Psalm 119 teaches how to respond to God's Word
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth walks through Psalm 119 and shows that knowing the Bible is not enough: you also have to obey it.
On September 25, 2026, the podcast Aviva Nuestros Corazones dedicated its episode to nine ways to respond to the Word of God. Bible teacher Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth drew them from Psalm 119, and host Débora de Rivera noted that the psalm repeats the command to keep it 29 times.
Learning it is not the same as obeying it
The first response is to learn it. Nancy read Psalm 119:9 (RVR1960): "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word." Learning, she said, is knowing. And no one can obey what they do not know. That is, according to her, one reason many believers do not grow: they do not read.
On reading, Nancy brought in a reflection from her friend Randy Alcorn: young people grow up surrounded by screens and many know how to read, but they do not read anything serious. She worries that those who will lead churches do not know the Scriptures. That is why she asked mothers and grandmothers to encourage their children to read.
«Obedience is not a merit of one's own nor a burden, but the response of someone who received grace.»
Other responses follow: seeking the Word of God, choosing its ways, remembering it without forgetting it, and turning back to it instead of turning away. Nancy read Psalm 119:11 (RVR1960): "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." Turning back, she explained, is repentance: considering one's own ways and directing one's steps toward God again.
Singing it, remembering it and meditating on it
Singing is also a way to respond. Nancy recalled Paul and Silas singing hymns in the prison of Philippi, in Acts 16, and a mother who composed melodies so her children would memorize Psalm 119. Music, she said, helps the Word stay in memory.
Meditation also appears. She read Psalm 119:97 (RVR1960): "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day." She announced that she would devote the next program to this topic, because it is one of the key responses.
Keeping: the response that repeats
The response repeated most in the psalm is keeping the Word. Nancy compared it to keeping a covenant: God keeps his and calls his people to keep theirs. "Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart," says Psalm 119:34 (RVR1960).
Her question was uncomfortable: how many things I know from the Word of God am I not obeying? She used forgiveness as an example: I know I should forgive, but I can hold on to bitterness. Knowing is not enough.
She also set a clear limit. Only Christ kept the law perfectly. That is why obedience is not a merit of one's own nor a burden, but the response of someone who received grace and depends on the Holy Spirit.
Today you can take a concrete step. Read one chapter of Psalm 119 and ask yourself what God is asking you to obey. If there is a command you have been ignoring for a long time —forgiving, asking for forgiveness, ordering your habits— start there. Obedience from the heart earns you nothing: it shows that you already belong to him.
