Preparing to Memorize Psalm 139 Part 1

Psalm 139 Memorization Plan:

https://scripturememorywithalicia.blogspot.com/

BibleHub https://biblehub.com/

Blue Letter Bible https://www.blueletterbible.org/

Bible Memory Goal https://www.biblememorygoal.com/

Follow me at:

• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@scripturememorywithalicia
• Blog https://scripturememorywithalicia.blogspot.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scripturememorywithalicia/

Transcript

Welcome back friends!   For those of you who have been following me from the days of Living Roots—now Scripture Memory with Alicia—this marks the start of Season 2! And for the first time ever, the podcast is now on YouTube, so you can watch this episode visually!

I am so excited to start memorizing Psalm 139 with you!  I have been looking forward to this day for a while now. Not only because I wanted to get started on something new to meditate on but mainly because of the attributes of God laid out in this Psalm and the uniqueness of his  relationship with us.  I have to say that this is by far one of my favorite psalms.   I have memorized this in the past but it was before I started a structured way of reviewing so its a bit rusty at the moment. However, one thing that I have found to be pretty cool, though, is that although it's not a psalm that I am reviewing weekly or even monthly, I still remember the little nuggets  about who God is and can share these with friends or anyone the Lord leads me to comfort or encourage.  

So, pull up a chair and listen to what you will end up learning should you decide t o memorize this psalm with me.  

Your are going to learn that this psalm shows us that God is eternal and has an eternal view of our life.  He searches the depths and crevices of your life and mine,   He knows all that we will do, say and think.  He examines the path that we are currently walking on and who we do  life with.  He is present in our suffering, in times of darkness, while sleeping, when we feel alone, and during the blissful and contented times of life   He is the creator  and sustainer of life.  He knew you and I before we were even thought of or conceived. He wove us together while we were in our mothers womb., His  thoughts of you are more than the sand

If anything, this Psalm should drive you to Worship God. Let me encourage you friend, In the moments when life seems to be falling apart at the seams and when fear gives way you and I  can rest in these things.   I don't think we can ever fully understand the vastness of this Psalm.  This Psalm describes God as one who is creator and sustainer of all things, is intimately acquainted with us mind, body and soul, and searches us out to the point of extreme intimacy, intimacy that no other human being could possibly fathom, a type of intimacy that is indescribable in our finite minds.  

Think about it, you and me, puny tiny individuals, living on earth with millions and millions of other tiny individuals, yet He searches each and every single one  of us out and knows us. 

Personally, this psalm has calmed my fears in times of illness, new life and during the times of the loss of loved ones. It has helped me to focus vertically when circumstances arise, whether good or bad and it has helped me when the fear of man would sneak up upon me.  

 I hope that if you decide to memorize this Psalm with me you will also find little nuggets of truth and that the words of this Psalm will penetrate your soul and your mind!

So  with that said, let's dive into Psalm 139! Today we’re starting with a general overview—Its a step that i call preparing before you memorize. Think of it like flying over the city or town that you live in, you can see a general layout, such as lines that look like streets and highways, tall buildings and tiny structures, fields and mountains, lakes and rivers. You get the sense of what Im talking about.

We will be gathering information about the Psalm by asking questions like Who, What, Where, Why, When and How. . 

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:  (Show some tools as you say this) (Title -what you need )

• A Bible or a printed copy of Psalm 139 -if you’d rather not write directly in your Bible, I recommend using the Blue Letter Bible. You’ll find a link and step-by-step instructions in the show notes to copy, paste, and print the passage
• Colored pencils or pens or 
• A notecard or piece of pape

With that said, lets pray 
Lord, I am asking that you would open our eyes to see your attributes and that we would be able to understand and grasp the depths of the truths that we are about to discover in Psalm 139. In Jesus Name, Amen
Alright, let’s dive into Psalm 139 together.

Go ahead and grab your Bible and turn to Psalm 139—or pull out a printed copy if that’s easier. Just a quick note: I memorize using the ESV, but you’re welcome to use any translation you prefer. The key movements and memory tools I teach will still work, no matter which version you use.

And if you ever feel like the wording in your translation throws you off, feel free to watch this entire episode to catch the big picture. I also included a link in the description that will take you to my blog, where I’ve posted the full memorization plan for Psalm 139.

The goal for today is to get a bit of background information such as who wrote it and to whom it was written to and to identify the main characters. 
First, let's read Psalm 139 verse 1 out loud. 

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O Lord you have searched me and known me

When you are reading scripture I want you to slow down and read it outloud and see if you can answer any questions that start with Who, What, Where, Why, When and How.  

This step is called observing the text.  So, now read it again,  can you identify and answer any of the 5 w’s or h?  

I want you to read this verse outloud again and as you do this circle or write on a separate piece of paper who wrote it and to whom it was written to. 

David wrote this and it was written to the choirmaster.  

If you have been memorizing scripture with me recently, you may have remembered that the part of the title :  To The ChoirMaster was also in another recent Psalm we memorized  ? It could be possible that you forgot because I choose NOT to memorize the inscriptions above Psalms and I haven’t encouraged you to do so,  but maybe you chose to memorize it?  

Either way, we saw this was also part of the title of  Psalm 8 which we just finished Memorizing  In Video- “link below”  In December. I'm going to repeat some information here and you can either fastward or if your like me you don’t mind hearing things over and over again. 

During Psalm 8 and also this Psalm I wanted to find out some more information about this title.  I used Bible Hub, In Video- “link below”  which is a great resource and it explained that this phrase “to the choirmaster” basically means the psalm was meant for public worship—it was directed to the person leading the music in the temple. These psalms were designed to be experienced together, as a community. And just to give you an idea of how common this is, the Blue Letter Bible shows that the word “choirmaster” shows up in 55 different psalms.

Alright — now that we’ve identified who wrote this and who it was written to, let’s shift gears and dig in a bit more..  Grab something to write with such as a colored pen or pencil.

We are now going to identify the main characters by text. We will do this by reading Psalm 139 aloud 2 times. 

The first time, I will read this Psalm outloud and as I do, I want you to see if you can identify the main characters in this Psalm.  If you find who they are, write them out on the paper or somewhere.  

1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,"

12even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!

20 They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain.

21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

22 I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!

24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Now I want you to read outloud the Psalm and as you do, mark Lord and David like this: 

Show my piece of paper with the markings of the Lord and David. 

God with a purple triangle and coloring it in with yellow 

David by highlighting his name in Orange.

Don’t forget to mark their pronouns associated with each of those.  

If you prefer not to use these symbols, you can underline or circle the words  but just make sure your consistent throughout the whole chapter.  

For those who are listening on a podcast, if you want you can check out the youtube video to get a visual on how I mark these words check out the link in the show notes

Ill give you roughly 2 minutes to read through this Psalm and mark the text.  

Were you able to identify that the main characters were the Lord and David? 

Today we identified who wrote the psalm, to who it was written for and the main characters of Psalm 139.For the remainder of the week, I’d like you to continue working on the overview. Read the Psalm daily, and make a list about the Lord and the son of Man. What do you learn from each verse about each one of them? Use Scripture as your answers. And if you have time, dig a little deeper by doing a word study.

No matter how you are listening, whether via youtube or podcast check out the links in the description of the show and  Be sure to check out the show notes and visit my blog—On the next podcast, I’ll be sharing what I learned about the Lord and David.  I hope you’ll be able to join me! “Thanks for spending time with me today! If you haven’t already, follow the show and share it with someone God puts on your heart this week.”

Till then, Stay Rooted! 🌱