9 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.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed art thou, O Lord:
teach me thy statutes.
13 With my lips have I declared
all the judgments of thy mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate in thy precepts,
and have respect unto thy ways.
16 I will delight myself in thy statutes:
I will not forget thy word.
Comments by Joan Boney
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee:
Straight forward with singleness of purpose is very important to us.
James 1 ... 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Jesus said: You cannot serve God and mammon ... Mt. 6
If our heart is double and we have fleshly desires mixed in with mental desires toward wanting to serve God, we have a problem.
fleshly desires:
- praise of men
- fame
- money and worldly riches
These things can cause us to be like that fountain which has both sweet and bitter water.
James 3 ... 11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
The only way I know to deal with mixed desires it to pray diligently, with true desire to do only the will of God ... asking God to show us when we are fleshly that we might turn.
If you really want to go in the way of God rather than the way of your own flesh, I believe God can reach you when you belong to God.
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14 I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies,
as much as in all riches.
We rejoice ... take great pleasure in the way of God ... We read the various things in the Bible which show us the way of God and we greatly delight in these stories... We think on the ways of God daily ... Keeping such before us is very great help to us.
15 I will meditate in Thy precepts,
and have respect unto Thy ways.