Praise God in All His Saints

Praising is the main work or act of the angels and all the heavenly creatures. Isaiah the prophet beheld the Seraphim with six wings praising continuously without ceasing saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isa 6:1-3) St. John also saw, heard and testified in his revelation saying, “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’” (Rev. 5:11, 12) And, “the four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” (Rev. 4:8)

When the angels appeared to the shepherds declaring the birth of the Savior, they were praising, according to the evangelist’s words, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.’” (Lk. 2:13, 14) Expressing their joy for the birth of the Savior and for salvation, “the shepherds returned [from the manger] glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen.” (Lk. 2:20) We too express our joy and thanksgiving, glorifying God through our praises. “Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound [i.e., praising]! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness they are exalted.” (Ps. 89:15, 16)

The Event of Praising in the Coptic Orthodox Church

Especially, in the Coptic month of Kiak, the Church praises with the shepherds, St. Mary and Zacharias the priest expressing her joy for the Savior and salvation.

When we praise, we participate with the angels in their work or act, as St. Gregory the Theologian said, “Through praising, we live eternity now as if we are already living in the heavens.“ “Then a voice came from the throne saying, ‘Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great.’“ (Rev. 19:5)

Our prayers are considered unfinished without praising, in all its various forms as illustrated in the Psalms. Most of our Orthodox Church prayers are considered praises. Examples are: the prayers in the Psalms, the daily Praise (Tesbeha) preceding the Evening and Morning Raising of the Incense Liturgy, the Midnight Praise (tesbehat nisf al-leil), prayers of praise during and after the Eucharistic Liturgy and the Kiak Midnight Praise.

The Church received the practice of praising and its importance from our Lord Jesus Himself when He praised with His disciples using the Psalms after establishing the Eucharist. (Mt. 26:30; Mk. 14:26) He also used the Psalms many times in His discussions with the Scribes and Pharisees. Later on, the Early Church also praised with the Psalms directly after Pentecost, in one accord both in the temple and after every Eucharist, “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart praising God.” (Acts 2:46, 47)

It is known that Book of Psalms called in Hebrew the book of chants, because the Psalms were chanted in rhythmically balanced tunes using musical instruments. God appointed for this ministry those who were talented in singing and playing instruments. In general, tuned Psalms expressed the states of heartfelt joy or the depths of the soul more powerfully than just the effects of words alone. “Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgment.” (Ps. 119: 164)

Most of our Church’s Praises consist of the Psalms. For example, we have four Howces (praises) in the Midnight Praise (Tesbeha). The First Howce is the song of Moses and the Israelites after passing the Red Sea. It is the same praise as those who have the victory over the beast (Satan) standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. (Rev. 15:2,3) The Second Howce is a praise of thanksgiving. (Ps. 136) The Third Howce is the praise of the three young men of Israel while inside the fiery furnace. The Fourth Howce is a combination of Psalms 148, 149 and 150.

Praising does not only express cases of joy and gladness, but also thanksgiving, even in times of hardship, desperation, suffering, sadness, etc. Praising during these times proves our obedience to God, and acceptance to this situation. In this case, our prayer glorifies Him and declares His wisdom. A good example of this type of praise is when Sts. Paul and Silas were imprisoned, yet in complete joy, “And at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” (Acts 16:25,26) This type of praising is considered a form of evangelizing, “They shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.“ (Isa. 60:6) “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the church I will sing praise to You.“ (Heb. 2:12)

Also, all prayers and praises offered to God are considered acceptable divine sacrifices, like sweet smelling incense. This is what was expressed by David in his Psalms, “Therefore, I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle.“ (Ps. 27:6) “You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving.“ (Ps. 116:16,17) “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.“ (Ps. 141:2) St. Paul also declared this fact saying, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.“ (Heb. 13:15) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1)

Above all, our praises become a source of joy to God Himself as the prophet Zephaniah said, “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.“ (Zeph. 3:17)