We Need God to Make Us Pure and His Word to Keep Us Pure
Psalm 119 is the longest and most intentionally structured Psalm in the Bible. God crafted it as an acrostic poem containing 22 stanzas, with each stanza corresponding to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Within each stanza, every verse begins with that same Hebrew letter, creating a comprehensive pattern that stretches from beginning to end. This demonstrates that from A to Z, God's Word is good. It is worthy of admiring & aligning our lives to it.
The goal of the entire Psalm centers on the idea that one is blessed when our lives are in full accord with God’s Word, and that we pray our way would be steadfast in keeping God’s Word. There are numerous terms for God’s Word that address different characteristics, whether it be guidance like a Father, justice like a Judge, or pronouncements like a King:
Word (used throughout)
Law (Torah)
Testimonies
Precepts
Statutes
Commandments
Rules (Judgments)
Promise
Ways
Ordinances
There are also numerous characteristics of God's Word to show why it has value and worth:
Pure (v. 140)
True (v. 142, 151, 160)
Righteous (v. 7, 62, 75, 106, 138, 144, 160, 164, 172)
Firm/Established (v. 89, 152)
Wonderful (v. 129)
Just (v. 149)
Good (v. 39, 68)
Sweet (v. 103)
Light (v. 105, 130)
Precious (v. 72, 127)
Boundless/Wide (v. 96)
The main idea that I want you to come away with today is this:
We need God to make us pure and His Word to keep us pure. Therefore, we must guard our lives by His Word through discipline and devotion.
Let’s read Psalm 119:1–16. We do not know exactly who wrote it, but we do know this: this is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word that God carried men along to write. So while there is a human author, God is the Divine Author—so let’s treat this as God’s Word.
(Psalm 119:1–16 quoted)
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Introduction
In my grandparents’ and dad’s testimonies, they always refer back to a crucial event in their life. My grandparents were not going to church, and my dad, at three-years-old, was sitting in front of the TV watching a televangelist. My grandparents go, “well, if he is going to listen to a preacher, we should bring him to church.” Months later, they professed faith in Jesus and were baptized in that church. My Papaw became the pastor. My parents were married. All of this began with my toddler dad listening to a preacher.
There are many characteristics a church looks for when searching for a pastor. First, I pray that they make sure he is a Christian by the fruit of his life. Then, that they move to the qualifications for a pastor in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1: that he is above reproach, the husband of one wife (if married), sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach; not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, managing his household well, and not a recent convert.
There are some churches who do not. They want to know if he is likeable. Will he visit me for coffee? Will he let me keep my leadership position? Does he teach about Calvinism—or avoid it? Does he tell a lot of stories? Can his wife play the piano?
Church, let me tell you there should be two main characteristics of your next pastor:
Is he a man of God? Does he point you to Jesus? Is he trying to be a servant of Jesus, or is he trying to serve himself?
Is he a man of God’s Word? Does he give you motivational speeches—or does he open God’s Word, read it, explain what it means, and help apply it so we can live lives worthy of the Gospel for God?
Church, we need God and God’s Word. We don’t need that other stuff. There are better places to get that. What we need is to be brought near to God.
Psalm 119:9 gives us insight into why we need God and God’s Word:
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
The Psalmist asks a vital question: how can a young man keep his way pure? Before we answer how to keep our way pure, we must ask: how is a young man’s way made pure in the first place?
We Need God to Make Our Way Pure
The word pure can be translated as clean, blameless, acquitted. Without fault, error, or sin. Undefiled. Complete. Perfect. Sincere.
When we think of purity, we might think of clean water. Living beside Lake Ponchartrain, there have been times we’ve been under a boil order because the water wasn’t pure.
Or we may think of pure thoughts, bodily purity—or "pure bliss," like that feeling when you have nothing on your schedule, no chores, just rest.
But biblically, purity is about being fit to relate to God.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
“So that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” (Philippians 1:9–11)
Psalm 15 tells us the pure person:
“He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.”
The pure will see God, will be filled with righteousness, and will dwell with Him.
There’s just one issue: are any of us pure and blameless? No.
Romans 3:10–12 says:
"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God."
And 1 John 1:8:
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
Even if we think we are “good people,” Isaiah 64:6 says:
"All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment."
So if purity is the condition to see God—but none of us are pure—what hope is there?
Job 25:4 asks:
“How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?”
The answer: We can’t make ourselves pure... but God can.
God promises:
"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean." (Ezekiel 36:25–27)
Paul says:
"You were washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 6:11)
And Titus 3:5 reminds us:
"He saved us... according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."
Only God can make us pure—and He has done it by the blood of His Son.
When Adam and Eve sinned, purity was lost. We inherit sin—and we sin ourselves. Like trying to scoop blood out of a pot of jambalaya, you can't clean the whole thing. But Jesus’ blood doesn't infect—it purifies.
This is why Romans 10:9–10 calls us to:
"Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved."
If you confess and believe, you are made pure—"just as if I’d never sinned."
We Need God’s Word to Keep Our Way Pure
If we have been made pure, how do we remain pure?
The Psalmist answers:
"By guarding it according to your word."
We don't stay pure by doing our own thing. God’s Word is the guardrail that keeps us from veering off.
God’s Word is a grace to us. It is His "God-breathed instruction" (2 Timothy 3:16) given to teach, correct, and train us.
"Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:21)
His Word helps us live lives worthy of the Gospel. It helps us know Him, follow Him, and do His will.
We Guard Our Lives by God’s Word Through Discipline and Devotion
Discipline
We must discipline ourselves to seek God with our whole heart. This isn’t just emotional—it’s at the core of who we are.
We guard our lives by reading His Word consistently, by storing His Word in our hearts, by letting it shape us. We declare His ways. We meditate on His precepts.
Sometimes it’s better to deeply chew on one verse than skim through chapters without understanding.
As we discipline ourselves, we will begin to delight in His statutes, rejoicing in His promises and His work.
Discipline keeps us close to the Word—and keeps us pure.
Devotion
But it cannot be discipline alone.
The Psalmist cries out:
“Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!” (Psalm 119:12)
We guard our way by devotion to God Himself. We read His Word because we love Him, not merely because it's "wise."
Discipline without devotion becomes a chore. But devotion fuels discipline—and discipline fuels devotion.
There are days when you won’t feel like reading the Bible. There are days when you won't feel like praying. But small acts of discipline are deposits into our devotion.
Let your devotion and discipline work together. Our devotion keeps us faithful—and our discipline strengthens our devotion.
Conclusion
Recognize that only God can make you pure.
Come to Christ if you have not yet been made pure. He alone can save you. He lived the life you could not live, died the death you deserved, and rose again to purify you.
Remain pure by guarding your life with God’s Word.
How does a young man—or woman—keep their way pure? By disciplining themselves to God’s Word through their devotion to God.
We need God to make us pure—and His Word to keep us pure.
This is true for us personally—and true for the Church corporately.
Let’s go to God and to His Word—to be made pure, and to stay pure.