The second letter dividing the verses in psalm 119 is ב – Beth. It means house or tent.
Psalms 119:9-16 BETH: With what shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word. (10) With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your Commandments. (11) I have hidden Your Word in my heart, so that I might not sin against You. (12) Blessed are You, O Jehovah; teach me Your Precepts. (13) With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. (14) I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. (15) I will think on Your Commandments and have respect to Your ways. (16) I will delight myself in Your Precepts; I will not forget Your Word.
In verse 9, how can someone cleanse his way?
cleanse – זכה
zâkâh
zaw-kaw’
A primitive root (compare H2141); to be translucent; figuratively to be innocent: – be (make) clean, cleanse, be clear, count pure.way – ארח
‘ôrach
o’-rakh
From H732; a well trodden road (literally or figuratively); also a caravan: – manner, path, race, rank, traveller, troop, [by-, high-] way.
To be “transparent” is Christian-speak for being honest, direct, about your life and spiritual conditions. It implies that you have stripped off the layers of ego and pride, and that the Holy Spirit living in you is more visible through your attitudes and behavior. How can you live a pure life? How can you run the race? By taking heed, where the translated “heed” is actually shâmar, the same word used in verse 4 for “keep.” It means “to hedge about, as with thorns.” When you hear Christians pray about a “hedge of protection” this is where they get it.
Verse 10 restates what David said in verse 2, but personalizes it. The word “hid” in verse 11, which so many new believers memorize, is described by Barnes this way:
The word rendered “hid” means properly to conceal, so that a thing may be secret, private, inaccessible; then, to lay up in private, to treasure up. to hoard – as money or jewels – commonly “hidden” from public view. Job 20:26; Psalms 17:14. Then it means to lay up in one’s heart, as a secret, inaccessible place; to hide one’s thoughts; purposes, designs; or to lay up knowledge or wisdom in the heart as a treasure, Job 10:13; Proverbs 2:1; Proverbs 7:1. The meaning here is, that he had “treasured” up the word of God, as the most valuable thing, in his heart; it was “there,” though unseen; it constituted the secret power by which he was governed; it was permanently deposited there, as the most valuable of his treasures.
In verse 12, the word “blessed” is not the same as in verses 1 and 2 which basically means “happy.”
blessed – בּרך
bârak
baw-rak’
A primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason): – X abundantly, X altogether, X at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, X greatly, X indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, X still, thank.
Something interesting about verse 12 is that “teach” is first defined as “goad.” A goad is a rod with a pointed tip, as in “spare the rod and spoil the child,” or “thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”
Verses 13 and 14 – “With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches.” David, having received, freely gave to others what God had given him. We may start out by hiding the word in our hearts, but
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth the good. And an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth the evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
(Luke 6:45)
In verse 15, David will meditate, or ponder, God’s precepts. One definition of meditate is, “to engage in a disciplined act of self-forgetful concentration, often under the guidance of a religious rule or master.” If we can tune out the grocery list, our daily schedule, that deadline at work, and really consider what the bible says, along with the intent and deeper meaning, to really pray the scriptures, as Jeanne Guyon said in Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
(Psalms 119:16)
