Memorization. It’s something that I’ve struggled with my whole life. But Scripture tells us to hide the Word in our hearts. Psalm 119:11; “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Colossians 3:16; “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Joshua 1:8; “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” 2 Timothy 3:16; “from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Memorizing Scripture helps us apply it to our daily lives.
Since I’ve started seminary, I’ve had to learn how to memorize a few things: Scripture, two new alphabets, marriage vows, words of institution of the Lord’s Supper, and now, for an exit exam, the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC).
I’ve found some tools that you might find helpful as an aid in memorization.
“Verses” is an app that I have on my Android phone (also available on IOS) that aids memorization by playing different games to help gradually memorize a verse. If you are looking for particular verses to memorize based on categories (e.g., Doctrines of Grace), they have a library of collections that point to such things. The KJV is free, and I paid $7 to upgrade to the ESV.
Another helpful method is to put the verse to song. Randall Goodgame (who played a concert here about 10 years ago) has put together a collection of CD’s called “Sing the Bible” to encourage families to memorize Scripture. If you’re looking to memorize the WSC, search Spotify or iTunes for Holly Dutton’s “The Westminster Shorter Catechism Songs.” We all have lyrics from songs from our childhood somewhere in the deep recesses of our minds. Why not add Scripture to them, singing the Word of God.
