Praise for the Divine presence (Sir 43:27-43:33)

“We could say more.

But we could never say enough.

Let the final word be.

‘He is the all.’

Where can we find the strength

To praise him?

He is greater

Than all his works.

Awesome is the Lord.

He is very great.

His power is marvelous.

Glorify the Lord!

Exalt him as much as you can!

He surpasses even that.

When you exalt him,

Summon all your strength.

Do not grow weary!

You cannot praise him enough.

Who has seen him?

Who can describe him?

Who can extol him as he is?

Many things greater

Than these lie hidden.

I have seen

But a few of his works.

The Lord has made all things.

To the godly,

He has given wisdom.”

Sirach assumes the first person plural saying that he or we could say more, but it would never be enough. In fact, Sirach is very close to a pantheistic view when he maintains that the Lord is all things. However, he quickly corrects himself when he says that the Lord is greater than all his works, separating him from his creation. The Lord is awesome, very great, marvelous, and powerful. Where do we get the strength to praise the Lord? We should glorify him and exalt him as much as we can. We should not grow weary because we can never praise God enough. Nobody has seen him or described him. How can we extol him enough? Sirach has related what he has seen, but there are many more hidden things about the Lord, since he is the creator of all things. Luckily, he has given wisdom to the godly, so that they will experience a few of these marvels of the Lord.

The Lord’s creation (Sir 16:26-16:30)

“The Lord created his works

From the beginning.

When he made them,

He determined their boundaries.

He arranged his works

In an eternal order.

Their dominion was

For all generations.

They are neither hungry

Nor growing weary.

They do not abandon their tasks.

They do not crowd one another.

They never disobey his word.

The Lord looked upon the earth.

He filled it with his good things.

With all kinds of living beings

He covered its surface.

In to it

They must return.”

Sirach’s concept of creation was as a developed static work. The Lord determined the eternal boundaries of all the created things on earth. Thus there was the domination of certain species over others. Nature does not grow weary or hungry. The things of the earth do not abandon their tasks nor crowd each other out. They never disobey the Lord. He has filled this earth with good living things. However, all these living things will return to the earthly surface since they are not individually eternal.