Don McLean’s 1971 hit American Pie is a long song. It goes on for over 8 ½ minutes telling the story of “the day the music died.” Let’s call American Pie the longest song to become a hit and receive regular airplay on U. S. radio stations, because generally, we don’t sit still for long songs. American Pie pales in comparison to the length of some other songs, though. Pink Floyd is known for some rather lengthy songs: Dark Side of the Moon runs almost 43 minutes, and Echoes coming in at just under 24 minutes are but two. Neither of those compare with Longplayer, though. Longplayer is a one thousand year long musical composition. It began playing at midnight on the 31st of December 1999, and will continue to play without repetition until the last moment of 2999, at which point it will complete its cycle and begin again. Conceived and composed by Jem Finer, it was originally produced as an Artangel commission, and is now in the care of the Longplayer Trust. Longplayer can be heard in the lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, where it has been playing since it began. It can also be heard at several other listening posts around the world, and globally via a live stream on the Internet. I’ve listened to it. It’s actually very weird! But, I suppose a 1,000 year-long song should be weird.
I mention these long songs because we come to the longest song in the Hebrew songbook, Psalm 119. Psalm 119 goes for 176 verses, making it the longest chapter in the entire bible. Here’s what’s interesting about the 119th Psalm: There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. There are 22 stanzas to the 119th Psalm. Each stanza of this song coincides with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. For example, the first stanza represents the letter aleph, and all eight verses of the first stanza begin with the Hebrew letter aleph. Likewise, the second letter beth begins the second stanza, and all eight verses of the second stanza begin with the Hebrew letter beth. That pattern continues through all twenty-two stanzas. Oh, that the English language could capture the pain-staking labor of love that is the 119th Psalm. It truly expresses the love affair the author has with God’s word. In these 176 verses, the author (whom many commentators believe to be David) magnifies God’s word, praises God’s word, thanks God for it, describes it and asks God to continue to use it in his life. The Psalm is a testimony to the deep love the author has for God’s word, and it’s a testimony to the knowledge the author has of God’s word. We’ve said the best songs are those written out of the writer’s own experience. Luke Bryan, reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year, recently said, “I like to hunt, fish, ride around on my farm, build a big bonfire and drink some _______ (you’ll have to fill in the blank) — and that’s what I sing about. It’s what I know.” Well, that may be what Luke Bryan knows, but the Psalmist knows God’s word, and the advice he offers was not wishful thinking on his part. He had lived it, believed it, practiced it and had seen the benefits throughout his life. He was simply trying to communicate that value to others, and he chose to do it through the longest song in the Hebrew hymnbook.
Saint Augustine said concerning the 119th Psalm that it doesn’t “need an expositor, but only a reader and listener.” He’s right, but I opted not to read all 176 verses to you today. In the New Living Translation, it is 2,525 words, and that means it would take me about 22 minutes. I’d read it all to you, and you’d still expect me to say something about it. We’d be here way too long. The fact that we both think that way just says that you and I both have a long way to go in developing the same kind of love for God’s word as the Psalmist. I know that because the Bible is the most sold, but least read book in the world. An article in a Religious News Service publication relates an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In the episode, Leno roamed the audience asking questions concerning the Bible: Name one of the Ten Commandments. The best anyone could do was, “God helps those who help themselves.” I understand nerves often keep us from thinking clearly, and being put on the spot can be nerve-wracking. So, it wasn’t a bad answer for someone who was guessing! Unfortunately, according the Barna Research Group, 75% of people polled actually thought “God helps those who help themselves” is in the Bible. It isn’t! Leno went on to ask his audience to identify one of the apostles. No one could. He asked them to name the Beatles, and almost in unison, the audience chimed in, “George, Ringo, Paul and John.” No, I don’t think we have the same love affair with God’s word as the Psalmist.
So, what is the value in having a love affair with God’s word? If we took the time to survey the entire Psalm we would hear the Psalmist tell us there is no more rewarding endeavor, and no exercise pays greater spiritual dividends than reading, and dare I say, memorizing God’s word. Here’s what we’d find through these 176 verses:
• Our prayer life strengthened,
• Our ability to share our faith sharper and more effective,
• People would seek us out for advice,
• Our attitude and our outlook would be transformed,
• Our mind would be more alert and observant (might cure a little of our ADHD),
• Our confidence and assurance would be enhanced, and most of all
• Our faith would be solidified.
Every one of those traits of the spiritual life are addressed by the Psalmist, but I specifically chose verses 9 – 16 this morning because I believe the Psalmist alerts us to the key to living a faithful life. It’s in verse 11: “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Knowing God’s word can keep us from falling to temptation. What do I mean?
Jesus is our example. Matthew records after Jesus’ baptism, he went into the wilderness for forty days, and during those forty days, Satan came to tempt Jesus on three different occasions. Once, he came when Jesus was hungry and said, “Turn these stones to bread.” Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 4:3: “No! People need more than bread for life; they must feed on every word of God.” Jesus quoted scripture when facing temptation. Another time, Satan came and challenged Jesus to jump from the pinnacle of the Temple. Satan even quoted scripture in an attempt to deceive Jesus (Yes! There’s a correct way and a wrong way to interpret scripture), but Jesus responded with his own quotation of scripture, again from Deuteronomy 6:16: “The Scriptures also say, ‘Do not tempt the Lord your God’.” In the third instance, Satan took Jesus to the top of a high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the earth, and said “I’ll give you all these if you will bow down and worship me.” Once more, Jesus answered from Deuteronomy 6:13: “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. When temptation came, he went to the Word.
Notice, though that hiding God’s word in our hearts is more than simple Bible memorization. Hiding God’s word in our hearts means to have his word live within us and transform us in the process. The written word becomes the living word, and it breathes life into our weak mortal bodies. The Holy Spirit works through the written word to transform it into the living word as he moves in our old, dead spirit, 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 Rostovzev’s life, and so it may in ours, as well.
But how, preacher, can I hide God’s word in my heart? Start by reading the Bible every day, even if it’s only one verse. Take a moment to hear what God is saying. May I give you a few suggestions to start? Read the letters of John in the New Testament. Not, the Gospel of John, but the letters First, Second and Third John, near the back of the Bible. They are short. They are practical. They are easy to understand. Take an entire week to read 1 John, and go from there. After you’ve read those letters, move on 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. Take two months, for heaven’s sake. It’s better to learn a little bit perfectly than to learn a lot poorly. Read it like you would read a novel. That’s one reason I love the New Living Translation. It’s written with today’s reading style in mind, and it reads much more like a novel than many other, especially older translations.
Next, join a bible study group. We are here to assist you in that endeavor. The View Bible Class and the Men’s Bible Study Class are two groups which do in-depth bible studies on Sunday morning, almost verse-by-verse studies. Consider joining one of those classes. There are other adult Sunday school classes who utilize the Adult Bible Study series, and they follow the theme of the quarter. Seek those classes out. Simply start somewhere. There is information at the Guest Information Center on Adult Education opportunities at FUMC, Monroe. If you can’t find one, start one. There is plenty of material we can help you with to start a bible study. I hear you now, “But, I can’t teach, and I don’t know enough about the Bible to teach a Bible study.” Trust me. We learn the most when we lead. We don’t need great knowledge so much as we need a great desire.
Finally, start memorizing verses. Pretend you’re in Vacation Bible School again. I remember VBS growing up. It was a big deal in Chatham, LA. Every church had its own VBS, and kids from every church would flock to the other churches because it was a way to keep kids occupied for three weeks out of a very long summer. The Methodists, the Baptists and the Pentecostals shared kids every summer. Boy! That might be why I’m theologically confused at times! However, each one of those weeks culminated with students reciting verses memorized during the week. One verse at a time—that’s all it takes. God is not going anywhere, and the Bible isn’t changing. Learn just a little piece at a time.
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 breathe into your spirit so it becomes the living word so that we can live the kind of life God is calling us to lead—a life of holiness, even when we face temptation. Perhaps then, our lives will reflect the deep, abiding love affair about which the Psalmist sang.
