Contemplations on the Lobsh of the First Canticle (Hos).

With the split…

With the split, The waters of the sea split, And the very deep, Became a walkway.

The Almighty God, with His great and awesome power, saves His people. Not only from the hands of the enemy but also from enslavement that they were in. The Lord, with His mighty hands, broke the chains of slavery and hardship, and provided freedom by opening a pathway in the middle of the sea for His children. He split the hearts of the people and gave them a way to follow: a long but clear and visible pathway – a pathway of freedom: “I am the way, the truth, and life” (Jn. 14:6). How amazing are your works for us, O Lord. You are so loving and merciful – You, who saw Your children’s anguish, came down with a piercing sword to save them. You, who saw Your peoples’ troubles, came down from Your glory and was pierced by nails, pierced by a crown of thorns, pierced by a spear, to save them.

The sun shone…

The sun shone, On the hidden earth, And an untrodden road, Was walked upon.

O Lord, even in our darkest hour You shine Your glory and power upon us, and reveal a way through which we walk toward Your love and compassion. The road that we trod is a difficult, troubled way, but it is the only one by which we can be saved.

It is through Your will that You put us through this road. It is Your will that we take the hard way out of our problems and difficulties. It is also your will that You change this difficult way into a way of salvation and re-union with You.

We have begun on the journey of purification and renewal: the walkway of Baptism. It is a long and bumpy road, but that is the only way to go, for all other ways are blocked. It is by walking forward on this road that we will see the light – just as the light of the sun shone on the hidden earth below the waters that were moved, the light of the Son of God shines on our path. His is the light we follow.

The flowing water…

The flowing water, Stood still, By a miraculous, Act of wonder.

Sometimes we get caught in all of the excitement of His wonderful acts – the flowing blessings that we receive from God – that we forget to stop, stand still, and watch His wonders and miracles around us. We forget to look up, with calmness and steadiness, to just take some time to thank God for His blessings and His wonderful creation that has sustained us for millions of years. This by itself is a wonder – God giving us life, air to breathe, water, food, shelter and all that sustains us on this earth that He created. Let us stand in silence and awe, giving thanks and praise to a God who truly provides for us in all conditions, in any condition and every single condition.

Pharaoh and his chariots…

Pharaoh and his chariots, Were drowned, And the children of Israel, Crossed the sea.

The enemies who pursue us, who want to take our newness and revival with God, who want nothing from us but to kill our relationship with the Almighty, are not merely punished by God, but He buries them below the water. He buries them below the quenching waters, where nothing can survive. It is the same waters that gave life to the Israelites that also destroyed their enemies. It is the same waters that cleanse our sins and grant renewal and freedom to all that also brings justice and punishment upon the unrighteous. These waters are a crossing of salvation to meet our Father, to meet our God who calls us children. What a great second victory!

And in front of them was…

And in front of them was, Moses the Prophet praising, Until he brought them, To the Wilderness of Sinai.

As always, Moses was chosen to lead the way. Walking in front – not behind – and preparing for the long road, He lead the praises of glorification of God. What else would the leader do but praise, after being used by the Lord of Hosts to carry out a miraculous mission? Moses could not do anything but begin to praise and give thanks to God, until he brought the Israelites across their calamity.

That is being a true servant of God; and as we are servants and children of the Lord, we also have nothing else to offer to God but our voices. We offer our voices to Him, giving Him praise, glorification, and thanksgiving, for allowing us to be partakers of His salvation.

And they were praising God…

And they were praising God, With this new psalmody, Saying, “Let us sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously.”

The restoration to safety, and this renewed life, brings with it new happiness, new joy, new praises, and new hymns. New glorifications are offered to give thanks to the Almighty, to give thanks to the Deliverer Who has triumphed first over our hearts, our minds, and our souls and secondly triumphing over our enemies, the unrighteous. For that, we sing with a loud voice chanting a new song, a song that is renewed every moment of our life, every moment we feel God’s presence in our heart giving us a new understanding.

So I sing to Him, to show Him my commitment, to tell the Lord that I see his salvation. I see the untrodden road that I have to walk on so I can get to Him; and I see that I need to stay in the front and give thanks to Him and praise Him with all of my strength.

Through the prayers of Moses…

Through the prayers, Of Moses the Archprophet, O Lord grant us, The forgiveness of our sins.

Moses the leader and prophet, we ask you to take up our prayers, our fervent and anxious prayers to our God. Take them up for us, for you are the one that was chosen to bring the message and commandments of the Lord to us. Your special and loving heart to God and to your people is the one that helped bring freedom and miraculous acts to Israel. So, please, through your courageous, kind, caring, and praising prayers, take up our prayers to our Master and Father, the King of Salvation that He may have mercy upon us and grant forgiveness to our weak selves and for our many iniquities.

Through the intercessions of the Mother of God…

Through the intercessions, Of the Mother of God Saint Mary, O Lord grant us, The forgiveness of our sins.

And as we remember the exodus of God’s people from slavery, we always remind ourselves to ask for the intercessions of our Lady, the Pure, Full of Glory, Ever–Virgin, the holy Mother of God, St. Mary. For you are worthy to be blessed and honoured in all our praises. You are the closest and most holy saint sitting at the right hand of your Son. Ask your Son, our Lord, that He may receive and accept our prayers and that He may grant us continuous replenishing of our souls and bodies. Ask Him that He may forgive us our sins and weaknesses, which we have committed against His Holy name.

We worship You O Christ…

We worship You O Christ, With Your Good Father, And the Holy Spirit, For You have come and saved us.

Through our weak, corrupt, and sinful bodies we bow down to You, O Holy Trinity. We worship Your holy Glory, that we may have power over our enemies; we worship You, though it is shameful to stand before You – we thus stoop down to the ground that we may be worthy to see and grab hold of Your salvation.

O Father save us from the adversary; O Christ our Lord grant us your peace; O Holy Spirit comfort us throughout the days of our lives; that we may praise You and remember Your triumphant power with Your people, now and always, and to the age of all ages.