I love playing with words, whether it’s relaxing with a New York Times crossword puzzle, or learning to solve cryptic crosswords, or using different letters to paraphrase Psalm 23.
So for my last sermon, I thought of including my own acrostic psalm of thanks in keeping with my sermon text from Psalm 111. “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,” says the psalmist, and this exuberant offering of thanks finds expression in the acrostic structure of the psalm:
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After the opening “Praise the Lord!” the first line of the psalm begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
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the second line with the second letter,
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the third line with the third letter,
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and so on with each line through the entire Hebrew alphabet.
Just as we might say something is complete from A to Z, there’s a sense of completion in this psalm with the Hebrew alphabet from aleph to taw. The psalmist offers a whole-hearted thanksgiving for all that God is and does.
As it turned out, I didn’t write an acrostic psalm for my sermon, but here is my word play now:
Give thanks to God
Always Faithful!
Boundless in love,
Creative Heart of the universe,
divine and
eternal,
full of grace and
glory, full of
holiness and justice,
incarnate in
Jesus, God-with-us.
Kind Friend, yet
Lord of all,
Miracle-Maker of
new life.
Only Son, the
Peace Keeper crucified, then
quickly, quietly
risen by God’s
Spirit of Power.
Teacher and Comforter,
unmatched in
victory, healing our
wounded world,
Xtravagant Mercy,
yesterday, today, and forever,
Zeal of the Lord Almighty.
Thanks be to God
Always Faithful.
Writing/Reflection Prompt: Check out 5 Reasons to Be Inspired by Psalm 111 and Poetry Prompt: Six Steps to Writing the Polished Acrostic Poem, then try writing your own acrostic psalm of gratitude.
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For more on writing and other acts of faith,
April Yamasaki 
Wonderful! Begs to be read aloud, lifting hands and heart and voice . . .
Yes! What a beautiful thought, Laurie. In the ancient world, the Psalms were always read–or sung–aloud, and I love to do that with the Psalms today too.
Well done, April. This is your own Psalm, not a paraphrase of Psalm 111, right?
Yes, it’s my own psalm, Elfrieda. I followed the structure of Psalm 111 with an opening and closing that echo one another, and for each line in between I used the letters of the English alphabet to start. I also continued with the theme of praise/thanksgiving, so while mine isn’t a paraphrase, it’s inspired by Psalm 111.
April, what awesome, beautiful, creative, devotional,,,, praise poem, etc. 8>)
Thanks for your comment, Richard. Praise God!