Psalm 119: Focus on God's Word Pt. 27 Joy In Hiding the Word in Our Heart.

Psalm 119:9,10  BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10)  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 

The Psalmist raised a question about how a young man might cleanse his way. The question applies to people of all ages, but young men are often headstrong and immature. 

Young men often think they have all the answers and are prone to giving in to fleshly lusts. 

Therefore, they will become defiled and the Psalmist wants us all to see how we can be cleansed. 

Taking heed to the Word of God is the first step and we explored what this means in previous posts. 

Seeking God with all of our heart is the second step toward cleansing and we looked at how we should approach God.

The third step is praying to God seeking His help so that we do not wander from His truth.

The fourth step is hiding God's Word in our hearts so that we do not sin against Him. Again, we have studied the implications of this for each believer very thoroughly. 

Psalm 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 

Meditating and thinking about the Word of God is a powerful way to hide it in our hearts. 

Mary pondered these things in her heart. 

Luke 2:16-19  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17)  And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18)  And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19)  But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 

Angels appeared to the shepherds and told them the good news of Christ's birth at Bethlehem. The shepherds came to worship the Divine child and repeated all that the angels said to Mary, Joseph and the others who were present at the manger. 

Notice what Mary did concerning the words spoken by the angels. She kept all their sayings and pondered them in her heart. The word "kept" means to preserve it in your mind or keep it in your memory. 

The word "pondered" means to bring these truths together in your mind and think about what God says. 

The idea is being like a hen patiently sitting on her eggs to warm them, so that her chicks may hatch. 

If we do not constantly incubate the truth that we hide in our hearts, then it is like a beam of sunlight that hits our garden and then vanishes. 

We see flashes of glory but not the full effect, because we did not take time to really think about the Word we are hiding in our heart.

If we do consistently ponder these truths, then the Spirit of God will help us see more of the beauty of God's Word. Pondering God's Word in our heart will bear fruit in us, just as the incubated eggs will yield little chicks. 

Scriptures bring hope as we meditate on what God says.

Romans 15:4-6  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 5)  Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6)  That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Paul helps us understand what it means to hide God's Word in our hearts in order to change how we think. 

He singled out the Old Testament scriptures to remind us that they were written to give us hope. However, this hope comes from patiently reading, meditating and finding comfort in the Word. 

Hiding the Word of God in our hearts will help all believers in all places around the world, to become likeminded in loving each other and in living according to God's Word. 

The ultimate aim of hiding God's Word in our heart is that with one mouth and one mind, we bring glory and honor to God the Father.

Receive the love of God's truth.

2 Thessalonians 2:9,10  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10)  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

We might wonder how any person could ever give their allegiance to the antichrist, yet the Bible makes it clear that multitudes will do this. How? They will be deceived because they did not receive the love of the truth from God that can save their soul. 

Thus, we must pray that God will help us love His word so deeply that it takes root and bears fruit in us. The seed of the word that does not penetrate the soil of the heart is soon devoured by the fowls of the air (Matthew 13:4). 

We must pray for God to use His word to go from our eyes and ears into our heart. 

Lay up God's truth in our heart. 

Proverbs 10:14  Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. 

This is another way of hiding God's Word in our heart. We lay up knowledge from His truth. This is accomplished by storing up a bountiful supply of scripture in our heart. 

It will keep us from sliding away from God. 

Psalm 37:31  The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. 

Hiding the Word of God in our heart is a powerful antidote to any sinful desires that we might have. As long as we hide His truth in our heart each day, none of our steps will slide into sin and degradation. 

This is like Joseph when Potiphar's wife attempted to seduce him. Joseph said "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Thus, we see the power of hiding God's Word in our heart. 

It will comfort us when we face troubles. 

Psalm 119:50  This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.

Hiding the Word of God in our heart will bring us great comfort and peace when we face adversity. We live in a depraved culture and evil seems to surround us. We will face trials, troubles and perhaps, tribulation, but the Word stored up in our heart will give us hope. 

Meditate, think about the scriptures.

Psalm 77:12  I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

As we hide scripture in our heart, we will think more deeply about the work of God to save us, through repentant faith in Christ. We will talk about all of the works of God from Creation to the Cross, from the Fall to Salvation. 

Psalm 119:15  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

The word "meditate" means to think about something like it is revolving slowly about in our mind. We want to understand His Word better and more fully so that our love and desire to serve God grows. 

This kind of meditation will lead us to respect and reverence the ways of God such that, we want to walk on that same holy path. 

Delight in hiding the Word in our heart.

Psalm 1:2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Meditating on the laws, statutes, judgments, commands, precepts, prophecies and promises of God should be the greatest delight for each believer. 

The first Psalm tells us that this must be our consistent practice and the rule of life. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

First, as we study the Word and seek to hide it in our heart, we must never do so out of mere curiosity. The Greeks came around Paul to hear some new thing, but they walked away unaffected. 

Rather, we want to study God's Word and hide it in our hearts, because we want to know God better. We want this to sink into our heart. 

Second, we must never hide the scriptures in our heart just so that we can teach others. There is always the danger that knowledge will puff up our pride and cause us to think too highly of ourselves. 

Third, hiding God's Word in our heart is not to have truth become the object of our understanding. Delight in truth is not the same as delight in God and hiding His Word in our heart is so that we delight in Him. 

Last, we study the word and hide it on our hearts so that we learn the beauty, duty and necessity of seeking holiness. The book of Hebrews tells us that without holiness, no man shall see God (Hebrews 12:14).

May the Spirit of God come alongside each believer, and guide us into these truths. May He see fit to help us as we seek to hide the Word in our hearts because we truly do not want to sin against God. May our hearts be willing to pursue the things of God so that we might glorify Jesus Christ in all that we think, say and do.

Bob