Psalm 119:9-11 - The Guidance of the Law

Psalm 119:9-11

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.

Message: The Guidance of the Law

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

The Law acts as a restraining tool. I think of the time of Noah when the Law was not yet present and God would wipe out the earth because everyone did evil continually. And then the Law came on the scene to aid man, restraining from doing evil all of the time. So it is a tool of restraint for every person - whether they recognize it or not in their lives. But this is meant to point people to Christ. Recognizing our sin is meant to show people their need for deliverance. We are powerless to this sin and need Christ to be forgiven and the power to resist sin. Christ is the answer to all of life's problems of sin. Thus, the law is a tool to bring me to Christ and help me see my need for Him. 

But in addition to being a restraining tool and pointing us to Christ, it also acts as a guide in our lives for what pleases God and what it looks like to walk in holiness. As today's verse starts in Psalm 119, verse 9 - How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your Word. This Law, is our guide.  We are to treasure or store God's word in our heart. This is something I always so my mom doing, writing out verses on notecards and reading them often. God's word was ever present in her life. I know she struggled with doubts and her marriage and things still, but God's word was close. She always wanted to do the right thing. 

I've gotten away from memorizing God's word for it is a struggle it seems for me. But, I need to keep reading it and studying. 

Promise: God's word is our always present help in life. It is God's good gift to equip us for pleasing Him in all that we think, do, say, love and believe.

Prayer: Thank you God for your Word and thank You Spirit of God for continuing to instruct me in how I am to live. Keep me close to it. And give me discernment in the reading of it. Help me to know how to talk to people about it. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of July is about the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God.

The Restraint of the Law - the law is given for lawless, unholy, disobedient people, to restrain us from acting on our sinful thoughts. Restraint and Guilt - the law is meant to restrain Christians and non-Christians alike; so that others may see Christ. The Law's Revelation of Sin - The Law reveals sin, at times making it more desirable, and show the sin which people commit and the complete standard it expects. The Law and Our Powerlessness - We are powerless over the Law and Sin revealed. It is in Christ that we receive forgiveness and the power to resist sin. The Law our Guardian - The law is not a tool of justifying me, but rather it is an instrument to bring me to Christ and show me my need for Him.