Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Glory to Thee, O GOD. LORD, have mercy. LORD, have mercy. LORD, have mercy. STASIS II. Psalm 4. When I called, the GoD of my righteousness heard me: Thou hast made room for me in affliction. Compassionate me, and hear my prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will ye be heavy of heart? wherefore do ye love vanity, and seek falsehood? And know ye, that the LORD hath done wondrous-things for His Holyone: the LORD will hear me when I cry to Him. Be ye angry, and sin not; for what ye say in your hearts, feel compunction upon your beds. Offer a sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the LORD. Many say: Who will shew us the Good-things? The Light of Thy Countenance, O LORD, is signed upon us; Thou hast given gladness to my heart. With fruit of their corn, wine, and oil, they are increased. Upon the same I will lay me down in peace, and sleep. Psalm 5. Hearken to my words, O LORD; understand my cry. Attend unto the voice of my prayer, my King and my God. For to Thee, O LORD, will I pray; in the morning Thou shalt hear my voice. In the morning I will stand before Thee, and will look up: for Thou art not a GOD that willest transgression. A worker of evil shall not dwell with Thee; neither shall transgressors continue before Thine Eyes. Thou hatest all them that work transgression; Thou wilt destroy all that speak falsehood. A bloody and deceitful man the LORD abhorreth. But I will enter into Thy House in the fulness of Thy mercy; I will worship in Thy fear toward Thy Holy Temple. Lead me, O LORD, in Thy righteousness; because of mine enemies make my way plain before Thee. For there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is vain. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues have they used deceit judge them, O GOD. Let them fall from their counsels; cast them out according to the funess of their impiety, for they have provoked Thee, O LORD. And all who hope in Thee shall be glad; they shall exult for ever, and Thou shalt dwell in them. And all who love Thy Name shall make their boast in Thee, for Thou shalt bless the righteous. O LORD, Thou hast crowned us as with the armour of good-wil Psalm 6. O LORD, rebuke me not in Thy wrath; neither chastise me in Thine anger. Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am weak; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled, and my soul is troubled exceedingly: and Thou, O LORD, how long? Return, O LORD, deliver my soul; save me, for Thy mercy's sake. For in death no-one remembereth Thee: who will confess to Thee in Hades? I have laboured in my groaning: I shall wash my bed every night; I shall water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is troubled because of wrath; I am become old amongst all mine enemies. Depart from me, all ye that work transgression, for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping. The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD hath accepted my prayer. Let all mine enemies be put to shame, and troubled exceedingly; let them be turned back, and grievously put to shame speedily. Glory to the FATHER, and to the SON, and to the Holy GHOST: Both now, and ever, and to the ages of the ages. Amene. LORD, have mercy. LORD, have mercy. LORD, have mercy. STASIS III. Psalm 7. O LORD MY GOD, in Thee have I trusted: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me. Lest at any time they seize my soul as a lion, while there is none to ransom, or to save. O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there is unrighteousness in my hands: If I have recompensed them that repaid me evils, may I then perish empty by means of mine enemies. Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it; and let him trample down my life on the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Arise, O LORD, in Thine anger; be exalted in the borders of Thine enemies. And awake, O LORD my GOD, according to the decree which Thou commandest, and a congregation of peoples shall encircle Thee. And for this cause do Thou return on high. The LORD shall judge the peoples. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine innocence that is in me. O let the wickedness of sinners come to an end: and Thou shalt direct the righteous, O GOD, Who searcheth hearts and reins. Righteous is my Help, from the GOD Who saveth the upright in heart. GOD is a Righteous Judge, Mighty also, and Long-suffering; and witholdeth anger every day. If ye will not turn, He will whet His sword: He hath bent His bow, and made it ready. And in it He hath made ready the instruments of death; He hath prepared His arrows for the raging-ones. Behold, he hath travailed with unrighteousness; he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth transgression. He hath opened a pit and dug it up: and he shall fall into the ditch which he hath made. His sorrow shall return on his own head; and his unrighteousness shall come down upon his own pate. I will confess unto the LORD according to His Righteousness; and I will sing to the Name of the LORD Most-High. Psalm 8. O LORD our LORD, how wonderful is Thy Name in all the earth. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou perfected praise, because of Thine enemies, that Thou mightest put down enemy and avenger. For I will look at the Heavens, works of Thy Fingers; the moon and stars, which Thou hast founded. What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little less than Angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour; and Thou hast set him over the works of Thy Hands. Thou hast put all-things under his feet: all sheep and oxen; nay more, the beasts also of the plain. The fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea; whatsoever passeth through paths of seas. O LORD our LORD, how wonderful is Thy Name in all the earth. Glory to Thee, O GOD. Deacon. Again and again in peace, of the LORD let us pray. Choir. LORD, have mercy. Deacon. Help, save, have mercy, and guard us, O God, by Thy Grace. Choir. LORD, have mercy. Deacon. Commemorating our Mistress, the all-Holy, spotless, mostblessed, and glorious Theotokos and ever-Virgin Mary, with all the Saints: let us commend ourselves and each other, and all our life, to CHRIST, the GOD. Choir. To Thee, O LORD. Priest. For Thine is the Strength, and of Thee is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, of the FATHER, and of the SON, and of the Holy GHOST, now, and ever, and to the ages of the ages. Choir. Amene. While the following Psalms and Stichera are being read, the Deacon, having silently asked for, and received, the Priest's Blessing on the Incense, censes the Holy-place, and the whole Temple. * See Note at foot of page 4. Psalm 140. Reader. LORD, I have cried unto Thee, hear me; hear me, O LORD. LORD, I have cried unto Thee, hear me; attend to the voice of my prayer when I cry unto Thee: hear me, O LORD. Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense; the lifting-up of my hands as an evening sacrifice: hear me, O Lord. Set a guard, O LORD, to my mouth; and a door of defence about my lips. Incline not my heart to evil words, to pretend pretences in sins. With men who work transgression: and let me not unite with their chosen-ones. The righteous shall chastise me in mercy, and shall reprove me; but let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head. For yet also shall my prayer be in their good-will: their judges have been swallowed up beneath a rock. They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed: like as a lump of earth is crushed upon the earth, our bones have been scattered beside Hades. For to Thee, LORD, LORD, are mine eyes; upon Thee have I hoped: 0 take not away my soul. Keep me from the snare which they have set for me; and from the scandals of them that work transgression. The sinners shall fall into their own net: I am alone, until I escape. Psalm 141. I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice did I make my prayer unto the LORD. I will pour out my prayer before Him; I will declare before Him mine affliction. When my spirit was fainting within me, then Thou knewest my paths. In this way wherein I walked, they hid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no-one that would know me. Refuge fled from me; and there was none that cared for my soul. I cried unto Thee, O LORD; I said: Thou art my Hope, my Portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my prayer, for I am humbled exceedingly. Deliver me from them that persecute me, for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may confess unto Thy Name. [Stichera of the Resurrection. Tone 1.* I. Our evening prayers receive, O Holy LORD, and grant us forgiveness of sins: for it is Thou, Only, Who hast shewn, in the world, the Resurrection. The righteous shall wait for me, until Thou recompense me. *In the absence of the intermediate Tones, the above may be said, for convenience, in place of Tones 2, 3, and 4; and the following in place of Tones 6, 7, and 8. Stichera of the Resurrection. Tone 5. I. By Thine honourable Cross, O CHRIST, Thou hast shamed the devil, and by Thy Resurrection hast blunted the point of sin, and saved us from the gates of death. We Glorify Thee, Only-Begotten. The righteous shall wait for me, until Thou recompense me. II. Encircle Sion, O ye peoples, and encompass her, and give glory in her for the Resurrection from the dead: for He is our GOD, Who hath redeemed us from our transgressions. Psalm 129. Out of depths have I cried unto Thee, O LORD: LORD, hear my voice. III. O come, ye peoples, let us hymn and worship CHRIST, glorifying His Resurrection from the dead: for He is our God, Who hath redeemed the world from the wandering of the enemy. O let Thine Ears be attentive unto the voice of my prayer. Stichera of the Elevation. Tone 1. I. Be glad, ye Heavens; leap, ye foundations of the earth; cry aloud, ye mountains, with gladness: for behold, EMMANUEL, as Lover-of-men, hath nailed to the Cross our sins; and He, Who giveth life, hath slain death, raising up Adam. If Thou, O LORD, wilt mark transgressions, O LORD, who shall stand? for with Thee is propitiation. II. Him, Who in the Flesh, of His own free-will, was Crucified for us, Suffered, and was Buried, and Rose-again from the dead, let us hymn, saying: Establish the Orthodoxy of Thy Church, O CHRIST; and give peace in our life, as Good, and Lover-of-men. For Thy Name's sake have I waited for Thee, O LORD; my soul hath waited for Thy Word: my soul hath hoped in the LORD. II. As a sheep to the slaughter wast Thou led, that Thou mightest give to the race of men the Resurrection: the princes of Hades were afraid of Him, and the lofty gates were distressed: for CHRIST, the King of Glory entered in, saying unto those in chains, Go forth; and to those in darkness, Enter into light. Psalm 129. Out of depths have I cried unto Thee, O LORD: LORD, hear my voice. III. O great wonder! He, Who is Creator of the invisible, through Love-to-men hath Suffered in the Flesh, and hath Risen Immortal. O come, ye lineage of the nations, let us adore Him: for, by His tenderness-of-heart, we, being delivered from wandering, intelligently hymn One GOD in Three Persons. O let Thine Ears be attentive unto the voice of my prayer. Stichera of the Elevation. Tone 5. I. The evening worship we offer to Thee, O Unfading Light: Who, in the end of the ages, through the Flesh, as in a mirror, hast appeared unto the world; and didst descend into Hades, and there dispersedst the darkness; and didst shew unto the nations the Light of the Resurrection. O Light-giving LORD, Glory to Thee. If Thou, O LORD, wilt mark transgressions, O LORD, who shall stand? for with Thee is propitiation. II. Let us Glorify CHRIST, the Head of our Salvation: for He hath Risen from the dead; saved the world from wandering; rejoiced the Choir of Angels; banished the wandering of demons: the fall of Adam He hath raised up, overcoming the devil. For Thy Name's sake have I waited for Thee, O LORD; my soul hath |