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The ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE | |
BOOK THREE | |
Lost Scrolls of the Essene Brotherhood | |
The Original Hebrew and Aramaic Texts | |
Translated and edited by | |
EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY | |
MCMLXXxI | |
INTERNATIONAL BIOGENIC SOCIETY | |
Book Design by Golondrina Graphics | |
Copyright @ 1981, by the International Biogenic Society | |
Printed In the United States of America-All Rights Reserved | |
Now we have proudly separated ourselves from Nature, and the spirit of Pan is dead. Men's souls | |
are scattered beyond the hope of unity, and the sword of formal creeds sharply separates them | |
everywhere. To live in harmony with the Universe made life the performance of a majestic | |
ceremony; to live against it was to creep aside into a cul de sac. Yet, even now, whispers of | |
change are stealing over the face of the world once more. Like another vast dream beginning, | |
man's consciousness is slowly spreading outwards once again. Some voice from the long ago is | |
divinely trumpeting across our little globe. To that voice, I dedicate this book. | |
E.B.S. | |
PREFACE | |
This third book of the Essene Gospel of Peace is a collection of texts of great spiritual, literary, | |
philosophical and poetical value, created by two powerful, interwoven streams of tradition. | |
Chronologically, the first is the stream of traditions to which the Hebrew people were exposed in | |
the Babylonian prison, dating from the Gilgamesh Epics to the Zend Avesta of Zarathustra. The | |
second is the stream of traditions flowing with poetical majesty through the Old and New | |
Testaments, dating from the ageless Enoch and the other Patriarchs, through the Prophets and on | |
to the mysterious Essene Brotherhood. | |
In the buried library of the Essene Brotherhood at the Dead Sea, where the greatest number of | |
scrolls were found, the texts of these two streams of traditions were very much interwoven. They | |
follow each other in a strange succession: the powerful cubistic simplicity of the first juxtaposed | |
with the majestic, expressionist poetry of the second. | |
The original texts of this collection may be classified into three approximate groups: about | |
seventy percent of them are completely different from the ancient Sacred Books of the Avestas | |
and the Old and New Testaments; twenty percent are similar, and ten percent are identical. | |
My desire in presenting this collection was to abstain from dry philological and exegetical | |
interpretations, and instead to concentrate on their spiritual and poetical values, more attractive | |
to twentieth century man. I tried to follow the style of my French translation of the first book of | |
the Essene Gospel of Peace, which has now been published in seventeen languages, and has been | |
distributed in over 200,000 copies.* | |
I hope this Book Three will be as successful as Book One, and thus continue to bring these | |
ageless inspirations to our disoriented century, guiding us, per secula seculorum, toward greater | |
and greater light. | |
EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY | |
*As of this printing in 1986, Book One of The Essene Gospel of Peace has been published in | |
twenty-five languages, and distributed in over one million copies. | |
INTRODUCTION | |
From the remote ages of antiquity a remarkable teaching has existed which is universal in its | |
application and ageless in its wisdom. Fragments of it are found in Sumerian hieroglyphs and on | |
tiles and stones dating back some eight or ten thousand years. Some of the symbols, such as for | |
the sun, moon, air, water and other natural forces, are from an even earlier age preceding the | |
cataclysm that ended the Pleistocene period. How many thousands of years previous to that the | |
teaching existed is unknown. | |
To study and practice this teaching is to reawaken within the heart of every man an intuitive | |
knowledge that can solve his individual problems and the problems of the world. | |
Traces of the teaching have appeared in almost every country and religion. Its fundamental | |
principles were taught in ancient Persia, Egypt, India, Tibet, China, Palestine, Greece and many | |
other countries. But it has been transmitted in its most pure form by the Essenes, that mysterious | |
brotherhood which lived during the last two or three centuries B.C. and the first century of the | |
Christian era at the Dead Sea in Palestine and at Lake Mareotis in Egypt. In Palestine and Syria | |
the members of the brotherhood were known as Essenes and in Egypt as Therapeutae, or healers. | |
The esoteric part of their teaching is given in the Tree of Life, the Essene Communions with the | |
Angels, and the Sevenfold Peace, among others. The exoteric or outer teaching appears in Book | |
One of "The Essene Gospel of Peace" and the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls. | |
The origin of the brotherhood is said to be unknown, and the derivation of the name is uncertain. | |
Some believe it comes from Esnoch, or Enoch, and claim him to be their founder, their | |
Communions with the angelic world having first been given to him. | |
Others consider the name comes from Esrael, the elects of the people to whom Moses brought | |
forth the Communions at Mount Sinai where they were revealed to him by the angelic world. | |
But whatever their origin, it is certain that the Essenes existed for a very long time as a | |
brotherhood, perhaps under other names in other lands.The teaching appears in the Zend Avesta | |
of Zarathustra, who translated it into a way of life that was followed for thousands of years. it | |
contains the fundamental concepts of Brahmanism, the Vedas and the Upanishads; and the Yoga | |
systems of India sprang from the same source. Buddha later gave forth essentially the same basic | |
ideas and his sacred Bodhi tree is correlated with the Essene Tree of Life. In Tibet the teaching | |
once more found expression in the Tibetan Wheel of Life. | |
The Pythagoreans and Stoics in ancient Greece also followed the Essene principles and much of | |
their way of life. The same teaching was an element of the Adonic culture of the Phoenicians, of | |
the Alexandrian School of Philosophy in Egypt, and contributed greatly to many branches of | |
Wester culture, Freemasonry, Gnosticism, the Kabala and Christianity. Jesus interpreted it in its | |
most sublime and beautiful form in the seven Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. | |
The Essenes lived on the shores of lakes and rivers, away from cities and towns, and practiced a | |
communal way of life, sharing equally in everything. They were mainly agriculturists and | |
arboriculturists, having a vast knowledge of crops, soil and climatic conditions which enabled | |
them to grow a remarkable variety of fruits and vegetables in comparatively desert areas and | |
with a minimum of labor. | |
They had no servants or slaves and were said to have been the first people to condemn slavery | |
both in theory and practice. There were no rich and no poor amongst them, both conditions being | |
considered by them as deviations from the Law. They established their own economic system, | |
based wholly on the Law, and showed that all man's food and material needs can be attained | |
without struggle, through knowledge of the Law. | |
They spent much time in study both of ancient writings and special branches of learning, such as | |
education, healing and astronomy. They were said to be the heirs of Chaldean and Persian | |
astronomy and the Egyptian arts of healing. They were adept in prophecy for which they | |
prepared by prolonged fasting. in the use of plants and herbs for healing man and beast they were | |
likewise proficient. | |
They lived a simple regular life, rising each day before sunrise to study and commune with the | |
forces of nature, bathing in cold water as a ritual and donning white garments. After their daily | |
labor in the fields and vineyards they partook of their meals in silence, preceding and ending | |
them with prayer. In their profound respect for all living things they never touched flesh foods, | |
nor did they drink fermented liquids. Their evenings were devoted to study and communion with | |
the heavenly forces. | |
Evening was the beginning of their day, and their Sabbath, or holy day, began on Friday evening, | |
the first day of their week. This day was given to study, discussion, the entertaining of visitors | |
and the playing of certain musical instruments, relics of which have been discovered. | |
Their way of life enabled them to live to advanced ages of 120 years or more and they were said | |
to have marvelous strength and endurance. In all their activities they expressed creative love. | |
They sent out healers and teachers from the brotherhoods, amongst whom were Elijah, John the | |
Baptist, John the Beloved and the great Essene Master, Jesus. | |
Membership in the brotherhood was attainable only after a probationary period of a year and | |
three years of initiatory work, followed by seven more years before being admitted to the full | |
inner teaching. | |
Records of the Essene way of life have come down to us from the writings of their | |
contemporaries. Pliny the Roman naturalist, Philo the Alexandrian philosopher, Josephus the | |
Roman historian, Solanius and others, spoke of them variously as "a race by themselves, more | |
remarkable than any other in the world," "the oldest of the initiates, receiving their teaching from | |
Central Asia," "teaching perpetuated through an immense space of ages," "constant and | |
unalterable holiness." | |
Some of the outer teaching is preserved in Aramaic text in the Vatican in Rome. Some in Slavic | |
text was found in the possession of the Habsburgs in Austria and said to have been brought out | |
of Asia in the thirteenth century by Nestorian priests fleeing the hordes of Genghis Khan. | |
Echoes of the teaching exist today in many forms, in certain rituals of the Masonic order, in the | |
symbol of the seven-branched candlestick, in the greeting "Peace be with you," used from the | |
time of Moses, and even in the seven days of the week, which have long since lost their original | |
spiritual meaning. | |
From its antiquity, its persistence through the ages, it is evident the teaching could not have been | |
the concept of any individual or any people, but is the interpretation, by a succession of great | |
Teachers, of the Law of the universe, the basic Law, eternal and unchanging as the stars in their | |
courses, the same now as two or ten thousand years ago, and as applicable today as then. | |
The teaching explains the Law, shows how man's deviations from it are the cause of all his | |
troubles, and gives the method by which he can find his way out of his dilemma. | |
THE SEVENFOLD VOW | |
I want to and will do my best | |
To live like the Tree of Life, | |
Planted by the Great Masters Of our Brotherhood. | |
With my Heavenly Father, | |
Who planted the Eternal Garden of the Universe | |
And gave me my spirit; | |
With my Earthly Mother | |
Who planted the Great Garden of the Earth | |
And gave me my body; | |
With my brothers | |
Who are working in the Garden of our Brotherhood. | |
I want to and will do my best | |
To hold every morning my Communions | |
With the Angels of the Earthly Mother, | |
And every evening | |
With the Angels of the Heavenly Father, | |
As established by | |
The Great Masters Of our Brotherhood. | |
I want to and will do my best | |
To follow the Path of the Sevenfold Peace. | |
I want to and will do my best | |
To perfect my body which acts, | |
My body which feels, | |
And my body which thinks, | |
According to the Teachings | |
Of the Great Masters of our Brotherhood. | |
I will always and everywhere obey with reverence | |
My Master, | |
Who gives me the Light | |
Of the Great Masters of all times. | |
I will submit to my Master | |
And accept his decision or complaints I may have on whatever differences | |
Against any of my brothers working in the Garden of the Brotherhood; | |
And I shall never take any complaint against a brother | |
To the outside world. | |
I will always and everywhere keep secret | |
All the traditions of our Brotherhood | |
Which my Master will tell me; | |
I never reveal to anyone these secrets | |
Without the permission of my Master. | |
I will never claim as my own my own | |
The knowledge received from my Master | |
And I will always give credit to him | |
For all this knowledge. | |
I will never use the knowledge and power I have gained | |
Through initiation from my Master | |
For material or selfsh purposes. | |
I enter the Eternal and Infinite Garden | |
with reverence to the Heavenly Father, | |
To the Earthly mother, | |
And to the Great masters, | |
Reverence to the Holy, | |
Pure and Saving Teaching, | |
Reverence to the Brotherhood of the Elect. | |
THE ESSENE WORSHIP | |
PROLOGUE | |
When God saw that his people would perish | |
Because they did not see the Light of Life, | |
He chose the best of Israel, | |
So that they might make the Light of Life | |
To shine before the sons of men, | |
And those chosen were called Essenes, | |
Because they taught the ignorant | |
And healed the sick, | |
And they gathered on the eve of every seventh day | |
To rejoice with the Angels. | |
WORSHIP | |
ELDER: Earthly Mother, give us the Food of Life! | |
BROTHERS: We will eat the Food of Life! | |
ELDER: Angel of Sun, give us the Fire of Life! | |
BROTHERS: We will perpetuate the Fire of Life! | |
ELDER: Angel of Water, give us the Water of Life! | |
BROTHERS: We will bathe in the Water of Life! | |
ELDER: Angel of Air give us the Breath of Life! | |
BROTHERS: We will breathe the Air of Life! | |
ELDER: Heavenly Father, Give us thy Power! | |
BROTHERS: We will build the Kingdom of God with the Power of the Heavenly Father! | |
ELDER: Heavenly Father, Give us Thy Love! | |
BROTHERS: We will fill our hearts with the Love of the Heavenly Father! | |
ELDER: Heavenly Father, give us thy Wisdom! | |
BROTHERS: We will follow the Wisdom of the Heavenly Father! | |
ELDER: Heavenly Father, give us Eternal Life! | |
BROTHERS: We will live like the Tree of Eternal Life! | |
ELDER: Peace be with thee! | |
BROTHERS: Peace be with thee! | |
THE ANGEL OF SUN | |
Up! Rise up and roll along! Thou immortal, shining, | |
Swift-steeded Angel of Sun! | |
Above the Mountains! | |
Produce Light for the World! | |
Angel of Sun, thou art the Fountain of Light: | |
Thou dost Pierce the darkness. | |
Open thou the gate of the horizon! | |
The Angel of Sun doth dwell far above the earth, | |
Yet do her rays fill our days with life and warmth. | |
The chariot of the morning doth bring the light | |
Of the rising sun | |
And maketh glad the hearts Of men. | |
The Angel of Sun doth illumine our path | |
With rays of splendor. | |
Angel of Sun! | |
Dart forth thy rays upon me! | |
Let them touch me; let them penetrate me! | |
I give myself to thee and thy embrace, | |
Blessed with the fire of life! | |
A molten flood of holy joy | |
Flows toward me from thee! | |
Onward to thee, Angel of Sun! | |
As no man can look upon the sun with naked eyes, | |
So no man can see God face to face, | |
Lest he be consumed by the flames | |
Which guard the Tree of Life. | |
Study, then, the Holy Law: | |
For the face of the Sun and the face of God | |
Can be seen only by the one who hath within him | |
The Revelation of the Law. | |
Thinkest thou that death is an end? | |
Thy thoughts are foolish as those of a child | |
Who sees dark sky and falling rain | |
And cries that there is no sun. | |
Wouldst thou grow strong in the Law? | |
Be, then, as the sun at noonday, | |
Which shineth with light and warmth on all men, | |
And giveth freely and abundantly of her golden glory. | |
Then shall the Fountain of Light flow back to thee, | |
As the Sun is never without light, | |
For it floweth freely, without restraint. | |
And when the Sun riseth, Then the Earth, made by the Creator, | |
Becometh clean, The running waters become pure, | |
The waters of the wells become pure, | |
The waters of the sea become pure, | |
The standing waters become pure, | |
All the Holy Creatures become pure. | |
It is through brightness and glory | |
That man is born who listens well | |
To the Holy Words of the Law, | |
Whom Wisdom holds dear.Through their brightness and gloryDoth the Sun go his way, Through | |
their brightness and gloryDoth the Moon go her way,Through their brightness and glory | |
Do the Stars go their way unto the immortal, shining, swift-steeded SunLet there be invocation | |
with sacrifice and prayer. | |
When the Light of the Sun waxeth brighter, | |
When the brightness of the Sun waxeth warmer, | |
Then do the heavenly forces arise. | |
They pour their Glory upon the Earth, | |
Made by the Heavenly Father,For the increase of the Children of Light, | |
For the increase of the immortal, Shining, swift-steeded Sun. He who offers up a sacrifice Unto | |
the immortal, shining, swift-steeded Sun, | |
To withstand darkness, To withstand death that creeps in unseen, | |
offereth it up unto the Heavenly Father, | |
offereth it up unto the Angels, | |
offereth it up unto his own soul. He rejoiceth all the heavenly and earthly forces Who offereth up | |
a sacrifice | |
Unto the immortal, shining, swift-steeded Sun. | |
I will sacrifice unto that friendship, | |
The best of all friendships, | |
That reign between the Angel of Sun | |
And the sons of the Earthly Mother. | |
I bless the Glory and Light, | |
The Strength and the Vigor, | |
Of the immortal, shining, swift-steeded Angel of Sun. | |
THE ANGEL OF WATER | |
From the Heavenly Sea | |
the Waters run and flow forward | |
from the never-failing Springs. | |
To the dry and barren desertHave the Brothers brought the Angel of Water:That she might bring | |
forth a garden and a green place, | |
Tree-filled and fragrant with flowers.Cast thyself into the enfolding arms Of the Angel of | |
Water:For she shall cast out from theeAll that is unclean and evil.Let my love flow toward thee, | |
Heavenly Father, | |
As the river flows to the sea.And let thy love flow to me, Heavenly Father, | |
A s the gentle rain doth kiss the earth.As a river through the forest Is the Holy Law.All creatures | |
depend on it,And it denieth nothing to any being.The Law is to the world of men | |
What a great river is to streams and brooks. | |
As rivers Of water in a dry place | |
Are the Brothers who bringeth the Holy Law | |
To the world of men.In water mayest thou drown,And in water mayest thou quench thy | |
thirst. Thus is the Holy Law a two-edged sword: | |
By the Law mayest thou destroy thyself, | |
And by the Law mayest thou see God. | |
Heavenly Father! | |
From thy Heavenly Sea flow all the Waters | |
That spread over all the seven Kingdoms. | |
This Heavenly Sea of thine aloneGoeth on bringing Waters | |
Both in summer and winter and in all seasons. | |
This Sea of thine purifteth the seed in males, | |
The womb in females,The milk in female's breasts. Thy Heavenly Sea floweth down unrestrained | |
Unto the big-seeded corn fields, Unto the small-seeded pasture fields, | |
And unto the whole of the Earthly World. | |
A thousand pure Springs run toward the pastures | |
That give food to the Children of Light. | |
If any one shall sacrifice unto thee, | |
O thou holy Angel of Water!To that one dost thou give both splendor and glory, | |
With health and with vigor of the body. | |
To him dost thou give a long enduring life, | |
And the Heavenly Sea, thereafter. | |
We worship all the holy waters | |
Which do quench the thirst of the earth, | |
All the holy waters that the Creator hath made, | |
And all the plants which the Creator hath made, | |
All of which are holy. | |
We do worship the Water of Life, | |
And all waters upon the earth, | |
Whether standing, or running, or waters of the well, | |
Or spring-waters which perennially flow, | |
Or the blessed drippings of the rains, | |
We do sacrifice unto the good and holy waters | |
Which the Law hath created. | |
Let the sea roar, and all the waters, | |
The world, and they that dwell therein. | |
Let the floods clap their hands, | |
Let the hills be joyful together. | |
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: | |
The God of Glory thundereth. | |
Heavenly Father! and thou, Angel of Water! | |
We are thankful to thee, and we bless thy name. | |
A flood of love welleth up | |
From the hidden places beneath the earth: | |
The Brotherhood is blessed forever | |
In the Holy Water of Life. | |
THE ANGEL OF AIR | |
We worship the Holy Breath | |
Which is placed higher than | |
All the other things created; | |
And we worship | |
The most true Wisdom. | |
In the midst of the fresh air of the forest and fields, | |
There shalt thou find the Angel of Air. | |
Patiently she waits for thee | |
To quit the dank and crowded holes of the city. | |
Seek her, then, and quaff deeply | |
Of the healing draught which she doth offer thee. | |
Breathe long and deeply, | |
That the Angel of Air may be brought within you. | |
For the rhythm of thy breath is the key of knowledge | |
Which doth reveal the Holy Law. | |
The Angel of Air | |
Doth soar on invisible wings: | |
Yet thou must walk her unseen path | |
I f thou wouldst see the face of God. | |
Sweeter than the finest nectar | |
Of honeyed pomegranate | |
Is the fragrance of the wind | |
In the grove of cypress. | |
Sweeter still the scent of the godly, | |
Who do revere and teach the Holy Law. | |
Holy is the Angel of Air, | |
Who doth cleanse all that is unclean | |
And giveth to all evil-smelling things a sweet odor. | |
Come on, come on, O clouds! | |
From above down on to the earth, | |
By thousands of drops, | |
Through their brightness and glory the winds blow, | |
Driving down the clouds | |
Toward the never-failing springs. | |
Vapors rise up from the vales of the mountains, | |
Nursed by the wind along the trail of the Law | |
Which increaseth the kingdom of Light. | |
The Heavenly Father hath made the earth by his power, | |
He hath established the world by his wisdom, | |
And hath stretched out the heavens by his will. | |
When he uttereth his voice, | |
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens, | |
And he causeth the vapors to ascend | |
From the ends of the earth; | |
He maketh lightnings with rain, | |
And bringeth forth the wind out of his breath. | |
As the sea is the gathering place of the waters, | |
Rising up and going down, | |
Up the aerial way and down on to the earth, | |
And up again the aerial way: | |
Thus rise, up and roll along! — | |
And for whose rising and growing | |
Tle Heavenly Father | |
Hath made the eternal and sovereign luminous Space. | |
No man may come before the Face of God | |
Whom the Angel of Air letteth not pass. | |
Thy body must breathe the air of the Earthly Mother, | |
As thy spirit must breathe the Holy Law | |
Of the Heavenly Father. | |
The Angel Of Earth | |
We invoke the Abundant Earth! | |
That possesseth Health and Happiness | |
And is more powerful | |
Than all its Creatures. | |
This wide earth do we praise, | |
Expanded far with paths, | |
The productive, the full-bearing, | |
Thy mother, holy plant! | |
We praise the lands where thou dost grow, | |
Sweet scented, swiftly spreading, | |
The good growth of the Earthly Mother. | |
We praise the good, the strong, the beneficent | |
Angel of Earth, | |
Who doth rejoice in the dew of heaven, | |
The fatness of the earth, | |
And the abundant harvest Of corn and grapes. | |
We praise the high mountains, | |
Rich in pastures and in waters, | |
Upon which run the many streams and rivers. | |
We praise the holy plants of the Angel of Earth, | |
Which grow up from the ground, | |
To nourish animals and men, | |
To nourish the Children of Light. | |
The earth is the strong Preserver, | |
The holy Preserver, the Maintainer! | |
We praise the strength and vigor | |
Of the powerful Preserver, the earth, | |
Created by the Heavenly Father! | |
We praise the healers of the earth, | |
They who know the secrets of the herbs and plants; | |
To the healers hath the Angel of Earth | |
Revealed her ancient knowledge. | |
The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth, | |
And he that is wise shall use them. | |
Was not the water made sweet with wood, | |
That the virtue thereof might be known? | |
And to certain of the brothers he hath given skill, | |
That the Law Thigh t be honored and fulfilled. | |
With such do they heal men, | |
And taketh away their pains, | |
And of their works there is no end; | |
And from them is peace over all the earth. | |
Then give place to the healers, and honor them, | |
For the Heavenly Father hath created them: | |
Let them not go from thee, for thou hast need of them. | |
We praise the tillers of the soil, | |
Who work together in the Garden of the Brotherhood, | |
In the fields which the Lord hath blessed: | |
He who would till the earth, | |
With the left arm and with the right, | |
Unto him will she bring forth plenty of fruit, | |
And wholesome green plants and golden grain. | |
Sweetness and fatness will flow out from that land | |
And from those fields, | |
Along with health and healing, | |
With fulness and increase and plenty. | |
He who sows corn, grass and fruit | |
Soweth the Holy Law: | |
He maketh the Law of the Creator to progress. | |
When all the earth shall be a garden, | |
Then shall all the bodily world become free | |
From old age and death, from corruption and rot, | |
Forever and forever. | |
Mercy and truth shall be met together, | |
Righteousness and peace shall kiss each other, | |
Truth shall spring out of the earth, | |
And glory shall dwell in our land. | |
THE ANGEL OF LIFE | |
Be not ungrateful to thy Creator, | |
for he hath given thee Life. | |
Seek not the law in thy scriptures, for the law is Life, | |
Whereas the scriptures are only words. | |
I tell thee truly, | |
Moses received not his laws from God in writing, | |
But through the living word. | |
The law is living word of living God | |
To living prophets for living men. | |
In everything that is life is the law written. | |
It is found in the grass, in the trees, | |
In the river, in the mountains, in the birds of heaven, | |
In the forest creatures and the fishes of the sea; | |
But it is found chiefly in thyselves. | |
All living things are nearer to God | |
Than the scriptures which are without life. | |
God so made life and all living things | |
That they might by the everliving word | |
Teach the laws of the Heavenly Father | |
And the Earthly Mother | |
To the sons of men. | |
God wrote not the laws in the pages of books, | |
But in thy heart and in thy spirit. | |
They are in thy breath, thy blood, thy bone; | |
In thy flesh, thine eyes, thine ears, | |
And in every little part of thy body. | |
They are present in the air, in the water, | |
In the earth, in the plants, in the sunbeams, | |
In the depths and in the heights. | |
They all speak to thee | |
That thou mayest understand the tongue and the will | |
of the living God., | |
And scriptures are the works of man | |
But life and all its hosts are the work of God. | |
First, O Great Creator! | |
Thou didst create the Heavenly Powers | |
And thou didst reveal the Heavenly Laws! | |
Thou gavest unto us understanding | |
From thine own mind | |
And thou madst our bodily life. | |
Weare grateful, Heavenly Father, | |
For all thy manifold gifts of life: | |
For the precious things of heaven, | |
For the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, | |
For the precious things put forth by the moon, | |
For the great things of the ancient mountains | |
For the precious things of the lasting hills, | |
And for the precious things of the earth. | |
We are grateful, Heavenly Father, | |
For the vigor of health, health of the body, | |
Wise, bright and clear-eyed, with swiftness of foot, | |
Quick hearing of the ears, strength of the arms | |
And eye-sight of the eagle. | |
For all the manifold gifts of Life, | |
We do worship the Fire of Life, | |
And the Holy Light of the Heavenly Order. | |
We do worship the Fire, | |
The good and the friendly, | |
The Fire of Life! | |
The most beneficial and the most helpful, | |
The Fire of Life! | |
The most supporting, the most bountiful, | |
That Fire which is the House of the Lord! | |
Behold now the Child of Light | |
Who doth commune with the Angel of Life: | |
Lo now, his strength is in his loins, | |
And his force is in the muscles of his chest. | |
He moveth his legs like a cedar: | |
7he sinews of his thighs are knit together. | |
His bones are as tubes of brass, | |
His limbs are like bars of iron. | |
He doth eat of the table of the Earthly Mother, | |
The grass of the field and the waters of the stream | |
Do nourish him; | |
Surely the mountains bring him forth food. | |
Blessed is his strength and beauty, | |
For he do th serve the Law. | |
A Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit | |
Is the body in which the Fire of Life | |
Doth bum with eternal Light. | |
We thank thee, Heavenly Father, | |
For thou hast put us at a source of running streams | |
At a living spring in a land of drought, | |
Watering an etemal garden of wonders, | |
7he Tree of Life, mystery of mysteries, | |
Growing everlasting branches for eternal planting | |
To sink their roots into the stream of Life | |
From an eternal source. | |
THE ANGEL OF JOY | |
The heavens smile, the earth celebrates, | |
the morning stars sing together, | |
and all the Children of Light shout for Joy. | |
O sing unto the Heavenly Father a new song: | |
Sing unto the Earthly Mother, all the earth. | |
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, | |
Let the sea roar, and the fulness of Eternal Life. | |
Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: | |
Then shall all the trees of the wood | |
Rejoice before the Holy Law. | |
Sing unto the Heavenly Father, | |
All ye heavens of heavens, | |
And ye waters that be above the heavens, | |
All mountains and all hills, | |
Stormy wind fulfilling his word, | |
Fruitful trees and all cedars, | |
Beasts and all cattle, | |
Creeping things and flying fowl, | |
Kings of the earth and all people, | |
Princes and all judges of the earth: | |
Young men and maidens, old men and children, | |
Let them sing unto the Heavenly Father with Joy. | |
Sing unto the Lord with the harp, and voice of a psalm. | |
With trumpets and sound of pipes | |
Make a joyful noise before the Angels. | |
Let the floods clap their hands: | |
Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord. | |
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. | |
Serve the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother | |
With gladness and joy: | |
Come before their presence with singing. | |
The spirit of the Holy Law is upon me, | |
Because the Elders have anointed me | |
To preach good tidings unto the meek. | |
They have sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, | |
To proclaim liberty to the captives, | |
And the opening of the prison to them that are bound; | |
To comfort all that mourn, | |
To send unto them the holy Angel of Joy, | |
To give unto them beauty for ashes, | |
The oil of joy for mourning, | |
The garment of Light for the spirit of heaviness, | |
For weeping may endure for a night, | |
But joy cometh in the morning. | |
The people that walked in darkness | |
Shall see a great light, | |
And they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, | |
Upon them shall shine the light of the Holy Law. | |
Drop down, ye heavens, from above, | |
And let the skies pour down happiness. | |
Let the people of sadness go out with joy, | |
And be led forth with peace: | |
Let the mountains and the hills | |
Break forth before them into singing, | |
That they might partake of the holy celebration, | |
And eat of the fruit of the Tree of Life, | |
Which standeth in the Eternal Sea | |
The sun shall be no more their light by day, | |
Neither for brightness | |
Shall the moon give light unto them: | |
But the Law shall be unto them an everlasting light, | |
And the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother | |
Shall be their eternal glory. | |
Their sun shall no more go down, | |
Neither shall their moon withdraw itself.. | |
For the Law shall be their everlasting light, | |
And the days of their mourning shall be ended. | |
I will greatly rejoice in the Holy Law, | |
My soul shall be joyful in the Angels; | |
For they have clothed me in garments of light, | |
They have covered me with robes of joy. | |
As the earth bringeth forth her bud, | |
And as the garden causeth its seeds to spring forth, | |
So the Heavenly Father will cause the Holy Law | |
To spring forth with gladness and joy | |
Before all the Children of Light. | |
In the Garden of the Brotherhood, | |
All the earth shines with holiness and abundant joy, | |
For there are the seeds of the Holy Law sown. | |
The Law is the best of all good | |
For the Children of Light: | |
It giveth unto them brightness and glory, | |
Health and strength of the body, | |
Long life in communion with the Angels, | |
And eternal and unending joy. | |
We will sing unto the Heavenly Father, | |
And unto the Earthly Mother, | |
And unto all the Angels, | |
As long as we live in the Garden of the Brotherhood: | |
We will sing praise unto the Holy Law | |
Forever and forever. | |
THE EARTHLY MOTHER | |
Honor thy Earthly Mother, | |
that thy days may be long upon the land. | |
The Earthly Mother is in thee, and thou in her. | |
She bore thee; she giveth thee life. | |
It was she who gaveth thee thy body, | |
And to her shalt thou one day give it back again. | |
Happy art thou when thou comest to know her | |
And her kingdom. | |
If thou receivest thy Mother's angels | |
And if thou doest her laws, | |
Who doeth these things shall never see disease. | |
For the power of our Mother is above all. | |
She hath rule over all the bodies of men | |
And all living things. | |
The blood which runs in us | |
Is born of the blood of our Earthly Mother. | |
Her blood falls from the clouds, | |
Leaps up from the womb of the earth, | |
Babbles in the brooks of the mountains, | |
Flows wide in the rivers of the plains, | |
Sleeps in the lakes, | |
Rages mightily in the tempestuous seas. | |
The air which we breathe | |
Is born of the breath of our Earthly Mother. | |
Her breath is azure in the heights of the heavens, | |
Soughs in the tops of the mountains, | |
Whispers in the leaves of the forest, | |
Billows over the cornfields, | |
Slumbers in the deep valleys, | |
Burns hot in the desert. | |
The hardness of our bones | |
Is born of the bones of our Earthly Mother, | |
of the rocks and of the stones. | |
They stand naked to the heavens | |
in the tops of the mountains, | |
They are as giants that lie sleeping on the sides of the mountains, | |
As idols set in the desert, | |
And are hidden in the deepness of the earth. | |
The tenderness of our flesh | |
Is born of the flesh of our Earthly Mother, | |
Whose flesh waxeth yellow and red in the fruits of the trees, | |
And nurtures us in the furrows of the fields. | |
The light of our eyes, | |
The hearing of our ears, | |
Both are born of the colors and sounds | |
Of our Earthly Mother; | |
Which enclose us about | |
As the waves of the sea a fish, | |
As the eddying air a bird. | |
Man is the Son of the Earthly Mother, | |
And from her did the Son of Man | |
Receive his whole body, | |
Even as the body of the newborn babe | |
Is born of the womb of his mother. | |
Thou art one with the Earthly Mother; | |
She is in thee, and thou in her. | |
Of her wert thou born, in her dost thou live, | |
And to her shalt thou return again. | |
Keep, therefore, her laws, | |
For none can live long, neither be happy, | |
But he who honors his Earthly Mother | |
And doeth her laws. | |
For thy breath is her breath, Thy blood her blood, | |
Thy bone her bone, | |
Thy flesh her flesh, | |
Thy eyes and thy ears, | |
Are her eyes and her ears. | |
our Earthly Mother! | |
Always are we embraced by her, | |
Always are w surrounded by her beauty. | |
Never can we part from her; | |
Never can we know her depths. | |
Ever doth she create new forms: | |
That which now existeth never was before. | |
That which did exist returneth not again. | |
In her kingdom all is ever new, and always old. | |
In her midst do we live, yet we know her not. | |
Continually doth she speak to us, | |
Yet never doth betray to us her secrets. | |
Ever do we till her soil and harvest her crops, | |
Yet we have no power over her. | |
Ever doth she build, ever doth she destroy, | |
and her work lace is hidden from the eyes of men. | |
For none can live long, neither be happy, | |
But he who honors his Earthly Mother | |
And doeth her laws, | |
For thy breath is her breath, | |
Thy blood her blood, | |
Thy bone her bone, | |
Thy flesh her flesh, | |
Thy eyes and thy ears, | |
Are her eyes and her ears. | |
our Earthly Mother! | |
Always are we embraced by her, | |
Always are we surrounded by her beauty. | |
Never can we part from her; | |
Never can we know her depths. | |
Ever doth she create new forms: | |
That which now existeth never was before. | |
That which did exist returneth not again. | |
In her kingdom all is ever new, and always old. | |
In her -midst do we live, yet we know her not. | |
Continually doth she speak to us, | |
Yet never doth betray to us her secrets. | |
Ever do we till her soil and harvest her crops, | |
Yet we have no power over her. | |
Ever doth she build, ever doth she destroy, | |
And her workplace is hidden from the eyes of men. | |
THE ANGEL OF POWER | |
Thine, O Heavenly Father! | |
was the Power, when thou didst order | |
a Path for each of us and all. | |
What is the Deed well done? | |
It is that done by the Children of Light | |
Who regard the Law as before all other things. | |
The best of all gifts, therefore, | |
Do I beseech of thee, O thou best of beings, | |
Heavenly Father! | |
That the Holy Law shall rule within us | |
Through thy Angel of Power! | |
I do approach thee with my invocations, | |
That thy great gifts of power | |
Will protect thy Heavenly Order, | |
And thy creative mind within us, forever. | |
We will extol thee, Heavenly Father, | |
O almighty king! | |
And we will bless thy power forever and ever. | |
So long as we be able and may have the power, | |
So long will we teach the people | |
Concerning these Deeds to be done by them | |
With faith toward the Heavenly Father, | |
The Earthly Mother, the holy Angels, | |
And all the Children of Light | |
Who till the soil of the Garden of the Brotherhood, | |
And in the desire for the coming of the Heavenly Orc | |
Into their souls and their bodies. | |
Thine, O Heavenly Father! was the Power, | |
Yea, thine, O Creator of Love! | |
Was the understanding and the spirit, | |
When thou didst order a path for each of us and all. | |
Through thy Power shall we go unto the people, | |
And teach them, saying, Trust in the Law, | |
And walk in the ways of the holy Angels, | |
So shalt thou dwell in the land, | |
And verily thou shalt be fed from the feast table of the Earthly Mother. | |
Delight thyself also in the Power of the Heavenly Father, | |
And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. | |
Let not arrogancy come out of thy mouth: | |
For the Heavenly Father doth rule by the holy Law, | |
And by him actions are weighed. | |
He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. | |
The Power of the Law maketh poor, and maketh rich: | |
His Power bringeth low, and lifteth up. | |
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, | |
And lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, | |
And maketh them inherit the throne of glory. | |
out of heaven shall he thunder | |
Upon the children of darkness: | |
The Lord shall judge with Power the ends of the earth. | |
Hear the voices of the Brothers | |
Who cry out in the wilderness and barren desert: | |
Prepare ye the way of the Law, | |
Make straight the paths of the Heavenly Father, | |
And the Earthly Mother, | |
And all the holy Angels of the day and of the night. | |
Every valley shall be filled, | |
And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; | |
And the crooked shall be made straight, | |
And the rough ways shall be made smooth, | |
And all flesh shall see the Power of the Law. | |
We extol thee, Heavenly Father, | |
For thou hast lifted us up. | |
O Lord, our Almighty Powerful Father, | |
We cried unto thee, and thou hast healed us. | |
From the grave thou hast brought up | |
The souls of the people; | |
Thou hast kept them alive, | |
That they should not go down to the pit. | |
O Heavenly Father, thou art the Law; | |
Early and late will we seek thy Angels: | |
Our souls thirsteth for the Law, | |
Our flesh longeth for the Law. | |
A river of holy Power is the Law | |
In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. | |
Our lips shall praise thy Power while we live, | |
We will lift up our hands in thy name. | |
We will preserve, we will nurture thy Heavenly Order | |
Through the fulfillment of Deeds. | |
We will invoke and pronounce by day and by night | |
Thy holy Power, | |
And that Power shall come to help us; | |
It will be as if there were a thousand angels | |
Watching over one man. | |
Unto thee, Heavenly Father, belongeth all Power, | |
And also unto thee belongeth mercy: | |
For the holy Law doth render to every man | |
According to his work. | |
THE ANGEL OF LOVE | |
Love is stronger | |
than the currents of deep waters. | |
Love is stronger than death. | |
Beloved, let us love one another: | |
For love is of the Heavenly Father: | |
And every one that loveth is born | |
Of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother, | |
And knoweth the Angels. | |
Ye shall love one another, | |
As the Heavenly Father hath loved you. | |
For the Heavenly Father is love:And he that dwelleth in loveDwelleth in the Heavenly | |
Father,And the Heavenly Father in him.Let him that love him be as the sun | |
When he goeth forth in his might. | |
Brothers, be ye all of one mind, | |
Having endless love and compassion one for another. | |
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge | |
Against the children of thy people,But thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself if a man say, | |
I love the Heavenly Father, but hate my brother, | |
He is a liar:For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, How can he love the Heavenly | |
FatherWhom he hath not seen?He who loveth the Heavenly Father | |
Loveth also his brother.Love ye also the stranger: | |
For ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. | |
It is said by the people,Better a dinner of herbs where love is, | |
Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. | |
Loving words are as an honeycomb,Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. | |
The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, | |
And the wellspring of love as a flowing brook. | |
What doth the Law require of thee, | |
But to do justly, and to love mercy, | |
And to walk humbly with the Angels. | |
By this do we know that the Angel of Love | |
Doth dwell in us, | |
When we love the Heavenly Father, | |
And keep his Law. Gracious Love, Creator of Love! Reveal the best words Through thy divine | |
mind living within us. Say to the Children of Light Who till the soil in the Garden of the | |
Brotherhood: Honor all men. | |
Love the Brotherhood. | |
obey the Law. | |
THE ANGEL OF WISDOM | |
To follow the Lord | |
Is the beginning of Wisdom: | |
And the knowledge | |
Of the Holy One | |
Is understanding. | |
For by him | |
Thy days shall be multiplied, | |
And the years of thy life | |
Shall be increased. | |
All Wisdom cometh from the Heavenly Father, | |
And is with him forever. Through the holy Law doth the Angel of Wisdom | |
Guide the Children of Light. Who can number the sand of the sea, And the drops Of rain, and the | |
days of eternity? Who can find out the height of heaven, | |
And the breadth of the earth, | |
And the deep, and wisdom? | |
Wisdom hath been created before all things. | |
One may heal with goodness, | |
One may heal with justice, | |
One may heal with herbs, | |
One may heal with the Wise Word. | |
Amongst all the remedies, | |
This one is the healing one | |
That heals with the Wise Word. And one it is that will best drive away sickness | |
From the bodies of the faithful, For Wisdom is the best healing of all remedies. To follow the | |
holy Law is the crown of Wisdom, | |
Making peace and perfect health to flourish, | |
Both which are the gifts of the Angels. We would draw near unto thee, | |
O Heavenly Father! | |
With the help of thy Angel of Wisdom, Who guides us by means of thy Heavenly Order, | |
And with the actions and the words inspired by thy holy Wisdom! | |
Come to us, Heavenly Father, with thy creative mind, | |
And do thou, who bestoweth gifts Through thy Heavenly Order, Bestow alike the long lasting | |
gift of Wisdom | |
Upon the Children of Light, That this life might be spent in holy service in the | |
Garden of the Brotherhood. | |
In the realm of thy good mind, Incarnate in our minds, he path of Wisdom doth flow From the | |
Heavenly Order, Wherein doth dwell the sacred Tree of Life. In what fashion is manifest thy | |
Law, O Heavenly Father! | |
The Heavenly Father makes answer: | |
By good thought | |
In perfect unity with Wisdom, O Child of Light! | |
What is the word well spoken? | |
It is the blessing-bestowing word of Wisdom. | |
What is the thought well thought? | |
It is that which the Child of Light thinketh, | |
The one who holdeth the Holy Thought | |
To be the most of value of all things else. | |
So shall the Child of Light grow | |
In concentration and communion, And he may develop Wisdom, And thus shall he continue | |
Until all the mysteries of the Infinite Garden | |
Where standeth the Tree of Life | |
Shall be revealed to him. | |
Then shall he say these victorious words: | |
O Heavenly Father! | |
Give unto me my task | |
For the building of thy Kingdom on earth, | |
Through good thoughts, good words, good deeds, | |
Which shall be for the child of Light | |
His most precious gift. | |
O thou Heavenly Order! | |
And thou Universal Mind! | |
I will worship thee and the Heavenly Father, | |
Because of whom the creative mind within us | |
Is causing the Imperishable Kingdom to progress! | |
Holy Wisdom maketh all men free from fear, | |
Wide of heart, and easy of conscience. | |
Holy Wisdom, the understanding that unfolds forever, | |
Continually, without end, | |
And is not acquired through the holy scrolls. | |
It is ignorance that ruineth most people, | |
Both amongst those who have died, | |
And those who shall die. | |
When ignorance will be replaced by Holy Wisdom, | |
Then will sweetness and fatness come back again | |
To our land and to our fields, | |
With health and healing, | |
With fulnessy and increase, and growth, | |
And abundance of corn and of grass, | |
And rivers of Peace shall flow through the desert. | |
THE ANGEL OF ETERNAL LIFE | |
And Enoch walked with God; | |
and he was not; for God took him. | |
Upon the earth was no man created like Enoch, | |
For he was taken from the earth. | |
He was as the morning star in the midst of a cloud, | |
And as the moon at the full: As the sun shining upon the temple of the most High, And as the | |
rainbow giving light in the bright clouds, And as the flower of roses in the spring of the year, | |
As lilies by the rivers Of waters, | |
And as the branches of the frankincense tree | |
In the time of summer,And as a fair olive tree budding forth fruit,And as a cypress tree which | |
groweth up to the clouds. | |
The first follower of the Law was Enoch, | |
The first of the healers, of the wise, | |
T'he happy, the glorious, the strong, | |
Who drove back sickness and drove back death. | |
He did obtain a source of remedies To withstand sickness and to withstand death; To withstand | |
pain and to withstand fever; To withstand the evil and infection | |
Which ignorance of the Law | |
Had created against the bodies of mortals. | |
We invoke Enoch, | |
The master of life, | |
The Founder of our Brotherhood, | |
The man of the Law, T'he wisest of all beings, The best ruling of all beings, | |
The brightest of all beings, | |
The most glorious of all beings, | |
The most worthy of invocations amongst all beings, | |
The most worthy of glorification amongst all beings, | |
Who first thought what is good, Who first spoke what is good, Who first did what is good. | |
Who was the first Priest, | |
The first Plougher of the Ground, | |
Who first knew and first taught the Word, | |
And the obedience to the Holy Law. | |
To all the Children of Light He gave all the good things of life: | |
He was the first bearer of the Law. | |
It is written, the words of Father Enoch, | |
We sacrifice unto the Creator, The Heavenly Father, The bright and glorious Angels. We | |
sacrifice unto the shining heavens, We sacrifice unto the bright, all-happy, | |
Blissful wisdom of the Holy Angels of Eternity. | |
Grant to us, Heavenly Father! | |
The desire and the knowledge of the straightest path, | |
The straightest because of the Heavenly Order of Life, | |
The Best Life of the Angels,Shining, all glorious.As health is excellent, so also is Eternal Life, | |
Both flowing from the Heavenly order, | |
The creator of goodness of the mind,And of actions of life performed for devotion | |
To the Creator of Eternal Life.We sacrifice unto the sovereign sky, We sacrifice unto the | |
boundless time,We sacrifice unto the endless sea of Eternal Life. | |
We do invoke the most glorious Law.We invoke the Kingdom of Heaven,The boundless time, | |
and the Angels.We invoke the eternal, holy Law.We follow the paths of the Stars, The Moon, the | |
Sun and the endless Light,Moving around in their revolving circle forever. | |
And truthfulness in Thought, Word and Deed | |
Will place the soul of the faithful man | |
In the endless light of Eternal Life. | |
The Heavenly Father possessed me | |
In the beginning of his way, before his works of old. | |
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, | |
Or ever the earth was. | |
When there were no depths, I was brought forth: | |
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, | |
Nor the beginning of the dust of the world. | |
When he established the heavens, I was there: | |
When he set a circle upon the face of the deep: | |
When he made firm the skies above: | |
When the fountain of the deep became strong: | |
When he gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress his Law: | |
When he marked out the foundations of the earth: | |
Then I was by him, as a master workman:And I was daily his delight,Rejoicing always before | |
him, Rejoicing in his habitable earth, | |
And my delight was with the sons Of men.For eternity the Heavenly Father reigneth,He is | |
clothed with majesty and strength. | |
He is from everlasting! | |
The floods have lifted up, O Lord, | |
The floods have lifted up their voice, | |
The floods lift up their waves. | |
The Heavenly Father on high | |
Is mightier than the noise of many waters, | |
Yea , than the mighty waves of the sea. | |
His name shall endure forever, | |
His name shall be continued as long as eternity, | |
And all the Children of Light shall be blessed in him, | |
And all men shall call him blessed. | |
Let the whole earth be filled | |
With the glory of the Heavenly Father, | |
The Earthly Mother, | |
And all the holy Angels. | |
I have reached the inner vision | |
And through thy spirit in me | |
I have heard thy wondrous secret. | |
Through thy mystic insight | |
Thou hast caused a spring of knowledge | |
To well up within me, | |
A fountain of power, pouring forth living waters, | |
A flood of love and of all-embracing wisdom | |
Like the splendor of Eternal Light. | |
THE ANGEL OF WORK | |
Who hath measured the waters | |
In the hollow of his hand, | |
And meted out heaven with a span, | |
And comprehended the dust of the earth In a measure, | |
And weighed the mountains in scales, And the hills in a balance? | |
The sun ariseth, and the Brothers gather together, | |
They go forth unto their work in the fields; | |
With strong backs and cheerful hearts they go forth | |
To labor together in the Garden of the Brotherhood. | |
They are the Workers of Good, | |
Because they work the good of the Heavenly Father. | |
They are the spirit, conscience and soul of those | |
Who teach the Law and who struggle for the Law. | |
With the right arm and the left, they till the soil, | |
And the desert bursts forth in colors of green and gold. | |
With the right arm and the left, they lay the stones | |
Which shall build on earth the Kingdom of Heaven. | |
They are the messengers of the Angel of Work: | |
In them is revealed the holy Law. | |
O Heavenly Father! How manifold are thy works! | |
In wisdom hast thou made them all; | |
The earth is full of thy riches. | |
Thou sendest the springs into the valleys, | |
Which run among the hills. Thou givest drink to every beast of the field, | |
And causeth the grass to grow for the cattle. | |
Thou settest the mighty trees in their places, That the birds of heaven may have their habitation, | |
And sing sweetly among the branches.Thou givest herbs for the service of man, That he may | |
bring forth food out of the earth. | |
In the hands of the Brothers all thy gifts bear fruit, | |
For they are building on earth the Kingdom of Heaven. | |
Thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. | |
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created, | |
And together with thy holy Angels, | |
They shall renew the face of the earth. | |
O thou Heavenly Father, Thou who art one alone! Reveal unto the Children of Light: Which is | |
the foremost place Wherein the earth feeleth the greatest joy? | |
The Heavenly Father answering, said: | |
It is the place whereupon one of the Brothers | |
Who follow the holy Law, steppeth forth: | |
With his good thoughts, good words and good deeds | |
Whose back is strong in service, | |
Whose hands are not idle, | |
Who lifteth up his voice in full accord with the Law. | |
That place is holy whereon one of the Brothers | |
Soweth the most Of corn, of grass, of fruit: | |
Where he watereth that ground which is dry, | |
Or draineth the too wet soil | |
For the earth hath been given unto the keeping | |
Of the Children of Light, | |
That they treasure and care for it, | |
And bring from its depths only that | |
Which is for the nourishment of the body. | |
Blessed are the Children of Light | |
Whose joy is in the work of the Law, | |
Who labor in the Garden of the Brotherhood by day, | |
And join the Angels of the Heavenly Father by night. | |
From their lips is the story told, Which doth serve as a teaching for the sons of men: It is said that | |
the trees went forth on a time To anoint a king over them; And they said unto the olive tree, | |
"Reign thou over us." | |
But the olive tree said unto them, | |
"Should I leave my fatness, | |
Wherewith by me they honor God and man, | |
And go to be promoted over the trees?" | |
And the trees said to the fig tree, | |
"Come thou, and reign over us. | |
But the fig tree said unto them, | |
"Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, | |
And go to be promoted over the trees?" | |
Then said the trees unto the vine, | |
"Come thou, and reign over us. | |
And the vine said unto them, | |
"Should I leave my wine, | |
Which cheereth God and man, | |
And go to be promoted over the trees?" | |
Ae man of the Law who fulfills his tasks | |
Does not need further blessings. | |
THE ANGEL OF PEACE | |
For the earth shall be filled | |
with the Peace of the Heavenly Father, | |
as the waters cover the sea. | |
I will invoke the Angel of Peace, | |
Whose breath is friendly, | |
Whose hand is clothed in power. | |
In the reign of Peace, there is neither hunger nor thirst, | |
Neither cold wind nor hot wind, | |
Neither old age nor death. | |
In the reign of Peace, | |
Both animals and men shall be undying, | |
Waters and plants shall be undrying, | |
And the food of life shall be never-failing. | |
It is said that the mountains | |
Shall bring peace to the people, | |
And the little hills, righteousness. | |
There shall be peace | |
As long as the sun and moon endure, | |
Throughout all generations. | |
Peace shall come down like rain upon mown grass, | |
As showers that water the earth. | |
In the reign of Peace shall the Law grow strong, | |
And the Children of Light shall have dominion | |
From sea to sea, unto the ends of the earth. | |
The reign of Peace hath its source | |
In the Heavenly Father; | |
By his strength he setteth fast the mountains, | |
He maketh the outgoings of morning and evening | |
To rejoice in the Light, | |
He bringeth to earth the river of the Law, | |
To water and enrich it, | |
He maketh soft the earth with showers; | |
They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, | |
And the little hills rejoice on every sidle. | |
The pastures are clothed with flocks; | |
The valleys also are covered over with corn; | |
They shout for joy, they also sing. O Heavenly Father! | |
Bring unto thy earth the reign of Peace! | |
Then shall we remember the words of him who taught of old the Children of Light: | |
I give the peace of thy Earthly Mother | |
To thy body, | |
And the peace of thy Heavenly Father To thy spirit. | |
And let the peace of both | |
Reign among the sons of men. | |
Come to me all that are weary, | |
And that suffer in strife and affliction! | |
For my peace will strengthen thee and comfort thee. | |
For my peace is exceeding full of joy. | |
Wherefore do I always greet thee after this manner: | |
Peace be with thee! | |
Do thou always, therefore, so greet one another, | |
That upon thy body may descend | |
The Peace of thy Earthly Mother, | |
And upon thy spirit | |
The Peace of thy Heavenly Father. | |
And then wilt thou find peace also among thyselves, | |
For the Kingdom of the Law is within thee. | |
And return to thy Brothers | |
give thy peace to them also, | |
For happy are they that strive for peace, | |
For they will find the peace of the Heavenly Father. | |
And give to every one thy peace, | |
Even as I have given my peace unto thee. | |
For my peace is of God. | |
Peace be with thee | |
THE HEAVENLY FATHER | |
In the Heavenly Kingdom | |
There are strange and wondrous works, | |
For by his word all things consist. | |
There are yet hid greater things than these be, | |
For we have seen but a few of his works: | |
The Heavenly Father hath made all things. | |
Ae beauty of heaven, the glory of the stars, | |
Give light in the highest places of the Heavenly Sea. | |
Sentinels of the most High, they stand in their order, | |
And never faint in their watches. | |
Look upon the rainbow, and praise him that made it; | |
Very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof | |
It compasseth the heaven about with a glorious circle, | |
And the hands of the most High have bended it. | |
By his Law he maketh the snow to fall apace, | |
And sendeth swiftly the lightnings of his judgment. | |
Through this the treasures are opened, | |
And clouds fly forth as fowls. | |
By his great power he maketh the clouds firm, | |
And the hailstones are broken small. | |
At his sight the mountains are shaken, | |
And at his will the south wind bloweth. | |
The noise of the thunder maketh the earth to tremble: | |
So doth the northern storm and the whirlwind: | |
As birds flying he scattereth the snow, | |
And the eye marvelleth | |
At the beauty of the whiteness thereof, | |
And the heart is astonished at the raining of it. | |
So do the heavens declare the glory of God, | |
And the firmament showeth his handiwork. | |
Who hath made the waters, | |
And who maketh the plants? | |
Who to the wind hath yoked the storm-clouds, | |
The swift and even the fleetest? | |
Who, O Heavenly Father, | |
Is the creator of the holy Law within our souls? | |
Who hath made the light and the darkness? | |
Who hath made sleep and the zest of the waking hours? | |
Who gave the recurring sun and stars | |
Their undeviating way? | |
Who established that whereby the moon doth wax | |
And whereby she waneth? | |
Who, save thee, Heavenly Father, | |
Hath done these glorious things! | |
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place | |
In all generations. | |
Before the mountains were brought forth, | |
Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, | |
Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art the Law. | |
Thy name is Understanding, | |
Thy name is Wisdom, | |
Thy name is the Most Beneficent, | |
Thy name is the Unconquerable One, | |
Thy name is He Who maketh the true account, | |
Thy name is the All-seeing One, | |
Thy name is the Healing One, | |
Thy name is the Creator. | |
Thou art the Keeper, | |
Thou art the Creator and the Maintainer; | |
Thou art the Discerner and the Spirit. | |
Thou art the Holy Law. | |
These names were pronounced | |
Before the Creation of this Heaven, | |
Be-fore the making of the waters and of the plants, | |
Before the birth of our holy Father Enoch. | |
Before the beginning of time, | |
The Heavenly Father planted the holy Tree of Life, | |
Which standeth forever in the midst of the Eternal Sea | |
High in its branches sings a bird, | |
And only those who have journeyed there, | |
And have heard the mysterious song of the bird, | |
Only those shall see the Heavenly Father. | |
They shall ask of him his name, | |
And he shall answer, I am that I am, | |
Being ever the same as the Etemal I am. | |
O thou Heavenly Father! | |
How excellent is thy name in all the earth! | |
Aou hast set thy glory above the heavens. | |
When we consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, | |
The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, | |
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? | |
Yet thou hast made a covenant | |
With the Children of Light, | |
And they walk with thy holy Angels; | |
Thou hast crowned them with glory and honor, | |
Thou madest them to have dominion | |
Over the works of thy hands, | |
And gavest unto them | |
The task of nourishing and protecting | |
All that lives and grows on thy green earth. | |
O Heavenly Father! | |
How excellent is thy name in all the earth! | |
Hear the voice Of one who cries out to thee: | |
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? | |
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? | |
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; | |
If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. | |
If I take the wings of the morning, | |
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, | |
Even there shall thy hand lead me, | |
And thy right hand shall hold me. | |
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, | |
Even the night shall be light about me; | |
Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee | |
But the night shineth as the day: | |
The darkness and the light are both alike to thee, | |
For thou hast possessed my reins. | |
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, | |
So panteth my soul after thee, O God. | |
My soul thirsteth for the living Heavenly Father. | |
The Law is my light and salvation; | |
Whom shall I fear? | |
7he Law is the rock and the strength of my life; | |
Of whom shall I be afraid? | |
One thing have I desired of the Law, | |
That I will seek after: | |
That I may dwell in the house of the Law | |
All the days of my life, | |
To behold the beauty of the Heavenly Father. | |
Those who dwell in the secret place of the most High | |
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. | |
We will say of the Law, | |
"Thou art our refuge and our fortress; | |
We will trust in the Holy Law. | |
And the Heavenly Father | |
Shall cover us with his feathers, | |
And under his wings shall we trust; | |
His truth shall be our shield and buckler. | |
We shall not be afraid for the terror by night, | |
Nor for the arrow that flieth by day, | |
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, | |
No rfor the destruction that wasteth at noonday. | |
For by day we shall walk | |
With the Angels of the Earthly Mother, | |
By night we shall commune | |
With the Angels of the Heavenly Father, | |
And when the sun reacheth its zenith at noontide, | |
We shall stand silent before the Sevenfold Peace: | |
And no evil shall befall us, | |
Neither shall any plague come nigh our dwelling, | |
For he hath given his Angels charge over us, | |
To keep us in all their ways. | |
The Heavenly Father is our refuge and strength. | |
Therefore will not we fear, | |
Though the earth be removed, | |
And though the mountains be carried | |
Into the midst of the sea, | |
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, | |
Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof | |
There is a river, which floweth to the Eternal Sea. | |
Beside the river stands the holy Tree of Life. | |
There doth my Father dwell, and my home is in him. | |
The Heavenly Father and I are One. | |
THE HOLY LAW | |
Thou, O Holy Law, | |
The Tree of Life | |
That standeth in the middle of the Eternal Sea, | |
That is called, | |
The Tree of Healing. | |
The Tree of powerful Healing, | |
The Tree of all Healing, | |
And upon which rests the seeds | |
Of all we invoke. | |
Have ye-not known? | |
Have ye not heard? | |
Hath it not been told thee from the beginning? | |
Lift up thine eyes on high, and behold the Holy Law, | |
Which was established before the etemal, | |
Sovereign and luminous space, | |
Which hath created the foundations of the earth, | |
Which is the first and the last, | |
Which liveth in the hearts of the Children of Light. | |
For the Law is great, | |
As the Heavenly Father is great above his Angels: | |
He it is who giveth us the Law, and he is the Law: | |
In his hand are the deep places of the earth; | |
The strength of the hills is his also. | |
The sea is his, and he made it, | |
And his hands formed the dry land | |
Come, let us worship and bow down, | |
Let us kneel before the Heavenly Father, | |
For he is the Law, | |
And we are the people of his pasture, | |
And the sheep of his hand | |
with songs of gladness the children of Light | |
Invoke the Holy Law: | |
Sickness flies away before it, | |
Death flies away, | |
Ignorance flies away. | |
Pride, scorn and hot fever, | |
Slander, discord and evil, | |
All anger and violence, | |
And lying words of falsehood, | |
All fly away before the power of the Holy Law. | |
Here is the Law | |
which will smite all sickness, which will smite all death, | |
Which will smite the oppressors of men, | |
Which will smite pride, | |
Which will smite scorn, | |
Which will smite hot fevers, which will smite all slanders, | |
Which will smite all discords, which will smite the worst of evil, | |
Which will banish ignorance from the earth. | |
We bless the invocation and prayer, | |
The strength and vigor of the Holy Law. | |
We invoke the spirit, conscience and soul of the | |
Children of Light who teach the Law, | |
Who struggle in the kingdom of darkness | |
To bring the light of the Law to the sons of men. | |
We bless that victory | |
Of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, | |
Which make strong the foundations of the Kingdom of Light. | |
Let the sons of men who think, speak and do | |
All good thoughts, words and deeds | |
Inhabit heaven as their home. | |
And let those who think, speak and do | |
Evil thoughts, words and deeds | |
Abide in chaos. | |
Purity is for man, next to life, | |
The greatest of good: | |
That purity is in the Holy Law, | |
Which maketh grass to grow upon the mountains, | |
And maketh clean the hearts Of men. | |
With good thoughts, good words, and good deeds | |
Clean shall be the fire, | |
Clean the water, | |
Clean the earth, | |
Clean the stars, the moon and the sun, | |
Clean the faithful man and the faithful woman, | |
Clean the boundless, eternal Light, | |
Clean the Kingdom of the Earthly Mother | |
And the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father, | |
Clean the good things made by the Law, | |
Whose offspring is the Holy Creation. | |
To obtain the treasures of the material world, O sons Of men, | |
Forego not the world of the Law. | |
For he who, to obtain the treasures | |
Of the material world, | |
Destroyeth in him the world of the Law, | |
Such an one shall possess neither force of life | |
Nor the Law, | |
Neither the Celestial Light. | |
But he who walks with the Angels, | |
And who followeth the Holy Law, | |
He shall obtain everything good: | |
He shall enter the Eternal Sea | |
Where standeth the Tree of Life. | |
T'he Communions of the Law are perfect, | |
Converting the soul from darkness to light; | |
T'he testimony of the Law is sure, | |
Making wise the simple. | |
T'he statutes of the Law are right, rejoicing the heart; | |
The commandment of the Law is pure, | |
Enlightening the eyes. | |
The truth of the Law is clean, enduring forever. | |
Let the Children of Light triumph everywhere | |
Between the Heavens and the Earth! | |
Let us breathe the Holy Law in our prayer: | |
How beautiful are thy tabernacles, | |
O Heavenly Father! | |
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth | |
For the Tree of Life | |
That standeth in the middle of the Eternal Sea. | |
My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. | |
Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, | |
And the swallow a nest for herself, | |
Where she may lay her young. | |
The Children of Light | |
Who labor in the Garden of the Brotherhood | |
Abide in the Holy Law: | |
Blessed are they who dwell therein | |
THE ANGELS | |
The Heavenly Father | |
Gave his Angels charge | |
Concerning thee: | |
And in their hands | |
They shall bear thee up, | |
Even unto the Tree of Life | |
That standeth in the midst | |
Of the Eternal Sea... | |
For the wisdom of the Law, | |
For the unconquerable power of the Law, | |
And for the vigor of health, | |
For the Glory of the Heavenly Father | |
And the Earthly Mother, | |
And for all the boons and remedies | |
Of the Sevenfold Peace, | |
Do we worship the Holy Angels, | |
Our efforts for whom | |
And Communions to whom | |
Make us good in the eyes of Heavenly Father. | |
The Law is fulfilled according to the Angels, | |
The Bright and Holy Ones, | |
Whose looks perform their wish, | |
Strong, lordly, | |
Who are undecaying and holy, | |
Who are seven and seven all of one Thought, | |
Who are seven and seven all of one Speech, | |
Who are seven and seven all of one Deed. | |
Whose Thought is the same, | |
Whose Speech is the same, | |
Whose Deed is the same, | |
Whose Father is the same, | |
Namely, the Heavenly Father! | |
The Angels who see one another's souls, | |
Who bring the Kingdom of the Earthly Mother | |
And the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father | |
To the Children of Light | |
Who labor in the Garden of the Brotherhood. | |
The Angels who are the makers and Governors, | |
The Shapers and overseers, | |
The Keepers and Preservers of the abundant Earth! | |
And of all Creations of the Heavenly Father. | |
We invoke the good, the strong, the beneficent | |
Angels of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother! | |
That of the Light! | |
That of the Sky! | |
That of the Waters! | |
That of the Earth! | |
That of the Plants! | |
That of the Children of Light! | |
That of the Eternal Holy Creation! | |
We worship the Angels | |
Who first listened unto the thought and teaching | |
Of the Heavenly Father, | |
Of whom the Angels formed the seed of the nations. | |
We worship the Angels | |
Who first touched the brow of our Father Enoch, | |
And guided the Children of Light | |
Through the seven and seven Paths | |
Which lead to the Tree of Life | |
That standeth forever in the midst of the Eternal Sea. | |
We worship all the Angels, | |
The good, heroic and bounteous Angels, | |
Of the bodily world of the Earthly Mother, | |
And those of the Invisible Realms, | |
Those in the Celestial Worlds of the Heavenly Father. | |
We worship the ever blessing immortal Angels, | |
The brilliant ones of splendorous countenance, | |
The lofty and devoted creatures of the Heavenly Father, | |
They who are imperishable and Holy. | |
We worship the resplendent, the glorious, | |
Yl1ze bountiful Holy Angels, | |
Who rule aright, and who adjust all things rightly. | |
Hear the glad voices of the Children of Light, | |
Who sing the praise of the Holy Angels | |
As they labor in the Garden of the Brotherhood: | |
We sing with gladness to the waters, land and plants, | |
To this earth and to the heavens, | |
To the holy wind, and the holy sun and moon, | |
To the eternal stars without beginning, | |
And to all the holy creatures of the Heavenly Father. | |
We sing with gladness unto the Holy Law, | |
Which is the Heavenly Order, | |
To the days and to the nights, | |
To the years and to the seasons | |
Which are the pillars of the Heavenly Order. | |
We worship the Angels of the Day, | |
And the Angels of the Month, | |
Aose of the Years, and those of the Seasons, | |
All the good, the heroic, | |
The ever blessing immortal Angels | |
Who maintain and preserve the Heavenly order. | |
We desire to approach the mighty Angels, | |
All the Angels of the Heavenly Order, | |
Because of the Holy Law, | |
Which is the best of all good. | |
We do present these thoughts well thought, | |
These words well spoken, | |
These deeds well done, | |
To the bountiful, immortal Angels, | |
Those who exercise their right rule. | |
We do present these offerings | |
To the Angels of the Day, | |
And the Angels of the Night, | |
Ile ever-living, the ever-helpful, | |
Who dwell eternally with the Divine Mind. | |
May the good and heroic and bountiful | |
Angels of the Heavenly Father | |
And the Earthly Mother | |
Walk with their holy feet | |
In the Garden of the Brotherhood, | |
And may they go hand in hand with us | |
With the healing virtues of their blessed gifts, | |
As wide-spread as the earth, | |
As far-spread as the rivers, | |
As high-reaching as the sun, | |
For the furtherance of the betterment of man, | |
And for abundant growth. | |
It is they, the Holy Angels, | |
Who shall restore the World! | |
Which will thenceforth never grow old and never die! | |
Never decaying, ever living and ever increasing. | |
Then Life and Immortality will come | |
And the World will be restored! | |
Creation will grow deathless, | |
The Kingdom of the Heavenly Father will prosper, | |
And evil shall have perished! | |
THE BROTHERHOOD | |
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For the Children of Light | |
To dwell together in unity! | |
For the Brotherhood | |
The Heavenly Father | |
Hath commanded the Law. | |
Even life for evermore. | |
The Law was planted in the Garden of the Brotherhood | |
To illumine the hearts of the Children of Light, | |
To make straight before them | |
The seven and seven paths leading to the Tree of Life | |
Which standeth in the midst of the Eternal Sea; | |
T'he Law was planted in the Garden of the Brotherhood, | |
That they might recognize | |
The spirits of truth and falsehood, | |
Truth born out of the spring of Light, | |
Falsehood from the well of darkness. | |
The dominion of all the Children of Truth | |
Is in the hands of the mighty angels of Light, | |
So that they walk in the ways of Light. | |
The Children of Light are the servants of the Law, | |
And the Heavenly Father shall not forget them. | |
He hath blotted out their sins as a thick cloud; | |
He hath lit the candle of Truth within their hearts. | |
Sing, O ye heavens, | |
Shout, ye lower parts of the earth, | |
Break forth into singing, ye mountains, | |
O forest, and every tree therein: | |
For the Heavenly Father hath kindled his flame | |
In the hearts of the Children of Light, | |
And glorified himself in them. | |
The Holy Law of the Creator | |
Purifieth the followers of the Light | |
From every evil thought, word and deed, | |
As a swift-rushing mighty wind | |
Doth cleanse the plain. | |
Let the child of Light who so desireth | |
Be taught the Holy Word, | |
During the first watch of the day and the last, | |
During the first watch of the night and the last, | |
That his mind may be increased in intelligence | |
And his soul wax strong in the Holy Law. | |
At the hour of dawn | |
He shall gaze upon the rising sun | |
And greet with joy his Earthly Mother. | |
At the hour of dawn | |
He shall wash his body in the cool water | |
And greet with joy his Earthly Mother. | |
At the hour of dawn | |
He shall breathe the fragrant air | |
And greet with joy his Earthly Mother. | |
And through the day | |
He shall labor with his brethren | |
In the Garden of the Brotherhood. | |
In the hour of twilight | |
He shall gather with his brothers, | |
And together they shall study the holy words | |
Of our fathers, and their fathers' fathers, | |
Even unto the words of our Father Enoch. | |
And when the stars are high in the heavens | |
He shall commune | |
With the holy Angels of the Heavenly Father. | |
And his voice shall be raised with gladness | |
Unto the most High, saying, | |
We worship the Creator, | |
The maker of all good things: | |
And Good Mind, | |
And of the Law, | |
Immortality, | |
And the Holy Fire of Life. | |
We do offer to the Law | |
The Wisdom of the Tongue, | |
Holy Speech, Deeds, and rightly-spoken Words. | |
Grant us, Heavenly Father, | |
That we may bring down abundance | |
To the world thou hast created, | |
That we may take away both hunger and thirst | |
From the world thou hast created, | |
That we may take away both old age and death | |
From the world thou hast created. | |
O good, most beneficent Heavenly Father! | |
Grant us that we may think | |
According to the Law, | |
That we may speak | |
According to the Law, | |
Ilat we may do | |
According to the Law. | |
O Heavenly Father, | |
What is the invocation most worthy | |
In greatness and goodness? | |
It is that one, O Children of Light, | |
That one delivers | |
When waking up and rising from sleep, | |
At the same time professing | |
Good thoughts, good words and good deeds, | |
And rejecting evil thoughts, evil words and evil deeds. | |
The first step | |
That the soul of the Child of Light did make, | |
Placed him in the Good Thought Paradise, | |
The Holy Realm of Wisdom. The second step | |
That the soul of the Child of Light did make, | |
Placed him in the Good Word Paradise, | |
The Holy Realm of Love. | |
The third step | |
That the soul of the Child of Light did make, | |
Placed him in the Good Deed Paradise, | |
The Holy Realm of Power. | |
The fourth step | |
Ilat the soul of the Child of Light did make, | |
Placed him in the Endless Light. | |
The Heavenly Father knoweth the hearts | |
Of the Children of Light, | |
And their inheritance shall be for ever. | |
They shall not be afraid in the evil time: | |
And in the days -of famine they shall be satisfied. | |
For with them is the Fountain of Life, | |
And the Heavenly Father forsaketh not his children. | |
Their souls shall breathe forever and ever, | |
And their forms shall be endowed with Eternal Life. | |
Blessings on the Children of Light | |
Who have cast their lot with the Law, | |
That walk truthfully in all their ways. | |
May the Law bless them with all good | |
And keep them from all evil, | |
And illumine their hearts | |
With insight into the things of life | |
And grace them with knowledge of things eternal. | |
TREES | |
Go towards the high growing Trees, | |
And before one of them | |
Which is beautiful, high growing and mighty, | |
Say thou these words: | |
Hail be unto Thee! | |
O good living Tree, | |
Made by the Creator. | |
In the days of old, when the Creation was young, | |
The earth was filled with giant trees, | |
Whose branches soared above the clouds, | |
And in them dwelled our Ancient Fathers, | |
They who walked with the Angels, | |
And who lived by the Holy Law. | |
In the shadow of their branches all men lived in peace, | |
And wisdom and knowledge was theirs, | |
And the revelation of the Endless Light. | |
Through their forests flowed the Eternal River, | |
And in the center stood the Tree of Life, | |
And it was not hidden from them. | |
They ate from the table of the Earthly Mother, | |
And slept in the arms of the Heavenly Father, | |
And their covenant was for eternity with the Holy Law. | |
In that time the trees were the brothers of men, | |
And their span on the earth was very long, | |
As long as the Eternal River, | |
Which-flowed without ceasing | |
From the Unknown Spring. | |
Now the desert sweeps the earth with burning sand, | |
The giant trees are dust and ashes, | |
And the wide river is a pool of mud. | |
For the sacred covenant with the Creator | |
Was broken by the sons of men, | |
And they were banished from their home of trees. | |
Now the path leading to the Tree of Life | |
Is hidden from the eyes of men, | |
And sorrow fills the empty sky | |
Where once the lofty branches soared. | |
Now into the buming desert | |
Come the Children of Light, | |
To, labor in the Garden of the Brotherhood. | |
The seed they plant in the barren soil | |
Will become a mighty forest, | |
And trees shall multiply | |
And spread their wings of green | |
Until the whole earth be covered once again. | |
The whole earth shall be a garden, | |
And the tall trees shall cover the land | |
In that day shall sing the Children of Light a new song: | |
My brother, Tree! | |
Let me not hide myselffrom thee, | |
But let us share the breath of life | |
Which our Earthly Mother hath given to us. | |
More beautiful than the finest jewel | |
Of the rugmaker's art, | |
Is the carpet of green leaves under my bare feet; | |
More majestic than the silken canopy of the rich merchant, | |
Is the tent of branches above my head, | |
Through which the bright stars give light. | |
The wind among the leaves of the cypress | |
Maketh a sound like unto a chorus of angels. | |
Through the rugged oak and royal cedar | |
The Earthly Mother hath sent a message of Eternal Life | |
To the Heavenly Father. | |
My prayer goeth forth unto the tall trees: | |
And their branches reaching skyward | |
Shall carry my voice to the Heavenly Father. | |
For each child thou shalt plant a tree, | |
Tthat the womb of thy Earthly Mother | |
Shall bring forth life, | |
As the womb of woman doth bring forth life. | |
He who doth destroy a tree | |
Hath cut off his own limbs. | |
Thus shall sing the Children of Light, | |
When the earth again shall be a garden: | |
Holy Tree, divine gift of the Law! | |
Thy majesty reunites all those | |
Who have strayed from their true home, | |
Which is the Garden of the Brotherhood. | |
All men will become brothers once again | |
Under thy spreading branches. | |
As the Heavenly Father hath loved all his children, | |
So shall we love and care for the trees | |
Yhat grow in our land, | |
So shall we keep and protect them, | |
That they may grow tall and strong, | |
And ftll the earth again with their beau ty. | |
For the trees are our brothers, | |
And as brothers, | |
We shall guard and love one another. | |
STARS | |
The white, shining, | |
Far seen Stars! | |
The piercing, health-bringing, Far piercing Stars! | |
Aeir shining rays, | |
Their brightness and glory | |
Are all, through thy Holy Law, | |
The Speakers of thy praise, | |
O Heavenly Father! | |
Over the face of heaven | |
Did the Heavenly Father hurl his might: | |
And lo! He did leave a River of Stars in his wake! | |
We invoke the bright and glorious Stars | |
That wash away all things of fear | |
And bring health and life unto all Creations. | |
We invoke the bright and glorious Stars | |
To which the Heavenly Father | |
Hath given a thousand senses, | |
The glorious Stars that have within themselves | |
The Seed of Life and of Water. | |
Unto the bright and glorious Stars | |
Do we offer up an Invocation: | |
With wisdom, power and love, | |
With speech, deeds and rightly-spoken words, | |
Do we sacrifice unto the bright and glorious Stars | |
That fly towards the Heavenly Sea | |
As swiftly as the arrow | |
Darteth through heavenly Space. | |
We invoke the bright and glorious Stars, | |
T'hat stand out beautiful, | |
Spreading comfort and joy | |
As they commune within themselves. | |
The Holy Works, | |
The Stars, the Suns, and the many-colored Dawn | |
Which bringeth on the Light of Days, | |
Are all, through their Heavenly Order, | |
The Speakers of thy praise, | |
O thou great giver, the Holy Law! | |
We invoke the Lord of the Stars, | |
The Angel of Light, | |
T'he ever-awake! | |
Who taketh possession | |
of the beautiful, wide-expanding Law, | |
Greatly and powerfully, | |
And whose face looketh over | |
All the seven and seven Kingdoms of the Earth; | |
Who is swift amongst the swift, | |
Bountiful amongst the bounteous, | |
Strong amongst the strong, | |
The Giver of Increase, | |
The Giver of Sovereignty, | |
The Giver of Cheerfulness and Bliss. | |
We invoke the Lord of the Stars, The Angel of Light, | |
Who is truth-speaking, | |
With a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes, | |
With full knowledge, strong and ever-awake. | |
The Heavenly Order pervades all things pure, | |
Whose are the Stars, | |
In whose Light the glorious Angels are clothed. | |
Great is our Heavenly Father, and of great power: | |
His understanding is infinite. | |
He telleth the number of the stars; | |
He calleth them all by their names. | |
Behold the height of the stars! | |
How high they are! | |
Yet the Heavenly Father doth hold them in his palms, | |
As we do sift the sand in ours. | |
He who knoweth not the Holy Law | |
Is as a wandering star | |
In the darkness of an unknown sky. | |
Thinkest thou there is but one way | |
To see the ftrmamen t? | |
Suppose ye the stars were but broken places in the sky | |
Through which the glory of heaven is revealed | |
In fragments of blazing light! | |
In the purple night | |
Traversed by the continual Stars | |
Shall the souls of the Children of Light | |
Take wing and join the Angels of the Heavenly Father. | |
7len shall the Etemal Sea | |
Reflect the shining glory of the heavens, | |
And the branches of the Tree of Life reach to the Stars. | |
Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven | |
Fill all the earth with Glory, | |
And the shining Stars of the most High | |
Shall blaze within the hearts of the Children of Light | |
And warm and comfort the seeking sons of men. | |
THE MOON | |
Unto the luminous Moon | |
Which keepeth within itself | |
The seed of many species, | |
Let there be invocation | |
With sacrifice and prayer... | |
When the Light of the Moon waxeth warmer, | |
Golden hued plants grow up from the earth | |
During the season of Spring. | |
We sacrifice unto the New Moons | |
And unto the Full Moons; | |
The crescent of the New Moon is full of holy Peace | |
We sacrifice unto the Angel of Peace. | |
The radiant and luminous Moon | |
Keepeth within itself the seed: | |
The bright, the glorious, | |
The water-giving, | |
The warmth-giving, | |
The wisdom-giving, | |
The thoughtfulness-giving, | |
The freshness-giving, | |
The healing one, the Moon of Peace! | |
With silent and peace-giving light | |
The Moon doth shine | |
Upon the pastures, the abodes, | |
The waters, the lands and the plants | |
Of our earthly garden. | |
The Moon and the Sun, | |
The holy Wind and the Stars without beginning, | |
Self-determined and self-moved, | |
All are regulators of the Holy order, | |
of the days and nights, of the months and years. | |
The face of the Moon doth change its aspect, | |
Yet is ever the same: | |
As the Holy Law doth reveal a different face | |
To each of the Children of Light, | |
Yet is unchanged in its Essence. | |
We invoke the New Moon and the Moon that is waning, | |
And the Full Moon that scattereth the Night, | |
And the yearly festivals and the seasons of the Heavenly Father. | |
For it was he who gavest the moon | |
Her increase and her decrease, | |
That through her we might know the movements | |
Of the day and of the night. | |
Thou silver and luminous moon! | |
We are grateful that we may look on thee, | |
And see in thy reflection | |
The blessed face of our Earthly Mother. | |
Among the world of the sons of men, | |
The Brothers of Light are flames of radiance, | |
As the stars pale in the presence of the bright and shining moon. | |
The moon walketh in brightness across the sky, | |
And delight in the Holy Law doth fill our hearts. | |
Peace, Peace, Peace, | |
Holy Angel of Peace, | |
Illumine the silver moon with thy holiness, | |
That all may look upon its beauty | |
And feel thy eternal Peace. | |
The desert sky is blue with night, | |
And we see the first ray of the New Moon | |
Chaste and beautiful. | |
Then do the Brothers greet one another, | |
Saying, "Peace be with thee! | |
Peace be with thee!" | |
PSALMS OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING | |
I am grateful, Heavenly Father, | |
For thou hast raised me to an eternal height, | |
And I walk in the wonders of the plain. | |
Thou gavest me guidance | |
To reach thine eternal company | |
From the depths of the earth. | |
Thou hast purified my body | |
To join the army of the angels of the earth | |
And my spirit to reach | |
The congregation of the heavenly angels. | |
Thou gavest man eternity | |
To praise at dawn and dusk | |
Thy works and wonders in joyful song. | |
O all ye works of the Heavenly Order, | |
Bless ye the Law: | |
Praise and exalt the Law above all for ever. | |
O ye heavens, bless ye the Law: | |
Praise and exalt the Law above all for ever. | |
O ye Angels of the Heavenly Father, | |
And ye Angels of the Earthly Mother, | |
Bless ye the Law: | |
Praise and exalt the Law above all for ever. | |
O all ye waters that be above the heavens, | |
Bless ye the Law. | |
All ye powers of the Holy Angels, | |
bless ye the Law. | |
ye sun and moon, bless ye the Law. | |
ye stars of heaven, bless ye the Law. | |
every shower and dew, bless ye the Law. | |
all ye winds, bless ye the Law. | |
ye fire and heat, bless ye the Law. | |
ye winter and summer, bless ye the Law. | |
ye light and darkness, bless ye the Law. | |
ye dews and storms of snow, bless ye the Law. | |
ye nights and days, bless ye the Law. | |
ye lightnings and clouds, bless ye the Law. | |
ye mountains and little hills, bless ye the Law. | |
all ye things that grow on the earth, bless ye the Law. | |
ye fountains, bless ye the Law. | |
ye seas and rivers, bless ye the Law. | |
O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, | |
Bless ye the Law. | |
O all ye fowls of the air, bless ye the Law. | |
O all ye beasts and cattle, bless ye the Law. | |
O ye children of men, bless ye the Law. | |
O ye spirits and souls of the Children of Light, | |
Bless ye the Law. | |
ye holy and humble workers | |
In the Garden of the Brotherhood, bless ye the Law. | |
O let the whole earth bless the Law! | |
O give thanks unto the Heavenly Father, | |
And bless ye his Law. | |
O all ye that worship the Law, | |
Give praise unto the Heavenly Father | |
And the Earthly Mother, | |
And all the Holy Angels, | |
And give unto them thanks, | |
For the Law endureth for ever. | |
We worship the Law by day and by night. | |
Hail to the Heavenly Father! | |
Hail to the Earthly Mother! | |
Hail to the Holy Angels! | |
Hail to the Children of Light! | |
Hail to our holy Father Enoch! | |
Hail to the whole of Holy Creation that was, that is, or ever shall be! | |
We sacrifice unto the bright and glorious stars, | |
We sacrifice unto the sovereign sky, | |
We sacrifice unto boundless time, | |
We sacrifice unto the good Law | |
Of the worshipers of the Creator, | |
Of the Children of Light | |
Who labor in the Garden of the Brotherhood; | |
We sacrifice unto the way of the Holy Law. | |
We sacrifice unto all the Holy Angels | |
Of the world unseen; | |
We sacrifice unto all the Holy Angels Of the material world. | |
‘give thanks unto the Heavenly Father, for he is good, | |
‘give thanks unto the God of the Angels, | |
‘give thanks unto the Lord of Light, | |
For his mercy endureth for ever. | |
To him who alone doeth great wonders, | |
To him that by wisdom made the heavens, | |
To him that stretched out the earth above the waters, | |
To him that made great lights in the heavens, | |
To him that made the sun to rule by day, | |
And the moon and stars to rule by night, | |
Give unending praise and thanksgiving, | |
For his mercy endureth for ever. | |
And we do worship the ancient and holy religion, | |
Which was instituted at the Creation, | |
Which was on the earth in the time of the Great Trees; | |
The holy religion of the Creator, | |
The resplendent and the glorious, | |
Revealed unto our Father Enoch. | |
We do worship the Creator, | |
And the Fire of Life, | |
And the good Waters which are Holy, | |
And the resplendent Sun and the Moon, | |
And the lustrous, glorious Stars; | |
And most of all we do worship the Holy Law, | |
Which the Creator, our Heavenly Father, | |
Hath given to us. | |
It is the Law which maketh holy our dwelling place, | |
Which is the wide green earth. | |
Praise ye the Law! | |
The Law healeth the broken in heart, | |
And bindeth up their wounds. | |
Great is the Law, and ofgreat power; | |
The understanding of the Law is infinite. | |
The Law lifteth up the meek, | |
And casteth the wicked down to the ground. | |
Sing unto the Law with thanksgiving, | |
Sing praise upon the harp unto the Law, | |
Which covereth the heaven with clouds, | |
Which prepareth rain for the earth, | |
Which maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. | |
We praise aloud the well-thought Thought, | |
The Word well-spoken, | |
And the Deed well-done. | |
We will come to thee, O ye bountiful immortals! | |
We will come to thee, extolling and invoking thee, | |
Angels of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother! | |
We do worship the Holy Lord of the Heavenly Order, | |
The Creator of all good creatures of the earth. | |
And we do worship the utterances of our Father Enoch, | |
And his ancient, pure religion, | |
His faith and his lore, older than the beginning of time. | |
We will sing unto the Law as long as we live, | |
We will sing praise unto our Heavenly Father | |
While we have our being, | |
While the Garden of the Brotherhood doth endure. | |
Our Comrnunions with the Angels shall be sweet; | |
We will be glad in the Law. | |
Bless thou the Law, O my soul. | |
Praise ye the Holy Law. | |
The Children of Light love the Law, | |
Because the Law heareth our voices | |
And our supplications. | |
An all-hearing ear hath the Law inclined unto us, | |
Therefore will we call upon the Law as long as we live. | |
The Law hath delivered our souls from death, | |
Our eyes from tears, and our feet from falling. | |
We will walk before the Law in the land of the living: | |
In the paths of the Infinite | |
Garden of the Brotherhood. | |
The days of the sons of men are as grass; | |
As flowers of the field, so they flourish. | |
For the wind passeth over them, and they are gone: | |
But the mercy of the Law is from everlasting | |
To everlasting upon them that follow it. | |
Bless the Heavenly Father, all ye his Angels; | |
Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. | |
Bless the Lord, all his works, | |
In all places of his dominion: | |
Bless the Lord, O my soul. | |
O Heavenly Father, thou art very great! | |
Thou art clothed with honor and majesty. | |
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, | |
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain, | |
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, | |
Who maketh the clouds his chariot, | |
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind, | |
Who maketh his Angels spirits, | |
His Children of Light a flaming fire | |
To kindle the Truth in the hearts of the sons of men, | |
Who laid the foundations of the earth. | |
Bless the Heavenly Father, O my soul! | |
LAMENTS | |
Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. | |
Lord, hear my voice! | |
Hear my prayer, O Lord, | |
And let my cry come unto thee. | |
Hide not thy face from me | |
In the day when I am in trouble; | |
Incline thine ear unto me; | |
In the day when I call answer me speedily. | |
For my days are consumed like smoke, | |
And my bones are burned as a hearth. | |
My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; | |
So that I forget to eat my bread. | |
By reason of the voice of my groaning | |
My bones cleave to my skin. | |
I am like a pelican of the wilderness; | |
I am like an owl of the desert. | |
I watch, and am as a sparrow, | |
Alone upon the house top. | |
My days are like a shadow that declineth; | |
And I am withered like grass. | |
O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: | |
The heavens are the work of thy hands. | |
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure. | |
The first step taken | |
By the soul of the wicked man, | |
Laid him in the evil thought hell. | |
The second step take | |
By the soul of the wicked man, | |
Laid him in the evil word hell. | |
The third step taken | |
By the soul of the wicked man, | |
Laid him in the evil deed hell. | |
The fourth step taken | |
By the soul of the wicked man, | |
Laid him in endless darkness. | |
I know that thou canst do all things, | |
And that no purpose of thine-can be restrained. | |
Now mine eye seeth thee, | |
Wherefore I abhor myself, | |
And repent in dust and ashes. | |
.For the wicked sons of men | |
Have sinned against themselves, | |
And their hell of evil thoughts, evil words and evil deeds | |
Is a hell of their own making. | |
But my anguish and my bitter tears | |
Are for our ancient fathers, | |
Who sinned against the Creator, | |
And were banished | |
From the Holy Kingdom of the Great Trees. | |
Wherefore I weep, and hide my face in sorrow, | |
For the beauty of the Lost Garden, | |
And the vanished sweetness of the song of the Bird, | |
Who sang in the branches of the Tree of Life. | |
Have mercy upon me, O God, | |
And cleanse me from my sin. | |
The joy of our hearts is ceased, | |
Our dance is turned into mourning. | |
The crown is fallen from our head: | |
Woe unto us, that we have sinned! | |
For this our heart is faint, | |
For these things our eyes are dim. | |
Thou, O Heavenly Father, remainest forever, | |
‘Ay throne from generation to generation. | |
Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, | |
And forsake us so long time? | |
Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, | |
Renew our days as of old. | |
Where there is no righteousness or compassion, | |
There wild beasts of the desert shall lie; | |
And their houses shall be full of doleful creatures. | |
And owls shall dwell there, | |
And satyrs shall dance there. | |
And the wild beasts shall cry in their desolate houses. | |
Wash me, O Lord, and I shall be whiter than snow. | |
Make me to hear joy and gladness; | |
Hide thy face from my sins, | |
And blot out all mine iniquities. | |
Create in me a clean heart, O God,' | |
And renew a right spirit within me. | |
Cast me not away from thy presence; | |
And take not thy holy spirit from me. | |
Restore unto me the joy of thy Infinite Garden, | |
And uphold me with thy Holy Angels. | |
Let me drive away all evil things | |
And all uncleanness, | |
From the fire, the water, | |
The earth, the trees, | |
From the faithful man and the faithful woman, | |
From the stars, the moon, the sun, | |
From the boundless Light, | |
And from all good things, | |
Made by thee, O Heavenly Father, | |
Whose offspring is the Holy Law. | |
By the rivers of Babylon, | |
7here we sat down, yea, we wept, | |
When we remembered Zion. | |
We hanged our harps upon the willows. | |
How shall we sing the Lord's song in a wicked land? | |
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, | |
Let my right hand forget her cunning. | |
If I do not remember thee, | |
Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; | |
For Babylon is the slavery in the world, | |
And Zion is the freedom in the Brotherhood. | |
O Lord, to thee will I cry! | |
For the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, | |
And the flame hath burned All the trees of the field. | |
The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: | |
For the rivers Of waters are dried up, | |
And the fire hath devoured | |
Yle pastures of the wilderness. | |
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: | |
For the d'ay of the Lord cometh, | |
For it is nigh at hand; | |
A day of darkness and gloominess, | |
A day of clouds and of thick darkness, | |
A day when the earth shall quake, | |
And the heavens shall tremble. | |
The sun and the moon shall be dark, | |
And the stars shall withdraw their shining. | |
Out of the depths will we cry unto thee, O Lord! | |
Lord, hear thou our voices! | |
PROPHECIES | |
Hearken unto me, my people, | |
And give ear unto me! | |
Lift up thine eyes to the heavens, | |
And look upon the earth beneath: | |
For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, | |
And the earth shall wax old like a garment, | |
And they that dwell therein | |
Shall die in like manner: | |
But my Kingdom shall be for ever, | |
And my Law shall not be abolished. | |
And in that day hell shall enlarge herself, | |
And open her mouth without measure: | |
And the glory, the pride and the pomp of the wicked | |
Shall descend into it. | |
And the mean man shall be brought down, | |
And the mighty man shall be humbled | |
As the fire devoureth the stubble, | |
And the flame consumeth the chaff; | |
So their root shall be as rottenness, | |
And their blossom shall go up as dust. | |
Because they have cast away | |
The Holy Law of the Heavenly Order, | |
And despised the word of the Children of Light. | |
And in that day, one will look unto the land | |
And behold only darkness and sorrow, | |
And the light in the heavens shall be darkened. | |
The leaders of the people shall cause them to err, | |
And they that are led of them shall be destroyed. | |
For every one is an hypocrite and an evil doer, | |
And every mouth speaketh folly. | |
Wickedness burneth as the fire: | |
It shall devour the briars and thorns. | |
It shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, | |
And shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. | |
Through the wrath of the Law | |
Shall the land be darkened, | |
For this hath man wrought upon himself. | |
And the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: | |
No man shall spare his brother. | |
Woe unto them that have kept not the Holy Law! | |
Woe unto the crown of pride! | |
Woe unto those who lust after the things of the world, | |
And corrupt themselves with wrongdoing, | |
Who err in vision, and stumble in judgment: | |
For they are a rebellious people, a lying people, | |
People who will not hear the Law of the Lord: | |
Which say to the seers, see not, | |
And to the Prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, | |
But speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits. | |
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, | |
And that write grievousness which they have prescribed. | |
Woe unto them that join house to house, | |
that lay field to field, | |
Till there be no place that a man may be alone | |
In the midst of the earth! | |
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, | |
Not to commune with the Angels, | |
But to follow strong drink, and continue until night, | |
Till the fumes of the wine inflame them! | |
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, | |
That put darkness for light, and light for darkness. | |
Woe unto them | |
That turn aside the needy from judgment, | |
And take away the right from the poor, | |
That make of widows their prey, and rob the fatherless! | |
Wherefore it shall come to pass | |
That the hand of the Lord shall lop the bough | |
With the judgment of the Law, | |
And the high ones of stature shall be hewn down | |
And the haughty shall be humbled. | |
Howl ye, for the day of the Law is at hand; | |
It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. | |
Therefore shall all hands be faint, | |
And every man's heart shall melt. | |
And they shall be afraid: | |
Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; | |
They shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: | |
They shall be amazed one at another: | |
T'heir faces shall be as flames. | |
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh | |
Cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, | |
To lay the land desolate: | |
And he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. | |
It shall come to pass in that day, | |
That the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones, | |
And the kings of the earth upon the earth. | |
And they shall be gathered together, | |
As prisoners are gathered in the pit, | |
And shall be shut up in the prison. | |
And the Lord shall come forth out of his place, | |
And will come down, | |
And tread upon the high places of the earth. | |
And the mountains shall be molten under him, | |
And the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, | |
As the waters pour down a steep place. | |
Then the moon shall vanish, and the sun be obscured. | |
And the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof | |
Shall not give their light: | |
The sun shall be darkened in its going forth, | |
And the moon shall not cause her light to shine. | |
And the Lord will shake the heavens, | |
And the earth shall remove out of her place, | |
In the day of the wrath of the Law, | |
In the day of the fierce anger of the Lord. | |
And the shining cities shall be laid waste, | |
And wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; | |
The hay shall wither away, the grass shall fail, | |
And in all the earth there shall be no green thing. | |
In that day shall the strong cities | |
Be as a forsaken bough, | |
And a tempest of hail | |
Shall sweep away the refuge of lies, | |
And the angry waters | |
Shall overflow the hiding place of the -wicked. | |
And there shall be upon every high mountain, | |
And upon every high hill, | |
Rivers and streams Of waters | |
In the day of the great slaughter, | |
When the towers fall. | |
in that day shall the light of the moon | |
Be as the light of the sun, | |
And the light of the sun shall be sevenfold. | |
Behold, the name of the Law cometh from far, | |
Burning with hot anger, | |
And the burden thereof is heavy: | |
The lips of the Lord are full of indignation, | |
And his tongue is as a devouring fire. | |
He shall show the strength of his arm, | |
With the flame of consuming fire, | |
With scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. | |
The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled, | |
For the sons of men have turned away from the Law. | |
The city of confusion is broken down: | |
Every house is shut up, that no man may come in. | |
There is a crying and wailing in the streets: | |
All joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. | |
And it shall come to pass, | |
That he who fleeth from the noise of the fear | |
Shall fall into the pit; | |
And he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit | |
Shall be taken in the snare: | |
For the windows from on high are open, | |
And the foundations of the earth do shake. | |
The earth is utterly broken down, | |
The earth is clean dissolved, The earth is moved exceedingly. | |
Then the moon shall be confounded, | |
The sun shall be ashamed, | |
And the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, | |
And shall fall, and shall not rise again. | |
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, | |
And the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: | |
And all their host shall fall down, | |
As the leaf falleth offfrom the vine, | |
And as a falling fig from the fig tree. | |
The waters shall fail from the sea, | |
And the rivers shall be wasted and dried up. | |
Streams Of water shall be turned into pitch, | |
And the dust thereof into brimstone, | |
And the land thereof shall become burning pitch. | |
And the smoke shall not be quenched by night or day, | |
And no man shall pass through it. | |
But the cormorant and the bittern | |
Shall possess the land; | |
The owl also and the raven shall dwell in it. | |
And there shall stretch out upon it | |
The line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. | |
They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, | |
But none shall be there, | |
And all her princes shall be nothing. | |
And thorns shall come up in her palaces, | |
Nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof., | |
And it shall be an habitation of dragons, | |
And a court for owls. | |
The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly, | |
And the highways shall lie waste. | |
The glory of the forests shall be consumed, | |
And the fruitful field; | |
Yea, the trees shall be so few, | |
That a child may count them. | |
Behold, the day shall come, | |
That all that is in the earth, | |
And all that which thy fathers have laid up in store, | |
Shall be carried up in smoke, | |
For ye have forgotten thy Heavenly Father | |
And thy Earthly Mother, | |
And ye have broken the Holy Law. | |
oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens, | |
That thou wouldst come down, | |
That the mountains might flow down at thy prese | |
When thy hand showed forth the power of thy Law | |
Thou camest down in fury: | |
The mountains flowed down at thy presence, | |
And the melting fires bumed. | |
Behold thou art wroth, for we have sinned. | |
We are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, | |
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. | |
We trust in vanity, and speak lies; | |
Our feet run to evil, | |
Wasting and destruction are in our paths. | |
We grope for the wall like the blind, | |
We stumble at noon day as in the night, | |
We are in desolate places as dead men. | |
But now, O Heavenly Father, thou art our father: | |
We are the clay, and thou our potter, | |
And we are all thy people. | |
Thy holy cities are a wilderness, | |
Thy forests are consumed, | |
All thy earth is a desolation. | |
Our holy and beautiful house | |
Where our fathers praised thee, | |
Is burned up with fire. | |
Even the ancient lore of our Father Enoch | |
Is trampled in the dust and ashes. | |
And I beheld the earth, and, lo, | |
It was without form, and void; | |
And the heavens, and they had no light. | |
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, | |
And all the hills moved lightly. | |
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, | |
And all the birds of the heavens | |
I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, | |
And all the cities thereof were broken down | |
At the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. | |
For thus hath the Lord said, | |
The whole land shall be desolate; | |
Yet will I not make a full end. | |
Behold, the hand of the Law is not shortened, | |
That it cannot save; | |
Neither is the ear of the Law heavy, | |
That it cannot hear: | |
From out of the desert shall I bring forth a seed, | |
And the seed shall be planted | |
In the Garden of the Brotherhood, | |
And it shall flourish, | |
And the Children of Light shall cover the barren land | |
With tall grass and trees bearing fruit. | |
And they shall build the old waste places: | |
They shall repair the waste cities | |
The desolations of many generations. | |
They shall be called the repairers of the breach, | |
And the restorers of paths to dwell in. | |
They shall be a crown of glory on the head of the Lord | |
And a royal diadem in the hand of the Law. | |
The wilderness and the solitary place | |
Shall be glad for them, | |
And the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. | |
It shall blossom abundantly, | |
And rejoice even with joy and singing. | |
The eyes of the blind shall be opened, | |
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped | |
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart | |
And the tongue of the dumb shall sing | |
For in the wilderness shall waters break out, | |
And flowing streams in the desert. | |
And the parched ground shall become a pool, | |
And the thirsty land springs of water. | |
And an highway shall be there, and a way, | |
And it shall be called the Way of the Law: | |
The unclean shall not pass over it, | |
But it shall be for the Children of Light | |
To cross over the Eternal River unto the hidden place | |
Where standeth the Tree of Life. | |
And the children of men shall return to the earth, | |
And come unto the Infinite Garden | |
With songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: | |
They shall obtain joy and gladness, | |
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away, | |
And it shall come to pass in the last days, | |
That the mountain of the Lord's house | |
Shall be established in the top of the mountains, | |
And shall be exalted above the hills; | |
And all the sons of men of the earth shall flow unto it. | |
And many people shall go and say, | |
‘Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, | |
To the tabernacle of the Holy Law, | |
And the Holy Angels will teach us | |
of the ways of the Heavenly Father | |
And the Earthly Mother, | |
And we will walk in the paths of the righteous: | |
For out of the Garden of the Brotherhood | |
Shall go forth the Law, | |
And the word of the Lord from the Children of Light. | |
And the Lord shall judge among the nations, | |
And shall rebuke many people: | |
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, | |
And their spears into pruninghooks: | |
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, | |
Neither shall they learn war any more. | |
Hear the voices of the Brothers, | |
Which cry aloud in the wilderness: | |
Prepare ye the way of the Law! | |
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God! | |
Every valley shall be exalted, | |
And every mountain and hill shall be made low: | |
And the croz)ked shall be made straight, | |
And the rough places plain: | |
And the voice of the Heavenly Father shall be heard: | |
1, even I, am the Law; and beside me there is no other. | |
Yea, before the day was I am he: | |
And there is none that can deliver out of my hand. | |
Hearken unto me, O Children of Light! | |
I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. | |
Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, | |
And my right hand hath spanned the heavens. | |
Hearken unto me, O Children of Light! | |
Ye that know righteousness, | |
My children in whose hearts is my Law: | |
Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: | |
The mountains and the hills | |
Shall break forth before you into singing, | |
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. | |
Arise, shine, O Children of Light! | |
For my Light is come upon thee, | |
And thou shalt make the Glory of the Law | |
To rise upon the new earth! | |