Scripture memorisation

This website is primarily about my adventures in drawing and painting but I have decided to occasionally publish other articles here such as this one.  

The centrality of scripture

The second chapter of Hebrews begins: 

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

It is vital to listen to any message we have received from God.  In our daily readings and listenings to God we actually hear his message to us, by command, word of love, or promise. What a privilege to receive such a thing but how easy to forget it, to "drift away from it".

Indeed, how shall we escape if we neglect it? Or how shall we learn anything from God if we immediately forget it? It is necessary to remember what he says to us, to write it down or to memorise it and then to review it and keep it before us. I have had many messages from God over the years and some are still relevant to me to this day. I have to keep listening to them.

A recent example is Isaiah 55 - "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts". If God calls you to follow him, you must go straight-away otherwise he may not call you again, or he may give you a lesser call rather than the best one which he is offering today.

For the church addressed by this letter (Hebrews), the writer tells them that the message was accompanied by "signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit". If God had put so much into the launch of the church and the message of universal salvation, then neglecting that message would be extremely disrespectful to him, to the point of being contemptuous. And yet we today have heard the same message and it also has been attested by signs and wonders in our own lives. Woe to us if we neglect it and pay no heed to its vital importance. 

Why memorise the Bible

And so to Bible memorisation. I have memorised passages of scripture ever since becoming a Christian at the age of 23. I am now 68 and until two years ago, (January 2016) in fact, I regret to say that my achievements in this area were not very great. A few Psalms, parts of the Sermon on the Mount, some short passages from Isaiah. Then after listening to A talk onBhow important it is to read vast “chunks” of the Bible. For some reason, by the end of the sermon, I gained a huge desire to memorise scripture – by the bucketful!

I started by memorising the whole of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6 and 7) which took me about 8 months, and then I started on Ephesians. I memorised the whole book of Ephesians in 11 months and while doing that I slotted in several “octaves” (sets of 8 verses) from Psalm 119 using the KJV – not my normal translation but so full of majesty and insight in this wonderful Psalm.

I am now well into my third year of serious Bible memorisation and am delighted to say that I seem to be consuming more and more scripture, particularly in the gospel of Mark, the book of Romans and also in my long-term project in Psalm 119.  I have found my increasing age no hindrance to the task of memorisation – the more you do it the better you get at it and I am sure that I will be able to continue this habit until the Lord takes me to Himself.

What does it do for you?

What has scripture memorisation done for me? Well, in taking on a schedule of memorisation which demands a lot from you, you have to recall the Word to mind many times during the day and you have to review “old” verses and passages continualLy (there are phone apps to help with this for both Android and Apple). This constant recall of scripture has meant that my mind is far more focused on the things of God than it would otherwise me.

An antidote to negativity and anxiety

Negative thinking (something to which I am prone) has reduced considerably. I am not troubled with anxious thoughts at night or first thing in the mornings because as soon as I wake I start to review my latest passage. Dare I say it - my thoughts are "purer" now. I feel that I have found a way of doing what Colossians 3:16 says - “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly”. 

Getting the most out of the Bible

Another benefit is of course the huge familiarity you get with the words of scripture.  In memorising Mark 1 I am amazed how much detail I have had missed in earlier readings, even when I thought I was studying that Gospel! The Sermon on the Mount was a revelation in realising that the principles of Christ's teaching applied so powerfully today and still have to be faithfully applied in daily life. 

Love of the Bible replacing love for other written words

I have also found my love of good literature completely vanish away. I have got so used to spending much time in the word of God that nothing else seems to satisfy me any more. I tried to read a really good novel last month and found that after a few chapters, the call of God’s word forced me to give up! 

At the bottom of all this is an immense reverence for the Word of God. I have studied it and chewed over it all my Christian life, including a 3 year University course, and I am still delighted in it and feel I am barely scratching the surface of it.

Christ, the Logos

Never forget how John's gospel opens.  "In the beginning was the Word".  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us". 



Jesus is in the words of scripture, he inspired them, in a sense he IS the word of scripture.  By memorising scripture we receive Christ Jesus into our memories and our minds.  We absorb Him into ourselves to that we are renewed in our inmost beings.  Memorising scripture can be a dead thing if you are not a believer, but if you have the Spirit of God, by being born again and receiving a new heart, then scripture blends in with your thoughts and moulds your mind around the Logos, the word of God, Jesus Christ himself.

And finally

I am reading of more and more people who are memorising scripture, even through some very good smartphone apps which make the process much more enjoyable.  Why would God be doing this at this time? In the west we see the surrounding culture turning very much away from Christian values with some of our principles even being perceived as hateful and even criminal.  It is not inconceivable that a time will come when the Bible is no longer freely available.  How wonderful it would be if at that time, a whole community of Christians existed who had each memorised portions of scripture so that when they meet up, the whole or at least significant parts of the Bible can be recreated from their memories.


So that is my story of scripture memorisation. I know that many many people have taken this up far earlier and more diligently that I have - I am a mere beginner at it in some ways. 

I am very grateful to Almighty God for his Word and for his Call. Truly this is nothing of myself but his grace alone.

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A note on Bible Versions

I like that the ESV is in a direct line of descendancy from the KJV. Crossway bought the RSV (which I used for a large part of my Christian life) and the ESV translators reassessed every word of it in the light of current textual criticism and understanding of the ancient languages. They also were very careful to look at the literary qualities of the translation using people like Leonard Ryken to make sure that it reads well - something the NASB would have greatly benefited from. 

I feel that when I hold the ESV in my hand I have an improved RSV which still has a great sense of continuity with the KJV heritage. No version is perfect but for me the ESV is as good as it gets. Even then, I often find myself back in the KJV for its magnificent translations of texts like Psalm 119 - "Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord".

Finally, if like me you are into memorization of lengthy Bible passages or whole books of the Bible, you will find the ESV very satisfying in that you are as close as you can be to learning the essentials of the text rather than other men's thoughts and concessions to modern culture.