Wednesday of the Fourth Week of the Great Fast
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
At Psalm 140
In Tone 4
10. The Fast that brings integrity has now run half its course.
These past days have proved acceptable,
and now we see the need of the days to come.
Our perception of their value will make them yield more abundant fruit.
Therefore, let us beseech Christ our Benefactor
who fasted and endured the Cross for us:
Grant that we might share in Your divine Pascha without condemnation
and pass our lives in peace,
worthily glorifying You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In Tone 5
9. Those who do good deeds in secret
and receive a spiritual reward,
do not boast in public about their deeds,
but they carry them in their hearts;
and He who sees the secret deeds of all
grants us the reward of self-control.
Let us then complete this Great Fast without putting on a gloomy face;
but while praying in the secrecy of our souls,
let us cry out unceasingly:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
lead us not into temptation, we pray,
but deliver us from evil.
8. With your souls filled with unquenchable love, O holy martyrs,
you endured the most terrible sufferings without ever denying Christ;
and you laid low the impudence of the torturers.
You kept the faith unwavering and unharmed
and have gone to dwell in heaven.
Therefore, having the boldness to approach the Lord,
beg Him to grant us His great mercy.
In Tone 1
7. Let us all wash our souls in the water of the Fast
and approach the precious and all-praiseworthy Cross of the Lord.
Let us faithfully bow to it,
drawing divine illumination from it
and reaping the fruit of eternal salvation,
which is peace and great mercy.
6. O precious Cross, the boldness of the apostles,
You are revered by the Archangels, Powers and Principalities.
Save from all evil those who bow before You,
and make us worthy to pass through the course of the Fast in a holy way,
that we may see Your salvation and holy Resurrection.
In Tone 7
5. Bowing before the Cross of the Lord on this day, let us sing:
Rejoice, O Tree of Life;
You are the joy of the world who destroy Hades and Death;
Your strength puts the demons to flight.
You are the invincible weapon and support of believers;
preserve and sanctify those who bow before You.
In Tone 4
4. You were unvanquished martyrs,
heavenly-minded fathers!
All-praised hierarchs and beacons of the universe,
immovable pillars of the church of God,
and a foundation of its teachings,
instructors of the righteous and destroyers of falsehood,
light-bearing guides for our souls,
fellow citizens with the angels,
and champions of the Trinity!
3. You were unvanquished martyrs,
heavenly-minded fathers!
All-praised hierarchs and beacons of the universe,
immovable pillars of the church of God,
and a foundation of its teachings,
instructors of the righteous and destroyers of falsehood,
light-bearing guides for our souls,
fellow citizens with the angels,
and champions of the Trinity!
2. Let the glorious Ephrem be blessed with divine speeches
together with the divinely wise Basil,
the great Capiton, the godly Agathadorus,
Elpidius, Etherius and the glorious Eugene:
For they lived righteously and suffered in a holy way.
They were revealed to be inhabitants of the Kingdom of heaven!
1. Having slain fleshly knowledge with ascetic labours,
by invoking the name of God,
the glorious Basil raised up a man from the dead!
The most holy shepherd, Capiton,
was seen unconsumed while he stood and rejoiced in the midst of the fire!
By their supplications, Lover of mankind,
grant us the means of atonement and Your great mercy!
In Tone 8, Glory… Now…
Today the inaccessible Lord draws me close to Him.
He endures His Passion to free me from my passions.
He who gives light to the blind, receives spitting from impure lips
and permits Himself to be scourged to save the captives.
When His Mother, the Virgin, saw Him on the Cross, she sighed and said:
Alas, O my beloved Child!
You surpass every mortal in beauty; yet You are now without charm or attraction,
having neither grace, nor form, nor life.
Alas! O Light of my eyes,
a sword pierces my hear, and I suffer inwardly to see You so.
I sing and praise Your Passion,
I venerate Your infinite mercy,
O long-suffering Lord, glory to You.
Prokeimenon I, Tone 4
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,* who alone does wondrous things.
verse: O God, give Your judgment to the king, and to the king’s son Your justice.
Reading I (Genesis 9:18-10:1)
The sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said: “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren.” And he said: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; and may Canaan be his servant.” And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died. Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood.
Prokeimenon II, Tone 4
To be near God is my happiness.* I have made the Lord God my refuge.
verse: How good God is to Israel, to those who are pure of heart.
Reading II (Proverbs 12:23-13:9)
A prudent man conceals knowledge,
But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.
The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labour.
Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression,
But a good word makes it glad.
The righteous should choose his friends carefully,
For the way of the wicked leads them astray.
The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting,
But diligence is man’s precious possession.
In the way of righteousness is life,
And in its pathway there is no death.
A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.
He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.
The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
A righteous man hates lying,
But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.
Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
But wickedness overthrows the sinner.
There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.
The ransom of a man’s life is his riches,
But the poor does not hear rebuke.
The light of the righteous rejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
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