Alphabetic Verses: AV Psalm 145

Psalm 145 is the last of the Alphabetic Psalms. It contains all the letters of the alphabet in their standard order, though the verse corresponding to Nun is missing in most manuscripts. The elements of each verse associated with the corresponding letter are highlighted.

Aleph (1): I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

This verse reveals one of the fundamental grammatical functions of Aleph, which expresses the idea of I Will when it is prefixed to a verb. This is how it is used in the verse above, which opens with ארוממך (aromimkah, I will extol), formed from the root רום (ruwm, extol/elevate/uplift) prefixed with Aleph (א). This transforms it into the "piel imperfect" to express the idea of I Will. This meaning of Aleph is fundamental: God used it in four other alphabetic verses: Psalm 34, 111, 119 (twice).

These ideas integrate with Aleph as a representation of God the Father (Av) Who created the universe by the simple action of His Will. In this way the alphabet eternally reiterates the fundamental Christian teaching: God First!

The meaning of Aleph as I Will is exhibited most prominently in the Divine Name I AM THAT I AM which could be accurately rendered "I will be what I will be." It expresses God's absolute freedom and Soveriegnty as Creator, which is a fundamental theme of Spoke 1. It forms the acrostic אאא corresponding to 111, the value of the name of the letter Aleph - the great self-chosen symbol of God Almighty. This is discussed in some detail in the Gematria Reference article on the Number 543 and in the article discussing the profound correlation between Isaiah 43 and Book 43 (the Gospel of John).

In the ultimate sense, Aleph represents the Supreme Will of the Supreme Being, אלהים (Elohim, God). This word is cognate to אלהי (Elohi, My God) used in the verse above. The essence of Aleph is emphasised a second time in the second clause in the phrase "I will bless" which is formed from the root ברך (barak, bless) prefixed with Aleph. All of this profoundly integrates with the position of Aleph at the beginning of the Alphabet.

Bet (2): Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
 

This verse opens with the Hebrew phrase בכל יום (B'Kol Yom) which literally means "In all of the day," that is, continuously. This exhibits the meaning and grammatical function of Beyt. Its name means House - a place distinguishing between "in" and "out" - so when prefixed to a word it signifies the preposition "in," "with" or "by." This manifests prominently in the chapter structures of both Isaiah and Matthew.

Gimel (3): Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

The verse opens with the Gimel KeyWord גדול (gadol, great/majestic). It is repeated in the second clause. This KeyWord also appears in the Gimel-verses of Psalm 34 and Psalm 111. It reveals the character and function of the Holy Spirit Who delights in glorifying and magnifying God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Gadol integrates with other Gimel KeyWords such as גוה (gavah, pride/majesty) and גל (gal, heap/billow). Basically, it carries both the positive and negative.phpects of ideas such as swelling, uplifting, and expanding - all relating to the concept of spirit/wind/air. The positive sense encodes the idea of glorifying God; the negative sense encodes the idea of glorifying self, as seen in the fundamental Gimel KeyWord גא (gay, pride). Likewise, in the negative sense, Gadol is translated as insolence or pride. In the ultimate sense, the essense of Gimel encodes the character of the Holy Spirit who glorifies Christ and uplifts the Believer.

Dalet (4): One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

This verse opens with דור (dur, generation). This word also appears in the Dalet verse of Psalm 112. It relates to the idea of Birth, which first appears in Genesis 4.

Hey (5): I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

This verse opens with the word הדר (hadar, honour/glory), used in the phrase hadar kavod (glorious honour):

The word translated as "glorious" is from the root כבוד (kavod, honour) which is the word used in the Fifth Commandment. The integration is perfect. Both the Heh KeyWords Hod and Hadar also appear together in the Heh verse of Psalm 111.

Vav (6): And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

As with all the alphabetic verses corresponding to Vav, this verse opens with a Vav prefix to the word "men" which is how the conjunction "and" or "but" is written in Hebrew.

Zayin (7): They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

This verse opens with זכר (zakhar, remember/memory). It integrates with the command to remember the Seventh Day in the Fourth Commandment. This word appears in a prominent way in Judges (Book 7) as discussed in the introductory article on Spoke 7. There is a complex set of meanings associated with the Number 7, Sabbath, and the Number Four. I will discuss them when I get more time. This KeyWord is also used in Psalm 111.

Chet (8): The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy

This verse opens with the Chet KeyWord חנון (chanuwn, gracious) from the root חן (chen, grace). It ends with the Chet KeyWord חסד (hesed, mercy). Exactly the same phrase is used in the Chet verse of Psalm 111. It is very common to find double KeyWords in the Alphabetic Verses (AVs).

Tet (9): The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
 

This verse opens with the Tet KeyWord טוב (tov, good). This KeyWord appears in over half of its corresponding Alphabetic Verses (see the introduction to Spoke 9). The distribution of this KeyWord is maximized in Book 9 (1 Samuel) where it plays a strong and unique thematic role. It is integrated with the Will of God through the prime Number 17.

Yod (10): All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
 

This verse opens with the root ידה (yadah, praise) which is simply the name the tenth letter יד (yad, hand) suffixed with a Hey (ה). This encapsulates two.phpects of the letter Yod: 1) We praise by lifting our hands, and 2) Yod is the Letter of Action - hence this verse speaks of us praising God's great works! Glory to God!

Kaph (11): They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
 

This verse opens with Kaph KeyWord כבוד (kavod, glory). The letter Kaph signifies the Palm of the Hand, or the Open Hand and relates to ideas having to do with covering, such as the glory of the Lord covering the earth. This KeyWord plays a very important role in the primary theme of Book 11 (1 Kings) in which the Temple and the Throne of Glory was established.

Lamed (12): To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

When Lamed is prefix to a word, it indicates the preposition "to" or "for". It is used in this sense in most of the Lamed Alphabetic Verses. Lamed's grammatical function coheres with its literal meaning as an ox-goad or pointer, and with its verbal meaning "to teach." It is the root of Talmud - the great collection of learned Rabinical expositions (cf. Teach and Exhort!). Lamed is profoundly integrated with the Inner Cycle of Genesis: Genesis 12 is called לך לך (Lekh Lekha, Go forth!) from the words the Lord used to prompt Avram to begin his journey to the promised land. He goaded Avram with the letter Lamed!

Mem (13): Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

This verse opens with mlkvt (malkuth, kingdom). The first three letters form the word מלך (melekh, king) which follow the order of the alphabet backwords from Mayim to Kaph covering Spokes 11, 12, and 13. This integrates with the order of the Canon on Cycle 1, the books of the Kings being found on Spokes 11 and 12. See Alphabetic Integration of the Rise and Fall of David's Kingdom.

Nun (14): (NRSV) The Lord is faithful in all his words ...
 

This verse is missing from most manuscripts (and hence most English translations) but is included in the NRSV. The KeyWord "faithful" נאמן (ne'eman, faithful) is confirmed in that it also appears in the Nun clause of AV Psalm 111:7. Furthermore, it also plays a central role Spoke 14 themes (see Jesus Christ: High Priest of the Everlasting Faith).

The fact that this letter is missing in many manusscripts has led to a very interesting Rabbinic tradition that coheres with another fundamental.phpect of the letter's meaning. The Talmud teaches (Berachoth 4b) that the letter Nun represents the נפלים (nephalim, fallen ones). This tradition is also found in the Zohar, and is often repeated in many Jewish homilies. It is deeply integrated with Scripture in many ways. The Rabbis teach that the Nun is missing in the alphabetic sequence of this Psalm because it alludes to the fall of Israel, and that it is included as a prophecy of the rise of Israel in the verse corresponding to Samekh. God used this meaning of Nun in the most stunning way in His design of the chapter sequences (Inner Cycles) of Isaiah, Romans, and Revelation. In Isaiah 14 we read:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!

Isaiah 14:12

Likewise, we find these words in Revelation 14:

And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Revelation 14:8

And in Romans 14 we read:

Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

Roamns 14:13

These verses are contrasted with great clarity in the following verse corresponding to Samekh.

Samek (15): The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

This verse opens with the root סמך (samak, uphold/support), which is the root of the name of the 15th letter, Samek. This root is also used in the Samek verses of Psalms 111, 112, and 119. Scripture strongly attests to both the name and meaning of the 15th letter.

The meaning of Samek profoundly integrates with the content of Spoke 15 of the Wheel, where we find the book of Ezra - whose name means Helper - and the Book of James which places such great weight upon the support of the poor. This verse is fundamental to the undestanding of the sequence Nun - Samekh. As mentioned above, Nun is missing from the alphabetic sequence of this Psalm because of its symbolic meaning as "the fallen ones," who are in fact explicitly mentioned as those upheld by Samekh. A very obvious example of God's use of the Nun - Samekh sequence in the design of Scripture is found in the chapter sequence of Romans:

Romans 14 [Nun/Fall]: (vs. 13) Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

Romans 15 [Samekh/Support]: (vs. 1) We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, not as pleasing ourselves

There are many such meaningful seqeunces found in the Alphabetic Verses.

Ayin (16): The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

As with the preceding letter Samek, this verse opens with the actual name of its corresponding letter, עין (ayin, eye). This meaning of the the 16th letter is extremely well attested in Scripture. It is used in 7 of the alphabetic verses. Its frequence is greatly maximized in Zechariah on Spoke 16, and place an astounding role in the themes of that Book.

Pey (17): Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

This verse opens with the Pey KeyWord פתח (patach, open). This integrates with many Pey KeyWords such as face (panim), mouth (pey), suddenly (petho), and prepare (panah). It relates to the Coming of the Lord prophesied on Spoke 17. This also integrates with the chapter sequence of Matthew with the transfiguration in Matthew 17.

Tsaddi (18): The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
 

This verse opens with צדיק (tsaddiq, righteous). Some Rabbis take this as the true name of the eighteenth letter. Alternately, some see it as formed by the name Tsaddi suffixed with Quph which follows it in the alphabetic sequence. In any case, God presents the essence of Tsaddi as intimately related to Righteousness. This manifests in this divine title found in 1 John on from Spoke 18:

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2:1-2

The theme of Righteousness dominates Spoke 18 in the most amazing way. This KeyWord distinguishes Matthew from the other synoptic Gospels. This also integrates with the Gospel of our righteousness through Christ going forth on Spoke 18 of the Wheel as prophesied on Spoke 18 of the Inner Wheel of Isaiah.

Quph (19): The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

This verse opens with the Quph KeyWord קרב (qarav, near/nigh) which God used in four other Alphabetic Verses. This verse also contains the fundamental Quph KeyWord קרא (q'ra, cry/call) twice. This is another example of an Alphabetic Verse that displays more than one KeyWord. These words express the essence of Book 19 (Psalms)

Resh (20): He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

This verse opens with רצון (rahtson, will/desire).

Shin (21): The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

This verse opens with שמר (shamar, keep/preserve). It is a very important Shin KeyWord that God used in six other alphabetic verses. It is a prophecy of Christ, and its fulfillment is recorded only in John on Spoke 21, so it forms an Alphabetic KeyLink.

This verse contrasts the KeyWord shamar with the KeyWord שמד (shamad, destroy) which integrates with the fundamental Shin theme of שפט (shapat, judgment). This is an example of how complimetary concepts - Salvation/Presevation vs. Judgment/Destruction - are subsumed in one alphabetic category.

Tav (22): My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

The order of words in the first clause is almost exactly opposite of the original Hebrew which opens with the words Tehilet YHVH (The praise of the LORD). Here is the orginal text:

This verse speaks of the consummation of Creation when all creatures will sing God's praise. The root word תהלה (Tehillah, Praise) governs the overall structure of Scripture in the form of the Menorah, which is just another representation of the geometric Capstone of Scripture, the Bible Wheel.

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