Prayer

So we hail our God, Eternal God, Ras Tafari, hear us and help us and cause Thy face to shine upon us, Thy children.

This week’s version of Kebra Negast…

Kebra Negast

11. THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN ORTHODOX FATHERS

And they answered and said unto him, “Yea, verily the Tabernacle of the Covenant was the first thing to be created by Him, and there is no lie in thy word; it is true, and correct, and righteous, and unalterable. He created Zion before everything else to be the habitation of His glory, and the plan of His Covenant was that which He said, ‘I will put on the flesh of Adam, which is of the dust, and I will appear unto all those whom I have created with My hand and with My voice.’ And if it had been that the heavenly Zion had not come down, and if He had not put on the flesh of Adam, then God the Word would not have appeared, and our salvation would not have taken place. The testimony (or proof) is in the similitude; the heavenly Zion is to be regarded as the similitude of the Mother of the Redeemer, Mary. For in the Zion which is builded there are deposited the Ten Words of the Law which were written by His hands, and He Himself, the Creator, dwelt in the womb of Mary, and through Him everything came into being.”

These words by Marcus Garvey reveal more overstanding of God’s creation of humanity and ourselves…

Words of Marcus Garvey

This week’s bible reading is Psalm 20. It is paired with Psalm 21 which we will look at next week. Psalm 20 is written by King David and is in the form of a prayer. King David was a king in a country often at war and there is a thought that this might either have been written about the start of a particular war or as a prayer for wars in general. This psalm tells us to not rely on our own strength and our possessions (‘Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses’) but to rely on JAH and have pride in HIS name. It is also a warning that if we have any wealth and rich worldly possessions, we are more likely to rely on them than JAH…

Psalm 20

1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.

4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

5 May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.

6 Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.

9 LORD, give victory to the king! Answer us when we call!

The Wise Words of H.I.M. Haile Selassie I

The Law of the Kings

‘By the word and deed, we have sought to inspire Our beloved people to retain the past – to cleave to its faith, to preserve its tradition, to cherish its self respect; and to acclaim the present to recognise its challenges, to work diligently, to attain higher levels of achievement.  We believe that the past must be the foundation for the future, and the achievements which we have just recounted must open new avenues for further progress. This is the law of life, for nations and for individuals the law of lasting happiness and welfare.  As leader of Our people it is a law which we gladly accept for ourself.  a nation without laws is a nation without discipline.  Such a nation is not worthy of our name.’

Emperor Haile Selassie I

I thought there were similarities between the thoughts of Marcus Garvey and the words of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, talking of working hard to achieve more.

For the final prayer here is The Shepherd’s Prayer from The Holy Piby by Robert Athlyi Rogers

The Shepherd’s Prayer By Athlyi

O God of Ethiopia, thy divine majesty; thy spirit come in our hearts to dwell in the path of righteousness, lead us, help us to forgive that we may be forgiven, teach us love and loyalty on earth as in Heaven, endow us with wisdom and understanding to do thy will, thy blessing to us that the hungry be fed, the naked clothed, the sick nourished, the aged protected and the infants cared for. Deliver us from the hands of our enemies that we prove fruitful, then in the last day when life is o’er, our bodies in the clay, or in the depths of the sea, or in the belly of a beast, O give our souls a place in thy kingdom forever and forever. Amen.

H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I & heir to the throne Crown Prince Asda Wossen