A few days ago, I posted “God messaged me through music” on my blog, “In a Christian Poet-Writer’s Life.” That article mentioned hymns and song lyrics as my first introduction to poetry. By middle school, however, biblical psalms became an important and ongoing part of my poetic education.
Poems in the books of prophecy also occur as discussed on “The Poetry of Biblical Prophets.” Those poems written in the Hebrew language used poetic practices addressed in “Techniques in Bible Poetry,” one of which is the abecedarius also known as the “alphabet poem.”
That unique form originated in the Semitic language in the Bible as a means of instruction, for example, Psalm 119, which teaches us about God’s law and its importance in our lives. Since that psalm goes on for a few pages, its ABC form might not be as useful for memorization, but the mnemonic aid might work for other ABC poems, such as Psalm 25, Psalm 34, and Proverbs 31 description of the virtuous wife. Regardless, the abecedarius helps us to be focused on what we’re reading.
To my knowledge, the New Testament did not carry on this tradition, perhaps because it was written in Greek, rather than Hebrew. But, thinking about all this made me want to give a NT version a try, which resulted in this:
ABC Poem of Good News
Almighty God speaks to us in the
Bible. Blessed and beloved
Children follow God’s will:
Do to others as you want
Everyone to treat you.
Forgive others as
God forgives. Our
Holy Father reveals Himself
In inspiration and His Son,
Jesus Christ, Who shows
Kindness,
Love,
Mercy.
Nothing can separate us from
Our Lord’s love.
Prayers keep us close. Be
Quick to praise God. Be
Ready to
Share His Good News. Be
Thankful in and
Under all circumstances.
Voice your love for the Lord.
Worship God, Who
X’s out sin.
You are loved! Be
Zealous for Jesus.
©2025, Mary Harwell Sayler
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