Psalms 119:9 - Meaning and Application

Here is a serious question: How can the next generation be made better than the present one? “How can a young man keep his way pure?” To cleanse means to make clean, which shows that the way is already stained. Besides the corruption we all inherit from birth, and from which we are not yet fully free, young people face many particular sins that soil their conduct, especially youthful desires (2 Timothy 2:22). These sins make their way offensive to God and shameful to themselves.

Young men need to cleanse their way. They need hearts made new and lives set right, so they can stay clean from the corruption in the world that comes through desire. That gives them both a clear conscience and a good name. Few young people seriously ask how they can recover and keep their purity, so David asks the question for them.

A full answer is given here. Young men can truly cleanse their way by paying attention to it according to the word of God. This shows the honor of God’s word, because it has real power and use for individuals and for communities, whose happiness depends greatly on the virtue of their young people.

Young men must make God’s word their rule. They must learn it and decide to live by it. It will do more to cleanse young men than the laws of rulers or the morals of philosophers. They must also carefully use that rule. They should watch their conduct, test it by God’s word as a standard, correct what is wrong by that guide, and steer by that chart and compass. God’s word will not help us unless we are watchful and keep comparing our lives with it. Young men are ruined either by living without any rule or by choosing false rules for themselves. Let them think carefully about where their feet are going, and walk by Scripture rules. Then their way will be clean, and they will have the comfort and honor of it here and forever.