Psalm 1:1-2 forcefully insists - that those whose “delight is in the law of the Lord” and who meditate on it day and night are "blessed." Meditation has always been best stated and sustained by memorization. After all, how can you think about God’s Scriptures "day and night" without them open in front of you? The only other option is for them to be memorized! In centuries before the printing press, when families neverhad a personal copy of God’s Word, all they had – indeed, all they needed – was to grasp God’s Word when they heard it taught publicly… to remember it. The Holy Family, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, had this commitment in common: to “cling” to every word of God (Psalm 119:31).
In this festive, merry Christmas season, let us look at their examples. Because their private spiritual disciplines were, in fact, private, we will need to use some imagination to read between the lines. Still, there is no other way to explain their lives of immediate and complete obedience apart from personal memorization and meditation. And there is no way that you and I can live as obediently as possible apart from following the same pattern. As the Psalmist wrote centuries before, “I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11).
Jesus
Let us start with the obvious memorizer– the Son of God, who took on flesh (John 1:14). Most Christians remember that Jesus quoted from memory specific verses he needed throughout his life, from the wilderness temptations to those final hours on the cross. But we forget that to quote those words, Jesus had memorized them the same way we do, through rote repetition. He did not come already knowing them, preloaded with the Psalms, or hardwired with Hosea! In fact, he did not receive more human instruction from God’s word than other boys from Galilee, but his love for His Heavenly Father motivated him to work to remember every word.
His breathtaking ministry revealed the overwhelming power of the Spirit working through the Scriptures he had ingrafted into his life! Tim Keller wrote, ‘He is the one who meditated so profoundly on Scripture that he virtually ‘bled’ Scripture, quoting it instinctively in the most extreme moments of his life. He combats each of the assaults of Satan with “It is written” (Matt 4:1–11). He quotes Psalm 22:1 even as he dies: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46). That is how he stood firm... Do you want to be able to endure even the greatest pain? Put your roots into Scripture as he did.” [1]
Mary
God perfectly predestined Mary as the ideal mother for Jesus, a teenage girl - already a meditating memorizer! Geoffrey Kirkwood describes her exemplary memorization, meditation, praise, and prayer as a model for us: “Mary, the mother of Jesus, had a treasury of Scripture stored up in her heart. When the angel came to her and informed her that she would bear a child who would be the fulfillment of the Scriptures and bring redemption to His people, Mary responded with a bubbling forth of Scriptural praise! She was a young woman who knew the Torah, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Undoubtedly, she, as a righteous young woman, trusted God’s Word, studied God’s Word, memorized God’s Word, and sought to pray God’s Word. May you be encouraged to do likewise.”2
And Mary did not stop meditating after the birth of Jesus. Luke recounts twice that she “treasured up” (Luke 2:19, 51) the events of Jesus’ childhood as truth for her future encouragement and perseverance. Treasuring and pondering are code words for meditation on the mighty acts of God. What will you spend your time pondering in 2025, the words and works of God or other lesser topics?
Joseph
It is harder to deduce Joseph’s inner life as little is written about him. But ask this question. Since faith is not irrational or blind, how was he able to accept the angel Gabriel’s news about his fiancé’s virgin birth? After all, the priest Zechariah, highly trained in the Scriptures, doubted, and the same angel silenced him for his temporary unbelief. Joseph, a man with no recorded words but mighty actions, rose from sleep twice in Scripture and demonstrated first-time, immediate obedience. The answer is that he knew by heart the prophecies about the Messiah and immediately accepted God’s fulfillment of them.
Consider Charles Spurgeon’s imaginative but likely true account of Joseph meditating on Isaiah 7:14: “To cheer Joseph, and decide his mind, Holy Scripture is brought to his remembrance; and truly, when we are in a dilemma, nothing gives us such confidence in going forward as the sacred oracles impressed upon the heart, how conversant was Joseph with the prophets to have their words before him in a dream!”3
And You?
Nearing the end of the year, preachers everywhere will encourage Christians to commit to Bible reading. Listen to them and follow through with daily Bible reading and prayer! But also plan to memorize, perhaps as slowly as this: Take a Psalm, and memorize a verse a month. Or pick an audacious, but feasible goal – memorize a letter of Paul. Philippians is just 104 verses, which you could memorize in two years (1 verse/week). Follow the footsteps of countless saints, including the holy family. Embrace the joy and victory of living like Jesus, who lived out what he recited from memory, living “by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3). There are many articles online and books on how to memorize and meditate to help prepare for your most exciting year yet – prioritizing meditation and memorization!
1 Timothy Keller, Prayer, New York: Penguin Publishing Group,163.
2 Geoffrey R. Kirkland, "A Duty of Christian Wives: Praying! Vassel of the King,"
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