When I first became a Christian, I was introduced to kids Bible songs such as "Behold, Behold," "I Know Whom I Have Believed," and "Great is Thy Faithfulness " . Many times I was unaware that I was really singing the words of the Bible. Later, when I came across the verse in my reading, I was surprised that I already knew it.

Bible verse songs are a wonderful means of memorizing Scripture. Music has a rhythm and when that rhythm locks the words of the Bible into it, the verse is much easier to recall. Television advertisers have used this for years to get the name of their product into the minds of the public. I can still sing commercials I heard 50 years ago!

Of course, the Bible is not written like poetry in a metric pattern, and thus it is more difficult to set it to music. Methods for writing tunes to match Scripture words is the subject of another article. However, when this is done well, the words and meter of the song are locked together.

Learning Scripture memory songs also helps us remember the verses. I can recall numerous times when I think of a verse while speaking and can quote it exactly. In my mind, however, I am really singing the verse quickly. I was able to remember it because of the rhythm of the song

I started writing Bible verses to music when I first taught third grade in a Christian school. Some of my students had difficulty learning the memory verse for the day and I wanted to help them. The answer was music. When I sang the memory verse to them, they could pick it up and remember it much more quickly.

Bible verse songs also provide a means of meditating on the Scripture. As the song runs over and over in my mind, so do the words. The Spirit has thus used this to apply the Bible verse to my life in numerous situations.

Since words of songs are often repeated, it is a means of even clarifying a verse. One example is 2 Corinthians 5:21 that contains a misplaced modifier in modern English. It says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin" The verse is obviously not teaching that we are sinless but that Christ is. Through repetition of the phrases, the song makes this clear.

Bible songs can present the Gospel in a way that is not offensive to unbelievers. One year I taught my class all the verses for the Roman’s Road plan of salvation and they sang them for a parents’ assembly. Any unsaved people who were present heard God’s way of salvation without a sermon.

Finally, Bible verse songs are a means of retaining Scripture as I get older. I find it much more difficult to memorize anything and retain it now than I did when I was younger. However, I can still remember a song and through this means can learn and retain verses.