Why is Bible memorization important?

God's word is a protector from sin- if hid in the heart. Read, taken seriously, meditated upon, remembered - all are involved in hiding in the heart. Again this takes time, but it helps to protect us from sin. The Lord Jesus provides the perfect example of the use of God's word when under temptation- for each of Satan's temptations He was able to respond with the appropriate scripture - He not only knew the scriptures, of course, but understood how they should be applied, which verses were appropriate in which situation. How vitally important it is that we hide the word in our hearts, there is no better protector from sinning.

The new born soul can rightly claim that with his whole heart he has sought the Lord; and consistently with this, he earnestly prays, "Oh let me not wander from Your commandments" (v. 10). How is this to be accomplished? By the individual's hiding God's Word in his heart. How good indeed to learn the verses of scripture, not merely by memory, but by heart! This will, certainly preserve us from sinning against God (v. 11).

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Ps. 119:11). It was not the Bible in his hand to read it, not the word on his tongue to speak of it; but the hiding it in his heart, that he found effectual against sin.

Now you will notice, beloved friends, that in each case it is not only that Christ quotes Scripture, but He quotes it as Scripture. He says each time, "It is written." And it is a very remarkable thing that all the Lord's answers to Satan are quoted from the book of Deuteronomy (Deut. 8:3, Deut. 6:16, and 13, 14). The Lord gained the victory in every instance by the Word of God. It was the outcome of His blessed simple dependence on God, and of having the Word of God in His heart. He proved the truth of the Word, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Ps. 119:11). Satan retires vanquished. And observe, "Angels came and ministered to him." They delighted to see a man overcome Satan by dependence and obedience. They saw that in Christ. Do they see it in us? The secret of strength lies very much in this: having the Word of God hidden in the heart, and implicitly obeying it.

When I am in a difficulty, do you think the Spirit of God will help me to a scripture I have not laid up in my heart? No! I believe if I have been careless, and lazy, in reading the Word of God, I shall not have the Scriptures really hid in my heart. The Spirit of God cannot bring to my memory a scripture I have never read. And I press this, beloved friends, we cannot over-estimate the importance of having our minds stored with Scripture. "The word of God abides in you," is what the young men are commended for. Their thoughts were formed by God's Word. You get the knowledge of God by His Word, and of Christ Himself, first of all, for He was the Word. But then, you and I have to hide that Word in our hearts. And that is why in the 119th Psalm, there are only two verses that do not refer to the Word of God. Study that psalm carefully. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word" (Ps. 119:9). Notice the 174th verse, "I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my delight." It is either the Word of the Lord, or the commandment of the Lord, but in every verse it is the Word. Let us all, therefore, remember the value of Scripture in the history of the soul of a saint.

"I have written to you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." The Lord overcame him, we have seen, by dependence and obedience, no matter what the character of the temptation might be. And so, in the history of every saint, the Spirit of God loves to recall and bring to remembrance, in each moment of difficulty, some little bit of Scripture that has been learned in days gone by. But having the Word, the Spirit of God can use it, and it becomes a weapon in His hands against the foe. The result is sure. There will be, in plain language, certain victory. I need not say more to press upon you the great importance of the study of the Scriptures.

In order to derive a good measure of the practical benefit of the scriptures for your souls, it as of importance that you should have its words resting in your memories. It is not always practicable in times of sudden difficulty and need to turn to the word of God itself, and there seek for counsel and guidance. In such emergencies the advantage of having the mind, to any extent, stored with the letter of the word is realised. Hence the necessity, one might almost say, the absolute necessity, of acquiring familiarity with scripture.

We shall discover that this principle, of which we now speak, is recognised in the holy writings themselves. We have there recorded instances of spoken or written words being brought to remembrance, and used with salutary effect upon the conscience and heart. These examples will illustrate the truth to which I wish to draw attention.

We will suppose that our reader has been brought up in a Christian home, and had the advantages of training in a Scriptural Sunday-school. There has probably been the memorizing of at least one verse of the Bible for each Lord's Day in such cases. We know of Sunday-schools where this is still practised, though perhaps it has become too old-fashioned for some of the more "progressive" ones. By the time a pupil has reached the age of twelve to fifteen, he has in memory possibly as many as one to two hundred verses, embracing the great fundamental truths of sin, judgment, salvation, the love of God, the person and work of Christ, the necessity of faith, and many other blessed facts. Here is an arsenal supplying weapons ready at hand with which to meet the adversary, and small portions of meat in due season, and refreshment for weary saints or needy sinners.

Has the reader ever felt at a loss for a suited word of warning to some careless scoffer, or failed to find ready at hand the exact verse which will give assurance to an anxious soul? Why should this have been the case? Why should we not have ready at hand, stored in memory, an abundant supply for immediate use of various portions of God's precious word?

We have also already alluded to the great value of filling the minds of the young with the word. of God, so that when the Spirit of God has awakened them to their true condition, He will have abundance of material with which to act upon. them. This, of course, applies to the memorizing of verses.

So that if you commit portions of the Bible to memory, it is evident you prepare yourself to receive some help and comfort from the scriptures when you most need them. For instance, the verses you read or learned this morning may not have a direct application to you today. Days and weeks may elapse; and then in a moment of sharp trial they will come to you, like the arm of a strong man, to lean upon. But they would not so come to you, had you not previously learned or read them.

Committal to memory is of great assistance in quoting the words of holy writ with exactitude. In no other book is the importance of rigid accuracy so essential. The difference of a word may be the difference between truth and error. Nay, we find that even the difference between the singular and the plural in an Old Testament promise is made the basis of argument as to New Testament truth. (Gal. 3)

But you see how important it is to have the word of the Lord in your memory. Peter had it in his memory, although it was not before his mind. It, however, came back to him when the Lord looked at him. And so you must seek to implant the word of God in your memory. You must read it, and make it your own; and then the Lord can use it in His great work of cleansing you as part of the church with the washing of water by the word.

Jonah's prayer in his second chapter is largely made up of quotations from the Psalms. His mind was evidently saturated with the written Word. Is this true of us also? lt was not a day of pocket Bibles, nor indeed were the Scriptures all yet written; but if Jonah was unable to read in his strange prison, he could feed upon the Word already learned and stored up in his mind and heart. Let us not be behind him in this. The whole revelation of God is in our hands, containing wonderful counsels of grace and glory unknown in Old Testament dispensations; shall we not seek to possess the whole in our inmost souls, so that if ever our Bibles are torn from us, we shall still have that which will nourish and sustain our faith?

What a good thing it is to memorise Scripture, so that we may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the enemy and say, “It is written”.