Memorising Psalm 119

With 176 verses, Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm and longest chapter in the Bible. It can be read in around 15 minutes, depending on translation and reading speed.

In the original language, it is written as an acrostic poem with 22 stanzas. Each stanza has 8 couplets. The couplets in the first stanza begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The couplets in the second stanza begin with the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and so on to the end of the Hebrew alphabet.

I have been inspired by the writer's intense devotion to the Word of God and the God of the Word. Psalm 119 is not a mere literary work. It comes from the heart of one who has a deep personal relationship with the Law of the Lord and is aware of its blessings, glory and value. The Psalmist understands and is in awe of the power and purpose of God's good Law. Psalm 119 contains a variety of prayers, praise, declaration and reflection.

It is not possible to love God without loving His Word. Psalm 119:97 speaks of this love.

Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

I want to genuinely talk about God and His Word with the same level of appreciation born of engagement with the Word of God. I understand that the Word of God will change me if I treasure it. I have decided to memorise Psalm 119 to allow me to meditate on it day and night (see Psalm 1:1-2).

Sometimes people choose to get names, images or phrases that mean something to them tattooed onto their skin. Intentional Scripture memorisation is like tattooing what I value within me. It is writing it on the tablets of my heart.

I understand that memorising Psalm 119 will take some time! If I commit one stanza to memory per month, I could memorise it in just under two years. I am more excited about the journey than the destination and will share updates about the methods I use and reflections on the benefits. I would love it if you would join me. Let me know if you do, or if you are encouraged to memorise other Scriptures. Use the contact form at the bottom of this and most pages.

I am aiming for one stanza a month for a couple of reasons. First, I want to study and meditate on each stanza as I memorise it. This is more than an exercise in mental recall. The Bible shows us, including in this Psalm, the importance of understanding God's Word.

Secondly, I want to build consistency with small periods of daily memorisation as I believe this will be more sustainable in the long run. It will help me establish a lifelong habit.

This word cloud shows the 50 most common words in Psalm 119. The largest words appear most often in the New King James Version.

How to Memorise Bible Passages

I enjoy planning and any project needs a plan. Memorising Scripture is no exception. Here is a brief rundown of what I considered when making my memorisation plan.

Choosing the Bible Translation to Memorise From

My first task was to decide which Bible translation to use to memorise Psalm 119. I settled on the New King James Version. I tend to study the Bible from the New King James Version and want to be able to link words and meanings from the Psalm with other parts of the Bible I am studying. Psalm 119 uses several words for the Word of God. As I study their meaning I want to identify the same word in other parts of Scripture.

Another reason for my choice was Psalm 119 contains some oft-quoted verses in the NKJV. This means I already know or am familiar with a handful of verses in the NKJV (although not their location). It could be counterproductive to learn these in another translation.

Bible Memorisation Methods and Tools

In preparation, I will memorise and meditate on Scripture about the Word of God. You can find a list here. This will be like a warm-up and provide Scripture-based motivation to see this through. Once I have memorised these, I will always have them to draw on. In this way, I will strengthen and encourage myself in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6).

When I decided to memorise Psalm 119, I knew immediately that I would utilise the Dwell Bible App. I can listen to the whole Psalm or use the Psalm 119 in 7 Days listening plan. This plan covers 3 stanzas on the first 6 days and 4 on the final day. It is a great tool for reviewing and meditating on stanzas I have memorised.

As well as having a wide range of listening plans, Dwell allows users to create playlists. I added each stanza of Psalm 119 to my playlist — this way I can spend as long as I like listening to a single stanza on repeat. I aim to spend some time each morning and evening reading the stanza within Dwell while listening. I may create another playlist which allows me to listen to two verses at a time over and over again.

I am creating some visual and physical aids to help me. By placing the Scriptures in my hands and around my home I can read them throughout the day. The more times and ways I am exposed to the verses, the better I will memorise them. As a child, I memorised 1 Timothy 3:16 this way. It was on a large poster on my bedroom door. I saw it often and memorised it without intent.

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Scripture Writing

I learn things better when I write them down, so I have created Psalm 119 Write the Scriptures sheets for each stanza. You can find these here. I am very excited about adding these to my Scripture writing routine.

Timings

I have given myself a month to memorise each set of 8 verses. I will memorise 2 verses a week, starting at the beginning of July. I will move on to the next stanza on the 1st of every month. I could probably recite the stanzas from memory sooner but I want them to be securely memorised before I move on. I will be studying and meditating as I go because understanding increases fruitfulness. Memorise Scripture without a good grasp of the meaning minimises the fruit the Word can produce in me. Also, Psalm 119:44 (NKJV) says:

The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting; Give me understanding, and I shall live.

I am happy to change the timings as I see how long memorising takes in practice.

Overcoming Challenges of Memorising Psalm 119

My main challenge is time. If I could consistently commit more time to it I could probably drastically reduce how long it takes to memorise the Psalm. However, I have to be realistic and memorise at a sustainable pace. If I try to do too much at first I may do well initially but be unable to maintain the pace in the long run.

Memorising 176 verses in chunks means it is possible to forget some of the beginning by the time I get to the end. Scheduling reviews will be key. It is also possible to be less familiar with the end of the Psalm than the start because what I memorise earlier will be reviewed more often than what I memorise later. I intend to overcome this by reviewing the latter stanzas for some time after memorising the whole.

Several of the verses are very similar. I hope that the visual cues I create along the way will help me recite these correctly.

Blessing in Action: Memorising Psalm 119

Read Psalm 119 and choose one stanza to memorise. Set yourself a target, make a plan and go for it. Let me know if you want to memorise the whole Psalm with me!