The Ninth Hour (3:00 p.m.)
Reader: Come, let us worship God, our King!
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King
and our God!
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself,
our King and our God!
Psalm 83
How beloved are Your temples,
Lord of hosts!
My soul longs and pines for
the courts of the Lord,
my heart and my flesh rejoice
in the Living God.
For even a sparrow finds
herself a house
and the turtle-dove a nest
for herself
Where she may lay her young -
Your altars, Lord of Hosts,
my King and my God.
Blessed are those who live in
Your house!
They will praise You to the
ages of ages.
Blessed is the one whose help
is from You!
He has arranged in his heart
steps of ascent
In the valley of weeping,
in the place He has made.
For the Lawgiver also will
give blessings.
They will go from strength to
strength; The God of gods will be seen in Zion.
Lord God of hosts, hear my
prayer;
give ear, God of Jacob.
See, O God, our Protector,
and look upon the face of
Your Christ.
For one day in Your courts is
better
than thousands elsewhere.
I would choose to be cast
aside in the house of my God
rather than live in the tents
of sinners.
For the Lord loves mercy and
truth;
God will give grace and
glory:
The Lord will not withhold
good things
from those who walk in
innocence.
Lord God of hosts,
blessed is the one who hopes
in You.
Psalm 84
Lord, You have been gracious to Your land,
You have brought back the captives of Jacob.
You have forgiven the
lawlessness of Your people, You have covered all their sins.
You have put a stop to
all Your anger,
You have turned away
from the heat of Your anger.
God of our salvation,
convert us,
and turn away Your fury
from us.
Will You be angry with
us forever,
or prolong Your anger
from generation to generation?
O God, You will convert
and revive us,
and Your people will
rejoice in You.
Lord, show us Your mercy
and grant us Your
salvation.
I will hear what the
Lord God will say in me,
for He will speak peace
to His people and to His saints and to those who turn their heart to Him.
But His salvation is
near those who fear Him, that His Glory may settle in our land.
Mercy and truth have met
together,
justice and peace have
kissed each other.
Truth has sprung up from
the earth
and justice has looked
through from heaven.
For the Lord will give
goodness,
and our land will give
her fruit.
Righteousness will go
before Him
and will set His
footsteps on the way.
Psalm 85
Lord, incline Your ear, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Guard my soul, for I am
holy;
my God, save Your
servant who hopes in You.
Lord, have mercy on me,
for all day long I will
call to You.
Gladden the soul of Your
servant,
for to You, Lord, I lift
up my soul.
For You, Lord, are good
and gentle,
and most merciful to all
who call upon You.
Lord, give ear to my
prayer,
and attend to the cry of
my need.
In the day of my trouble
I will call to You,
because You will answer
me.
Lord, there is no one
like You among the gods,
and there are no works
like Yours.
Lord, all the nations
You have made will come and worship You,
and will glorify Your
name.
For You are great and do
wonderful things,
You, alone, are God.
Lord, guide me in Your
way,
and I will walk in Your
truth.
Let my heart rejoice to
fear Your name.
I will thank You, Lord
my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name to the ages.
For great is Your mercy
to me,
and you have delivered
my soul from the lowest Hades.
O God, lawbreakers have
risen against me,
and a mob of strong ones
have tried to take my life and have not set You before them.
But You, Lord my God,
are compassionate and merciful,
most patient, most
merciful and true.
Look upon me and have
mercy on me;
give Your strength to
Your servant and save the son of Your handmaid.
Work with me a miracle
for good and let those who hate me see it and be ashamed,
because You, Lord, have
helped me and comforted me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit,
now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,
glory to You, O God!
(Three times)
Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
Reader: (Chanted
to the tone of the prescribed Troparion:) Glory to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Spirit . . .
Chant the prescribed
troparion. If two or more troparia are
prescribed, then chant the first one before the Glory.
Then the following
Theotokion in the same tone:
Now and
ever and to the ages of ages. Amen . .
.
Lord, for our sake You were born of a Virgin and have
endured crucifixion, trampling Death by death and as God revealing the
Resurrection: Despise not the works of
Your hands, but reveal Your love for humanity, Merciful One. Accept the prayers made on our behalf by the
one who gave You birth, and save Your despairing people, our Savior.
For Your holy name’s sake, do not abandon us forever. Do not annul Your covenant. Do not take Your mercy from us, for the sake
of Abraham Your beloved, and Isaac Your servant, and Israel Your holy one.
Holy God! Holy
Mighty! Holy Immortal! Have mercy on us. (3x)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages.
Amen.
All-Holy Trinity, have mercy on us! Lord, cleanse us from our sins! Master, pardon our transgressions! Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities,
for Your name’s sake!
Lord, have mercy. (3x)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages.
Amen.
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from Evil.
Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages.
Reader: Amen.
Reader: Chants the prescribed Kontakion.
Reader: Lord, have mercy. (40x)
The Prayer of the Hours
At every season and
every hour, in heaven and on earth, You are worshiped and glorified, Christ our
God, long-suffering, merciful, and compassionate. You love the righteous and show mercy to the sinner. You call all to salvation through the
promise of blessings to come: Lord, in
this hour receive our supplications and direct our lives according to Your
commandments. Sanctify our souls,
purify our bodies, correct our thoughts, cleanse our minds; deliver us from all
tribulations, evil, and distress.
Surround us with Your holy angels, that guided and guarded by them, we
may attain unity of the faith and knowledge of Your Unapproachable Glory, for
You are blessed to the ages of ages.
Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (3x)
Glory to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond
compare than the Seraphim, without defilement you gave birth to God the
Word. True Birthgiver-of-God, we
magnify you.
{During the Pascha Season} Shine! Shine! O New Jerusalem! The Glory of the Lord has
shone on you! Exult now and be glad, O
Zion! Be radiant, Pure
Birthgiver-of-God in the Resurrection of your Son!
In the name of the Lord,
Father, bless.
Priest:
(The Priest comes out to the solea before the Royal Doors, vested
only in his Epitrikhilion) May God have compassion on us and bless us, may He manifest His
presence to us and have mercy on us.
Reader: Amen.
The Prayer of the Ninth Hour
Reader: Master and
Lord, Jesus Christ our God: You are long-suffering towards our sins and have
brought us to this present hour, in which, hanging upon the life-creating
Cross, You opened to the Good Thief the way into Paradise, and destroyed Death
by death. Be merciful to us, Your
humble, sinful and unworthy servants.
For we have sinned and transgressed, and we are not worthy to lift up
our eyes and look upon the height of heaven, since we have forsaken the path of
Your righteousness and have walked according to the desires of our own
hearts. But we implore You: Lord, in Your Boundless Goodness, spare us
according to the abundance of Your mercy, and save us for the sake of Your Holy
Name, for our days are consumed in vanity.
Deliver us from the hand of Satan, the Adversary. Forgive us our sins and kill the passions of
the flesh, that putting off the old, we may be clothed with the new, and may
live for You, our Master and Protector; and that so, following Your ordinances,
we may attain eternal rest in the place where all the joyous dwell. For You, Christ our God, are indeed the true
joy and gladness of those who love You, and You we glorify, together with Your
Father Who is without beginning, and Your All-Holy, Good, and Life-Creating
Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages.
Amen.
If
no other service will immediately follow, the Priest pronounces the dismissal,
facing the people, after which he bows to them, and returns to the Sanctuary:
The Dismissal
Priest: Glory to You, Christ,
our God and our hope, glory to You.
People: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now
and ever and to the ages of ages.
Amen. Lord, have mercy
(3x). Father, bless.
{During the Pascha Season} Christ is risen from the
dead, trampling down Death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing
life. Lord, have mercy (3x). Father, bless.
Priest:
Chants the proper Dismissal.
People: Amen.
{During the Pascha Season}
Priest:
Christ is risen! (3x) Õðèñòîñ
âîñêðåñ!
People: Indeed, He is risen! Âî³ñò³íó âîñêðåñ!
All: Christ is risen
from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life! (Three Times)
After the third time, end with this:
And to us He has
granted Life Eternal. Let us venerate
His Third-Day Resurrection!