Psalm 119:97 - Upgrade your Life

September 16, 2026

Upgrade your Life #

Psalm 119:97

Introduction

If you live in your home, and never change anything, it will be outdated, and break down, and have problems. Electrical wires will start to go bad, the roof will start to leak, the plumbing will have problems, the walls will start to look bad, the flooring would start to wear, the yard would become weed ridden, the bushes, and trees would get out of hand, the driveway would crack, and crumble, your HVAC would stop working, on and on we could go.

All of those require and need maintenance, not just to look nice, but to continue to function correctly. Some things when you maintain them, they get better… if you take 50 year old windows out, and put new windows in, it would be considered an upgrade.

Just like our house needs upgrades, and those upgrades cost money, but in the end make the house better, everyone’s life needs upgrades. The most valuable upgrade you can make, is be going to the Word of God, and finding out what needs fixed, repaired, and modified in our life. That is exactly what the Psalmist says in this portion. – Upgrades your Life

The single most important upgrade in your life, is the Word of God, on a daily dosage, and let it dominate your thought life!

I. Passion (Psalm 119:97) #

  • When a young person is smitten by a person of the opposite sex, they think about them all the time. They write their name in their school notebook, they talk about them to their friends, and then they are surprised when someone says, you love that person.

A. Thoughts “my meditation” #

  • Meditate – to dwll on any thing in thought, to contemplate, to study
  • I greatly enjoy mulling over in my mind a text, and coming up with an outline of what the text is saying. I spend a great deal of time meditating, thinking, contemplating the wording of the verse, and the concept that it teaches.

i. Be consumed by the Word! #

B. Time “all the day” #

i. All Day #

  • It is not just a thought, because you have to, but circumstances bring Bible verses to your mind

C. Thief - #

Mark 4:15 — And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

  • The primary application to this passage is Salvation, there is an underlying truth to spiritual growth and development!

    • Satan has distracted believers with sports, social media, entertainment, work, materialism, things that are not even necessarily sin, but not spiritually helpful.

II. Perception (Psalm 119:98-100) #

Perception – a capacity for comprehension and understanding.

  • Here is a very clear evident benefit to the Word of God… Let the upgrades begin!

A. Wiser than Enemies (98) #

i. Manual #

  • In major sporting events, they have analysts study the game plays of the opposing team, so they know what to guard against!
  • You don’t have to study your enemy… God has already given us the play book!
  • Study the Word, and you will surpass your enemy in understanding!

ii. God makes you wiser! “thou” #

1 Samuel 18:14–15 —14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him. 15 Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.

  • God is for us

Romans 8:31 — What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

iii. “They are ever with me” #

    • The Word – Yes! If you memorize it, learn it, hide it in your heart!
    • The enemies? Yes, you will always have enemies!

B. Wiser than Educators (99) #

i. You can surpass your teacher #

  • As education becomes more secular, it becomes more foolish

    • Wide acceptation of evolution, gay marriage, transgender… Romans 1 outlines this for us! – It is a downhill slide.

C. Wiser than Elders (100) #

i. Many great philosophers - #

  • Not wiser than a Christian who “KEEP thy precepts” – doer of the Word!

III. Paths (Psalm 119:101-102) #

A. Separation (101) #

i. Imperative to separate #

  • I have refrained my feet – I pulled kept it back

    • Light and darkness cannot cohabitate the same place, it is lit or dark.
    • The closer you get to the word, the brighter the light – some don’t want too close, they like the cockroaches running around them.

  • “every evil”

    • You cannot straddle the fence, and keep one foot in the world, and one foot in church

ii. Impossible of both #

  • God’s Word will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Word of God!

B. Steadfastness (102) #

i. Don’t forsake, or depart! “I have not departed” #

  • Don’t depart on purpose
  • Don’t depart on accident out of neglect

ii. Learn from God! – Be drawn to learn more! #

IV. Persuasion (Psalm 119:103-104) #

A. Delight (103) #

i. Sweet #

  • Honey was a prized possession in Bible times, and sweet!
  • God’s word, isn’t a dredge, a chore, a box to check, it is a sweet addition to your life!

B. Despise (104) #

  • When you grow to enjoy the Word of God, you will despise sin in your own life!
  • It is a natural development… when it is obvious you still like the world, and don’t hate sin in your own life, it is evident you have not fully grown to Love the Sweetness of God’s Word!
Tags: Life Wisdom Bible