Midnight Praises
Morning Praises
The Second Hoos Lobsh
The Lobsh (interpretation) of the Second Hoos, a poetic meditation on God as Creator and Provider. It condenses Psalm 136 into images of creation, provision, and praise, concluding with intercessions from David, the Theotokos, and the angels.
Let us give thanks, unto Christ our God, with David the prophet, and the psalmist.
The Lobsh invites us to join David in thanksgiving. David is given two titles - "prophet" and "psalmist" - because he both foretold Christ and composed the songs of worship. When we sing Psalm 136 in the Tasbeha, we are literally singing with David, joining our voices to his across three millennia.
For He has made the heavens, and all its hosts, and established the earth, on the waters.
A summary of creation's two great realms - heaven and earth. "All its hosts" refers to the angels, stars, and spiritual beings that populate the heavens. God "established" the earth - the word implies permanence and intention. Creation is not accidental but deliberately founded by a purposeful Creator.
These two great stars, the sun and the moon, He has made to enlighten, the firmament.
The sun and moon are called "stars" - emphasizing they are created objects, not deities. Their purpose is to "enlighten" - to serve. In Coptic typology, the sun represents Christ (the Light of the World) and the moon represents the Church, which has no light of its own but reflects the light of Christ to the world.
He brought forth the winds, out of His treasure box, He breathed unto the trees, and they blossomed.
"Treasure box" - a beautiful image suggesting that the winds are precious, stored and released with purpose. God's breath (the same word as "spirit" in both Hebrew and Greek) causes life to blossom. This echoes Genesis where God breathed life into Adam, and Pentecost where the Holy Spirit came as a rushing wind causing the Church to blossom.
He caused the rain to fall, upon the face of the earth, and it sprouted, and gave its fruit.
Rain is a consistent biblical image of God's grace - it falls on everyone without discrimination (Matthew 5:45). The pattern of rain, sprouting, and fruit mirrors the spiritual life: God sends His grace, the soul receives it, and fruit is produced. Without the rain of grace, no spiritual fruit is possible.
He brought forth water, out of a rock, and gave it to His people, in the wilderness.
Recalling Exodus 17 and Numbers 20, where Moses struck the rock and water gushed forth. St. Paul identifies this rock as Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). From Christ - who appeared as hard, lifeless stone to those who rejected Him - flows the living water of the Holy Spirit that sustains us through the wilderness of this life.
He made man, in His image, and His likeness, that he may praise Him.
The climax of creation - humanity made in God's image. But notice the purpose given: "that he may praise Him." We were created for worship. This is not God's ego but our design - we function correctly when oriented toward praise, just as a lamp functions correctly when connected to its power source. Praise is not something we do for God; it is what we were made for.
Let us praise Him, and exalt His name, and give thanks to Him, His mercy endures forever.
Three actions: praise, exalt, give thanks - echoing the Trinitarian pattern that runs through all Coptic worship. The refrain from Psalm 136 returns here, tying the Lobsh back to the original hymn. After contemplating creation, the only response is the same one the psalm demands: acknowledge that His mercy endures forever.
Through the prayers of, David the psalmist, O Lord grant us, the forgiveness of our sins.
David is invoked as intercessor. Though he was a great sinner (adultery, murder), he was also the great repentant - Psalm 51 stands as the model of repentance for all time. His intercession reminds us that the saints who pray for us are not perfect people but forgiven people. David's authority to intercede comes not from his righteousness but from his deep repentance.
Through the intercessions of, the Mother of God Saint Mary, O Lord grant us, the forgiveness of our sins.
The Theotokos is invoked in every Lobsh, reflecting her central place in Coptic devotion. She who carried God in her womb carries our prayers to Him. Her intercession is not a replacement for direct prayer to God but an expression of the communion of saints - the family of God praying for one another.
Through the intercessions, of the whole chorus of angels, O Lord grant us, the forgiveness of our sins.
This Lobsh uniquely adds the intercession of the angels. The "whole chorus" refers to the nine ranks of angels in Coptic tradition. Angels are fellow worshippers - in the Tasbeha, we join our earthly praise to their heavenly praise. The book of Revelation shows angels carrying the prayers of the saints to God's throne (Revelation 8:3-4).
Blessed are You indeed, with Your good Father, and the Holy Spirit, for You have (risen) and saved us.
The closing doxology addresses Christ directly - "Blessed are You indeed." The word "indeed" adds emphasis and certainty. The parenthetical "risen" changes with the liturgical season, as in the First Hoos Lobsh. The Lobsh that began with creation ends with salvation - the entire arc of God's story in twelve verses.
Reflection
The Lobsh (interpretation) of the Second Hoos is a Coptic liturgical poem that condenses Psalm 136 into a meditation on God as Creator and Sustainer. It moves from the fashioning of the heavens through the provision of rain and water from the rock to the creation of humanity for praise, concluding with intercessions through David, the Theotokos, and the angelic hosts.
Biblical Origin
The Lobsh draws its imagery from Genesis 1-2 (creation of heavens, lights, earth), Psalm 136 (Septuagint 135), Psalm 104 (Septuagint 103 - God bringing winds from His treasure), Exodus 17:6 (water from the rock), and Genesis 1:26-27 (humanity made in God's image). The opening invitation to give thanks 'with David the prophet and the psalmist' anchors the composition in the Davidic psalmic tradition.
Theological Meaning
- The Lobsh reveals that creation is not merely a past event but an ongoing hymn. The sun and moon 'enlighten the firmament,' the winds blow from God's 'treasure box,' the rain causes the earth to sprout - each is a present-tense act of divine providence. St. Basil the Great, whose Hexaemeron is studied in Coptic seminaries, taught that the same creative Word that spoke the cosmos into being sustains it at every moment.
- The verse 'He made man in His image and His likeness, that he may praise Him' identifies worship as the fundamental purpose of human existence. Humanity was not created primarily to work, to think, or even to love - but to praise. All other activities find their proper order only when oriented toward this primary vocation. This reflects the teaching of St. Athanasius the Apostolic, who wrote in On the Incarnation that humanity was created to contemplate and know God.
- The triple intercession - David, the Theotokos, the angels - reveals the three dimensions of the communion of saints. David represents the Old Testament righteous, Mary represents redeemed humanity at its highest, and the angels represent the bodiless powers. Together they encompass the entire worshipping community before God's throne, demonstrating that no prayer is offered in isolation.
Liturgical Significance
The Lobsh translates the cosmic scope of Psalm 136 into intimate, personal poetry accessible to every worshipper. Where the Second Hoos surveys God's mighty acts across history, the Lobsh pauses to contemplate the beauty of creation itself - winds, rain, blossoms, water from rock. This shift from narrative to contemplation prepares the heart for the intercessory prayers that close the canticle section, moving the congregation from praise into petition.
Spiritual Application
This Lobsh cultivates a sacramental vision of the created world - training the faithful to perceive God's hand in wind, rain, sunlight, and the fruit of the earth. It transforms the ordinary into the revelatory, teaching believers that daily provision is not random but the deliberate care of a Creator who fashioned them for communion with Himself.
The Lobsh of the Second Hoos transforms the panorama of divine mercy into a contemplative meditation on creation, revealing that every natural phenomenon is an act of God's ongoing providence and every human being exists to praise the Creator.