We want to notice these three things: youth, cleanse and way. They are found in Psalm 119:99BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. (Psalm 119:9). “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy Word.”
In our translating work, we find that “young man” here means youth, so the feminine gender is not excused from this tremendous obligation before God. “Wherewithal shall youth cleanse its way?” Perhaps you will be surprised, but I trust that you will not be offended when I tell you the meaning of youth. Did you ever see a lion in a rage, with that fierce look on his face and his mane up? That is one meaning of youth. If you were to read Jeremiah, you would find that, twice over, youth means to yell. Did you ever see children running out of school? Indeed we have, yelling as they rush out. We have seen them and we have heard them — youth. But there is still another meaning. Did you ever see a naughty child, when mother corrects it, fall on the floor, bite the table leg and kick? Youth also means a “fit of passion.” Youth, youth! Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before those evil days come upon thee, and rejoice, young man and young woman, in thy youth. But see to it that you know Christ as your Savior before you embark upon this journey so laden with sin and wickedness. See to it that you are His through faith in His precious blood!
Now that word “cleanse.” Cleanse has two meanings. A father sends his son to clean the windows of his car. He cleans them so that his father can see through. That is one aspect of it. But there is another meaning to the word “cleanse.” It is to be cleansed from defilement. Yes, from defilement. Another word for it might be transparent — you can see through it. So then, clean has two meanings: first of all to be made clean in the precious blood of Christ, and then to be transparently clean in your testimony here below.
There are also two meanings to “way.” One is the trampled way which you see along the streets where the feet of men and women of every category have been marching daily. That is the trampled way. There is another way, and we have this word in the original here: It is the right way. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)). I got an illustration of this when we traveled up on an old cargo steamer from South America once. Off the coast of Ecuador it was a stormy night and our steamer was quite a distance away from the shore. I said to my wife, “I wonder how that pilot boat will ever find its way to us across these stormy waters on such a black night.” While I was talking to her, as we watched the waves, the light shone right across the stormy sea. In that light the pilot boat came safely to our ship. God’s Word which we have in our hands is a light across this hell-going way. Let us not be mistaken, beloved; across this way we have this blessed Book and we have Jesus at the beginning and at the end of the way, for He is the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Him.
E. F. Smith