Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to Psalm 119. Psalm 119. I'd like to read verses 9 through
11. Psalm 119, verse 9. Where with all shall a young
man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according
to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought
thee. Oh, let me not wander from thy
commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart,
that I might not sin against thee." Let's pray together. Our Father, how thankful we are
that we can call upon you approach you in the precious name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We ask you, Lord, tonight, would
you bless this word? And Lord, would you bless by
the calling out of your people? Would you bless the efforts,
the preaching of your word, that word that will not return void? Lord, would you increase the
visible kingdom, bring into being, and bless in the salvation of
your people for Christ's sake. Amen. A believer truly desires to have
fellowship with the Lord. He truly desires the fellowship
with the Lord in prayer. He desires fellowship with the
Lord in the meeting with God's people. Hearing the preaching
of the Gospel and the study of the Scriptures. And he wants
to be honorable before the Lord. He wants to walk with care. He does not want to be a reproach
to Christ He has a desire after good, but
sees a body of sin within that wars against his new man. Struggles. The reason is because there's
two natures. There's two men. There's an old man and a new
man because there's both natures in it. By the grace of God and
the restraining power of God, he cannot, the Lord will not
allow him to go so far in rebellion. But he's not able to walk perfectly
before God as he desires with a new man. So he struggles. So here's his difficulty. He
desires to choose right and to walk in that way. He wants to
continue, but he knows that he is unclean by the presence of
actual sin, and he possesses a nature about him that has a
tendency toward everything that defiles. And he hates that. But here's a question in Psalm
119 verse 9 that truly stirs the heart of a believer. Here's the question, verse 9. Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way or count pure? Wherewithal? How shall a young
man cleanse or count pure his walk? Here's what the question
actually is. How shall a young man, how shall
God's servant be convinced of or have direction in his walk? The wording of that verse is
not such that insinuates that the regenerated sinner has the
ability to cleanse himself, but actually is asking a question
concerning getting direction about his walk. A question that
leads the believer to long after God's way. How shall God's servant,
how shall a young man, one previously given life from above, how? How does one that already possesses
life because God has called him out of darkness, how does one
who truly desires to walk faithfully, how does he find instruction? How does he be taught? How is he taught concerning his
walk? How does he walk? Actually, the
word is translucency. How does he walk in a way that
is readily perceived? People can look at him. and clearly see something of
His heart, of His character? The answer? By taking heed thereto according
to Thy Word. By closely examining, taking
heed to the Word of God. Ephesians 5.15 says, See then
that you walk circumspectly, That is, with caution. See that you walk giving earnest
attention to. Be aware. Not as fools, but as wise. This is what it says. Take heed
to your walk. Be not foolish. Examine yourself. That's scriptural
language. Examine yourself. See if you
be in the faith. Examine yourself according to
God's Word. What does the Lord have to say
about it? Examine yourself concerning your worship, your attitude. Be diligent. with the time that God has given
you. Oh, I think about it, just personal
confession right here. How many times has this Scripture
come back to my mind concerning me? The Lord set a watch upon
my mouth, upon my lips. Lord, help me. Lord, teach me. Easiest thing in the world for
me to do is just shut up. Take heed. Examine yourself. Psalm 119, 105 says, Thy Word
is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. God's Word, our
direction, our guard, our illumination, our education, Our testing. His Word. It always directs us
to Him. That's what it's going to do.
Always. Every time we look at ourselves, we're going to be
disappointed. That's a given. You know that.
What's His Word going to do? It's going to point us to Christ.
It's going to cause us to cast ourselves upon Him. It's going
to reveal our frailty. It's going to teach us of His
sustaining grace. We don't find any hope in thinking
that we've kept His Word. We know what we are by nature. We find hope in Him alone who
has kept God's Law and now directs us by His Spirit according to
His Word. Where withal shall a young man
cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according
to thy word." A believer confesses his confidence in Christ all
the while seeking mercy and sustaining grace. Verse 10 says this, "...with
my whole heart have I sought thee." Oh, let me not wander
from thy commandments. Is that not the cry of the new
heart? Lord, don't let me stray. I've got His Word on this. I'm never going to leave you.
I'm never going to forsake you. Kept by the power of God through
faith and knowing The surety of that Word. This is a believer's
heart right here. Oh, let me not wander from Thy
commandments. With that new heart of understanding,
that whole heart, that's what it means. That heart of understanding. That heart, Lord, that You gave. Lord, You said, a new heart will
I give You. By that new heart, I have a desire
to follow after Him. I have a desire. I want to hear
what I'm saying right now. These are not my words. I've
looked at them, considered them, prayed over them, asked God's
direction, asked God's blessing. But I know this, I need to hear
these words. Because I know something about
the presence of sin. Lord, let me not be deceived
from your commandments. Let me not wander. Keep me from
presumptuous sin. There is an old nature in me
that lies to me just as much as it ever did. It just doesn't
rule. It's still there. It harasses. That new man, that cry right
there, with my heart of understanding, I've sought you. I've longed
after you. There's times that a believer
in the night seasons. I've read these Scriptures. David talks about in the night
seasons, I sought Thee upon my bed. And a believer knows something
about that. There's been times that you've
been awakened. And you think about this. The
Scripture reveals that the Lord speaks to His people. Somebody
says, well, I've never heard the voice of the Lord believers
have. Not with this here. I know that. But I'm telling you, there's
times that you've been awakened and you've mused upon Him. Almighty God, He speaks to His
people. And they long to have fellowship
with Him. And they pray to be preserved. Speak to me. Keep my mind from
wandering. Lord, if I'm able to have any
consistency to read, any consistency to pray, and my mind doesn't
go off somewhere into netherland, it's by Your grace. Lord, let
me not wander. from Your Word. I hate what I
see in myself. I need You. Lord, that wandering
look, that wandering thought that I see in me, I don't trust myself. There's nothing
in me that is able to keep me. I must be kept. Oh, let me not
be mistaken. Let me not be misled. Lord, as I hear Your Word, teach
me by Your Spirit. Lord, give me understanding So
what's being said? I can say the words, but I'm
telling you, God has to teach. They'll all be taught of God. Then the psalmist, under the
direction of God's Spirit, reveals the faithful precaution that
a believer takes concerning his walk. Verse 11, have I hid in mine heart, that
I might not sin against thee." That which the Lord teaches a
believer, that which has been revealed to that believer by
His Spirit, it needs to be revealed over and over and over again. There's things that we've heard
and heard and heard, and we need to hear them again. That's what
Paul says. He said it's safe. It's not grievous. He said for me to tell you over
and over and over, it's safe. It's safe for you. But a believer
hides. He stores away in that renewed
heart. In fact, when he says, I've hid,
he hoards it. He hoards it with esteem. The Lord has given me this. This
is God's Word. This is God's Word. This is God's
Word. I know, I know I'm going to see
Him face to face. I know it. I know it. I know it by faith. I know this
is not my home. I know that I'm a sojourner in
this and I hold on to that and I hoard that Word and keep that. I need that. Lord, You promised. You promised. You prepared a place for those
that You've eternally loved. We'll be with You to hide that. But Paul says, my gospel, the
Lord's gospel given to His people. A believer hates the thought
that he sins against God. Thy word have I hid in my heart
that I might not sin against Thee. He hates that thought. David said in Psalm 51, that's
the psalm that David penned after the Lord sent Nathan, the prophet,
after David had taken Bathsheba, committed adultery with her,
killed her husband, lied. This is what David said, "...against
thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight."
And I hate that. Paul said in 1 Timothy 1.15,
this is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.
1 John 1.8 reveals, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. So how is it said? Does the psalmist mean when he
says, Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin
against Thee? As I said last week, I cannot
not sin. I cannot not sin. Sin is present with me to will. To be right and to do good is
present, but how to perform that which I find not. I see then,
Paul says, in me, that is in my flesh, there dwells no good
thing. So how is it said, thy word have
I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee? What did the psalmist say? Here's the literal. Thy word have I hid in mine heart. That word that reveals that when
I sin, that when I sin, that I might not bear the guilt of
sin against you. I know I do it. I know I do it. There's no doubt. It grieves
every believer because he knows, as Paul says, Christ Jesus came
to the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. If we say
we have no sin, we make God a liar. We know that we sin. Thy word have I hid in my heart
that I might know that I don't bear the guilt of
it. that I'm justified before You. I cannot, I don't have the
capability of walking before Him without sin. And that grieves me. But I can
tell you this, with the knowledge of His Word hidden, hoarded in
my heart, there is therefore now no condemnation to them that
be in Christ Jesus. Justified by the faith of Jesus
Christ. No charge. That word hidden in
my heart that I might know that I bear not the guilt of what
I actually do, that's a word that guides me. and keeps me
and holds me. My little children, these things
write I unto you that you sin not, and if any man sin, and we do. We have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He is the propitiation. He is the appeaser of divine
justice. He is the propitiation for our
sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world. Jew, Gentile, bond-free, male,
female. My comfort is in God's Word hidden
in my heart. If I had not this Word to teach
me, to instruct me, to know and give teaching concerning my walk,
giving heed to that Word, and with that new heart of understanding,
seeking after Almighty God, asking God, don't let me be deceived,
don't let me wonder. Thy Word have I hoarded in my
heart that I might have some comfort and know Lord, I don't
bear the guilt of it. It grieves me for what I do.
And I hate that. One day, by the grace of God,
there will be no more sin. No more sin. No more disrespectful
thoughts. No more rebellion. And that day
will be changed. These things revealed in this
Scripture are going to be perfectly revealed. Oh, but that I might
hide that word right now and by faith walk before Him, realizing
that I am what I am by the grace of God. For Christ's sake and
my good.