(by Cole Tutino)
Some of us at the CNCF Men’s Bible study were at first intimidated by our commitment to memorize all of Psalm 119. In case you didn't know, Psalm 119 is long. My first thought was, “Won’t this take a lot of time?” The answer: Yes. My response now: Good!
Why should the study of God’s Word get the last sliver of my time, when, in fact, without it everything else is a waste of time? Those of us who are music majors don’t blink at the task of memorizing a 30-minute concerto. Or why is it that so many of us can quote Napoleon Dynamite verbatim (yes, the whole thing), and yet we neglect the work of committing God’s Word to memory?
Scripture memory is a way to saturate our lives with the Bible. By doing it, we, in effect, “bind [God's Word] as a sign on [our] hand[s]" and make them "as frontlets between [our] eyes." We begin "talking of them when [we] are sitting in [our] houses, and when [we] are walking by the way, and when [we] lie down, and when [we] rise.” (Deut 11:18-19). That is what it takes to memorize this 176-verse chunk of Scripture. We practice when we wake up. We put our verses on note cards and take them to work. We review before we go to bed.
More than that, memorizing Psalm 119 has also enabled us to literally obey the command of Ephesians 5:19 to “address one another in psalms.” In our conversations with each other, the verses continually come out of our mouths. It is so sweet to have God's inspired words in our hearts and mouths to encourage one another.
God is blessing this work in several ways. I have become convinced that Scripture memory is without a doubt an essential part of the Christian walk—not just something good to do if you have the time. More specifically, Psalm 119 has been teaching me to combat sin. The direct application is obvious—just consider verses 9-11:
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
That I might not sin against you.
There is no better weapon to combat sin than Scripture that has been committed to memory and is readily accessible. That’s how Jesus fought Satan in the desert. When in the grip of temptation, we can turn our minds to recite the Scripture we are learning, and have our hearts are turned from sin to God and His truth.
The other main benefit I've received through memorizing Psalm 119 is a constant awareness of my lack of spiritual fervor. I am constantly amazed at the things David writes in his meditation on the Word of God. The more I discover David’s absolute delight in the Scriptures, the more I look into my own heart and see how that is not me. Can I honestly say in my heart, “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97)? Or, “At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules” (Ps. 119:62)? Is my soul “consumed with longing for [His] rules at all times” (Ps. 119:20)? Or what about David’s pleas to God for deliverance from suffering? How can I honestly recite these words when my life is one of comfort and wealth? Dietrich Boenhoffer gives an astounding answer:
“First [the Christian] tries to repeat the psalms as his own prayer. But soon he comes upon passages that he feels he cannot utter as his own personal petitions ….A psalm that we cannot utter as a prayer, that makes us falter and horrifies us, is a hint to us that here Someone else is praying, not we; that the One who is here protesting his innocence [“Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies” v. 22], who is invoking God’s judgment [“It is time for the Lord to act, for your law has been broken” v. 126], who has come to such infinite depths of suffering [I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word!” v. 107], is none other than Jesus Christ himself….Because Christ prays the prayer of the psalms with the individual and the congregation before the heavenly throne of God, or rather because those who pray the psalms are joining in with the prayer of Jesus Christ, their prayer reaches the ears of God. Christ has become the intercessor.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together)
Let us not forget that the Bible is the means by which the Holy Spirit communicates with us, and, through Scripture memory, a means by which we communicate with Him. Nor let us forget that the Word is supernaturally powerful. Not magical, not mystical. But as I speak the words of this psalm, I find myself, in increasing measure, meaning the words I am saying. God has used it to turn my heart to His Word so that I do delight in it more—I do long for it more. We must believe that as we faithfully study and memorize the Scriptures, God, the Holy Creator of the universe, uses that to accomplish His work in us and through us.
Cole Tutino is a first year master's student in the Jacobs School of Music. He is studying Cello Performance.
