The Trodden Path
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. 12Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! 13With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. 14In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. 15I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. 16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. (Psalm 119:9-15)
When I was a kid, my friends and I walked home from school along a well-worn path along a "gully." The map of this "gully" called it a creek, but it went into a bayou, so we called it a gully. The grass was tall and reeds were in the grass as well, so to make it successfully called for following the path. No venturing off the path into places where snakes, brown recluse spiders, and critters lived. The path was narrow, but it worked for grade school boys just fine. We knew the path well.
The psalmist in today's reading asks how a young man can keep his way pure? The word "way" is translated from "derek" in Hebrew and means a "trodden path" (Lutheran Study Bible study notes, v 9). The psalmist is literally asking God to provide him with a "well-worn" path to follow to keep his life pure.
Again we see the progression of legal talk from commandments, to statutes, to rules, testimonies, and precepts. All provide light, as is noted later, for our feet along this well-worn path. To be familiar with these is done by asking for God to open the heart for God's Spirit to penetrate it and to help us being open to hearing and learning his Word. Being in God's Word daily is also a great way to learn these commandments, statutes, rules, precepts and testimonies.
Our hearts know right from wrong, good from bad, and God's way and our way, but we betray that path daily, getting off into the tall grass, reeds, and weeds where the snakes, spiders, and critters are. We even hear wisdom's call to help guide us along the path as Solomon notes again and again in Proverbs, but we ignore it as well seeking our own route.
"I shall take the road less traveled," is a sentiment echoed by Robert Frost. It challenges us to go out on our own and not be a follower. In the end, though, we follow someone or something, a person or a teaching. God's ways are proven ways and lead us to life ever-lasting. Our desires for adventure are fine, in the context of risk-taking and challenges, but to live a life contrary to God's Word and teaching is a risk that has consequences.
Pray that God's Word light our way and give our feet a path to walk on. Pray that we learn his ways to show others the path to follow to eternal life with him. Pray for mercy and forgiveness when we take the wrong route and divert from the path. Pray that we help others learn the wisdom contained in God's Word, Christ, and his teachings. In Christ's name, Amen.