Young David wrote a staggering number of jazzy beats in his lifetime. Three lines from one of his 70+ songs (a.k.a. Psalms) stood out to me recently. His lyrics shine like a lighthouse for young people the world over who are navigating the boat of their life through treacherous waters. Many “serious” voices fill the air with claims of authority. Although they claim to have the high ground, we know that worldly wisdom is just strings of empty words parroted from talking heads, spewing half-truths. David’s Psalm 119 calls this out.
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When you are about to crash into shore, a dim flashlight won’t help you. You need a beacon that shudders the darkness. This kind of hope can be found in David’s Psalm 119. The whole song is amazing, but especially for young people, these three lines burn off the fog:
Your commands are always with meand make me wiser than my enemies.I have more insight than all my teachers,for I meditate on your statutes.I have more understanding than the elders,for I obey your precepts.
HOW COULD DAVID SAY THIS WITHOUT BEING PRIDEFUL?
If you want to know what young people are thinking, feeling, and wrestling with, just listen to some lyrics from a currently popular song. For the most part, songwriters have a pulse on the dominant culture and are simply finding ways to connect and offer a message of empathy or change. Not that this was David’s single motivation, but his songs do invite curious consideration. First, let’s make sure we do not misunderstand what David is talking about. If taken at face value, one might take David’s jam session to mean: “I’m smarter than everybody, including my teachers and irrelevant old people.” But is that what he is saying here? I think not. I don’t think there is an ounce of pride in this lick.
1. DAVID WAS A YOUNG PERSON PRAISING GOD FOR MAKING HIM WISE
What David is actually doing here is thanking and praising God for making him wise in comparison to all of the talking heads around him: “Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies.” He is amazed that just like God promised, if we spend time reading and studying God’s Word (the Bible) daily with curiosity and a willingness to align our lives to what it teaches, then we actually will become wise!
James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
A little philosophy inclines man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy brings men’s minds about to religion.-Sir Francis Bacon
There is no question that David is simply thanking God for keeping him curious, in the treasure hunt for truth from God’s Word. Unfortunately, like Francis Bacon’s quote above warns us, a lot of people are satisfied with half-truths and are not curious enough to ask harder questions and be honest enough with their assumptions. If more people would just remain humble, curious learners, they would discover that we don’t stand in judgment of God’s Word, but actually, it stands in judgment over us. David relied on God’s word to be the lighthouse to bring him into safe harbor each evening of his life.
David was not satisfied with a couple of talking points to make him sound smart, he was on a life-long expedition to know God more fully. The reward for David in his faithful pursuit of God and obeying his Word was simply more and deeper relationship with him. Can we say the same of ourselves? Young people need to hear this song of David. The greatest reward in life is more of God in your life. The greatest treasure you can discover is closer intimacy with Jesus. The supreme aspiration of our life ought not to be lesser, worldly pursuits, but instead, you are invited into the wide-open spaces of joyful closeness with God. That’s wisdom, and it’s available now to the young, you don’t have to wait until you are “old” to have access to this treasure.
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2. DAVID WAS EXCITED TO EXPERIENCE THE GOOD FRUIT THAT RESULTS FROM OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD (YOUR LIGHTHOUSE)
On the surface when David claims that he has more insight than his teachers, and more understanding than the elders of his community, this may sound like an arrogant young person without a lot of life experience. But that is not what he means. He writes: “I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.” David is praising God for experiencing good fruit in his life as a result of obedience to God’s word on a consistent basis.
David was experiencing the benefits of understanding and wisdom and simply burst out with acknowledgment that this good fruit was due to his meditation, and curious study of God’s wisdom, found in his Word (the Bible). David’s obedience was bearing undeniable fruit, and he just wanted to give God the glory for that reality.
We are reminded of another very similar song David wrote in Psalm 105 about the benefits of following God closely (emphasis mine):
Praise the Lord, my soul;all my inmost being, praise his holy name.Praise the Lord, my soul,and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sinsand heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the pitand crowns you with love and compassion,who satisfies your desires with good thingsso that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
IMAGINE SOME REAL-LIFE SCENARIOS TO APPLY THIS SONG
Imagine watching TV, sitting in class, or listening to a speaker, and feeling in the depth of your being that you have more insight than these people who are supposed to be the authoritative teachers on a subject. Or consider being at a public gathering or dinner party and as you listen to the adults and elder people talk and converse, that you have a sneaking suspicion that you may be seeing reality more clearly than they are! What David is saying is that no matter if you are young or old, if you want to gain wisdom and understanding you need to 1) search for truth and wisdom in God’s Word (the Bible), and you need to 2) immediately apply to your life what you read with faith and trust that God’s ways are best:
Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6
I think young people need to be freshly inspired today. Yes, they should learn to respect those in authority and those who have the experience of age (1 Peter 2:17). But they also need to understand that often God uses young voices of faith to revive sleepy and wayward cultures. Young people are not held hostage to the lesser values of this day.
Instead, what we learn from Psalm 119:98-100 is that you are invited to follow in the footsteps of David which may make you wiser than your enemies, have more insight than many of your teachers, and have more understanding than many unfortunate older people who have lived too many years for lesser gain.
Don’t settle for someone shining a dim flashlight to light your way to the harbor, look to God’s Word as your lighthouse, and you’ll always find your way home.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT
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Decide this year to read Scripture daily and memorize some passages that stand out to you. You might want to try the VISION Inductive Bible Study method that I put together to help glean truth from the text.
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Ask someone in your church who is further along in the spiritual journey than you to disciple you and be your mentor this year.
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Write your own song or Psalm to give glory to God for any fruit of obedience you see in your life that is a result of you having faith and trusting God in some aspect of your life. Please share it if you do!