LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS

At Psalm 140

In Tone 7

  1. Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.

I have enslaved the dignity of my soul to the passions,
and have become like the beasts;
I can no longer raise my eyes to You, O God most high.
But, like the Publican I bow to the earth,
and I cry to You in supplication:
Forgive me, O Lord, and save me.

  1. The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.

I have enslaved the dignity of my soul to the passions,
and have become like the beasts;
I can no longer raise my eyes to You, O God most high.
But, like the Publican I bow to the earth,
and I cry to You in supplication:
Forgive me, O Lord, and save me.

In Tone 6

  1. Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!

Your martyrs did not reject You,
nor did they renounce Your commandments.
Through their prayers, have mercy on us!

  1. Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.

Your martyrs, O Christ,
have endured many sufferings for Your sake,
and have received their heavenly crowns.
Now they intercede for our souls.

  1. If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.

The suffering martyrs, citizens of heaven,
when taking part in the contest upon earth,
endured manifold torments.
By their intercessions and prayers, preserve us, O Lord.

  1. I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.

Your Cross, O Christ, has been an invincible weapon for the martyrs;
for beholding the approach of death
and foreseeing the future life,
they were made strong by the hope that lies in You.
By their intercession, have mercy on us!

In Tone 1

  1. From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.

Let us in faith raise a magnificent song as is fitting
to the all-praised Codratus and the great Cyprian,
with the two named Dionysius and Anectus,
together with Crescens and the glorious Paul!
They are divinely crowned athletes of the Lord
and our most fervent intercessors!

  1. For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

Let us in faith raise a magnificent song as is fitting
to the all-praised Codratus and the great Cyprian,
with the two named Dionysius and Anectus,
together with Crescens and the glorious Paul!
They are divinely crowned athletes of the Lord
and our most fervent intercessors!

  1. Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.

Today another choir of holy martyrs appears: victorious and triumphant!
A brilliant assembly of divine passion-bearers,
a steadfast regiment, a chosen army!
Codratus is its captain.
He is revealed as an all-glorious conqueror!

  1. Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.

All-praised Codratus, with your cutting words
you slashed through the twisted webs of the philosophers’ wisdom like fog!
You taught in faith and suffered in patience for Christ.
Well-adorned in both teaching and suffering,
you have been crowned with the passion bearers!

In Tone 6, Glory…

Your creating command was my origin and formation,
for You willed to fashion me, a living creature,
out of visible and invisible nature.
From the earth You formed my body
and gave me a soul by Your divine and life-creating breath.
Therefore, O Christ, give rest to Your servant in the place of the living,
in the abodes of the just.

Now…

Who would not call you blessed, O Virgin most holy?
Who would not sing a hymn of praise to the glory of your giving birth without pain or travail?
The only-begotten Son Himself,
begotten of the Father before all ages,
was made flesh out of you in a manner that cannot be explained, O Woman most pure!
And for our sake He who is God by nature assumed the nature of man.
He is not divided into two persons;
He is understood to have two natures without commixion or confusion.
O noble and blessed Woman,
intercede with Him that He may have mercy on our souls.

Prokeimenon I, Tone 6
O Shepherd of Israel, hear us,* You who lead Joseph’s flock.
verse: Shine forth from Your Cherubim throne.

Reading I
Genesis 12:1-7
The Lord said to Abram, “Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house, to a land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you; and in you all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.” Then Abram departed as the Lord said to him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he de-parted from Haran. So Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son and all their possessions and every soul they acquired in Haran, and they departed for the land of Canaan. Thus they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your seed I will give this land.” And there Abram built an altar to the Lord, who appeared to him.

Prokeimenon II, Tone 4
Ring out your joy to God, our strength,* shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.
verse: Raise a song and sound the timbrel, the sweet-sounding harp and lute.

Reading II
Proverbs 14:15-26
A simple man believes in every word,
But an astute man comes to repentance.
A wise man fears and turns away from evil,
But a man without discernment persuades himself to mingle with a lawless man.
A quick-tempered man acts with recklessness,
But a man with discernment bears many things.
Men without discernment will share in evil,
But the astute will take hold of perception.
Evil men will slip and fall in the presence of good men,
And the ungodly shall serve at the gate of the righteous.
Friends will hate poor friends,
But the friends of the rich are many.
He who dishonors the poor sins,
But he who has mercy on the poor is very blessed.
Deceivers devise evil things,
But good men devise mercy and truth.
Devisers of evil things do not understand mercy and faithfulness,
But mercies and faithfulness are with devisers of good things.
To everyone who is careful there is an abundance,
But he who is pleasure-taking and slothful shall be in want.
The crown of the wise is astuteness,
But the pastime of the undiscerning is evil.
A faithful witness will rescue a soul from evil men,
But a deceitful man kindles lies.

Epistle
Hebrews 12:1-10
Brethren, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

Gospel
Matthew 20:1-16
The Lord told this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’

“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”