9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, O LORD;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
30 I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set my heart on your laws.
31 I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD;
do not let me be put to shame.
32 I run in the path of your commands,
for you have set my heart free.
Sin keeps us from God and all that he wants for us. Eliminating sin in our lives only strengthens our relationship with God. How can the Bible help us with this?
What does the Psalmist mean by "I have hidden your word in my heart"? Is he referring to memorization?
How can we use the Bible in a practical sense to overcome temptation?
Can you think of any examples in scripture of people who have done this?
Reread verse 32 - "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." How does this help the author of the passage live out verses 30 & 31?
Can you remember any situations where scripture has enabled you to overcome temptation and/or sin?
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I only covered a few verses from the deapth of this Psalm in this post, and if you'll parden me for opening another can of worms by stating this, but all of Psalm 119 is worth taking the time to study and become familiar with. In fact, at 176 verses it is the longest of all the Psalms. There are hidden trunks of knowledge lodged deep inside it. Indeed WE would do ourselves good to KNOW this Psalm, study it as if we were looking for a hidden treasure.
The more one studies it the fresher it becomes. As those who drink the Nile water like it better every time they take a draught, so does this psalm become the more full and fascinating the oftener you turn to it. It contains no idle word; the grapes of this cluster are almost to bursting full with the new wine of the kingdom. The more you look into this mirror of a gracious heart the more you will see in it. Placid on the surface as the sea of glass before the eternal throne, it yet contains within its depths an ocean of fire, and those who devoutly gaze into it shall not only see the brightness, but feel the glow of the sacred flame. It is loaded with holy sense, and is weighty as it is bulky. From: the opening of the introduction to Spurgeon’s exposition of Psalm 119 from The Treasury of David, Containing an Original Exposition of the Book of Psalms; a Collection of Illustrative extracts from the Whole Range of Literature; a Series of Homiletical Hints Upon Almost Every Verse; and Lists of Writers Upon Each Psalm 7 volumes (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1869-1885).
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