Midnight Praises
Morning Praises
Psali for the Three Saintly Children
A Psali (poetic hymn) sung after the Third Hoos, celebrating Christ's victory over death and calling all creation to praise. It weaves the story of the three saintly children with the Benedicite, addressing each by name and summoning all of nature to join the chorus.
O sing unto Him who was crucified, buried and resurrected for us, who trampled and abolished death.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
The Psali opens not with the furnace but with the Cross and Resurrection. This frames the entire hymn in a Christian light - the three children's deliverance from fire was a type of Christ's deliverance from death. "Trampled and abolished death" echoes the Paschal proclamation central to Coptic worship.
Take off the old man, and put on the new and superior one, come closer to the greatness of mercy.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
From Ephesians 4:22-24 and Colossians 3:9-10. The "old man" is our fallen nature before baptism. The three children refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's idol because they had already put on the new man - their identity was in God, not in Babylon's culture. We are called to the same transformation.
All you Christian people, the priests and the deacons, glorify the Lord for He is worthy.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
The call extends to the entire Church community - laity, priests, and deacons together. In the Coptic Liturgy, worship is never passive. The congregation, priests, and deacons each have active roles. Everyone participates in glorifying God because He is worthy - His worthiness, not our ability, is the basis of worship.
Come to us O three children, whom Christ our God has lifted, and from the Devil has delivered.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
A direct invitation to the three saints to join our worship. The Coptic Church believes the saints are alive in Christ and can be present with us in prayer. Their deliverance from the furnace was ultimately deliverance from the Devil's scheme to destroy faith through fear. Christ lifted them above the power of the enemy.
For the sake of your God the Messiah, the Giver of all good things, come unto us O Hananiah.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Hananiah (whose Babylonian name was Shadrach) is addressed personally. His Hebrew name means "God has been gracious." He is invited to come for the sake of the Messiah - reminding us that the three children's faithfulness pointed forward to Christ. Their story is not just history but prophecy.
O Azariah the zealot, evening and morning and at noon, glorify the power of the trinity.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Azariah (Abednego) is called "the zealot" - burning with zeal for God. "Evening and morning and at noon" echoes Psalm 55:17 and the Coptic practice of praying the canonical hours. The mention of the Trinity here is significant - three youth reflecting the three Persons of the Godhead, united in one faith.
Behold Emmanuel, is now in our midst O Mishael, proclaim with the voice of joy.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Mishael (Meshach) is told that Emmanuel - "God with us" - is in our midst. The fourth figure in the furnace "like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25) was Emmanuel Himself. What Mishael experienced in the furnace, we experience in every Liturgy - God present among His people. The response to this presence is joyful proclamation.
Gather now and persevere, and proclaim with the priests, bless the Lord all his works.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
A call to unity and endurance. "Persevere" is key - the three children persevered in the furnace, and we are called to persevere in faith. "Bless the Lord all His works" transitions from the personal addresses to the Benedicite section, where all creation joins the praise.
The heavens declare the glory, of God until this day, O you angels whom He has made.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
From Psalm 19:1. The heavens have been declaring God's glory since creation and continue "until this day" - an unbroken testimony. The angels, as created beings, are called to praise alongside us. They are fellow worshippers, not objects of worship.
Now all you powers of the Lord, bless His honored name, O sun and moon and all the stars.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
The spiritual powers and celestial bodies are gathered together in one verse - the invisible and visible creation united in blessing God's "honored name." In Coptic theology, God's name carries His presence and power. To bless His name is to acknowledge His authority over all.
And also O you rain and dew, sing praises unto our Savior, for He is God of our fathers.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Rain and dew are called to praise "our Savior" - a distinctly Christian addition to the Old Testament canticle. "God of our fathers" connects us back to the opening of the Third Hoos ("Blessed are You O Lord God of our fathers"), tying the Psali to the canticle it follows.
Glorify the Lord O clouds and winds, together with the souls and the spirits, O you cold and fire and heat.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
This verse packs together weather, souls, spirits, and temperature - visible and invisible, natural and supernatural - all united in one act of glorification. The juxtaposition of cold and fire is especially poignant given the furnace setting of the three children's story.
You also nights and days, light and darkness and lightning, glorify the Lover of Mankind.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Time (nights and days), light phenomena (light, darkness, lightning) all glorify the "Lover of Mankind" (Philanthropos). This title for God is beloved in Coptic worship - it appears throughout the Liturgy and the Midnight Praises, reminding us that God's fundamental orientation toward us is love.
You trees and all that springs on the earth, and all that moves in the waters, mountains and the forests.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Plant life, sea creatures, mountains, and forests are gathered together - the entire ecosystem in one breath of praise. The Psali moves quickly through creation, not lingering on each element as the Third Hoos does, but sweeping all of nature into one joyful chorus.
Praise without ceasing, the Lord the King of the kings, O you rivers and seas.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
"Without ceasing" echoes 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ("pray without ceasing"). The rivers and seas never stop flowing, and their movement is itself unceasing praise. "King of kings" is a title for Christ (Revelation 19:16) - the same title Nebuchadnezzar claimed for himself but which truly belongs only to God.
And we also seeing them, let us say with all these things, bless the Lord all you birds.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
A beautiful moment of self-awareness - "we also seeing them" means that as we observe creation praising, we are moved to join in. The birds, whose song fills the morning air, are natural partners in praise. We who sing the Midnight Praises join the dawn chorus of creation.
O snow and ice, cattle and wild beasts, bless the Lord of lords.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Snow and ice alongside cattle and wild beasts - the frozen and the living, the harsh and the gentle, all called to bless the "Lord of lords." No part of creation is excluded. Even elements that seem hostile to life serve God's purposes and are called to worship.
Bless the Lord as befits Him, and not like the disobedient, all you sons of men.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
A pointed exhortation - bless God "as befits Him," not carelessly or half-heartedly. "Not like the disobedient" is a warning: the Babylonians who bowed to the golden image were disobedient to the true God. We are called to worship properly - with understanding, reverence, and wholehearted devotion.
O Israel offer before Him, honor and glory in a joyful voice, all you priests of Emmanuel.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Israel and the priests of Emmanuel (Christ) are called to offer honor and glory with joy. "Joyful voice" is important - Coptic worship is not somber duty but joyful celebration. The priests of Emmanuel are the Christian priesthood, ordained to lead the people in worship of the incarnate God.
You servants of the true God, the souls of the righteous, and the humble and the charitable.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Four groups: servants, righteous souls, the humble, and the charitable. Humility and charity are singled out as defining characteristics of those who truly praise God. You cannot praise God with pride in your heart or indifference to the poor. The three children were humble (they did not boast) and charitable (they did not condemn their captors).
God my God is the One, who saved you from danger, O Sedrach Misach and Abednago.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Here the Psali uses the Babylonian names - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - alongside the Hebrew names used earlier. Both identities are acknowledged. God saved them not just from fire but from "danger" - the broader spiritual danger of compromising their faith. This verse is a personal testimony: "God my God" - intimate and possessive.
Hurry with great haste, O you righteous of the Lord, and all the creatures He has made.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
"Hurry with great haste" conveys urgency - praise cannot wait. The righteous and all creatures are urged to rush toward worship. In the Coptic tradition, the Midnight Praises are prayed in the early hours precisely because the faithful cannot wait for a convenient time - the urge to praise is too great.
Coolness and repose without ceasing, grant unto all of us, that we may joyfully proclaim.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
"Coolness and repose" recalls the angel who brought coolness to the furnace. We ask for the same divine comfort - not escape from the furnace of this world but coolness and peace within it. "Without ceasing" returns again - the desire for unending communion with God.
And also Your poor servant Sarkis, make him without condemnation, that he may join all those and say.
Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
The Psali concludes with the author identifying himself - Sarkis (likely the composer of this version). In Coptic hymnographic tradition, composers often end by humbly naming themselves and asking for mercy. "Your poor servant" reflects genuine humility - even the hymn writer is not worthy on his own but asks to join the chorus of praise by God's mercy alone.
Reflection
A Watos Psali (poetic hymn in the Watos tune) sung after the Third Hoos during Sunday Midnight Praises. It celebrates Christ's victory over death through the Cross and Resurrection while retelling the Benedicite, addressing each of the three saintly children by name and calling all creation to join the chorus of praise.
Biblical Origin
The Psali draws on multiple scriptural foundations: the crucifixion and resurrection narrative (Matthew 27-28, 1 Corinthians 15), the command to put off the old man and put on the new (Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10), the Benedicite from Daniel 3, and Psalm 19:1 ('The heavens declare the glory of God'). Its Christological framing interprets the entire Old Testament furnace narrative through the lens of the Paschal mystery.
Theological Meaning
- The Psali's opening verse - 'O sing unto Him who was crucified, buried and resurrected' - reinterprets the deliverance of the three youths as a type of Christ's Pascha. The furnace is Hades, the fire is death, the fourth figure is the incarnate Logos, and the deliverance is the Resurrection. By framing the Benedicite within the Paschal narrative, the Coptic hymnographer reveals that every Old Testament act of salvation finds its fulfillment in Christ's death and rising.
- The command to 'take off the old man and put on the new' (Ephesians 4:22-24) places the hymn squarely within the theology of sanctification. The three children refused to conform to Babylon's worship because they had already put on their true identity in God. Sanctification is not merely moral improvement but an ontological transformation - becoming who we were created to be - which the Coptic Fathers understood as progressive growth into the likeness of Christ.
- Each child is addressed personally - Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael - and the hymn uses both their Hebrew and Babylonian names. This dual naming recognizes that God's saints live simultaneously in two realities: the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God. The Psali teaches that faithfulness does not require withdrawal from the world but witness within it, maintaining one's true name and identity amid foreign pressures.
Liturgical Significance
As a Psali following the Third Hoos, this hymn transitions the Tasbeha from the Old Testament canticle into a distinctly Christological confession. It allows the congregation to sing the Benedicite through explicitly Christian voices, connecting the cosmic praise of creation to the specific event of the Cross and Resurrection. The composer Sarkis's humble self-identification at the end models the Coptic hymnographic tradition where the author is not a performer but a servant asking to join the chorus.
Spiritual Application
This Psali forms the worshipper for sanctification by making the connection between the courage of the three youths and the daily putting off of the old self. It teaches that every refusal to bow to the idols of this age - pride, comfort, fear, conformity - is an act of worship as real as the three children's refusal in Babylon. The faithful are shaped to see their daily struggles as furnace-moments where Christ is present.
The Watos Psali unites the courage of the three saintly children with Christ's Paschal victory, teaching that faithfulness amid trial is the path of sanctification and that every creature is summoned to praise the God who transforms the furnace into a place of resurrection.