The tragedy of Calvary: or the minute details of Christ's life from Palm Sunday morning till the resurrection and ascension taken prophecy, history, revelations and ancient writings by Meagher, Jas. L. (James Luke), 1848-1920
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| Caiaphas ossuary |
"Blessed be thou, O Jehovah, King of the Universe, who formests the light, and creatests darkness, who maketh peace, and creatests everything, who in mercy doth give light to the earth, and to those who dwell on it, and in thy goodness day by day reneweth the works of creation. Blessed be God for the glory of his handiwork, and for the life-giving light, which He made for His praise. Selah. Blessed be Jehovah, our God, who formed the lights.
"With great love thou loved us, Jehovah, our God, and with much overflowing pity thou hast pitied us, our Father and our King. For the sake of our fathers who trusted in thee, thou taughtest them the statutes of life. Have mercy on us, teach us. Enlighten our eyes in thy law, cause our hearts to cleave to thy commandments, unite our hearts to love and fear thy name, and we shall not be put to shame forever and ever. For thou art a God who preparest salvation, and thou hast chosen us from all nations, and tongues, and in truth thou hast brought us near to thy great name. Selah. That we may lovingly praise thee and thy Oneness. Blessed be Jehovah who in love chose his people Israel."
They then say the Kiddush: " the prayers" of the Tephillin or Phylacteries "on their arms and brows." " Sanctify unto me every first-born," etc., as given in Exodus xiii. 2-16, wherein twice God lays down the law of the Passover, the Last Supper which Christ that Thursday changed into the Mass.
They all recited the Sh'ma, " Hear," from the opening word, "Hear, O Israel, Jehovah, our God, is one God Thou shalt love Jehovah, thy God, with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength," etc. (Deut. vi. 4-9, 13-22 ; xi. 13-21 ; Numb. xv. 35-41.)
The prayers show that they were saved by the love of God—perfect charity, which in all ages remitted sin.
Faith, the belief in the revelation, the hope of the coming Redeemer, and the love of God above all, saved the souls of those who lived before He came, as we see in the Temple service.
Now they all raise up their hands, stretching them out in the form of a cross, as Christ stretched out his hands on the cross, and they recited the Shemoneh "The Eighteen," the Tephillah, "the Prayers," and the Amidah.
Saying these prayers, they were not allowed to raise their hands above the prayer fillets on their brows.
This prayer was composed during the Captivity, but they did not change its petitions for the restoring of the ruined Temple, and for the return of the people from the nations into which they had been scattered.
"Be thou praised, O Lord, our God, the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob ; the great and mighty and dreadful God; the Supreme Being, Dispenser of benefits and of favors, the Creator of all things. Thou rememberest the piety of the Patriarchs, and thou wilt sent a Deliverer to their children, to glorify thy name, to show forth thy love, O our King, our help, our strength. Be Thou praised, O Lord, the shield of Abraham.
"Thou livest forever, Almighty Lord. Thou dost raise the dead. Thou dost make the winds to blow and the rain to fall." (This was said only in time of drought, from the Feast of Tabernacles to the Passover.) " Thou dost sustain all that live by thy grace. Thou dost raise the dead of thy great mercy. Thou dost uphold those who fall. Thou dost heal the sick. Thou dost free the prisoners, and dost keep thy promise to those who sleep in the earth. Who is mighty like unto thee, O Lord ? Who can be compared to thee, O our King ? It is thou who killest and makest alive; from thee comes all our help. Thou wilt fulfil thy promise to raise the dead. Praised be Thou, O Lord, who raisest the dead."
This prayer and others like it were for the repose of the souls of the dead. The prayers of the Jewish Prayer Book for the repose of the souls of the dead, used in the synagogues to this day, do not differ in sentiment from the prayers of the Church. We cannot give them here, as they are too long.
"Thou art holy. Thy name is holy. Thy Saints glorify thee day by day, Selah. Praised be Thou, O Lord, the Holy God.
"Thou gavest man wisdom, and fillest him with under standing. Praised be Thou, O Lord, the Dispenser of wisdom.
"Bring us back to Thy Law, O our Father; bring us back, O King, into thy service. Bring us back to thee by true repentance. Praised be Thou, O Lord,who dost receive our repentance,
"Pardon us, O our Father, for we have sinned. Absolve us O our King, for we have offended against thee. Thou art a God who dost pardon and absolve. Praised be Thou, O Lord, who of thy mercy dost pardon many times and forever.
"Look on our misery, O Lord, and be Thou our Defender. Deliver us quickly for thy glory, for thou art an Almighty Deliverer. Praised be Thou, O Lord, the Deliverer of Israel.
"Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed. Help us and we shall be helped. Thou art the object of our praise. Wilt thou therefore bring effectual healing for all our ills. Thou art the King Almighty, our true Physician, full of mercy. Praised be Thou, O Lord, who healest the sick of the children of thy people.
"O Lord, our God, bless this year and these harvests ; give dew and rain (these words are added in winter), give thy blessing to the ground. Satisfy us with thy goodness, and make this year as good as the good years. Praised be Thou, O Lord, who blesseth the years.
" Let the slanderers be put to shame. Let all the workers of iniquity and the rebellious be destroyed. Let the might of the proud be humbled. Praised be Thou, O Lord, who doth trample on thine enemies and abase the proud.
"Let thy mercy, O Lord, shine on the upright, the humble, the rulers of thy people Israel, and may the teachers be favorable to the pious strangers among us, and to us all. Grant a good reward to those who sincerely trust in thy name, that our lot may be cast among them in the world to come, that our hope be not deceived. We also put our trust in thee. Praised be Thou, O Lord, who art the hope and the confidence of the faithful.
"Cause the stem of David to quickly spring forth, and make it glorious by thy strength, for in thee do we hope all the day. Praised be Thou, O Lord, who dost make thy salvation glorious.
"Hear our supplications, O Lord, our God ; protect us, have pity on us. Hear our prayers in thy loving kindness, for Thou art the God, who hearest prayers and supplications. Send us not away, O our King, until thou hast heard us. Thou dost graciously receive the prayers of thy people Israel. Praised be Thou, O Lord, who hearest prayers.
