CHAPTER 51

 
Prayer of Joshua of Sirach  

(S51: 1-17)
"1 A prayer of Jesus the son of Sirach. I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my Saviour. 2 I will give glory to thy name: for thou best been a helper and protector to me. 3 And hast preserved my body from destruction, from the snare of an unjust tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies, and in the sight of them that stood by, thou hast been my helper. 4 And thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude of the mercy of thy name, from them that did roar, prepared to devour. 5 Out of the hands of them that sought my life, and from the gates of afflictions, which compassed me about: 6 From the oppression of the flame which surrounded me, and in the midst of the fire I was not burnt. 7 From the depth of the belly of hell, and from an unclean tongue, and from lying words, from an unjust king, and from a slanderous tongue: 8 My soul shall praise the Lord even to death. 9 And my life was drawing near to hell beneath. 10 They compassed me on every side, and there was no one that would help me. I looked for the succour of men, and there was none. 11 I remembered thy mercy, O Lord, and thy works, which are from the beginning of the world. 12 How thou deliverest them that wait for thee, O Lord, and savest them out of the hands of the nations. 13 Thou hast exalted my dwelling place upon the earth and I have prayed for death to pass away. 14 I called upon the Lord, the father of my Lord, that he would not leave me in the day of my trouble, and in the time of the proud without help. 15 I will praise thy name continually, and will praise it with thanksgiving, and my prayer was heard. 16 And thou hast saved me from destruction, and hast delivered me from the evil time. 17 Therefore I will give thanks, and praise thee, and bless the name of the Lord."

Joshua of Sirach concludes his Book with a wonderful prayer that shows his close relationship with God. He says to the Lord: Dear the Lord, the King, I praise you, as you are my salvation, a prayer largely similar to the Psalms of the Prophet David. Then complete the saying: "you saved me from the evil of gossip" ... This defamation was against Joshua of Sirach when a danger slander and a betrayal by some and puts his life at risk of destruction, but the Lord, who protects his children saved him from this denunciation. Because he says, you helped me, gave me victory and protected me from death, and from the traps of the gossips and the slanders, and you were an assistant against my adversaries. With your mercy, you saved me from the teeth of the sinners and Liars to swallow me, and the hands of those who seek to kill me, and the disasters that came to me. Because it is the usual from the devil to steer up the children of the world against the Lord to stop them from serving God... Whether, it is the service of schools, preaching or the editing, Etc. It sets problems for them, or obstacles in their knowledge, or at home, or in the spiritual life, in order to disrupt the spiritual journey.  

However, the Lord saves his children, as he saved Joshua of Sirach from the heat of the fire that surrounded him and he had no hand in the ignited it. In addition, the Lord saved him from the depths of death and lies of people, and Slander at the King, it was a great problem, it almost killed him, and ended his life. And he looked around him, he did not find no champion and did not find a particular one to assist him. He says, then I remembered the mercy of the Lord and his great works by me earlier, He is the only one to save who seeks him for protection from the hands of the enemies.  

Therefore, I raised my hands to you with my prayers, and I hope that you save me from death. I shouted, to you, O Lord, You are my father. Here, became clear how the relationship between him and God was. He is talking, as a son talking to his father. This difference between Christianity and other religions, we call for the Lord God is a father, a joy to do so. He told us that "And he said to them: "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come."(Luke11: 2).  

There is no better, nicer and deeper relationship between the father and his son. Joshua said to the Lord, O Father Almighty, you are the one, who can  save me, do not leave me alone, during the troubled days, and the time of my weakness in front of the evils, arrogant, so answer my prayers. Joshua of Sirach has had the strong belief, to an extent that he was sure of the response to his prayers once he finished it. You have saved me from death, and terminated the bad time. Therefore, I praise you and bless your name O Lord.  

The Hebrew translation adds here after this verse to complement this prayer: "Praise the Lord, because he is valid and his mercy is eternal. Praise God for all His mercy. Praise my son Israel because his mercy is eternal. Praise the source of everything, because his mercy is eternal. Praise Fadi Children of Israel because his mercy is eternal. Praise gatherer of the exiles and the children of Israel, because his mercy is eternal. Praise the builder of the city and the structure, because his mercy is eternal. Praise the restorer of the glory of the house of David, because his mercy is eternal. Praise who chooses the children of Sadouk as his priests, because his mercy is eternal. Praise Cog Ibrahim, because his mercy is eternal. Praise the rock of Isaac, because his mercy is eternal. Praise the glory of James, because his mercy is eternal. Praise the selector of Zion, because his mercy is eternal. He raised the pride of his people and became praised issue for each of his righteousness and of the Children of Israel, the close to him, Halleluiah.

(S51: 18-30)
"18 When I was yet young, before I wandered about, I sought for wisdom openly in my prayer. 19 I prayed for her before the temple, and unto the very end I will seek after her, and she flourished as a grape soon ripe. 20 My heart delighted in her, my foot walked in the right way, from my youth up I sought after her. 21 I bowed down my ear a little, and received her. 22 I found much wisdom in myself, and I profited much therein. 23 To him that giveth me wisdom, will I give glory. 24 For I have determined to follow her: I have had a zeal for good, and shall not be confounded. 25 My soul hath wrestled for her, and in doing it I have been confirmed. 26 I stretched forth my hands on high, and I bewailed my ignorance of her. 27 I directed my soul to her, and in knowledge I found her. 28 I possessed my heart with her from the beginning: therefore I shall not be forsaken. 29 My entrails were troubled in seeking her: therefore shall I possess a good possession. 30 The Lord hath given me a tongue for my reward: and with it I will praise him."

Joshua of Sirach, here, explains that in his youth, he used to ask the Lord for the wisdom in his prayers, God responded to him and gave him wisdom. Prophet Jacob, says, "But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James1: 5). Joshua used to, sincerely, ask the Lord for wisdom, even when he got older, still asking for it. In addition, when obtained the wisdom and tasted its sweetness and its beauty, he felt as if he tastes good grapes, and he found prove from God and happiness in life. He lent his ears to it and heard the voice of the divine wisdom. Joshua says, I have advanced in life because of the wisdom and I advanced because of its generosity. Whoever receives wisdom from God, he also receives glory.  

Joshua did not attribute to the wisdom to his earthy works, but to the Lord. And when I tasted its sweetness, I resolved to work with it and resolved to do nothing but good. I tried hard for it and I was aware of the Shariah-Law in all my works. Through my prayers, I extended my hand and wept for the days lost from me without knowing anything about wisdom. And I directed my heart and all my longing to obtain the wisdom, and with purity I have found it, and with it I fined understanding from the outset. After that, I did not felt in loss, because I was trying to obtain it and discover it. The Lord gave me my heart request, I took the best reward, it was the wisdom, and the Lord gave me the wise tongue, which with it I praise him.

(S51: 31-38)
"31 Draw near to me, ye unlearned, and gather yourselves together into the house of discipline. 32 Why are ye slow? and what do you say of these things? your souls are exceeding thirsty. 33 I have opened my mouth, and have spoken: buy her for yourselves without silver, 34 And submit your neck to the yoke, and let your soul receive discipline: for she is near at hand to be found. 35 Behold with your eyes how I have laboured a little, and have found much rest to myself. 36 Receive ye discipline as a great sum of money, and possess abundance of gold by her. 37 Let your soul rejoice in his mercy, and you shall not be confounded in his praise. 38 Work your work before the time, and he will give you your reward in his time."

Here, Joshua of Sirach, refers to his school and invites all the young students to wisdom. You know you are not wise, he was saying to them, and you are needy, your minds are thirsty for education. Therefore, do not worry, I will use my mouth and teach you free of charge. The value of wisdom not estimated with money, if you pay some of the silver in education to obtain wisdom. Look how much I was exhausted in acquiring wisdom. Now I got a lot of rest. Do not pay attention to how much will pay, but when you obtain the wisdom, it is dearer than the gold. Be happy with the mercy of the Lord, and do not be parsimony in praising the Lord, the Lord is the source of all blessings and every goodness giving and every complete talent. And seek the acquisition of wisdom and goodness and the good work before it is too late. May the Lord reward you well in his kingdom.

 
Up to here, the Lord helps us.  

Remember me in your prayers.

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