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God is Good

IoannesIoannes
edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
Sometimes during the day I just stop and realize how good our God really is. I see how He is glorified through His creation. I see everything He does for us, and continues to do despite our pitiful selves. When I find myself losing patience, I realize the patience He has with me, how much He has put up with and still blesses me and my family. When I get angry, I see how he has lovingly deals with my ignorance. When I feel as if I have nothing, I gaze up at the Icon of His crucifixion, and see the greatest gift ever given, I see this emulated in the Eucharist and how we become one with Him together, united as one church.

I personally have spat in the face of God, rejected God, blasphemed God, and yet He is good. He could have taken all away and let me die pitifully as I deserve. He could have kept me from my lovely wife, He had a chance to take my son at birth, and yet He did not. I deserve nothing and owe a debt I cannot pay. Yet, He paid it for us all. Lent is wonderful and God is good, I hope everyone is having a wonderful lenten experience in Christ, may the prayers of all the saints be with you!

Comments

  • Gracia
    [quote author=Ioannes link=topic=8920.msg111643#msg111643 date=1267849241]I personally have spat in the face of God, rejected God, blasphemed God, and yet He is good.

    same here.

    God is unimaginably, wonderfully good and merciful, patient and kind. He is holy, almighty, and He is so patient and forgiving of His wayward, sinful, spiteful children. He loves us.
  • TzegemariamTzegemariam
    Psalm 118:1
    Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!For His mercy endures forever.

    Amen
  • geomike
    OOnh evol enta mpchois ente nichois ALLELUIA.
    Je pefnai shop sha eneh


    SORRY I DON"T HAVE COPTIC FONT
  • kefleyohanneskefleyohannes
    Give thanks

    God bless you Brother

    Glory to God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit Forever Amen
  • mabsootamabsoota
    its great to hear stories of God's goodness. He is amazing.

    geomike, i recognise that verse u posted from tasbeha, can you tell us which one it is?
    there are loads of tasbeha verses in the hymns lyrics library on this site, but i am finding it hard to learn which are the different parts of the midnight praise. i know some are sung at specific seasons and others more generally, but i don't know which is which.
    it doesn't help that the titles to most of the parts are in coptic! i think the one you posted there is about God being good and his love enduring forever, but how can i find it among all the very many tasbeha verses on this site? it's one of the ones i particularly want to learn.

    i have decided to first learn the ones that have a repeated line after every verse, coz then i can learn the repeated line and sing it with the congregation after the deacons sing their verses.

    anyone else have any tips for learning tasbeha for beginners?
  • user00
    mabsoota,
    the Coptic verse geomike posted is exactly the one "Thanks be to God always" posted right above him. It is the beginning of the 2nd Canticle (Hos), which is Psalm 136 in the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Here is the link to the words and on the side they have links where you can listen to it:
    http://tasbeha.org/hymn_library/view/106

    Honestly, the best way to learn the tasbeha is by attending it regularly. You will quickly pick up on the order, but if you just look at what's listed under the Annual Psalmody (I'm assuming you want to focus on Sunday's tasbeha done Saturday night), all of what's listed is pretty much standard. Here is the General Order on a Saturday night (conducted for Sunday):
    1- Tentheeno- Arise O Children of the Light (same words as what's in the Agpeya before the beginning of the First Service of the Midnight Watch.
    2- Every Day during the Holy 50 Days and every Saturday night after that until the end of the coptic month of Hatour (until the beginning of Kiahk), Tennav (We look for the Resurrection), a hymn for the Resurrection, is chanted.
    3- The First Canticle (Hos means Canticle) - this Hos is word for word Exodus Chapter 15 and talks about the Children of Israel's Exodus out of Egypt and the Crossing of the Red Sea
    4- The First Canticle Explanation (the word "Lobsh" means explanation)
    5- The Second Canticle/Hoos- Psalm 136 in the Bible
    6- The third canticle/hoos- the Praise of the 3 youth in the firey furnace, as found in the book of Daniel contained in the Apocrypha (not in New King James, but you can find it in an Orthodox Study Bible or a New American Version which is published by the Catholic Church)
    7- Greek Psali Watos for the 3 saintly children- Aripsalin (O Sing Unto Him)
    8-Tenen (The Song of the 3 Saintly children)- is traditionally said during Kiahk, but can be said all year round
    9-Psali Watos for the 3 Saintly Children, Tenoueh Ensok (We follow You with all our hearts)
    10- The Commemoration of the Saints
    11- The Doxologies
    12- The fourth Canticle/hos -Psalms 148,149, and 150
    13-The Sunday Psali (Each day of the Week has it's own Psali and Theotokia) for St. Mary-- Ainahti (I believed wherefore I spoke)
    14-The Sunday Psali for the Lord Jesus- Aikoti Ensok ( I sought after You)
    15-The Sunday Theotokia (Glorification for St. Mary--it explains many old testament symbols in light of St. Mary and the New testament)--> The first part is parts 1-6, then the Gospel of St. Luke (Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace...), then the hymn of "Shere ne Maria" (Hail to you Mary), which is part 7, then the hymn Shashf Ensop (Seven times everyday), which is parts 8-9, and then one of my personal favorites, Teoi Enhikanos (You are more worthy), which is parts 10-15 (Teoi Enhikanos has 3 tunes: a very long one, a long one, and the fast/normal way), and midway through part 15 there is a hymn called Aven Piarshierevs (They likened the high priest), which has a longer tunes as well. Parts 16 and 17 comprise the hymn "Nim Ghar" (Who is likened unto You) and like Tennav, is for the Resurrection and thus only chanted every day during the Holy 50 Days and every Saturday after that until the end of Hatour.
    16- Not all churches do this, but then the "Defnar" is read, which is in arabic (and coptic, but they don't usually read it in coptic) and is a poetic version of the synaxarium, both summarizing the lives of the saints of the day (SUnday for example), praising them, and asking their prayers.
    17- The Hymn of Neknai O Panoti (Your mercies O my God) --Conclusion of the  Theotokia for Adam Days--so this is what's said for Sunday-- Watos Days, which are Wednesday-Saturday, have their own Conclusion)
    18- The Intro to the Creed and the Creed are Recited
    19- The Concluding Hymn - (Lord Have mercy x3, then each verse)

    That's the Sunday Midnight Praises in a Nutshell-- but it really becomes second nature if you attend regularly, and you will find it a great blessing. Remember, those who participate in the midnight praise are like those in heaven sharing in the work of the angels!
  • mabsootamabsoota
    thanks so much user00, that's exactly what i was looking for, i know the order differs, i just wanted a structure in my head to help me learn it, without a structure i was a bit overwhelmed by the length of the tasbeha, the three languages (in our church they flick between the languages rapidly, it's harder to sing along if you don't know which language is coming next!) and, of course, the beauty of it all. they have it in 3 languages on the projector, which helps a lot, but it's very fast-paced and a lot to take in.
    i think i can enjoy the beauty more if i understand it better and am not distracted by thinking 'which hymn is this?'
    i reckon within the next 10 years it will become second nature!
    ;)
  • user00
    no problem-- but I honestly believe if you are able and attend the tasbeha every week, you will pick up on many things-- that is in fact how i learned the order of the tasbeha and many, if not most of its hymns.

    It might help if you have a book, but if you don't want/need one, you can download a powerpoint of it here:
    http://stshenoudajc.org/index.php/Download-document/Presentations-Setup.html

    That presentation also has other services in it as well. In fact, if you go under the Lent Psalmody, you will find a few "Psali" 's specific to Great Lent and honestly, they are beautiful and worth looking into. If you don't know the tunes, I think Wagdi Bishara recorded them on this website in Coptic, so you can know the tune:
    http://tasbeha.org/mp3/Hymns/Fasts/Great_Lent/Wagdi_Bishara/Great_Lent_-_Praises.html

    Even if you don't know the tunes, you can still read it as a prayer or sing it in whichever tune you know (at your home)-- but just a hint-- the Psali's that are adam are said like the hymn Aikoti Ensok (I sought after You from the depth of my heart). The Psali's that are Watos are said like the hymn  Afti Emeponof (Give joy to our souls), which is the Saturday Psali.

    The Higher institute of coptic studies also produced an introduction to the midnight praises in english and arabic, which you can listen to here:
    http://tasbeha.org/mp3/Praises/Midnight_Praises/Institute_of_Higher_Coptic_Studies,_Coptic_Midnight_Praises/Part_1.html

    The first 2 tracks are the introduction in English and Arabic.


    God bless.
  • mabsootamabsoota
    thank you so much for all those resources, and i apologise for hijacking this thread to talk about tasbeha!

    God is good, He even makes praising Him a beautiful experience.
  • user00
    No problem at all mabsoota =)

    And yes, I suppose now it's about time to get back to the original topic.... (lol)
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  • IoannesIoannes
    [quote author=DimyanCoptic link=topic=8920.msg112215#msg112215 date=1269216276]
    God is good.

    I've personally am trying to get the most of this last week of lent before pascha. Its the worst feeling to go to church everyday of pascha with doubt.


    I think everyone has moments of doubt as well as moments of great faith. Just do your best.
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  • mabsootamabsoota
    if u never doubted and were perfect, u wouldn't need to go to church!
    so go, and pray too for me, a sinner.
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