Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts for Friday of the Fifth Week of the Great Fast

LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS

At Psalm 140

In Tone 6

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

Departing from Your divine precepts as from Jerusalem,
and going down to the passions of Jericho,
travelling by way of the cares of this life
on the pathways of dishonour,
I fell prey to the thievery of thoughts;
they stripped me of my noble garment,
which You gave me by the grace of adoption.
I was left half-dead and covered with wounds;
a priest passed by and saw my misfortune, but he paid no attention;
a Levite felt nothing but disgust, and so he turned away from me;
but You, O Lord, who were born ineffably from the Virgin,
You poured as oil and wine,
the blood and water which flowed freely from Your life-giving side,
to dress and bind up my wounds.
In Your compassionate love, O Christ our God,
grant me a place in Your Kingdom.

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

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.

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

Gabriel stood in your presence, O holy Virgin,
and revealed the pre-eternal plan to you.
He greeted you and announced:
Rejoice, O earth that had not been sown!
Rejoice, O burning bush that was not consumed!
Rejoice, O unsearchable depth!
Rejoice, O bridge which leads to heaven;
O high ladder which Jacob saw!
Rejoice, O vessel of divine manna!
Rejoice, O invocation of Adam!
The Lord is with you.

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

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

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

The blameless Maiden said to the captain of the heavenly hosts:
You appear to me as a mortal,
and your words go beyond human thought.
You have said that God is with me,
and that He shall take up abode in my womb.
Tell me then, how am I to become a holy temple for the infinite One,
the Lord who rides on the Cherubim?
Do not mislead me with deceit,
for I have known no pleasure and have not approached wedlock.
Therefore, how shall I give birth to a child?

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

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

The Archangel then said to her:
Whenever God wills, the order of nature is overcome,
and that which is beyond human power is accomplished.
Therefore, O most pure and ever-holy One, believe my true words.
She then cried out, saying:
Let it now be done to me according to you word,
and I will give birth to the One who is without flesh.
He will take flesh from me,
so that by the union He may raise the human race to the original dignity,
for He alone is all-powerful.

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

In Tone 2, Glory… Now…

That mystery which is from all eternity
is being revealed today.
The Son of God becomes the Son of Man.
He accepted the lowliest in order to give us the highest.
In times of old, Adam was deceived;
he desired to become like God and did not.
Now God becomes human that He may make Adam God.
Let all creation be happy:
let nature dance with joy
because the Archangel stands in awe before the Virgin and greets her.
He brings the greeting which changes our grief into joy.
Through the mercy of Your compassion, You became incarnate;
O our God, glory to You!

Prokeimenon I, Tone 4
The Lord is compassion and love,* slow to anger and rich in mercy.
verse: My soul, give thanks to the Lord; all my being, bless His holy name.

Reading
Genesis 22:1-18
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham! Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your beloved son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains I tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey; and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split firewood for the whole burnt offering, and arose and went to the place God told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. Thus Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

So Abraham took the firewood of the whole burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. Then he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. Then Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the firewood, but where is the sheep for a whole burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the sheep for a whole burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. They came to the place where God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the firewood in order; and he bound Isaac his son hand and foot and laid him on the altar, upon the firewood.

Then Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” He then replied, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him, for now I know you fear God, since for My sake you have not spared your beloved son.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him a ram was caught in a thicket by its horns. So he brought it for a whole burnt offering in the place of his son. Thus Abraham called the name of the place The-Lord-Has-Appeared; as it is said to this day, “In the mountain the Lord was seen.” Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you did this thing, and for My sake did not spare your beloved son, I will certainly bless you, and assuredly multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore; and your seed shall inherit the cities of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you obeyed My voice.”

Prokeimenon II, Tone 4
How great are Your works, O Lord;* You have made all things in wisdom.
verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are exceedingly great.

Reading II
Proverbs 17:17-18:5
Why do goods belong to a man without discernment?
For a heartless man is unable to gain wisdom.
He who makes his own house lofty seeks destruction,
And the one who turns away from learning will fall into evils.
Let a friend be with you on every occasion,
And let brethren be useful in necessities,
For they are begotten for this reason.
A man without discernment applauds and rejoices over himself,
As also the one who gives himself as surety for his friend.
He who loves sin rejoices in quarrels,
And the hard-hearted man does not assemble with good men.
A changeable man will fall into evils with his tongue,
And a heart without discernment is grief to the one possessing it.
A father does not delight in an uninstructed son;
But a son with discernment gladdens his mother.
A cheerful heart makes a man healthy,
But the bones of a sorrowful man dry him up.
The ways of a man who receives gifts unrighteously do not prosper,
And the ungodly man shuns the ways of righteousness.
The face of a wise man shows understanding,
But the eyes of the man without discernment are upon the ends of the earth.
A son without discernment is wrath to a father
And grief to her who bore him.
It is not good to punish a righteous man,
Nor is it holy to plot against righteous princes.
He who refrains from uttering a harsh word is intelligent,
And a longsuffering man has discernment.
Wisdom shall be imputed to a man without understanding who asks for wisdom,
And anyone who holds his peace will seem to have discernment.
A man seeks a pretext when he wishes to separate from his friends,
But he shall be reproached at every opportunity.
A man lacking understanding has no need of wisdom,
For he is rather led by lack of discernment.
When an ungodly man comes into the depth of evil things, he acts contemptuously,
But dishonor and reproach come upon him.
A word in the heart of a man is deep water,
And a river and a fountain of life spring up from it.
It is not good to admire the person of the ungodly,
Nor is it holy to pervert righteousness in judgment.