Psalm 119 and Memorization

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. In my Bible, it spans over five pages. This Psalm praises God for His Word (i.e. His law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, commandments, rules, paths, etc.). In this Psalm, one of the ways in which God calls us to respond to His word is by memorizing and meditating on it. For example:

I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you (v.11)

I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways (v.15)

Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works (v.27)

Some Christians of the past (William Wilberforce, David Livingstone, etc.) chose to respond to verses like these by memorizing large portions of Scripture like Psalm 119...all 176 verses of it! Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "There's no way that I could memorize that many verses. I've hardly memorized any verses." And that's where the crux of the matter is for you and I. We must begin with simple obedience. The reason 176 verses seems so daunting is because we have hardly committed any verses to memory.

But if we are to be obedient to God and His Word, we must be people who "hide" the Word in our hearts. So, how should we go forward in this task? I'll give three suggestions:

First, begin by asking God to give you the desire and ability to memorize His Word. This is certainly one prayer that is line with His desires for us.

Second, start small and work your way up. No one begins by attempting to memorize 176 verses at the same time. They begin by putting one new verse to memory, and they build from there. So, start with one verse and work your way forward. Psalm 119:11 would be a great one to begin with, wouldn't it?.

Third, speak God's Word to others. One of the greatest ways to learn something is to teach it to others. The Psalmist recognized this also: "With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth" (v.13).

May God bless you in your endeavor.