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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Psalm 119. Psalm 119. Psalm 119, I'll pick up reading 
in verse one and we'll read through verse 16. Blessed are the undefiled 
in the way who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those 
who keep his testimonies, who seek him with the whole heart. 
They also do no iniquity. They walk in his ways. You have 
commanded us to keep your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways 
were directed to keep your statutes. Then I would not be ashamed when 
I look into all your commandments. I will praise you with uprightness 
of heart when I learn your righteous judgments. I will keep your statutes. Oh, do not forsake me utterly. How can a young man cleanse his 
way by taking heed according to your word with my whole heart? I have sought you. Oh, let me 
not wander from your commandments, your word. I have hidden in my 
heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord. Teach me your statutes with my 
lips. I have declared all the judgments 
of your mouth. I have rejoiced in the weight 
of your testimonies as much as in all riches. I will meditate 
on your precepts and contemplate your ways. I will delight myself 
in your statutes. I will not forget your word. 
Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for the written word of God and we thank you for the 
Holy Spirit. We pray that he would guide our 
thoughts now, that he would guide us as we consider this section 
of scripture. We pray that it would be under 
edification, that it would be for our instruction and for our 
profit. We pray, Father, for any and 
all here that do not know you as Lord and Savior. We pray that 
you'd open their hearts today. that you would cause them to 
rejoice in Jesus Christ, the one alone who saves his people 
from their sins. We just confess our sins now. 
We confess our iniquity. As we see a description here 
of what a godly man looks like, we are confronted with the reality 
that we fall short. And we confess our sin to you 
now, trusting in the merits and the mercy and the blood of the 
Lord Jesus Christ to wash us and to cleanse us. And we pray 
these things through Jesus our Lord. Amen. Well, this morning 
we're going to focus on Psalm 119, specifically verse nine. 
How can a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according 
to your word? It's a very simple passage. It doesn't take a lot to sort 
of figure out the thrust and the direction. But I do want 
to make a few observations on the question and then the answer. The Bible contains many questions. The Bible provides answers. In fact, it is like no other 
book in the world. It alone provides the answers 
for eternal consequence, for eternal benefit and eternal life. As Pastor Porter read there in 
John 3, the focus of history is upon the doing and the dying 
and the rising of the Lord Jesus Christ. to take heed to that 
word. There is one example, besides 
Psalm 119, that sort of illustrates this. In Job chapter 9, verse 
2, Job asks, How can a man be righteous before God? That is 
the biggest question of questions. That is the thing that faces 
each and every one of us, and the psalmist here addresses it 
directly. And I want to consider the question 
under three observations. First, there is a presupposition 
in the question. How can a young man cleanse his 
way? And though it's directed to young 
men, it doesn't mean that if you're a young woman or you're 
an old woman or an old man, you can just tune out at this particular 
time. He is using this as a foil to 
instruct us concerning things eternal. But the presupposition 
of the text is that a young man's way stands in need of cleansing. In other words, the young man's 
way is dirty. The young man's way is filthy. 
It asserts here, by way of implication, what the Bible everywhere recognizes 
as what we call total depravity, the doctrine of sin. This doesn't 
mean utter depravity. It doesn't mean that we're as 
bad as we could possibly be. It doesn't mean we're all Adolf 
Hitler or Pol Pot or or Idi Amin, or one of the big terrorists 
in the century. It doesn't necessarily mean that. 
But what total depravity means is that though every part, every 
power, and every faculty of man's nature is corrupt, our mind, 
our intellect, our emotions, our will, our conscience, our 
body, all are affected by the fall. When Adam stood in the 
garden and sinned, he sinned with reference to his posterity 
as well. Paul in Romans 5 says, in Adam, 
all died. And as a result of that, we engage 
in sinful practice and in sinful activity. I just want to illustrate 
this doctrine in Ephesians chapter 2. answering the question or 
looking at the question and seeing or recognizing the presupposition 
or the assumption that a young man's way stands in need of cleansing. Paul, describing what we were 
before we came to Christ, says this in Ephesians chapter two, 
beginning in verse one. He says in you, He made alive 
who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked 
according to the course of this world, according to the prince 
of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons 
of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves 
in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and 
of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the 
others." We see the scope here. It's every man's problem. There's 
not a one of us who doesn't have to face this question, how does 
a young man cleanse his way? There's not a one of us who can 
say, my way is pure, my way is righteous, my way is spotless, 
my way is holy. I have no need for this question 
whatsoever in my life. Look at what Paul says in verse 
three. Remember, this is Paul, the apostle, 
one of the godliest men that ever lived on the face of the 
earth. He says, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves 
in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and 
of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the 
others. You see, total depravity. It's not just the flesh. You 
may be upright. You may not commit adultery. 
You may not commit the act of murder. You may not engage in 
robbery. You may not engage in what we 
might term outward acts of rebellion. But if your mind is far from 
God, if you have pushed God out of your mind, in Psalm 14 it 
says, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. Edwards 
renders it this way. The fool has said in his heart, 
no God. I'm quite content to live without 
you in my world. I am quite content to live without 
you in my consciousness. I turn onto you the back rather 
than the fall upon my knees and give you the worship and praise 
and honor that is due your name. Total depravity affects the actions, 
the flesh, and it affects the mind. So do not delude yourselves 
that because you don't engage in those acts of atrocity, somehow 
your way is pure. No, the mind is filthy, the mind 
is affected, the mind has fallen in Adam. Total depravity is the 
presupposition of this particular question. How can a young man 
cleanse his way? When we look through the scripture, 
we'll see the life of a sinner portrayed. It's not a pretty 
picture either. This is why the gospel is good 
news, because it comes as a response to bad news. It is God, in Christ, 
reconciling the world to himself, and that world is a mess. You 
take the infant life of a sinner. Certainly the infant's way is 
pure, isn't it? Certainly if the infant is wholly 
harmless and undefiled, Scripture only declares that concerning 
Jesus. What does the psalmist say when he's tracing back his 
native depravity in Psalm 51, 5 and 6? He says, In sin my mother 
conceived me. He's not saying that conjugal 
relations within the context of marriage is sin. He's saying 
that as soon as David came into being, he's a child of Adam. 
In sin did my mother conceive me. What does the psalmist declare 
in Psalm 58, verse 3? The wicked are estranged from 
the womb, speaking lies as soon as they are born. I realize this 
isn't popular in a love-me age, in a self-esteem age. I realize 
this isn't popular when we're trying to coddle children and 
make them feel good. The way or the path to good feelings 
is through the gospel of free and sovereign grace. We don't 
do them any favors by lying to them. The wicked are estranged 
from the womb, speaking lies as soon as they are born. Did 
you ever notice, parents, that you didn't have to teach your 
child selfishness? That's not a lesson you have 
to have in kindergarten or preschool. OK, kids, today we're going to 
learn how to be selfish. You don't have to teach them 
how to say mine. We always want them to say daddy first, if we're 
men, or mommy first, if we're women. You know what trumps that, 
generally speaking? Mine. Me. Give me. You don't have to instruct them 
in that. Why is that? What is the explanation? There's 
this big discussion about nature and nurture. It's nature. In 
Adam, all die. Now, because we're sinful, we 
nurture them, even in this rebellion and wickedness also. The infant 
life of a sinner isn't pretty. And then as he grows up, there's 
a particular bent that develops. In Ecclesiastes 7, the preacher 
said, I have found this. God made man upright, but they 
have sought out many devices. Your devices may not be my devices, 
my devices may not be your devices, but devices against God we have 
certainly sought out. Some are practical atheists. 
I've already alluded to Psalm 14. The Bible recognizes there's 
no such thing as a real atheist. There are those people trying 
to fool themselves that God doesn't exist. There are those who try 
to suppress the truth in unrighteousness. But Romans 1 tells us very clearly 
that all men everywhere know that God is. They have to try 
and run from that. They have to try and hold that 
down. But they do take pains to try and live as if there is 
no God. They try to exclude him from 
their thinking and from their lives. There are religious sinners. There's a description given by 
Paul in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 to 5. It's almost as 
if it's the Romans 1 of the church. He describes men who love themselves, 
men who will love money, men who will love pleasure, which 
sounds peculiarly like our own particular generation. And then 
he says this. He says, having the form of godliness, 
but denying its power. These are people in the church. 
These are people that are participating, perhaps, in singing. Not all 
religious people are what they propose to be. Jesus' loudest 
and most severe denunciations were upon the hypocrites, the 
scribes, and the Pharisees. He called them brood of vipers. 
He didn't do that with others. He did it with the religious. 
The end of the unrepentant sinner is given us in Matthew 25, 46, 
when Jesus says, Depart from me into everlasting fire, which 
is prepared for the devil and his angels. It's horrifying. It's terrifying. The picture 
that the Bible sets forth of what unrepentant sinners will 
receive is absolutely alarming. Revelation 21, verse 8, tells 
us who will be in the lake of fire, and it describes in detail 
various types of sinners. John Gill says the question, 
how can a young man cleanse his way? Supposes the young man to 
be impure as every man is by birth, being conceived in sin 
and shaping in iniquity. He is a transgressor from the 
womb and his heart weighs and actions evil from his youth. 
And the difficulty is, how shall we be cleansed? How one so impure 
in his nature, heart and ways can be just with God or become 
undefiled in the way? That's the issue that the psalmist 
is addressing, and that highlights, secondly, as we consider this 
question, the importance of it. Notice he doesn't say, where 
is a young man going to go to college? Which young woman is 
the young man going to marry? Which profession is the young 
man going to seek out? Those are all very important, 
aren't they? These are all very important 
things that, as you young men are getting older, you ought 
to give concern to. You young women as well. Give 
concern to these particulars. But they affect the temporal. 
They affect the here and now. They affect this life and that 
alone. See, this question that the psalmist 
is asking penetrates deeper. It goes further. It deals with 
eternity. It deals with unseen realities. 
It deals with the fact that while your way may appear pure to everybody 
else, God sees you for what you are. How can a young man cleanse 
his way? And then the necessity of this 
question, have you ever asked it? I want you to raise your 
hand here this morning. I don't want you to stand up. 
This isn't an encounter group. This isn't trying to get you 
in touch with your feelings. Rather, you need to ask yourself 
the question, have you ever given thought to this? You ever considered 
the fact that there's a holy God in heaven above, a God who 
made this world and everything in it, things seen and unseen, 
a God whose eye is too pure to approve of any evil, and yet 
your inclination, your bent, your disposition is to run from 
Him and to run fast from Him, to try and escape any thought 
of God whatsoever? Has the question ever entered 
your mind or heart? When you've sat under preaching, 
do you just busy yourself trying to get rid of it? You just keep 
looking at your watch, hoping that the sermon will end, not 
wanting to face eternal truth and eternal reality. Has that 
been your law? There is a necessity here. And 
the interesting thing about the Bible is that the doctrine of 
total depravity will so work in a man that he never does face 
these questions. He never does think in terms 
of God. He never engages in eternal things. I mean, that's one of 
the amazing things about witnessing in our generation. Go talk to 
people about the gospel. They don't generally think about 
when they die. We live in a society of men who 
are eight foot tall and bulletproof. They think nothing will ever 
happen to them. They think they're going to live for 80, 90 years 
and that when they're on their deathbed, if there is a God, 
well, they'll throw him a bone so he'll let them skate right 
into heaven. One of the most difficult things 
in a materialistic age, in a very affluent age, is to try to get 
men to think in terms of eternity. Right? You ever witness? You 
ever talk to anybody? Oh, that's okay for you, but 
I don't need that. Are you hearing yourself? Your 
way is impure. Your way is unclean. Our God 
is holy. The prophet Isaiah recounts his 
time in the presence of the Lord of hosts, Yahweh of Israel. High 
and lofty, the train of his road filled the temple. It was pomp 
and glory. He had angels attending to him, 
singing, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole 
earth is filled with his glory. That's what the prophet Isaiah 
saw. And when Isaiah saw that, his 
response was consistent with Psalm 199. He said, woe is me, 
for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips. Mine eyes have seen the glory 
of Jehovah of hosts. Have you come to that place? 
Maybe it's not as Isaiah. Maybe it's not a Saul of Tarsus 
experience. Maybe you haven't seen yourself 
as perhaps a Bunyan or a Spurgeon before they were converted. Sometimes 
we read these biographies and we say, wow, that wasn't my experience. Perhaps I'm not saved. Though 
a conscious reality that your way is impure. The Bible doesn't 
spell out how deep that has to be, how powerful that has to 
move on you. It doesn't specify that you've 
got to spend three years in the deep valley of misery before 
you can look unto Christ and live. Isn't that a beautiful 
thing that Jesus uses, a beautiful illustration in John 3? Even 
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the 
Son of Man be lifted up. Do you think when those Israelites 
were bit by the serpents, And Moses lifted up that bronze serpent 
that they were to look to and live. They held their leg, they 
held their wound, and they said, well, I haven't suffered enough. 
I haven't felt it enough. I haven't enabled, I haven't 
miserated enough. They looked and they lived. The 
reality is, is when you're conscious of the fact that your way is 
impure, go to the fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness. Believe on the Lord Jesus and 
you will be saved. So that's the question. There's 
a presupposition. His way is dirty and stands in 
need of cleansing. It is a most important question. 
And there is a necessity for each and every one of us to deal 
with that. But notice the answer. How can 
a young man cleanse his way by taking heed, according to your 
word? Beautiful. God is telling us the value and 
the import of his word. The Bible has seen better days 
in its history, and by that I don't mean its truth capacity. I mean the way people recognize 
it. Much of the church today treats 
it as simply a guide of principles. There are principles, to be sure, 
but the primary focus of all of the scripture is Christ in 
him crucified and resurrected. It's about Jesus. It's God's 
work in Christ to save His people from their sins. The Bible is 
absolutely crucial because it sets forth to us the gospel. 
God says that He reveals Himself in the created order. When you 
look at a day like this, you have to just stand amazed. I 
mean, face it. Our summer came very late, didn't 
it? How do you not appreciate this day? Who do you appreciate 
it to? Chance? Matter? Electrons? Protons? Neutrons? All acting 
in harmony? Well, we thank you today, electrons, 
protons, and neutrons, for acting in such a way that there's no 
cloud coverage. No, your heart is drawn out to 
consider the One who made it all. Your heart is drawn out 
to consider the God who spoke these things into being, who 
hung the sun and the moon and the stars in their place on the 
fourth day. The God who made man in his own 
image, to think his thoughts after him, to be rational, to 
think in terms of God. I mean, the Baltimore Oriole 
and the dog and the cat, they're all wonderful little beings, 
but they don't think, they don't rationalize, they aren't created 
in the image of God. God has made man with that capacity. God reveals himself in the created 
order. The psalmist says, the heavens 
declare the glory of God. The firmament demonstrates his 
handiwork. Spurgeon said that if you can 
look up into this starry host and you can look into the beauty 
of creation and you still brand yourself as an atheist, you're 
either a liar or an idiot. You can't escape God. You can try and suppress the 
truth and unrighteousness. You can try to hold it down. 
You can try to get him out of your thoughts, but you can't 
hide ultimately. General revelation is God's revelation 
of himself in the created order. By virtue of the fact that we 
are made in his image, we interpret things. We know whether we're 
born in North America or we're born in some other place in the 
world, we know it's wrong to commit murder. We have to work 
very hard to get to the point where we have state-licensed 
abortion clinics. That takes a lot of denial. It 
takes a lot of suppression. It takes a lot of holding down 
the truth and unrighteousness. We'll try, though. You can't 
escape it. You see, this created order, 
as beautiful as it may be, doesn't teach us about Calvary. It doesn't 
teach us about the gospel. It doesn't teach us about blood 
atonement. It doesn't teach us what we learn throughout the 
pages of Holy Writ. The Scripture is special revelation. The Scripture highlights for 
us and to us the doing and the dying and the rising of our Lord 
Jesus. Perhaps a New Testament counterpart 
to this statement in Psalm 119 is found in 2 Timothy 3 at verse 
14. Paul writes to Timothy, but you 
must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured 
of. knowing from whom you have learned that and that from childhood 
you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise 
for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. All 
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness 
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every 
good work. The Scripture is inspired. We 
messed that up at times, too. Sometimes evangelicals and unfortunately 
reform treat the doctrine of inspiration as if it promotes 
inspiration. You know, like when you go out 
and you write a poem or you write a love song or you write some 
piece of narrative that is just beautiful, you say, wow, I was 
inspired to do that. That's not how Paul is using 
this. Paul is using this very Very 
literally, in the language of the NIV, it is God breathed. That means God took Paul, God 
took Isaiah, God took Jeremiah, God took the man Moses, God took 
the several other prophets and the apostles, and he breathed 
through them so that the very words they wrote are God's words. That's what inspiration means. 
This book is like no other. It is given by inspiration of 
God. As far as I know, there's only 
two religious systems that claim their word is revelation, and 
that is Christian theism and Islam. The various other religions 
do not claim to have revelation. Now, there are Christian cults. 
the Book of Mormon and various other competitors that they claim 
are revealed by God. But it's the Bible that tells 
us that it is revealed. It is given by inspiration. It 
is God-breathed. Notice, because of that, it is 
an infallible word. It is an inerrant word. That 
means by taking heed according to your word, you will not go 
wrong. You will not go astray. You will not be let down. You 
will not be disappointed. The Bible is profitable, as the 
Apostle says, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly 
equipped for every good work. You see the psalmist's answer. 
His way is impure. How can he cleanse it? By taking 
heed according to your word. And there's two major doctrines 
that I think the psalmist wants us to appreciate here. First 
is the doctrine of justification. The reality is, is that we're 
totally depraved. The reality is, is that we're 
sinful. The reality is, is that we have a bank away from God 
and we need justification. We need forgiveness of sins and 
we need the alien righteousness of Christ. That's what the word 
of God furnishes. It tells us of the gospel. It 
tells us that in Adam all died, but in Christ all shall be made 
alive. Justification is that act of 
God's free grace where he pardons all of our sins. Beautiful. He pardons all of our sins. Everyone. Every lawless deed, 
every lawless thought, every transgression of his law, every 
lack of conformity unto his law, every departure. Every That's why sometimes this gospel 
is just so mind-blowing. If you know yourself rightly 
and you consider the fact that your way has been impure, you 
might come to grips and start scratching your head and say, 
you mean he really forgives those sins? He really washes those 
sins? He really cleanses those sins? He really gets rid of those sins? This is what caused the prophet 
Micah to ask the question, who is a God like you, pardoning 
iniquity? And then he summarizes the whole 
statement when he says that God takes our iniquities and he casts 
it into the depths of the sea. That's why Micah Butler got his 
name from Micah the prophet. Who is a God like you, pardoning 
iniquity? The gospel is so wonderful and 
so amazing, and justification is that chief jewel. God pardons 
all of our iniquities and accepts us as righteous in his sight. 
Can you imagine that? He not only cleanses us, but 
he brings us into his presence just or righteous. How does he 
do that? Only for the righteousness of 
Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. Praise God. You see why you ought to be thankful 
as a justified sinner? You see why you ought to be a 
grateful person? You see why the three forms of 
unity follow a particular pattern? Guilt, grace, gratitude. What's the response to grace? 
Praise be. to God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who has cleansed us from all sin and has accepted us as 
righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ 
imputed, not infused, not transforming. God imputes that righteousness 
to us so that he can receive us into his presence as a justified And then sanctification. As Spurgeon 
says, it's not just a matter of how do we get pure, but how 
do we stay pure. Right? Those are the two chief 
doctrines that you need to get your minds and hearts wrapped 
around. Justification. How do I come into this place 
where God receives me freely by His grace? Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ. It is justification by faith 
alone, and as a justified by faith alone sinner, how do I 
then live? That's sanctification, by taking 
heed according to your word. Sanctification is the work of 
God's free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man 
after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die 
unto sin and live unto righteousness. John Gil captures both of these 
doctrines when he says, I think the words may be better rendered 
and supplied by observing what is according to thy word, which 
shows how a sinner is to be cleansed from his sins by the blood of 
Christ and justified by his righteousness and be clean through his word 
and also how and by whom the work of sanctification is wrought 
in the heart, even by the Spirit of God, by means of the word. 
And what is the rule of a man's walk in conversation? He will 
find the word of God to be profitable, to inform in the doctrines of 
justification and pardon, to acquaint him with the nature 
of regeneration and sanctification, and for the correction and amendment 
of his life and manners, and for his instruction in every 
branch of righteousness. How can a young man cleanse his 
way? By taking heed according to your 
word. Well, in conclusion, two thoughts. 
Two thoughts. First, the psalmist doesn't leave 
us wondering what this means. The psalmist, per his own example, 
illustrates a young man taking heed according to God's word. The remainder of this section 
illustrates this for us or exemplifies it for us. I want to direct some 
specific attention to the young people here who are going back 
to school and preparing for their lives. I have in mind one particular 
young man that I want to address, and I want his conscience. Notice 
the psalmist example. First, obedience. Verse 9. By taking heed according to your 
words. Not just receiving it through 
the ear duct, not just through letting it resonate in the mind, 
but by taking heed according to your word. For the sinner 
who does not know Christ, that means believe on him. Look to 
the one alone who can save you from your sins. For the saint, 
it means taking the scripture seriously. Spurgeon says, let 
him become a practical disciple of the Holy God, who alone can 
teach him how to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, 
that trinity of defilers by whom many a hopeful life has been 
spoiled. He is young and unaccustomed 
to the road. Let him not be ashamed often 
to inquire of him who is so ready and so able to instruct him in 
it. Be a stranger to the scripture. I mean, isn't that the assumption 
by taking heed according to your word that means some contact 
with the Word. It means reading the Scriptures 
on your own. It means fellowshipping with 
others who read the Scripture. It means coming to church where 
the Scripture is revered and treated as the God-breathed Word 
that He says it to be. It means attending to the sermon. 
It means listening to the sermon. It means resolving to do what 
God in His Word says. There must be obedience. Secondly, 
notice the psalmist example. It is to be with a whole heart. 
Verse 10. With my whole heart, I have sought 
you. Religion isn't a part-time activity. Biblical Christianity isn't just 
for Sunday. In preaching through this, I'm 
just sorry to my sons that I haven't set a better example. It is whole 
soul commitment. Do you realize that that's how 
God saves us? There's a statement in the Prophet 
Jeremiah 32, where God says, with my whole heart and with 
my whole soul, I will plant them in this land. He says, I will 
rejoice over them to do them good. In that blessed statement 
of Isaiah 9, 6 and 7, when it talks about the messianic kingdom, 
what does it say is the activating power of these promises? The 
zeal of Yahweh of hosts shall perform this. God doesn't enter 
into salvation half-heartedly. Jesus willingly laid his life 
down for the sheep. Jesus went to the very uttermost 
on our behalf. It is fit. It is natural that 
the saint of Christ say with my whole heart, I have sought 
you. Paul says, therefore, beloved 
brethren, I beseech you by the mercies of God, present your 
bodies as a living sacrifice to God, which is what your reasonable 
service. Not the super spiritual, not 
the five percent of the Christian church. It is reasonable for 
those who have been bought body and soul with that great price 
to give body and soul back to the Lord God most high. It is 
to be with obedience. It is to be with a whole heart. 
Notice thirdly, with reference to his example, it is to be with 
memorization. Verse 11, your word, I have hidden 
in my heart that I might not sin against you. Memorize scripture. Not just so you can show off 
at gatherings. Not just so you can say, well, 
I know a hundred passages of scripture. What's the purpose 
for hiding God's word in our hearts? That I might not sin 
against you. You have a peculiar bent to a 
particular temptation. Memorize scripture that deals 
with that. If it's sexual lust, get 1 Peter 
2 in you. Abstain from fleshly lusts which 
war against the soul. If you are a gossipy woman, then 
study Ephesians and Colossians with a view to mortify that tongue 
so that you don't gossip. It's not brain surgery. It's 
not rocket science. It's not incredibly difficult. 
The psalmist elsewhere says, thy law has made me wiser than 
all of my teachers. The law of the Lord in Psalm 
19 makes wise the simple. Isn't that beautiful? God acknowledges there's simple 
folk in this world. His law makes you wise. His law 
equips you. His law fortifies. His law strengthens. Memorize scripture. Hide it in 
the heart that you might not sin against God. Notice fourthly, 
with dependence upon divine instruction. Verse 12. Blessed are you, O 
Lord, teach me your statutes. Back in verse 10. Oh, let me 
not wander from your commandments. You see the realization in this 
redeemed sinner's heart? He could sing with us number 
400, prone to wander, prone to leave the God that I love. It's 
in there, even as Christians. So he says to the Lord, let me 
not wander from your commandments. He says in verse 12, teach me 
your statutes, divine instruction, depend upon him. Again, Charles 
Spurgeon says, you are a young man. The Bible must be your chart. The Bible must be your chart. The Bible must be your chart 
and you must exercise great watchfulness that your way may be according 
to its directions. Don't give any ear to the people 
say, well, that's not true or all the world wasn't created 
by God or Jesus really didn't die the way the scripture says 
or they try to rationalize it away. Take heed to God's word. This is a world of lies and rebellion 
against the Lord. This is a light shining in the 
darkness. Spurgeon goes on to say you must 
take heed to your daily life as well as study your Bible and 
you must study your Bible that you may take heed to your daily 
life. You see how it's intertwined. He says with the greatest care, 
a man will go astray if his map misleads him. But with the most 
accurate map, he will still lose his road if he does not take 
heed to it. You turn your GPS on and when 
it's saying go right, you keep going straight. You're not taking 
heed to it. You've got the chart. You've 
got God's word. You've got his revelation. You've 
got his mind. Regenerate people, according 
to 1 Corinthians 2, 6, 8, says that we have the mind of Christ. We know things that God has told 
us to be the case. He says the narrow way was never 
hit upon if I'm sorry, the narrow way, he says, was never hit upon 
by chance. Neither did any heedless man 
ever lead a holy life. Dependence upon divine instruction. Notice fifthly, with a desire 
to witness. Verse 13 is beautiful. With my 
lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth. Isn't 
that beautiful? You draw your line in the sand. Right away. Right away. Don't get caught up in the mayhem. 
Don't get caught up in the muck. Don't get caught up in the garbage. 
You draw your line right in the sand and with your lips you declare 
the goodness, the graciousness, the kindness and the mercy of 
God Most High. With my lips I have declared 
all the judgments of your mouth. Be like Joseph and Potiphar's 
How can I engage in this activity and sin against my God? Notice, sixthly, with joy. There's this conception out there 
that Christianity is this dark and dour and serious and horrible 
and terrible way of life. I have rejoiced in the way of 
your testimonies as much as in all riches. You take that wicked 
man pouring over his gold. I'm going to outjoy him. He's 
got nothing. I've got everything. Remember 
that pearl merchant when he found that pearl of greatest Christ, 
he sold everything he had so that he could grab that jewel 
and he could raise it up and he could delight in it and he 
could tell others about it. That's Christianity, not the 
idea that our dog just died and our lives are over and everything's 
ruined. No, we have joy in Jesus Christ. I have rejoiced in the way of 
your testimony as much in all riches. The psalmist elsewhere 
says that God's Word, God's commandments, God's statutes are better than 
much fine gold. Value, prize, delight in the 
Word. Notice 7, with meditation and 
contemplation. Verse 15, I will meditate on 
your precepts and contemplate your ways. I'll roll it about 
in my head. I'll think about it. If I have 
troubles thinking on it, I'll cry out to God to help me. I'll 
say, God, I've used this mind in rebellion against you for 
25 years. You've saved me. You've blessed 
me. You've justified me. You've sanctified me. God, help 
me to think. Help me to internalize the scripture. 
Help me to consider it. Help me to roll it about in my 
head. I got a new toy or I had a new car. I take pictures and 
I think about it. I had a new bride or a new a 
new husband. I have pictures and I would I 
would think about that. I would keep that mental image 
alive and alert in my mind. The same is true of the scripture 
to discipline. Take heed according to your word. 
It doesn't happen overnight. You must develop this. You must 
pursue this. You must grow in the grace and 
in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I will 
meditate on your precepts and contemplate your ways. I will 
consider the things of God. I will not think as an atheist. 
I will not think disattached from God. I will strive by His 
grace to let the mind of Christ in me rule over me in all things. 
And then notice finally, with delight and with determination, 
verse 16, I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not 
forget your word. We need to be careful of arrogance. 
We need to be careful of pride. We need to take heed the first 
Corinthians 10. Let those who think that they 
won't fall, take heed lest they do. We need to be careful. There 
needs to be some holy resolution in the Christian life, some holy 
determination. Daniel and his friends purpose, 
they resolve they would need the king's dainties. They wouldn't 
do it. The psalmist says here, I will 
not forget your work. I may forget my anniversary. 
I may forget my child's name. I may forget a favorite restaurant. 
I may forget what you told me last week. Those things, you 
know what? I hope it doesn't happen. I don't 
want to be an offense. I don't want to hurt your feelings. 
I don't want to make you feel devalued. But you know this one 
thing I will not forget. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. I won't forget that. I won't 
forget that God is in Christ reconciling the world to himself. 
I won't forget that, as a young man, I need to take heed according 
to your word. I will not forget that. Holy 
resolution and purpose of heart have a place in Christian testimony. 
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Verse 
105. I have sworn and confirmed that 
I will keep your righteous judgment. I am afflicted very much. Revive 
me, O Lord, according to your word. Accept, I pray, the freewill 
offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me your judgments. 
My life is continually in my hand, yet I do not forget your 
law. I have, notice verse 112, I have 
inclined my heart to perform your statutes forever to the 
very end. Determination, resoluteness. That's the Christian response 
to taking heed according to your word. Well, the psalmist example 
doesn't end there. He signs off by calling us to 
never forget the gospel. You say, how does he do that? 
Psalm 119 is actually beautiful. You ever seen the poems of George 
Herbert? Sometimes the way he structures 
the poem is just amazing. I don't mean just, you know, 
justified text. I mean, patterns. visible representations 
of the poem itself. It's pretty, pretty amazing to 
look at. Psalm 119 is like that. It takes the 22 letters of the 
Hebrew, Hebrew alphabet and has eight verses for each one. So 
that when you look at the Hebrew text, the first eight verses 
all begin with the Hebrew equivalent to A. So you got all eight A's. The next set of eight begin with 
the Hebrew equivalent to B. It's an amazing song. Absolutely incredible song. What's 
the main point of the song? It's the glorious word of God. It's utter sufficiency. It's 
finality. It's authority. It's infallibility. It's inerrancy. If you read through 
this and the psalmist is celebrating the glories of God's word, you 
sort of anticipate the psalm ending on this note of triumph. 
I have done these things. I have accomplished your word. 
I have done it for you, God. How does the psalm end? I have 
gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I do not 
forget your commandments. You know, going through this 
list of the example, his obedience, his whole heart, his memorization, 
his dependence upon divine instruction, his desire to witness, his joy, 
his meditation and contemplation, his delight and determination. 
All those things are humbling as we consider the fact that 
we don't do that all the time. But neither did he. He lived 
by grace. through faith in Jesus Christ. I think that's the note the psalm 
ends on. The Word of God is beautiful. 
It's wonderful. It's sufficient. It's efficient. 
It's inerrant. It's infallible. It's everything 
I've said it is. Never forget, though, how you 
stand. It's by a seeking God. A gracious 
God. A merciful God. A God who seeks 
and saves that which was lost. He says this to keep us in that 
proper state before God, humble, dependent, and constantly casting 
our soul upon Jesus Christ. This works for both Christian 
and non-Christian. I don't mean works in some pragmatic 
way, but this text applies. If you're a Christian, you can 
say, I have gone astray like the lost sheep. Who of us lives 
according to the light that we have? Who of us is consistent 
like we find in this psalm? I mean, really, rather. Who of 
us can say this morning, yeah, those things that typify the 
psalmist, that's me, man. That's me. Got it down. I'm in. I'm holy. I'm sanctified. I'm righteous. This man said, 
I've gone astray like a lost sheep to seek your servant, for 
I do not forget your commandments. It's applicable to the Christian. 
It's applicable to the non-Christian as well. This echoes what we 
find in Isaiah 53, verse 6. It says, All we like sheep have 
gone astray. All we like sheep have gone astray. It's a terrible picture, isn't 
it? It's a horrible picture. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've left the God who made us. We've departed from him who has 
crown rights over us. This is the announcement. This 
is the confession. This is something every non-Christian 
would have to admit. I have gone astray like a lost 
sheep. But praise God that he seeks 
out. Praise God that Jesus is the 
one revealed to us in Luke's gospel. There was this little 
man, a little tiny man named Zacchaeus, who couldn't see Jesus 
because he wasn't tall enough. It's great. It's so real, isn't 
it? There's a buzz about this man, 
Jesus. He's coming into town. Everybody's scurrying over to 
see him. Zacchaeus can't see because he's short. He felt what 
some of us feel like. Being five nine in a six foot 
world is difficult at times. I suspect he was probably less 
than five nine, though. So what does he do? He scurries 
up into the tree so that he can look down and see Jesus. It's 
beautiful. It's amazing. And when Jesus 
comes to that tree, he looks up at Zacchaeus and he says, 
hurry down because I'm eating dinner at your house tonight. 
So Zacchaeus hurries down. Zacchaeus says, I'm going to 
repent. I'm going to give back things 
I've taken. I'm going to I'm going to make right. I'm going 
to believe on you, Lord, and I'm going to repent from my sins. 
So Jesus goes back to his house to eat. The rest of the people 
there are grumbling and complaining and whining. They're grumbling 
because this man has gone to eat with sinners. This man has 
refused us, the holy spotless ones, and he's gone to eat with 
a tax collector, an especially horrible sinner in that particular 
context. What does Jesus punctuate on 
that day with reference to his mission? He says, The Son of 
Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. That's the message of the Bible. 
When Adam and Eve sin, what do they do? They run and hide. God 
seeks them. After the Tower of Babel, when 
men tried to make a name for themselves, what does God do? 
He confuses their lip, He disperses them, and then He calls Abram 
out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and He says, I'm going to make of 
you a great name in the earth. You see, the pattern is God-seeking. The pattern is God-saving. The 
pattern is God-going-after. That pattern is highlighted and 
confirmed and magnified and beautified at Calvary. What is the message 
of the cross? God is in Christ reconciling 
the world to himself. Sinner today say, I have gone 
astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant. Seek your servant. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. And my son, go with God. Fear God. Be like this psalmist. Don't be like your dad. glorify 
Him, honor Him, praise Him, worship Him, extol Him, and lead others 
to consider the glory of Jesus Christ. I love you, and I wish 
God's best on you and His blessing. And I want to make sure that 
you get this in your head. How does a young man cleanse 
his way? By taking heed according to God's Word. The best gift 
that you have is that Scripture, that Holy Bible that you possess. 
Make much of it. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word. We thank you for its sufficiency. 
We thank you that it sets forth Christ. I pray that Micah and 
all of the young people here would be looking unto Jesus, 
the author and the finisher of faith. I pray that all of us, 
God, would We'd part with our rebellion, we'd part with our 
pride, our arrogance, our failure to realize our wandering nature, 
and that we would submit to God, that we would come to Christ, 
that we would believe the gospel, that we would believe that Jesus 
died and that Jesus rose so that we might have everlasting life. 
Do this work, Lord God, open hearts and open minds and open 
eyes to the truth of Christ and Him crucified. We praise you 
that we pray to a sovereign God, a God who is all-powerful, and 
that we know it doesn't depend upon man, the man who wills or 
the man who runs, but on God who shows mercy. Take the gospel 
and apply it this day, we pray, in Jesus' holy name. Amen.