Day One Hundred Ninety-One “Merisms”
He had set up the surprise perfectly. We would take a short, relaxing drive to one of our favorite scenic spots, spend the afternoon chatting and enjoying the view, then call it a day. When we arrived at the lake that day, I was his best friend, but when I traveled home that evening, I was his fiancé. Little did I know that we weren’t alone in the car that day, for a shiny engagement ring was tucked away under my seat. What a plan, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. That familiar phrase is a figure of speech known as a merism, a set of contrasting words used to express totality or completeness. Some examples to consider: searched high and low (looked thoroughly); lock, stock, and barrel (completely); and those vows most of us have recited, for better or for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health (an all-inclusive spectrum of situations).
The Hebrew language provides us with vivid examples of merisms, adding so much texture to our reading experience when we recognize them. It was a common device to use the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph/Tav, to denote wholeness. In the center of the first few words of the Bible, “In the beginning God (Elohim-Aleph/Tav) created the heaven and the earth,” we find those two letters, a merism for all of creation. He, Who is all, created everything that exists-heaven, earth, and EVERYTHING that exists between the two! And not only did He create all…He knows all: “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising,” a merism for my every movement of every day. Solomon uses fourteen pair of contrasting words to encompass the experiences of virtually every season of human life, “A time to be born, and a time to die,” plant and pluck, weep and laugh, get and lose, love and hate. By utilizing these merisms, everyone can relate to Solomon’s deep questions on the purpose of life, drawing all of us into his final conclusion: in every aspect of our lives we should “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
But perhaps the greatest praise-prodding merism in Scripture appears in the final verses, “I am Alpha and Omega, saith the Lord.” By using the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the King of kings boldly declares for all mankind to hear that He is All in All, eternal, without beginning or end. Praise the Lord, we serve the totality, the sum and substance of the Scriptures, the all-in-all of salvation, the “author and finisher of our faith.” From verse one in Genesis, to the final pages of Revelation, HE is Aleph/Tav, Alpha/Omega…He is everything! How humbling, yet awesome, is it that this God of wonders would love me enough, care for me to such an extent, that He would sacrifice His Son to provide salvation full, free, and complete! Ponder that amazing thought as you begin your week and your heart will be filled with praise!
Revelation 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
I serve an awesome God; eternal, all-powerful, AMAZING Creator, the all-in-all. Amazing is the thought that He would die for me.
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