The Hidden Word
Psalm 119:9-16
July 11, 2004
As a child growing up in Chatham, Louisiana, summers were reserved for two things. Little League baseball and Vacation Bible School. Both were the extent of my summer activities because that was all there was to do. I went to church camp a couple of summers, but at that age, I was just not turned on by church camp. The local swimming pool was one of two bodies of water, either Chatham Lake, which was really a pig pond, or the Buffalo Hole, which was a big bend in Casto Creek where local youths gathered to swim with the snakes and each other. There just was not much to do in the small town of Chatham, Louisiana during the summer. So we anticipated the coming of Vacation Bible School.
Vacation Bible School was a big deal in Chatham. Every major church, all three of them, had their own Bible School, and kids from every church would flock to the other churches because it was something to do. Well, perhaps there were more Methodist kids who went to the Pentecostal Bible School than there were Baptist kids who went, but in any event, we shared kids during VBS.
The three weeks that VBS was going on were always busy weeks. Each week began in anticipation and moved almost methodically (if that word can be used of a Baptist or a Pentecostal church) toward the climax event of the week which was the closing program. Parents and grandparents would gather at the church to see what the churches had taught their offspring through that summer week, and the week’s work came down to one thing: Did we learn our Bible verses?
In turn, each class from VBS would march to the front of the church and recite for the gathered assembly the verses they had learned during the week. Some years, there was even a prize for the class who did the best job reciting the selected verses. I think my class may have even won an award or two. Like summer baseball, bible memorization became a competition between the boys in the upper classes. The only thing that mattered was winning. Little did we boys know that those exercises were designed to give us a foundation in Scripture. They were designed to help us “hide God’s word in our hearts.” Had we known their real purpose, we might not have had quite so much fun because then we might have viewed it as work. But it was a game, and we were always up for a game. But it was VBS, and VBS is about learning the Bible. That is why it is called “Bible” school. It is about hiding God’s word in our hearts.
How long has it been since you thought about hiding God’s word in your heart? How long has it been since you memorized a Bible verse? And if you did, what was the point? Were you teaching a Sunday school class and needed to know the passage to teach the children? Or was there a crisis in your life and you were seeking comfort? Perhaps you haven’t memorized a passage of scripture since you attended VBS. So why should we be memorizing scripture? What is the purpose of hiding God’s word in our hearts? Let’s read today’s text and see if we can find out.
9How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules.
10I have tried my best to find you—don’t let me wander from your commands.
11I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
12Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your principles.
13I have recited aloud all the laws you have given us.
14I have rejoiced in your decrees and much as in riches.
15I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.
16I will delight in your principles and not forget your word.
The 119th Psalm is the longest chapter of the Bible. For 176 verses, the writer expresses the love affair he has had with God’s word. The writer magnifies it, he praises it, he thanks God for it, he describes it, he asks God to continue to use it. It is, perhaps, the longest love song ever written. The author’s depth of love for God’s word is expressed in the development of the entire Psalm. There are twenty-two letters to the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza of this poem, for that is what it is, an ancient Hebrew poem, begins with a different letter of the alphabet, and each stanza of the poem begins with that particular letter. It is an amazing testimony to the love of the author for his subject, and it was indeed a labor of love. No author could pen such a work except he be totally familiar with his subject. The author was familiar, so the counsel he offered was not something that was wishful thinking on his part. It was what he believed and practiced, and he had seen the benefits in his own life. This was his attempt to communicate the value of knowing God’s word with others.
There is great value in knowing God’s word, and it extends beyond the capacity for us to show others how pious we can be by quoting verse after verse in some holier than thou fashion. The Bible is the most sold but least read of any book in publication. A recent article in a Religious News Service publication relates an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On that program, Leno roamed the audience asking questions concerning the Bible. “Name one of the Ten Commandments?” was one of the questions. The best anyone could do was “God helps those who help themselves.” Not a bad answer if you’re guessing! Unfortunately, The Barna Group, in 2000, surveying the U. S., concerning religious attitudes found that 75% of the people polled believed that was actually in the Bible. Sorry, folks. It ain’t! Leno went on to ask his audience to identify one of the Apostles. No one could. He then asked them to name the Beatles. Almost in unison the audience chimed, “George, Ringo, Paul and John.” I don’t take that as an indictment of the Bible, but rather an indictment of our culture. We are becoming a biblically illiterate culture. We don’t have the same love affair with God’s word that the Psalmist had.
So what is the value of knowing God’s word? What comes from “hiding God’s word” in our hearts? If we took the time to survey the entire Psalm we would hear the Psalmist tell us there is no more rewarding endeavor which we can undertake. No other exercise pays greater spiritual disciplines than memorizing God’s word. Our prayer life will be strengthened. Our witnessing will be sharper and more effective. People will seek us out for counsel. Our attitude and our outlook will be transformed. Our mind will become more alert and observant. Our confidence and assurance will be enhanced, but most of all, our faith will be solidified. Every one of those characteristics of the spiritual life is addressed by the Psalmist in this Psalm. I have only taken a portion this morning, one, because I didn’t think you would sit still for me to read one hundred and seventy-six verses, but two, because I think the Psalmist in this passage alerts us to the key to living the Christian life—verse 11: “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Knowing God’s word keeps us from falling to temptation. The word of God, hidden in our hearts, can keep us from committing sin. What do I mean?
Jesus is our example. Matthew records an event in Jesus’ life as his ministry began. After Jesus’ baptism, he was led out into the wilderness for forty days. During those forty days, Satan came to Jesus on three different occasions to tempt him to sin. Once he came when Jesus was hungry and said, “Turn these stones to bread.” Jesus responded by quoting Scripture. “No! People need more than bread for life; they must feed on every word of God” (Deut. 4:3). To deal with the temptation, Jesus quoted scripture. Another time Satan came to him and tempted him jump from the pinnacle of the Temple, and Satan even quoted Scripture to Jesus to justify the temptation—“He orders his angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone,” a quote from Psalm 91 (even Satan knows Scripture). Again, Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Do not tempt the Lord your God’.” Jesus referenced Deuteronomy 6:16. One final time Satan came to Jesus. Satan took Jesus to the top of a high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world. “I will give you all these if you will bow down and worship me.” Once more, Jesus, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13, said, “Get out of here, Satan. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God; serve him only.” Jesus was prepared to meet every temptation because he had hidden God’s word in his heart, and it was to God’s word he went when the tempter came.
Notice, though, that hiding God’s word in our hearts is more than simple scripture memorization, for even Satan could quote it. Hiding God’s word in our hearts means to have his word live within us and transform us in the process. Hiding God’s word in our hearts means the written word becomes the living word, and it breaths life into our weak mortal bodies. The Spirit of God works through the written word to transform it into the living word as he moves in our old dead spirits, and the word becomes a source of life and strength.
Many years ago in a Moscow theater, matinee idol Alexander Rostovzev was converted while playing the role of Jesus in a sacrilegious play entitled Christ in a Tuxedo. He was supposed to read two verses from the Sermon on the Mount, remove his gown, and cry out, "Give me my tuxedo and top hat!" But as he read the words, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted," he began to tremble. Instead of following the script, he kept reading from Matthew 5, ignoring the coughs, calls, and foot-stamping of his fellow actors. Finally, recalling a verse he had learned in his childhood in a Russian Orthodox church, he cried, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom!" (Luke 23:42). Before the curtain could be lowered, Rostovzev had trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. The written word had become the living word in his life, and so it will in ours, too.
But how, preacher, can I hide God’s word in my heart. Start by reading the Bible everyday, even if it is only a few verses. Take a few moments to hear what God is saying. Let me give you a suggestion to start. Read the letters of John in the New Testament—First, second and third John. They are short, and they are easy to understand. Take a whole week even to read 1 John. Then move to the gospel of Mark. It was the first gospel written, and was written to communicate just the bare essentials of Jesus ministry. Like Joe Friday from Dragnet fame, for Mark, it was “Just the facts, mam!” Take a month to read it. Read it like you would read a novel. Start with the easy stuff first.
Next, join a Bible Study group. If you don’t have one, start one. There is plenty of material out there to assist you. I hear you now, “But I can’t teach, and I don’t know enough to lead a Bible study.” Trust me, by the time you finish the class you will. We learn more when we teach. You don’t need great knowledge, just a great desire. Or you can sign up to take Disciple Bible Study here in the fall.
Finally, start memorizing verses just like you were in VBS again. Just a little advice, though. Learn a little bit perfectly rather than a lot poorly. Don’t move on to another verse until you know the one your learning perfectly. And take your time. There is no hurry. God is not going anywhere, and the Bible ain’t changing. Break a passage of scripture into its natural phrases. Learn just a little phrase at a time. And please, always learn the chapter and verse number as well. There is little help in knowing the word unless you know where to find it. Every time you say a verse, always say the reference that goes with it.
You can do it. I know you can. Begin a love affair with God’s word. Hide God’s word deep in your heart, and let the Holy Spirit breath into your spirits to make it become the living word so you can live the life God’s called you to lead. An overcoming life, lived in holiness, even in the midst of temptation.
Tomorrow morning, I envision over 100 children entering these doors to attend Vacation Bible School. It is our task as parents, grandparents, teachers and leaders to instill in them a deep love for the word of God. They will learn Bible verses. Let us learn those verses with them. Let us be able to say them, too. Let us help them begin a love affair with God’s word not unlike the Psalmist had when he wrote Psalm 119.
Verses for Vacation Bible School:
Monday-- I will put my hope in God. (Psalm 42:5)
Tuesday-- I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
(Psalm 119:11)
Wednesday-- For I can do all things with the help of Christ who gives me the strength
I need. (Philippians 4:13)
Thursday-- For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Friday-- …I am going to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2)
