About Hiding God's Word in The Heart

By Pastor Bruce Oyen
E-mail: bk_oyen@hotmail.com

Psalm 119:11 says, "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."
This goes far deeper than simply memorizing Scripture, as important as that might be. Many persons have memorized scores of verses, but they give no evidence of being followers of Christ. Therefore, we must conclude that storing Bible verses in one's memory is not equal to hiding God's Word in one's heart.

So, what does Psalm 119: mean? The Keil and Delitzsch commentary on Psalm 119:11 gives a good answer to the question: "One is said to hide the word in one's heart when one has it continually present with him, not merely as an outward precept, but as an inward motive power in opposition to selfish action (Job 23:12)."

Though Joseph in the book of Genesis did not have a Bible to read and memorize, he is a good illustration of what it means to hide the Word in one's heart in the manner of which the Keil and Delitzsch commentary speaks.
He knew what God expected of him, and resisted the sexual advances of Potiphar's wife by saying, "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9)
If we have hid God's Word in our heart, it will help us resist any temptation we might face.