Memorizing psalms

I wrote something recently for the group for my church that I’m taking to Israel next month. While it is geared for those going to Jerusalem, I think it is just as suitable for those who have already been to Jerusalem (and that is most, if not all, of the readership here).

It’s always good to memorize God’s Word, but there are certain portions that are particularly meaningful for one who has been to or is going to Jerusalem. I would like to suggest a few psalms for you to consider memorizing. None of these are long, and all of them are rich beyond just a visit to the Israel.

Psalm 48 – I’ve quoted a few verses of this psalm to students in Jerusalem for years, but I feel like I only understood it once I memorized it while in Jerusalem in January. This psalm helps me to understand why Jerusalem is considered to be so beautiful and full of joy: “God is in her citadels…Mount Zion rejoices…because of your judgments.”

Psalm 63 – This is the only psalm where it specifically says that David wrote this while “in the wilderness of Judah.” If you have this psalm in your heart when we are standing in the dry and desolate landscape, you ‘ll really know what David meant when he wrote “my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you.”

Psalm 84 – There may be no better psalm that expresses the desire to be in God’s presence. “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.”

Psalm 122 – One of 15 psalms that were sung by pilgrims as they ascended to Jerusalem to worship at the temple, this psalm exhorts us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” This is a good one to help prepare your heart for our time when “our feet” will be “standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.”

Psalm 125 – Some of these psalms are so short that you may be able to memorize 2, 3, or more before we go. As you walk around Jerusalem, your faith will be strengthened as you recite, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.”

God is so very good, and memorizing psalms can help us to rejoice in him all day and “through the watches of the night.”

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1–2).