CAPITALIZATION

How the rules of grammar change throughout the years!

I was always taught to capitalize any words referring to Deity: He, Him, You, Thou, etc., etc. But many times that doesn't hold true any more.

Take Psalm 37:23, for example. If you're accustomed to the KJV, you know the verse as "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way." Maybe I'm a little dense. But I always took that to mean that man delighted in the ways of the Lord. You'll notice in that last phrase, "he delighteth in his way," neither the word "he" nor "his" are capitalized. I checked out several versions, and that seems to be common. So I suppose that's where I got my idea that man delights in God's ways.

It never dawned on me that those two words referred to God delighting in man's way until I read it in the Amplified version this morning. I've read the Amplified version several times, but it never hit me until today. It says, "The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].

Notice the capital letters NOW. They make all the difference in the world. Now the Lord delights in the way of a good man. Not only that, He -- the Lord -- busies Himself with every step that good man takes! Can't get any better than that!

It also helps to remember that brackets [ ] in the Amplified version contain clarifying words and meanings.

I've been somewhat leery about my upcoming visit this afternoon to my MD. This will be the first she has seen me since I was in the hospital last week. Then I read the above verse. So I take it that my visit to her is orchestrated by the Lord; that the Lord is involved with this visit; and that He'll be busy with everything that transpires!

Preacher's Kid