Opening illustration: Charlie Riggs has been called “the man behind Billy Graham.” For nearly 40 years, Riggs was the director of counseling and follow-up for Mr. Graham’s evangelistic meetings. In his counselor training classes, Charlie taught thousands of people the basic principles of how to live for Christ and share their faith with others.
At Charlie’s 90th birthday celebration, many tributes mentioned his lifelong practice of memorizing Scripture. His goal was not merely to know the Bible, but to know Christ and live by His Word.
Charlie followed Psalm 119: 9 - 11, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word. . . . Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” He likened the Scriptures to “plumb bobs” for his heart. Like the weight that holds a builder’s plumb line straight and true, these divine principles never change, no matter what the circumstances. He sought to measure his own thoughts, feelings, and behavior by God’s Word, not the other way around.
Charlie Riggs’ life was quiet and steady behind the scenes. His example challenges us today to hide God’s Word in our hearts and let it guide our lives. Charlie demonstrated what it means to live according to plumb.
Let us look into God’s Word and see what it tells us about living a life according to God’s ways and guidelines.
Introduction: This is both the longest Psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible. Though some may credit this Psalm to David, but it may have been written by Ezra after the temple was rebuilt [Ezra 6: 14 & 15] as a repetitive meditation on the beauty of God’s Word and how it helps us to stay pure and grow in faith. Psalm 119 has 22 carefully constructed sections, each corresponding to a different letter in the Hebrew alphabet and each verse beginning with the letter of its section. Almost every verse mentions God’s Word. Such repetition was common in the Hebrew culture. People did not have personal copies of the scriptures to read as we do, so God’s people memorized His Word and passed it along orally. The structure of this Psalm allowed for easy memorization. Remember God’s Word, the Bible, is the only sure guide for living a holy, pure and God-pleasing life.
How to live a life according to the PLUMB?
Before we jump into answering the psalmist’s question, let us see how differently men and women would perceive this passage. [Details given in the PowerPoint]
1. Attentive [listening, reading, observing …] to God’s Word [v. 9]:
We are drowning in a sea of impurity. Everywhere we look we find temptation to lead impure lives. The psalmist asked a question that troubles us all: how do we stay pure and holy in a filthy environment? We cannot do this on our own, but must have counsel and strength more dynamic than the tempting influences around us. Where can we find that strength and wisdom? By listening, reading and being attentive to God’s Word and doing what it says.
2. Desiring [seeking, hunting ….] God [v. 10a]:
(a) What does it mean to seek God with all your heart?
• It means to desire Him, want Him, need Him above any and every other desire, want, or need.
• The heart is the seat of emotions, of desire (Rom. 10:1); Love (Mark 12:30, 33); Reason (Mark 2:8); belief (Rom. 10:10); trust (Proverbs 3:5); and it is from the heart that you are to do God’s will (Eph. 6:6), etc.
• It is with all of what you are that you are to seek God. With your entire being.
(b) "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37).
• Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15).
• It is the psalmist’s love for God that motivates Him to obey what God commands. That is why He says in the second part of verse 10...
3. Abiding [remaining, steadfast …] by God’s Commandments [v. 10b]:
It is pleasant to see how the writer’s heart turns distinctly and directly to God. He had been considering an important truth in the preceding verse, but here he so powerfully feels the presence of his God that he speaks to him, and prays to him as to one who is near. A true heart cannot long live without fellowship with God. It is curious again to note how the second part of the Psalm keeps step with the first; for where Psalm 119: 2 pronounces that man to be blessed who seeks the Lord with his whole heart, the present verse claims the blessing by pleading the character: “With my whole heart have I sought thee.”
Illustration: June 25, 1963 the Supreme Court struck down legislation that would allow school prayer. The case was Engel V. Vitale. It was a 22 word prayer that went like this:
"Almighty God we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country".
Since then:
• Teen pregnancies are up 400%
• Our parents...Divorce rate has 600% ~ equal among the secular and Christians
• Our teachers...S.A.T. scores at an all time low
• Our country...is 3rd from the bottom on the global education scene … and the list is unending
When we remove God from the human equation, man is left without hope and without a standard of truth to direct us.
4. Hiding [stored, treasured, precious, cherish …] God’s word in your heart... (v. 11a):
(a) How do you hide God’s word in your heart?
• You memorize.
• So that the Holy Spirit can bring it to your remembrance when you need it.
• So you can then be comforted, corrected, and guided.
(b) When God’s Word is hidden in your heart you won’t sin against Him.
• "...so that I might not sin against you" ~ REASON to store God’s Word in our hearts
• The Bible keeps you from sin; sin keeps you from the Bible.
• The Word of God is light.
© When God’s Word is hidden in your heart praises come out of it.
• "Praise be to you, O LORD"; (v. 12).
• When God’s Word is hidden in your heart you speak of God and His Word.
• 13With my lips I recount all the laws that come from Your mouth.
• The KJV and the Revised Standard both says, "With my lips I have declared all the judgments that come from Your mouth."
• The NASB says, "With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of Thy mouth."
(d) When God’s word is hidden in you, rejoicing flows out of you.
• "I rejoice in following your statutes" (v. 14).
• A statute is a formal rule or regulation like the dietary laws.
(e) And how might you rejoice?
• "as one rejoices in great riches." (v. 14b).
• How would you react if you won the Lottery?
• With great riches there is exultation
Keeping God’s Word in our hearts is deterrent to sin. This alone should inspire us to memorize scripture. But memorization alone will not keep us from sin; we must also put God’s Word to work in our lives, making it a vital guide for everything we do.
5. Speaking [declaring, articulating, prophesying …] God’s Word [v. 13]:
The taught one of Psalm 119:12 is here a teacher himself. What we learn in secret we are to proclaim upon the housetops. So had the Psalmist done. As much as he had known he had spoken. God has revealed many of his judgments by his mouth, that is to say, by a plain and open revelation; these it is our duty to repeat, becoming, as it were, so many exact echoes of his one infallible voice. There are judgments of God which are a great deep, which he does not reveal, and with these it will be wise for us not to intermeddle. What the Lord has veiled it would be presumption for us to uncover, but, on the other hand, what the Lord has revealed it would be shameful for us to conceal. It is a great comfort to a Christian in time of trouble when in looking back upon his past life he can claim to have done his duty by the word of God. To have been, like Noah, a preacher of righteousness, is a great joy when the floods are rising, and tile ungodly world is about to be destroyed. Lips which have’ been used in proclaiming God’s statutes are sure to be acceptable when pleading God’s promises. If we have had such regard to that which cometh out of God’s mouth that we have published it far and wide, we may rest quite assured that God will have respect unto the prayers which come out of our mouths.
It will be an effectual method of cleansing a young man’s way if he addicts himself continually to preaching the gospel. He cannot go far wrong in judgment whose whole soul is occupied in setting forth the judgments of the Lord. By teaching we learn; by training the tongue to holy speech we master the whole body; by familiarity with the divine procedure we are made to delight in righteousness; and thus in a threefold manner our way is cleansed by our proclaiming the way of the Lord. We must carefully treasure up the word of God, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; and then by His grace we shall act according to it.
6. Rejoicing [joyful, delighting …] in God’s testimonies [v. 14]:
Delight in the word of God is a sure proof that it has taken effect upon the heart, and so is cleansing the life. The Psalmist not only says that he does rejoice, but that he has rejoiced. For years it had been his joy and bliss to give his soul to the teaching of the word. His rejoicing had not only arisen out of the word of God, but out of the practical characteristics of it. The Way was as dear to him as the Truth and the Life. Observe that his joy was personal, distinct, remembered, and abundant. Wonder not that in the previous verse he glories in having spoken much of that which he had so much enjoyed’ a man may well talk of that which is his delight.
He must consider it his chief happiness to be found in the path of obedience, giving his whole heart and strength to God; and when enabled to do it, he should rejoice more in it than if he had gained thousands of gold and silver. O how great is the treasure of a tender and approving conscience!
7. Meditating on God’s Word (precepts, laws, statutes …) [v. 15a]:
He who has an inward delight in anything will not long withdraw his mind from it. As the miser often returns to look upon his treasure, so does the devout believer by frequent meditation turn over the priceless wealth which he has discovered in the book of the Lord. To some men meditation is a task; to the man of cleansed way it is a joy. He who has meditated will meditate; he who says, “I have rejoiced,” is the same who adds, “I will meditate.” No spiritual exercise is more profitable to the soul than that of devout meditation; why are many of us so exceeding slack in it? It is worthy of observation that the preceptory part of God’s word was the psalmist’s special subject of meditation, and this was the more natural because the question was still upon his mind as to how a young man should cleanse his way. Practical godliness is vital godliness. But we do not meditate on God’s precepts to good purpose, unless our good thoughts produce good works.
8. Reflecting [pondering, considering, respecting …] God’s ways [v. 15b]:
He should keep his eye upon God’s steps; setting the example of his Savior before his eyes, going where he would go, and nowhere else; doing what he would do, and nothing else; keeping the company that he would keep, and none else; and doing every thing in reference to the final judgment. Taking heed unto them, and walk in them, and not wander from them; make them the rule of walk and conversation; as travelers look well to their ways, that they do not miss them, and go into wrong ways; they observe the directions that have been given them, and keep unto them; and so good men refer to the ways of the Lord, which the Scriptures point out unto them; see Jeremiah 6:16.
I will think much about them so as to know what thy ways are; and next, I will think much of them so as to have thy ways in great reverence and high esteem. I will see what thy ways are towards me that I may be filled with reverence, gratitude, and love; and then, I will observe what are those ways which thou hast prescribed for me, thy ways in which thou would have me follow thee; these I would watch carefully that I may become obedient, and prove myself to be a true servant of such a Master.
9. Delighting [joyful, glad …] in God’s law [order, decrees …] [v. 16a]:
The word here in Hebrew for delight, implies that the Psalmist will skip about and jump for joy. He must exult in God’s word as his treasure, live in the spirit of obedience as his work, and ever glory in God, who has called him to such a state of salvation.
In this verse delight follows meditation, of which it is the true flower and outgrowth. When we have no other solace, but are quite alone, it will be a glad thing for the heart to turn upon itself, and sweetly whisper, “I will delight myself. What if no minstrel sings in the hall, I will delight myself. If the time of the singing of birds has not yet arrived, and the voice of the turtle is not heard in our land, yet I will delight myself.” This is the choicest and noblest of all rejoicing 4 in fact, it is the good part which can never be taken from us; but there is no delighting ourselves with anything below that which God intended to be the soul’s eternal satisfaction. The statute-book is intended to be the joy of every loyal subject. When the believer once peruses the sacred pages his soul burns within him as he turns first to one and then to another of the royal words of the great King, words full and firm, immutable and divine.
Most of us chafe under rules, for we think they restrict us from doing what we want. At first glance, then, it may seem strange to hear the psalmist talk of delighting in following God’s statutes as much as in great riches. But God’s laws were given to free us to be all He wants us to be. They restrict us from doing what might cripple us and keep us from being or doing our best. God’s guidelines help us to follow His path and avoid paths that lead to destruction.
10. Remembering [NOT forgetting] God’s Word [v. 16b]:
The Psalmist will not allow the world to crowd it out of my mind. He must never forget what God has done for him, done in him, and promised farther to do; and he must not forget the promises he had made, and the vows of the Lord that are upon him. Any young man who attends to these fifteen particulars will get his impure way cleansed; victory over his sin; and, if he abide faithful to the Lord that bought him, an eternal heaven at last among them that are sanctified. Men do not readily forget that which they have treasured up, that which they have meditated on (Psalm 119: 15), and that which they have often spoken of (Psalm 119: 13). Yet since we have treacherous memories it is well to bind them well with the knotted cord of “I will not forget.”
Note how two “I wills” follow upon two “I haves” in the preceding verse. We may not promise for the future if we have altogether failed in the past; but where grace has enabled us to accomplish something, we may hopefully expect that it will enable us to do more.
Conclusion: You should seek to live pure lives [according to the plumb] because to do so glorifies God. It honors Him. Not simply morality, being nice, etc. But pleasing God because you love Him and want to honor Him.
God wants you to keep your ways pure. How? God wants you to live according to His Word.
The Bible will transform our lives
And turn us from our sin,
If we will read it and obey
God’s principles within. —Sper
The Bible: Know it in your head, stow it in your heart, show it in your life, sow it in the world.
