Eloi Abba, with grateful hearts, we praise thee
for your providence, protection and preservation perpetually
and above all, for your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, on Salvation’s tree
solely by whom, mankind can reunite with thee, Almighty.
Oft, as wayward sheep, from your flock, I strayed
beguiled by the ancient snake, I waved
Yet my soul, ye restore & lead me in righteous path, ye paved
not for my name, but for thy Holy Name sake
My beloved, ye reminded to be humble
putting on the mind of Christ, lest she stumble
for humility and the fear of the Lord is the ensemble
lest riches, honor and life, she fumble
Wisdom, knowledge and understanding come from above
reminded this thee, to our first-born, who ye greatly love
May your Holy Spirit hover over him as a baptismal dove
consecrating and covering him, when the world its temptations on him shove.
May our second-born fear ye Lord, so ye encamp
around him, O angel of the Lord, Salvation’s Lamp
delivering him from the fowler snare – the thief’s clamp
Be to him Lord, his one and only champ
Eloi Abba, with grateful hearts, we praise thee
for your providence, protection and preservation perpetually
and above all, for your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, on Salvation’s tree
solely by whom, mankind can reunite with thee, Almighty.
From the Author’s/Poet’s Desk:
As we arrived at the beginning of a new year, thinking about the year gone past and looking forward to the year ahead, this poem is an expressions of our hearts, that in the coming year, my family (Sangeetha, Reuben, Ittai and me), remember Our God’s (Eloi) goodness, grace and love as our Father (Abba).
During the watchnight service on December 31st, at the Austin Christian Fellowship of India (ACFI), we picked promise cards for each one in the family. The poem is written by compiling the verses from our promise cards, as a personal reminder to us, but we pray that you personalize this for yourself by replaced the pronouns and words like “our” with “me” or “my” and any personal pronoun with your name or “I”.
The promise cards picked for 2019.
For Reuben (our firstborn): 6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6)
For Ittai (our secondborn): 7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. (Psalm 34:7)
For Sangeetha (my beloved): 4 By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life. (Proverbs 22:4)
For Mano: 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3)
——-
A line-by-line exegesis of the poem [in square brackets] is given below:
Eloi Abba, with grateful hearts, we praise thee
[We praise God (Eloi) – who being God, adopts us into his family so we can call him Father (Abba) – Mark 15:34; Romans 8:15]
for your providence, protection and preservation perpetually
[God our Father, not only provides, but he protects and preserves our life, perpetually – Genesis 22:14; Psalm 18:2; Psalm 41:2]
and above all, for your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, on Salvation’s tree
[but our highest praise is for Jesus Christ, God’s Only begotten Son who died for us on the Cross – John 3:16; Galatians 3:13]
solely by whom, mankind can reunite with thee, Almighty.
[and there is no other name given under heaven or earth, by which man can be saved – Acts 4:12]
Oft, as wayward sheep, from your flock, I strayed
[Many a times, I heeded not to the voice of the Shepherd’s Spirit, and yielded to fleshly lusts]
beguiled by the ancient snake, I waved
[tricked by the devil, the snake – Revelation 12:9]
Yet my penitent soul, ye restore & lead me in righteous path, ye paved
[and when I repented, he restored the joy of Salvation and continued to lead me – Psalm 51; Psalm 23:3]
not for my name, but for thy Holy Name sake
[for he is a merciful and loving God, true to his word that will fail not – Psalm 23:3]
My beloved, ye reminded to be humble
[Humility is key is what my beloved wife (Sangeetha) was reminded – Proverbs 22:4]
putting on the mind of Christ, lest she stumble
[For Christ was humble despite being God, leaving his glory to save us – Philippians 2:5-7]
for humility and the fear of the Lord is the ensemble
[Humility and the Fear of the Lord are like two sides of the same coin- Proverbs 22:4]
lest riches, honor and life, she fumble
[and its wages is riches, honor and life – Proverbs 22:4]
Wisdom, knowledge and understanding come from above
[The source of wisdom, knowledge and understanding is God himself – Proverbs 2:6]
reminded this thee, to our first-born, who, ye greatly love
[Reuben, our first-born who loves God dearly was reminded of this through his promise card]
May your Holy Spirit hover over him as a baptismal dove
[Our prayer is that the Holy Spirit of God is always above him as he appeared at Jesus’ baptism – Matthew 3:16]
consecrating and covering him, when the world its temptations on him shove.
[setting him aside and covering him so that he does not yield to worldly temptations – Psalm 91:4]
May our second-born fear ye Lord, so ye encamp
[The promise card for our second-born son, Ittai]
around him, O angel of the Lord, Salvation’s Lamp
[was that the angel of the Lord surround those who fear him; Christ is the angel of the Lord and he is the light (lamp) of our Salvation – Psalm 34:7]
delivering him from the fowler snare – the thief’s clamp
[God delivers those who fear him from the devil’s snare and clutches – Psalm 91:3]
Let him always keep you Lord, his one and only champ
[Our prayer is that Ittai keep the Lord to be the champion in his life]
Eloi Abba, with grateful hearts, we praise thee
[We praise God (Eloi) – who being God, adopts us into his family so we can call him Father (Abba) – Mark 15:34; Romans 8:15]
for your providence, protection and preservation perpetually
[God our Father, not only provides, but he protects and preserves our life, perpetually – Genesis 22:14; Psalm 18:2; Psalm 41:2]
and above all, for your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, on Salvation’s tree
[but our highest praise is for Jesus Christ, God’s Only begotten Son who died for us on the Cross – John 3:16; Galatians 3:13]
solely by whom, mankind can reunite with thee, Almighty.
[and there is no other name given under heaven or earth, by which man can be saved – Acts 4:12]
