Grace to Know Your “ABCs”: Psalm 145, an acrostic psalm!

Do you know your ABCs?

 

Psalm 145:  The “A-to-Z” of God’s goodness!

 

Every elementary student in an English-speaking country needs to learn their ABCs.  The process is not optional; it’s required!  Without getting your ABCs down, you won’t be capable of communicating intelligently (skip being able to use a dictionary well) to the world around you.  We know this is true for school-age children, as well as for adults beginning to learn English as a second language.  But has it occurred to you that God has His “basic skills”, too?  That thousands of years ago He arranged for His children to learn of Him, and of His gracious character, via the Hebrew “ABCs”?

 

Those who spend much time at all “hanging out” in the book of Psalms know that there are several psalms that, in the original Hebrew, have been written as acrostics.  That is, each verse or phrase was written in the order of the Hebrew alphabet.  The acrostic writing style was employed as a mnemonic device.  By using the first letter of the first word of each verse or phrase in alphabetical order, young children would more easily be able to remember and to recite the content of the sacred Hebrew poetry (our present book of Psalms).

 

The best-known of the “ABC psalms” (i. e., the “acrostic psalms”) is Psalm 119, which chapter in the KJV clearly shows the twenty-two eight-verse sections in the order of the Hebrew alphabet, the beginning of each verse within an eight-verse section starting with one letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the beginning of each verse of the next eight-verse section starting with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and so on.

 

The best-known of the “ABC psalms” (i. e., the “acrostic psalms”) is Psalm 119.

 

But there is more to the acrostic psalms than simply stating that they are set up as “memory devices” for young children:  The acrostic psalms are also wonderful memory-joggers for those of us who are adults, aiding us in recalling the unparalleled and sparkling attributes of God in a 21 or 22-letter, bite-sized package!

 

While it is true that most of us are not memorizing or meditating upon these psalms in the original Hebrew (as did the ancient Israelites), nevertheless, we, too, can ponder God’s character reflected in the verses of the “ABC psalms” and, in our ponderings, systematically review God’s outrageous generosity, His forever-unchangingly loyal love for us, and His radiant goodness that brightens our hearts as we recall His “new-every-morning” mercies.

 

The acrostic psalms are wonderful memory-joggers, aiding us in recalling the unparalleled and sparkling attributes of God.

 

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Many of the ancient cultures had strong oral traditions.  Those who were literate enough to write their stories were few, therefore they told their stories aloud – sometimes as nomads, living out under the stars, sometimes while tending to their flocks, and often while doing their daily housekeeping chores, their children working with them side by side.  For those who were following the God of their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the stories they shared were filled with God’s exploits – and were, in fact, no mere stories!  These stories were the truth of what God had done for their parents, their grandparents, and for their ancestors.  There was absolutely no doubt that the adults would be telling their “life stories” to their children, and to their children’s children, following God’s instructions to Moses for the children of Israel, When your children ask you…  tell them…  (see Deut. 6).

 

We, too, can ponder God’s character reflected in the verses of the “ABC psalms” and, in our ponderings, systematically review God’s outrageous generosity, His forever-unchangingly loyal love for us, and His radiant goodness.

 

It is no wonder that as the people of God stopped telling their God-stories, their children and grandchildren stopped hearing of this “God of wonders”.  The more God’s people chased after false gods, the less likely they were to speak of the one true God – the God Who brought them out of Egypt!  The God Who made a dry path for them through the Red Sea!  The God Who made “drinking fountains” out of sheer rock for them in the middle of a desert wilderness!  The God Who rescued Daniel’s three friends – with not even a trace of smoke on their clothing – from Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace!  The God Who took an unknown orphan girl, living in a foreign land, and made her “for such a time as this” — the beautiful Queen Esther — who would save God’s people!  And those stories are just the beginning of the God-stories that the Old Testament Israelites told!

 

 

As the people of God stopped telling their God-stories, their children and grandchildren stopped hearing of this “God of wonders”. 

 

What God-stories have you recently told someone else?  How has God been actively, visibly at work in your life in the last month?  In the last twelve months?  How has God “shown off” His goodness, His kindness, and His mercies to you, to your family, to your friends this week?  This month?  Do you remember your “ABCs”?

How has God “shown off” His goodness, His kindness, and His mercies to you, to your family, to your friends this week?  This month?  Do you remember your “ABCs”?

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Today’s 21^st-century culture is, generally speaking, far more aural than oral.  More people have headsets, ear-plugs/ear-buds, or some device for listening – mostly to music — than at any other time in human history.  Yet fewer people among God’s people are telling their stories – their God-stories – of God’s miraculous deliverances, of His midnight rescues, of how God has saved a person from total destruction by the Enemy.

 

What God-stories have you recently told someone else?

 

How can you know the amazing things God wants to communicate to others through your story unless you tell it?  Do you “know” your “ABCs”?  The “ABCs”, that is, of God’s tenderness and kindnesses to you?  The “ABCs” of His tangible demonstrations in your life, even of His magnificent workings on your behalf in the past year?  In your moments of discouragement, can you recall how God “turned on the lights” for you in the past?  Can you share how He has become your “A-Z”, providing all that you need for “life and Godliness”?

 

Can you share how He has become your “A-Z”, providing all that you need for “life and Godliness”?

 

During this week of thanks-givings and remembrances of God’s glorious deeds and spectacular displays of love and compassion, I urge you:  Please, tell your God-stories to the people in your life!  Let this story-telling become a brand-new part of your family THANKS-giving tradition!  Then pass along these God-stories to your children, to your grandchildren, to your nieces and nephews, to your friends, and to every person that you know!

 

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Psalm 145

The LORD Extolled for His Goodness.

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

    ¹I will extol You, my God, O King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
²Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
³Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable.
⁴One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
⁵On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
⁶Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And I will tell of Your greatness.
⁷They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness
         And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
⁸The LORD is gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
⁹The LORD is good to all,
         And His mercies are over all His works.
¹⁰All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD,
And Your godly ones shall bless You.
¹¹They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power;
¹²To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
¹⁴The LORDsustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
¹⁶You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷The LORD is righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
¹⁸The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
¹⁹He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and will save them.
²⁰The LORD keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
²¹My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Grace to… “Blame” it on the pastor (say what?!!)

It’s time to put blame where blame is due.  Squarely on the shoulders of those who choose to invest their lives in… people.  Yes, we’re talking about the pastor here!  Think with me: 

Q:  When I was in junior and senior high school, who said (every Sunday, by the way), Read your Bible!  If you don’t read it, you won’t grow like God wants you to grow!  Ask God to speak to you, and to speak His truth into your situation! 

A:  My pastor.  Blame it on him that I finally started to really read the Bible for myself – not just everyone else’s devotionals, Bible studies, etc.  (Blame it on me that I didn’t do this consistently until my 30s!  Go figure!)

Blame it on my pastor that I finally started to really read the Bible for myself.

Q:  Who said the following throughout my formative years:

God keeps His promises!  Don’t worry about what people think!  Worry more about what God thinks!  If He’s given a condition in His Word and you follow it, then you can depend on Him to keep His Word.

 A:  My pastor.  Blame it on him that I still think that God’s the Original “Promise-Keeper”.  It’s all the fault of my pastor.

Don’t worry about what people think!  Worry more about what God thinks! 

Q:  Who, when I was seated on Sunday mornings in church with a bunch of other young people all around me (and a few “secretly” rebellious ones of us, at that!), regularly said from the pulpit, What you sow, you’ll reap.  Count on it!  As 1+1 = 2, it’s just as certain! 

A:  My pastor.  Blame it on him.  He’s the reason why I believe so firmly that when I “sow” corn, I’ll “reap” corn (see?  Some of us Midwesterners can never fully remove this reference to Galatians 6:7-8 from a mental image of a field of corn!).  That if I “sow” corn, I will not “reap” soybeans! 

Q:  When I was in my early twenties, and had started to read philosophy, my head was spinning with the implications of this thought:  What if the Bible were not true?  Who was it, when I was at that “T-intersection” stage of my life [turn one way, and chase after God’s thoughts; turn the other way, and chase after the Enemy’s thoughts] who said, “The Bible is true – whether you choose to believe it ~ or…not!  Better to choose to believe and obey it now while you’re younger than to choose not to believe and obey it, and look back after a lifetime filled with regrets!”  (Hint:  This same person refuted the popular line: God said it!  I believe it!  That settles it!   He said – from the pulpit!  Can you believe it? – that it doesn’t matter if I believe it or not:  It’s still true!) 

A:  My pastor.  Blame that statement on him.  (How could he say such a thing, when he wasn’t much more than 10-12 years older than I was?)  Although I do not have a “lifetime” of regrets, I still have a few things that I regret – because I thought that I “knew better” than God!  Thankfully God is rich in mercy, and extravagant in grace, and as a good Father, runs after His kids to plead with them, and to meet them as they are coming back to Him!

Who was it, when I was at that “T-intersection” stage of my life [turn one way, and chase after God’s thoughts; turn the other way, and chase after the Enemy’s thoughts] who said, “The Bible is true – whether you choose to believe it ~ or…not! 

Q:  Who said, Children!  Honor your parents – even if you disagree with their decisions!  (Ugh!  What a thing to say!  He certainly didn’t know my parents!) 

A:  My pastor.  (Again!)  Blame it on him.  If not for that pastor’s faithful preaching from Scripture ~ even the “hard” things ~ I would fit in “perfectly” with my siblings who even now, in their adult years, have actively chosen to not honor our parents…  Does that make me “perfect”?  Hardly!  Was it hard – almost impossible sometimes – for me to put into practice the pastor’s words (lifted, by the way, directly from Ephesians 6:1-2)?  You betcha.  Yet… despite how difficult it has seemed at times to follow this command from Scripture, I have great joy (yes, that is a great word to describe) in knowing that I have done my dead-level best to respect my parents…  Have I ever failed?  Absolutely.  But this has been one of my “lifetime goals”. 

Q:  Who said, Do what God tells you to do, and do it whole-heartedly? 

A:  That would be my pastor.  Blame it on him. 

Q:  Who quoted Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher of the late 1800s, who said, If God has called you to be a missionary, never stoop to be the King [or the Queen] of England! 

A:  My pastor.  Blame it on him that to this day I have a high view of missions and missionaries.  My pastor’s “fault”!  (Note:  “high view of missions/missionaries” does not equal “an unrealistic view”, or a “put-‘em-on-an-impossibly-high-pedestal view”.)

Who quoted Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher of the late 1800s, who said, If God has called you to be a missionary, never stoop to be the King [or the Queen] of England!

Q:  Who often quoted his life verse, So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom?  Who reminded everyone he knew how short life is, and that one day, every single person on the planet will each stand before God – believers in the God of the Bible, to receive rewards for faithfulness (this is not preached on as often these days), and believers in themselves as “God”, to receive judgment, and everlasting punishment, separated from God forever.  Who urged us forward constantly? 

A:  My pastor.  Blame it on him that to this day, I still believe strongly in setting achievable goals, and especially in setting private goals in spiritual strength-building and faith-conditioning to “press on toward the prize” of God’s high calling of following after Jesus Christ.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. — Psalm 90:12 (KJV) 

Q:  Who said, Read biographies of great Godly men and women who pursued God with all of their hearts, souls, minds, strengths – then seek to build certain of their spiritual disciplines into your own life! 

A:  My pastor.  Blame where blame is due.  Place it squarely on his shoulders!  He is the one who in his sermons dropped enticing biographical “morsels” of great believers into my very impressionable mind while I was still in junior and senior high school.  I learned of Adoniram Judson’s laboring for 7 years without a single convert, losing his wife, and struggling alone; I heard of George Mueller’s “praying in” tens of thousands of British pounds sterling, all to feed and clothe the orphans under his care; I listened as he told of Gladys Aylward who had no formal “missionary training”, no seminary degrees or advanced degrees, who as a young woman of great faith went overseas to China at her own expense (she had been rejected by the “official” mission boards – who several decades later realized their error), and there made great inroads with the Gospel.  My pastor’s “fault”! 

Q:  Who said, You can never out-give God!  Never! 

A:  You already know.  Again.  It was my pastor from my junior and senior high school days.

You can never out-give God!  Never!

He unashamedly preached all of the Bible – even the parts that probably made some members of the congregation nervous, angry, or upset.  Whatever!

He unashamedly preached all of the Bible. 

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In all of ten days it will be October – a month that has come to be known as Clergy Appreciation Month.  But… why wait to let your pastor know that you appreciate him? 

Idea:  Drop your pastor a note, an e-mail, a postcard, an actual store-bought card, a voice-mail, and tell him that you appreciate him – before it’s the “official” month!  Or… here’s a novel idea!  Why not invite your pastor and his wife over for a meal, or over for coffee and dessert?  (For those financially able to do so, what if you were radically generous, and even put a gift card for a coffee shop, a bookstore, or a restaurant in with that greeting card?)

Why wait to let your pastor know that you appreciate him?

You just might be surprised to find out that some pastors and their wives are rarely invited over, or… that they are invited over, but mainly to share a meal with just one or two families, or one or two couples.  Why not start a new tradition of hospitality at your fellowship by inviting others over – you might start with inviting over the pastor!  What if you spent an hour or so over a meal, dessert, or board games with your pastor and the pastor’s family?  You will be blessed (I can guarantee this), and I have a “hunch” that your pastor will be, too! 

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May I encourage you to pray for your pastor, and for your pastor’s marriage and family relationships?  Pray for your pastor’s personal Bible reading, that God would be alive and real as your pastor reads.  Ask God to give your pastor new insights from Scripture, and that the Holy Spirit would speak clearly and specifically to your pastor through the Scripture verses on which your pastor meditates.  There is perhaps no greater gift that you can give your pastor than the gift of your Scripture-driven prayers.

While you are praying, you might also ask God to give your pastor Godly friends who will hold your pastor accountable, people with whom your pastor can honestly share struggles in ministry, in spending personal time with God each day, frustrations in trying to balance family time and “church time”, and a mentor with whom your pastor can be genuinely “transparent”.  Ask God for that, for your pastor.  Do not take for granted that “all pastors already have such friends” – they do not.

Ask God to give your pastor Godly friends who will hold your pastor accountable, people with whom your pastor can honestly share…  Do not take for granted that “all pastors already have such friends” – they do not.

You might wind up your prayers on behalf of your pastor by thanking God for specific “zings” God has spoken to you during your pastor’s preaching or while leading a prayer time, or a small group.  When you have opportunity, find a few friends from your fellowship, and together pray for your pastor, in your pastor’s hearing.  You may never know in this lifetime how God has used you to touch His servant’s life!

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They watch for your souls, as those who must give account [before God], that they may do this [accounting] with joy, and not with grief… — Hebrews 13:17

Words fail me… Grace *beyond* words!

Words fail me…  but here is how one person (the translator, Paul Gerhardt) attempted to express his awe, his wonder, his deep gratitude at God’s gift of JESUS CHRIST:

O Sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown:
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn,
How does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn!

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior; ‘Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, Assist me with Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, Dearest Friend?
For this, Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end.
O, make me Thine forever, And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never out-live my love to Thee!

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My first language is English.  English, as all native speakers know, is filled with exceptions (and this statement itself is an understatement).  These exceptions – which we native-speakers use all of the time – give “conniption fits” to non-native speakers!  I am so thankful to have been born into an English-speaking family, for I don’t think I would have made a very good student of English as a Second Language (ESL).  When I was in junior high, all seventh graders were required to take a year of Spanish.  The class met all of once, or perhaps twice, a week.  Unfortunately, I am limited to a few strategic words and phrases:  Si.  Si, si.  Buenas Dias.  Manana.  And there you have it.  (A bit embarrassing to admit.)  One of these days I plan to do Spanish via audio CD, since I’m an aural learner…  Manana!  (Apologies for not figuring out how to put the tilde over the first “n”.)

My next language is…a language from childhood I learned from two older siblings:  “Chico”.  (I’ve actually never seen it in writing, but that is how it is pronounced.)  The three of us spoke it around the house, in the backyard while playing, while riding in the car, when swimming at the beach and everywhere else we went (true language “immersion”).  Some of our family had no clue what we were saying, nor even wanted to acknowledge that we were very definitely communicating!  One of our parents knew what we said.  One of our parents thought it was probably gibberish.  During those days I learned (from the non-Chico-understanding parent) that it is highly impolite to exclude others from conversations by speaking a foreign language, unless one is willing to interpret, or to provide an interpreter, so as to not leave out/exclude others.  In other words we needed to limit our “fun” of speaking this language when others were around, so that they would not feel left out.  (There is, btw, a huge lesson in that concept for the 21st century church, but that is not the focus of this blog post.)

I picked up snippets of German from another sibling.  Then attended a high school whose only “foreign language” was… Koine Greek.  (Go figure.)  Side lesson:  Never doubt that God can use every skill, every class, every ability ~ learned or natural ~ that He has given or provided you, all to make “connections” for Him to other people, and in a variety of ways!  Someone reading this today needs to hear/read those words.  You have studied, are taking, or have taken some class that has seemed/feels meaningless.   Please, may I encourage you with these words, this thought, regarding that class, or – that life experience? Please, dear brother, please, dear sister, Hold out for God!  HE is the great Connection-Maker, or… the “Mad Networker” (as one of you has stated so well).  Whether it’s your “weird class”, “frustrating life experience”, “one-of-a-kind situation”, “physical infirmity that daily, hourly, constantly brings you pain, aches, and to a point of constant reliance upon God’s strength, God’s grace” ~ there is not one of these things that God can NOT use.  There is not one of these situations that He can NOT multiply to “feed” others, all in your brokenness, all in your frustration, all in your discomfort.  But!  That, too, is a side-bar…)

Hold out for God!

Later I took French.  I was so not good at it.  (Another gross understatement.)  And this, despite having a relative fluent in French.  I could only long for the days of “Chico” from my childhood, when I could actually communicate my thoughts.  My true “second language” is Japanese.  Part of my life experience includes serving as a technical translator/interpreter of that language.  It is, by the way, a language very “fun” to learn for those who have taken and enjoyed Koine Greek, for the combined written/sound aspect (i.e., the “phonemic” aspect, for those of you interested) of Japanese (but here, again, I greatly digress; forgive me).

Never doubt that God can use every skill, every class, every ability ~ learned or natural ~ that He has given or provided you, all to make “connections” for Him.

A good friend of mine, who has a graduate degree in linguistics (and who I occasionally tease about being an undercover agent — though she is not at all!), speaks Russian, German, Spanish, and Kyrghiz, in addition to her native English.  We have had many conversations regarding languages, words, sounds, and cultures, as you may imagine.  But none of these languages – no word in any language, ancient or modern – will ever, ever be sufficient to clearly describe my gratitude to God for His Gift of JESUS on the Cross for me, for us. 

No word in any language, ancient or modern – will ever, ever be sufficient to clearly describe my gratitude to God for His Gift of JESUS on the Cross for me, for us.

And so, with the translator Paul Gerhardt, I weep as I sing these beautiful words:

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, Dearest Friend,
For this, Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O, make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never, out-live my love to Thee!

God’s Gift of JESUS is all of GRACE – and it’s beyond words!

Words fail me.  Languages will cease.  “And now abideth faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”  (1 Cor. 13:13, KJV)

p.s.  A challenge:  I challenge you to “plug in” the word “grace” for “love”, and “graced” for “loved” while you are reading of God’s love in the New Testament.  Yes, they are two different words in the original Greek, but I think you will be interested to find how much they share a “body of meaning”:  You cannot “love” a person without “gracing” them in some way.  And it is difficult to grace/show grace to a person without loving them!