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

LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS

At Psalm 140

In Tone 8

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

Having come to the end of the forty days,
we beseech You, O Lord and Lover of humankind:
May we also behold the holy week of Your passion,
and glorify in it Your lofty deeds
and Your ineffable work of salvation,
as we sing with one voice:
O Lord, glory to You.

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!

O martyrs of the Lord,
we entreat you to beseech our God,
and ask great mercy for our souls
and forgiveness of our many offences.

In Tone 6

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

Desiring to see the tomb of Lazarus, O Lord,
since You were soon going to dwell willingly in the tomb,
You asked: Where have you placed him?
And, when You learned that which You already knew,
You called to the one whom You loved:
Lazarus, come forth from the tomb!
And Death obeyed the Giver of life,
the Saviour of our souls.

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.

Having arrived at the tomb of Lazarus on the fourth day,
You wept for Your friend, O Lord.
You gave life to the one who had been dead four days;
Death was bound up by Your voice,
and the grave-clothes were unbound by Your hands.
Therefore, the company of apostles were filled with joy,
and all the choirs sang with one voice:
Blessed are You, O Saviour; have mercy on us.

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

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

The kingdom of Hades was demolished at the sound of You voice, O Lord;
Your powerful word awakened from the tomb one who had been dead for days.
Lazarus becomes a saving prelude of our regeneration.
Nothing is impossible for the King of the universe;
O Lord, grant to Your servants forgiveness and great mercy.

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

Desiring to assure Your disciples of Your own Resurrection from the dead,
You came to the tomb of Lazarus.
And when You called him, Hades was despoiled,
and it gave up the one who had been dead four days;
and he cried out to You, O Saviour:
Blessed are You, O Lord, glory to You!

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

Taking Your disciples with You, O Lord,
You came to Bethany to awaken Lazarus from the dead;
and, weeping over him in accordance with your human nature,
as God, You raised the one who had been dead four days;
and he cried out to You, O Saviour:
Blessed are You, O Lord, glory to You!

In Tone 8, Glory…

You have come to the tomb of Lazarus, O Lord,
and You called the dead one to awaken as from his sleep.
He shook off the dust of the tomb at Your immortal words;
and, still bound by the grave-clothes,
he came forth at the sound of Your voice.
For You have power and lordship over all things,
and You are the Master of the whole world, O Lover of humankind:
O Lord, glory to You.

Now…

Having come to the end of the forty days, we cry out:
Rejoice, O city of Bethany, the home of Lazarus.
Rejoice, Martha and Mary, for Christ shall come to you tomorrow;
by His word, He shall give life to your departed brother.
Hearing His voice, the cruel and insatiable Hades will give up Lazarus after four days.
Struck with admiration, the Hebrew people will carry palms and branches,
and they shall go before Him.
The children shall praise the One whom their parents looked upon with envy:
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!

Prokeimenon I, Tone 6
Our help is in the name of the Lord,* who made heaven and earth.
verse: “If the Lord had not been on our side,” this is the song of Israel.

Reading I
Genesis 49:33-50:26
When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was added to his people. Now Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him, and kissed him. Then Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. So when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the princes of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found grace in your sight, speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, in the grave I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’” Then Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.” So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their sheep and oxen they left in the land of Goshen. There also went up with him both chariots and horses, and it was a very great gathering. Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father.

So when the inhabitants of the land of Canaan saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called the Mourning of Egypt, which is beyond the Jordan. Thus his sons did for him just as he commanded them. For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, opposite Mamre, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. After he buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father. When Joseph’s brothers saw their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil we did to him.” So they came to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “I beg you, forgive the injustice of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.’ “ Now, forgive the injustice of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

So Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for I belong to God. But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your households.” Thus he comforted them and spoke to their heart. So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his brothers. Then Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation and the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph’s knees. Then Joseph said to his brethren, “I am about to die; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land God swore to our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Thus Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and put him in a coffin in Egypt.

Prokeimenon II, Tone 4
Those who put their trust in the Lord* are like Mount Sion.
verse: They cannot be shaken, for it stands unmoved forever.

Reading II
Proverbs 31:8-31
Open your mouth for the word of God,
And judge all men fairly;
Open your mouth and judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and helpless.
Who will find a courageous wife?
For such a one is more valuable than precious stones.
The heart of her husband trusts in her;
She will not be at a loss for fine spoils,
For she provides good things for her husband all her life.
She weaves wool and linen cloth
And is productive with her hands.
She is like a ship trading afar off,
So she procures her livelihood.
She also rises before dawn
And gives food to her household,
And appoints tasks for her maidservants.
Seeing a farm, she buys it,
And from the fruits of her hands she plants her plot of land.
Strongly girding her loins,
She strengthens her arms for work.
She experiences work as a good thing,
And her lamp is not quenched all night.
She extends her arms to do profitable things,
And she applies her hands to the spindle.
She opens her hands to the poor
And reaches out with her fruit to the needy.
Her husband is not anxious about those at home
When he spends a long time elsewhere,
For all her household are clothed.
She makes a double upper garment for her husband
And garments of fine linen and purple for herself.
Her husband is respected at the gates
And when he sits in council with the elders who inhabit the land.
She makes and sells fine linens
And girdles to the Canaanites.
She opens her mouth carefully and lawfully
And controls her tongue.
She clothes herself with strength and dignity
And rejoices in the last days.
She runs her household carefully,
And she does not eat the bread of idleness.
She opens her mouth wisely and lawfully,
And her charity raises her children, and they become rich,
And her husband praises her,
“Many daughters acquire riches; many do mighty things,
But you excel and surpass all.”
Desires to please are deceitful, and the beauty of a wife is vain;
For a wise wife is blessed,
And let her in fear praise the Lord.
Give to her from the fruits of her hands,
And let her husband praise her at the gates.