According to Thy Word

  • Psalm 119:9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”
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All youth (and all people for that matter!) throughout time have this promise from God that their way can be cleansed if they heed and live according to God’s Word. No matter your mistakes, your failures, your sins, all of them can be cleansed and your way made right when you straighten your course to line up with God’s Word. Of course, we have the assurance that this course of the Lord will lead us to Jesus (Gal. 3:24) Who ultimately has the perfect cleansing and power for us to live righteously.

You must note, though, that you must take “heed thereto according to thy word” not anyone else’s word. You cannot live your views of the world, your peers‘ views of the world, the world’s views of itself, or anyone else. We must live “according to thy word.”

And this is where many stray. We struggle with living wholly, completely, entirely, consistently according to God’s Word. We add and subtract from God’s Word. We heighten or lessen the importance of portions of God’s Word. We completely change words in the Bible to entirely different words with different meanings. And when you do this, your way is not cleansed. Our churches need a revival of all believers living only according to all of God’s Word.

Something of interest with that phrase “according to thy word” is the fact that a number of the times it is used in the Bible is in regards to God’s people expecting God to do according to all of His promised word.

  • Psalm 119:25 “My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.”
  • Psalm 119:58 “I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.”
  • Psalm 119:170 “Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.”
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Just as we expect God to do according to His Word so God expects us to do according to His Word. We want a Faithful God. God wants a faithful people. It is crucial we not add to or take away from God’s Word, but live according to all of it.