Psalm 119:9-16

⁹ How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.

¹⁰ With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

¹² Blessed are You, O Lord!
Teach me Your statutes.

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 meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.

¹⁶ I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

Two foundation principles of the spiritual life appear in this stanza. The first, that the Bible associates its reader with God (v.10); the second, that its teachings make the life clean (v.9 and the heart happy (v.14). The moral result, therefore, of subjection to the authority of the Holy Scriptures is health of soul, holiness of life, and happiness of heart. — Williams, page 390.

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This section focuses on what may be called the “preparatory merit and benefit of God’s Word”—i.e., its foundational importance in preparing one to resist temptation and theological doubt before it is encountered, rather than during it (when one will hardly have the fortitude to “stop” and “mediate” upon relevant portions of Scripture) or after it (when one may already have succumbed). For this reason the psalmist opens this section with explicit reference to a young man, since the [best, but not only] way in which one maintains their purity and defense against sin in later life begins in one’s youth (cf. Proverbs 22:6). This “way” entails both “treasuring” (i.e., bringing inside and zealously guarding, as the same verb is used in Joshua 2:4; Psalm 27:5; Proverbs 10:14; etc.). God’s Word in one’s heart (v.11) as well as “mediating” on it (v.15; i.e., determining what it means, memorizing it, and considering how it applies to one’s situation). — Wechsler, page 282-283.