Psalm 19:7-11 is similar to all of Psalm 119. They both exalt the word of God. And stay in touch, because there are plenty of verses to memorize on that very topic.

Dear brother or sister in Christ. I want you to love the scriptures more and more. And part of that loving God’s word is the hiding of it in your heart. This certainly implies memorization of the scriptures.

But before we look more into that, a brother in Christ I met while back on a job reminded me of another reason that I took on this project; the aged among us.

Those with many candles on their cake often find it more difficult to read. Neither can they fully comprehend someone from a tape or audio app reading the Bible to them 90 miles an hour. Yes, that’s an exaggeration. But surely one is able to absorb more at a slower pace;  “..the race is not to the swift” (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

Another reason is having the word of God with you anywhere you go; especially if you have a service job that is more laborious than clerical, conversational, etc. Certainly you can pray while cruising down the super slab. And you can listen to the word of God in a way that is not tiring.

There are many wonderful treasures to be found in God’s word. Many don’t know, because they don’t take the time to read or hear. The word of God is always new. And when one’s appointed day comes – as it does to all, he or she places firm reliance upon what they know to be true. And therefore are so enabled to close their eyes in comfort and safety and truly rest in peace. Psalm 23 is only one of hundreds of passages of comfort.

As to memorization, can we ask exactly what is practical as to how much scripture one memorizes? No one would say just a few verses. Neither would one say that it’s necessary to memorize the entire Bible. Very few have. But you can always build upon what you know beyond John 3:16. In fact, John 3:16 is incomplete without including at least the following 2 verses (17 & 18).

I have parsed out the scriptures in order to give the hearer the best format of memorization. One need not pause at every comma in a verse, except where emphasis is required on what was just read or heard – that is often the case here. Lengthy verses with little punctuation are broken into bite size morsels, making memorization easier to achieve. These pauses are precise as to flow and retention of context. There are several that are impossible to break up easily, but they are few. And let me add that much time and care was taken to assure the most correct pronunciations of Bible words that are often mispronounced, though a few have differences as distinguished from British and standard English. Forgive me if I pronounce a word or name that is not of your custom.

In the reading are plenty of pauses. After each pause it would benefit your memorization if you would immediately say out loud what you just heard. But, if you are only meditating, use the pause to give you time to absorb what you just heard

When you proceed along with memorizing topics or chapters you will find yourself saying or attempting to say the next part of the text before you even hear it. Do this all the way through and you have the text memorized or nearly so.

And here I must say something about my theory of memorization which others might hold to:

You know that there are 3 persons in the Godhead. And the number 3 concerns many other important biblical truths including great mysteries.

Well, in the memorization format presented, (1) you hear the audio, (2) you speak what you just heard and (3) your ears hear what you yourself just spoke.

Finally, not only memorize and speak the word of God. Live the word of God in the power of God’s Holy Spirit. May you come to grasp all the manifold benefits of hiding God’s word in your heart. They are more than you know. In fact, the more you know, the more you realize that you don’t know.

And the more you grow in Christ, the more you understand how much more that you need him. We are all sinners. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. The Apostle Paul said of himself to be chief. As Paul, we should always consider others to be better than ourselves and so unworthy of the passion of Christ and all the benefits He has heaped upon us. Yet the LORD saves us from our sins (Mat 1:21). Surely we will cast our crowns at His feet on that great day!

You may contact me by email at [email protected].