purity in God. James 1, 21 says, Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. What is James saying? Follow God's word to bring about a saving of your soul. God's word brings about life in the soul because it leads to righteous living, it leads to holy living. It points to purity in God, and it points to the gospel. Now think of for a few moments the directive means, if you will, that we have around us. You were led this morning by directive means on the road. Signs, road signs are directive. Store signs are directive. They lead the one who reads them somewhere. This sign says this, so it's telling me to go here, and this is where I want to go. You are led, we are led by these directive means. I remember growing up in the days before GPS's. It was called the main atlas and gazetteer. Atlas, a map, gazetteer, geographical dictionary. It had all of the main routes, it had all 50 states, major highways, even had family outings on there. And something called service stations, but we don't call them that anymore, do we? And more. And it was how we got around when we went places. It made traveling and navigating easier for the person reading the map in the passenger seat, but not necessarily for the one driving. But so it is with the Word of God and the believer. The Word of God acts as a map for life. It keeps the believer on the straight and narrow. It helps the believer refrain from being lost. You follow God's word, you will not be lost. It ensures the believer does what is pleasing to God because he or she learns what God is pleased with. The outcome of following God's word is a direction, and it's purity. It's purity. Paul says in Romans 7, what shall we say that the law is sin? Why does he ask that question? Well, apparently there were some in the Church of Rome who thought God's law was sin. It brought about something gross, if you will. Salvation is by faith and not by works, which Paul says in Romans. So therefore, some thought, well, that thing that does not bring about salvation is not good, therefore it's sin. But Paul does not say that. Paul continues, by no means is it sin, he says, yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin, for I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Don't covet. In other words, Paul in Romans 7 is affirming and reiterating what we've already been pointing out here in the psalmist. Paul says the law showed the sin in his life. The sin was the issue, the law of God reveals the sin. It's directive. The gospel, the remedy. Make no mistake, believer. The sin, the issue, the law of God reveals the sin, the gospel the remedy, and purity is the outcome. And this is wonderful for us to understand. God's word leads to this. It points out where we fail, it points out our sin, and it leads us in paths of righteousness. This is what God's word does. I had a friend years ago participate in a race. And this race was unlike a car race or a marathon. This race was through fields, through woods and streams, and it was a compass navigation race. My friend and his teammate competed against other teams. They each were given only a set of compass coordinates, and the fastest to reach each checkpoint and finish the race won. It began, and they were all off. And sometime later, teams began to arrive one by one. Each finished according to their time. And after a bit, all the teams arrived except one team. They waited, more time passed, and my friend and his teammate were still not there. It reached a point where phone calls were made, worry began to ensue. In fact, there was a little search party for this little team that was lost. And after more time than some would like to have transpired, they were found on a small woods road, soaking wet, covered in mud, and swatting mosquitoes and black flies. What had happened? Well, they were off a few degrees on their compass coordinates from the start, and what ensued was hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of feet off their destination. This is for everyone who differs from God's word. This is the little differing of God's word from his righteousness and paths therein. This little thing we think is not so big leads to something that is, in fact, larger than we bargain for. So we ask another question for us this morning. Let me ask you this. Is your way pure? Is your way pure? Are you guarding your steps in accordance with God's word? As a believer in Christ, are you keeping your way near God's word or are you drifting a few degrees each day? Now, life can bring about a drift. That's the nature of our fallen world. Life brings about drifts. Drifts are what we interact with as sinners, but it's only the more we interact with them, the more temptation we endure. And that is why such an encouragement is needed. Believer, until heaven, we are never free from the pains of this world. Until heaven, we are never free from the temptation to slowly drift. So the need to stay near God's truth is timeless. And believer, it is for me this morning and it is for you. So we ask, is your way pure? Are you guarding your steps in accordance with God's word? My encouragement alongside scriptures is to stay near to the rock and fortress of God. Stay near his word so as to keep your way pure. Because the psalmist tells us thirdly, God's word protects from sin and error. Notice what the psalmist says in verse 11. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. The psalmist says here that he's stored up the riches of God's word in his heart. He has gathered, like a harvester would gather, the goods of God's word, and he's placed them in his heart. He's placed them in the storage of his memory. If you were to ask the psalmist, after he wrote verses 11 of Psalm 119, why are you memorizing Scripture? He would say this, I may have need of it someday. And so you ask every believer, why are you memorizing Scripture? The answer ought to be, because I may have need of it someday. The memory of the righteous is a blessing. Proverbs 10, 7. Memory is a blessing. Why? Because John 14 says, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Why is the memory of the righteous a blessing? Because God's Spirit uses memory to bring about God's works in history. And that is wonderful. The prophet Isaiah says, Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other. I am God, there is none like me. The prophet is saying to the covenant people of God, Remember me. Remember what has happened. Which is why the psalmist says the memory of the righteous is a blessing. So the psalmist says, I have stored up your word in my heart so that I can battle against my sinful flesh. With memory, we recall God's word. We recall his wonderful deeds. He has been good and he will be good. And our memories wonderfully help us in battling against our sinful flesh. Imagine if someone said they're going to run a race, but in their lists of things they are bringing shoes, athletic wear, water, and they also said they were going to bring and wear a blindfold. Now the chances of them running into obstacles along the way. Is quite high, isn't it? And the chances of them not finishing the race is quite high. So it is with the one who does not live by the word of God. The one who is not storing up in their heart the words of God, they set out to fail. Blind guides fall into a ditch, Matthew 15, 14. They set out to run into every single obstacle. And notice, even if something is not an obstacle when your eyes are open, it becomes an obstacle when you do not know and when you cannot see. The psalmist is influenced by God's word. His decisions are informed by God's word. His way is pure due to the backlog of scriptures that reside in his memory. I know this verse, I know this passage, I'm being led in righteousness, and I continue to store up in my heart God's word, God's truths. Well, again, a question for us this morning, believer, are you struggling with a certain sin? Memorize Scripture to help you battle against that sin. Internalize God's righteousness and his truth so that it flows out of your heart externally as you battle and wage spiritual warfare. The psalmist shows a sincere desire to know more of God's word. Believer, understand, understand. To live in righteousness, to live in one's way, to be pure and holy means they are meditating and hiding in their hearts God's word so as to be led in his righteous ways. And notice in all of this, the psalmist shows this wonderful, sincere desire to know more of God's word. He says, Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes. In verse 12, the psalmist has an appetite for knowing more of God. He says, Teach me your statutes. There's an eagerness to understand more of God. He has a thirst for the words of God. There's ambition in his heart to know more of the truth. He loves God's word, yes. He's hiding it in his heart, yes, but there's also this hunger in his soul to know more of it. I need to know more of God's word. That's the mindset of the psalmist. Notice that the psalmist desire having already a great wealth of scriptural knowledge. How many of you would say, I know more of scripture than the psalmist, or I know more of God than the psalmist? Perhaps logically in that we have more scriptures, but we would not be so bold as to say that. The psalmist knows more of God. He knows God deeply, and yet he's still saying, I want to know more. The psalmist wasn't too old for knowing more. The psalmist wasn't too well learned to study. He wasn't above growth. He says, Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me more. Years ago, there was an elderly member of our church. Her name was Alberta. Alberta wasn't able to come to church due to her health. When I would visit her, she would ask questions about the Bible, and when I would give her the scriptures, she would stop me and hurriedly get her Bible out and turn to each scripture that I said. And she would say, Oh, hold on, hold on. And she would get her Bible and she would turn to each one. And after she would see it on her own Bible in the pages before her, she would read it for herself, she would bookmark it, and then she would say, Okay, there, I have it marked now. You can continue. It's always stuck with me. Physically unable to move around well, but spiritually running through the halls of Scripture. Physically unable, but spiritually eager. The time? Somewhere around 6.30 a.m. When he said this, it was met with some unfavorable feedback. Why a youth Bible study at 6.30 a.m.? Who would come to such a thing? Do you know what his response was? The ones who want to. Our affections determine our choices. The greatest commandment Jesus taught his disciples was to love God with everything that they have. And as a result, what did the early church do? They gave themselves to the teaching of God's word, and he used them mightily to grow his church. That's not a disconnect. God used such an understanding to work his work. God's word directed the early church's affections, and as a result, it determined their actions. The members of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom were trained to worship an image. When? When they heard the noise of instruments. That is because they chose to, they were trained to, and their habits were directed to that sound. Daniel, however, did not do that. Therefore, believer, every decision you make, every habit you develop, every action you carry out is a choice? And our choices reveal our desires. So we ask, is the level of time, desire, appetite, and self-discipline that's here in the psalmist in my heart? Is the level of time, desire, appetite, and self-discipline in the psalmist in your heart? Is it this level of fervency that's placed in our lives that we're seeing here in the psalmist? Is our heartbeat? I want to know more of your word. Teach me more verses, more sermons, more Bible studies, more prayer, more meditation, less self, less time wasting, less sin, more of you, oh God, teach me your statutes. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if every Christian had this mindset all the time? Do you have such passion for God's word? Do you have this passion for God's word? Do you have this eagerness for God's word? Now we know we have passions. James 4, 1 says they are at war within us. So it's not that we deny our passions, but we want them to be led and guided by God's word. Guided well, our passions are wonderfully used for God's glory. Guided poorly, they are used for worthless idols. Do you have a desire to know more of God's word, or do you have a desire to worship an idol? The psalmist shows us this and more. Well, we have wonderfully pointed out each time in the Psalms the centrality of Christ within them. And as we come to a close, it's evident here also, it may be wondered, are all the psalms about Christ, if you notice and you've been following our studies here in the Psalms, we've made this point every time. Christ in the Psalms. And might be asked, are in fact all the Psalms about Christ? Well, Jesus says in Luke 24, 44, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms might be fulfilled. Well, to answer the question in short, all of the Old Testament points to Christ. He is the theme of the Old Testament, He is the hero in all of Scripture, and God did not give the nations to just anyone. God did not place all things just at anyone's feet. He did to Christ. And it will be Him that we preach. Therefore, we say, to be truly pure is to be born again in Christ. To be led to holiness is to be led to Christ. To be going in the right direction is to be Christ-centered. To be protected from sin and error is to be pursuing Christ. Paul says this in Colossians 1: Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ. Colossians 1, 28, the psalmist here, is all about Christ. It points to Him. Therefore, we do this until every man, woman, and child loves, lives, and learns Christ. Until all become enthralled with Him, and until every single waking moment of every Christian is spent pondering Him. Until every fiber of our being and every resource at our fingertips and every single affection of our hearts yields itself first and foremost to the person of Jesus Christ. All of these admonitions are fulfilled when one asks this Am I loving Christ? Are you loving Christ? Are you saved by Him? Do you love Him? And are you living to love Him more?