Bless ye the Lord

Bless ye the Lord

Daniel 3:

51 Then these three as with one mouth praised, and glorified, and blessed God in the furnace, saying: 52 Blessed are You, O Lord the God of our fathers: and worthy to be praised, and glorified, and exalted above all for ever: and blessed is the holy name of Your glory: and worthy to be praised, and exalted above all in all ages. 53 Blessed are You in the holy temple of Your glory: and exceedingly to be praised, and exceeding glorious for ever. 54 Blessed are You on the throne of Your kingdom, and exceedingly to be praised, and exalted above all for ever. 55 Blessed are You, that beholds the depths, and sits upon the cherubims: and worthy to be praised and exalted above all for ever. 56 Blessed are You in the firmament of heaven: and worthy of praise, and glorious for ever. 57 All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

58 O you angels of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 59 O ye heavens, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 60 O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all for ever. 61 O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 62 O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 63 O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

64 O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 65 O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 66 O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 67 O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 68 O ye dews and hoar frosts, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 69 O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

70 O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 71 O ye nights and days, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 72 O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 73 O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 74 O let the earth bless the Lord: let it praise and exalt him above all for ever. 75 O ye mountains and hills, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 76 O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

77 O ye fountains, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 78 O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 79 O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 80 O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 81 O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 82 O ye sons of men, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

83 O let Israel bless the Lord: let them praise and exalt him above all for ever. 84 O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 85 O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 86 O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 87 O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. 88 O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. For he hath delivered us from hell, and saved us out of the hand of death, and delivered us out of the midst of the burning flame, and saved us out of the midst of the fire. 89 O give thanks to the Lord, because he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever and ever. 90 O all ye religious, bless the Lord the God of gods: praise him and give him thanks, because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.

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What is the future of the church?

My friends, you are my friends because of your love for Jesus the Christ. But I have this to say from our Lord and Savior; the body of Christians throughout the world that calls itself by His Holy Name is drunk with pride and religious practice. Each one calling itself by some different name and teaching different doctrines to the detriment of the Holy Name. Our Lord is mocked by the world not only because it will mock but because of the very church itself that is so divided the truth cannot be known by anyone who hears the many teachings and the attacks from one to the other.

The observance of strict religious practice simply for the sake of religion is not salvation. If there is no love, if the worship and observance is not from the heart out of love it is useless and our cries will not be heard. As well it is the same if one simply says that one is 'spiritual' and does not worship then one is also only fooling one's self. If one is truly spiritual in Jesus the Christ then one will worship and worship with love and gladness. As the world continues to decline the large institutional churches will decline along with it. This is from the Lord. Corruption will abound.

We must repent, confess, baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We must remember the Body and Blood, we must live everyday loving others and caring for their soul. That last great Apostle St. John said in the last days of his homilies kept it simple, he said; brothers and sisters remember to love one another. When asked why that is all he would any longer say in his speaking he stated this; because if you have perfect love there is nothing else.

Places of worship will become small and exclusive to those who truly love. Hymns will be sung, prayers and petitions will be sung and the plate and the cup will be blessed and will be partaken of. Loving and caring for one another will be of utmost importance.

I ask you this; what else is there besides these things? Live in Christ Jesus, there is nothing else. There is no other way.

Peace and many blessings.

In Christ,
+William
Monk Michael.

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Model Prayer from the Book of Daniel

Friends, please allow me to present to you a prayer by Daniel to Almighty God for all of the people of his nation and not simply for himself. Perhaps this prayer model may serve as a template for us in our prayer to Almighty God for our nations and for all of those who belong to Jesus the Christ. Confession, prayer for forgiveness for our people and mercy from Almighty God.

Daniel 9

4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and I made my confession, and said: I beseech You, O Lord God, great and terrible, who keeps the covenant, and mercy to them that love You, and keep Your commandments. 5 We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, and have revolted: and we have gone aside from Your commandments, and Your judgments. 6 We have not hearkened to Your servants the prophets, that have spoken in Your name to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 

7 To You, O Lord, justice: but to us confusion of face, as at this day to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, to them that are near, and to them that are far off in all the countries where You have driven them, for their iniquities by which they have sinned against You. 8 O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our princes, and to our fathers that have sinned. 9 But to You, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness, for we have departed from You: 10 And we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his law, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 And all Israel have transgressed Your law, and have turned away from hearing Your voice, and the malediction, and the curse, which is written in the book of Moses the servant of God, is fallen upon us, because we have sinned against him. 12 And he has confirmed his words which he spoke against us, and against our princes that judged us, that he would bring in upon us a great evil, such as never was under all the heaven, according to that which has been done in Jerusalem. 

13 As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: and we entreated not Your face, O Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and think on Your truth. 14 And the Lord has watched upon the evil, and has brought it upon us: the Lord our God is just in all his works which he has done: for we have not hearkened to his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who have brought forth Your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and have made You a name as at this day: we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, 16 O Lord, against all Your justice: let Your wrath and Your indignation be turned away, I beseech You, from Your city Jerusalem, and from Your holy mountain. For by reason of our sins, and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem, and Your people are a reproach to all that are round about us. 

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the supplication of Your servant, and his prayers: and show Your face upon Your sanctuary which is desolate, for Your own sake. 18 Incline, O my God, Your ear, and hear: open Your eyes, and see our desolation, and the city upon which Your name is called: for it is not for our justifications that we present our prayers before Your face, but for the multitude of Your tender mercies. 19 O Lord, hear: O Lord, be appeased: hearken and do: delay not for Your own sake, O my God: because Your name is invocated upon Your city, and upon Your people.

In Christ,

+William

Monk Michael

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The Fiery Furnace

This prayer is found in the Book of Daniel chapter 3 when the three youths were thrown into the furnace of fire. Oddly it seems that this prayer cannot be found in a translation of scripture that is by Protestant churches. It can only be found in the LXX or Septuagint scriptures and not in the Hebrew.

This prayer is actually a form of liturgy in a sense; it contains confession of sin, God’s righteous judgement, praise to Almighty God, begging for mercy and victory over the enemies.  This prayer is as much true today as it was then.

Prayer of Azarias in the midst of the fiery furnace.

23 But these three men, that is, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, fell down bound in the midst of the furnace of burning fire.

 24 And they walked in the midst of the flame, praising God and blessing the Lord. 25 Then Azarias standing up prayed in this manner, and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire, he said: 26 Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and thy name is worthy of praise, and glorious for ever: 27 For thou art just in all that thou hast done to us, and all thy works are true, and thy ways right, and all thy judgments true. 28 For thou hast executed true judgments in all the things that thou hast brought upon us, and upon Jerusalem the holy city of our fathers: for according to truth and judgment, thou hast brought all these things upon us for our sins.

29 For we have sinned, and committed iniquity, departing from thee: and we have trespassed in all things: 30 And we have not hearkened to thy commandments, nor have we observed nor done as thou hadst commanded us, that it might go well with us. 31 Wherefore all that thou hast brought upon us, and every thing that thou hast done to us, thou hast done in true judgment: 32 And thou hast delivered us into the hands of our enemies that are unjust, and most wicked, and prevaricators, and to a king unjust, and most wicked beyond all that are upon the earth. 33 And now we cannot open our mouths: we are become a shame and reproach to thy servants, and to them that worship thee.

34 Deliver us not up for ever, we beseech thee, for thy name's sake, and abolish not thy covenant. 35 And take not away thy mercy from us for the sake of Abraham thy beloved, and Isaac thy servant, and Israel thy holy one: 36 To whom thou hast spoken, promising that thou wouldst multiply their seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the sea shore. 37 For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation, and are brought low in all the earth this day for our sins. 38 Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or holocaust, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of firstfruits before thee, 39 That we may find thy mercy: nevertheless in a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted. 40 As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of fat lambs: so let our sacrifice be made in thy sight this day, that it may please thee: for there is no confusion to them that trust in thee.

41 And now we follow thee with all our heart, and we fear thee, and seek thy face. 42 Put us not to confusion, but deal with us according to thy meekness, and according to the multitude of thy mercies. 43 And deliver us according to thy wonderful works, and give glory to thy name, O Lord: 44 And let all them be confounded that shew evils to thy servants, let them be confounded in all thy might, and let their strength be broken. 45 And let them know that thou art the Lord, the only God, and glorious over all the world. 46 Now the king's servants that had cast them in, ceased not to heat the furnace with brimstone, and tow, and pitch, and dry sticks,

47 And the flame mounted up above the furnace nine and forty cubits: 48 And it broke forth, and burnt such of the Chaldeans as it found near the furnace. 49 But the angel of the Lord went down with Azarias and his companions into the furnace: and he drove the flame of the fire out of the furnace, 50 And made the midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind bringing dew, and the fire touched them not at all, nor troubled them, nor did them any harm. 

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