Thoughts for the Day

O ye Children of men, bless ye the Lord:
praise him, and magnify him for ever.

O let Israel bless the Lord;
praise him, and magnify him for ever.

O ye Priests of the Lord, bless ye the Lord:
praise him, and magnify him for ever.

O ye Servants of the Lord, bless ye the Lord:
praise him and magnify him for ever.

O ye Spirits and Souls of the Righteous, bless ye the Lord:
praise him and magnify him for ever.

O ye holy and humble Men of heart, bless ye the Lord:
praise him and magnify him for ever.

O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord:
praise him and magnify him for ever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son:
and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now and every shall be:
world without end. Amen.

(Lectionary, Book of Common Prayer)

Thoughts

By the time we get to the fifth day of looking at the Benedicite (the Song of the Three Young Men) they have explored pretty much all of creation from the Sun and Moon to Seas and Floods, and Angels to Cattle. Now as the song draws to its close it concentrates on human beings, calling upon the Children of Men and all who are Humble and Holy to praise and worship God. In a strange land, in Babylon, do they call upon their captors to worship God? Who are the 'Holy and Humble men of heart'? They have already called Israel and the Servants of the Lord after all.

The song ends with a reminder to themselves to praise God who sent His angel to rescue them from the burning fire. It closes with the words of the Doxology. The dictionary defines the Doxology as a 'liturgical expression of praise to God'. The word 'Doxology' comes from ancient Latin and Greek and means "glory". Quite often hymns end in the Doxology. It also has something of the flavour, but in miniscule form to the Kaddish recited by Jews during a service of mourning (see Further Thoughts).

In Morning and Evening Prayer the Doxology is also used to indicate the end of psalms and canticles (though not for the Te Deum, even in the first edition of the Book of Common Prayer - anyone know why?), and although we have praised God throughout the Benedicite, it seems like an appropriate way to end the song. It's also a way that a congregation can join in since many are accustomed to hearing it repeated throughout worship.

Heavenly Father,
we praise and worship You this day.
We thank You for all who have answered Your call
to live a holy life;
for all ministers and priests;
for men and women of peace;
and for all known only to You who serve You
with acts of kindness to others.
These blessings come from You.
Grant that we may never forget this,
but continue to praise and bless You
for all Your gifts to us and our world.
Amen.