Chapter 7

The Ninth Hour

THE NINTH HOUR*

Priest Blessed is our God always, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.

And We. Amen.

Glory to thee, O our God ; glory to thee.

O heavenly King, the Comforter, Spirit of Truth, who art in all places, and fillest all things ; Treasury of good things and Giver of life : Come, and take up thine abode in us, and cleanse us from every stain ; and save our souls, O Good One.

O Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us. {Thrice.)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O all-holy Trinity, have mercy upon us. O Lord, wash away our sins, O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for thy Name’s sake.

Lord, have mercy. {Thrice.)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto 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 the Evil One:

Priest. For thine is the ^kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Reader. Amen.

Lord, have mercy. {Twelve times.)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O come, let us worship God our King. O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and our God. O come, let us worship and fall down before the Very Christ, our King and our God. {Three reverences.)

Psalm lxxxiv.

O how amiable are thy dwellings, thou Lord of hosts ! My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord ; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, and the swallow a nest, where she may lay her young ; even thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they that

* See Appendix B, IIL

dwell in thy house ; they will be alway praising thee Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee ; in whose heart are thy ways. Who going through the vale of misery use it for a well ; and the pools are filled with water. They will go from strength to strength, and unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Sion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer ; hearken, O God of Jacob. Behold, O God our defender, and look upon the face of thine Anointed For one day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness. For the Lord God is a light and defence ; the Lord will give grace and worship; and no good thing shall he withhold from them that live a godly life. O Lord God of hosts, blessed is the man that .putteth his trust in thee.

Psalm lxxxv.

Lord, thou art become gracious unto thy land ; thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the offence of thy people, and covered all their sins. Thou hast taken away all thy displeasure, and turned thyself from thy wrathful indignation. Turn us then, O God our Saviour, and let thine anger cease from us. Wilt thou be displeased at us for ever? and wilt thou stretch out thy wrath from one generation to another ? Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us, that thy people may rejoice in thee ? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation. I will hearken what the Lord God will say concerning me ; for he shall speak peace unto his people, and to his saints, that they turn not again. For his salvation is nigh them that fear him ; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall flourish out of the earth, and righteousness hath looked down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall show loving-kindness ; and our land shall give her increase. Righteousness shall go before him ; and he shall direct his going in the way.

Psalm lxxxvi.

Bow down thine ear, O Lord, and hear me ; for I am poor, and in misery. Preserve thou my soul, for I am holy : my God, save thy servant that putteth his trust in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord ; for I will call daily upon thee. Comfort the soul of thy servant ; for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art good and gracious, and of great mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, Lord, unto my prayer, and ponder the voice of my humble desires. In the time of my trouble I will call upon thee; for thou hearest me. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord ; there is not one that can do as thou doest. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship thee, O Lord ; and shall glorify thy Name. For thou art great and doest wondrous things ; thou art God alone. Teach me

thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth : O knit my heart unto thee, that I may fear thy Name. I will thank thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart ; and will praise thy Name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me; and thou hast delivered my soul from the nethermost hell O God, the proud are risen against me : and the congregations of naughty men have sought after my soul, and have not set thee before their eyes. But thou, O Lord God, art full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering, plenteous in goodness and truth. O turn thee then unto me, and have mercy upon me: give thy strength unto thy servant, and help the son of thine handmaid. Show some token upon me for good ; that they who hate me may see it, and be ashamed, because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me. And again: Show some token upon me for good ; that they who hate me may see it, and be ashamed, because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ; glory to thee, O God. ( Thrice.)

Lord, have mercy. {Thrice.)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit

And we read the Hymn for the Day (Tropdr). But if it be the Great Fast {Lent), this Hymn, in Tone VIIL, is used:

O thou who, at the Ninth Hour, for our sake didst taste of death in the flesh : Mortify thou the presumption of our flesh, and save us, O Christ our God

Verse {Stikh) 1 : Let my complaint come before thee, O Lord : give me understanding, according to thy word.

Verse 2 : Let my supplication come before thee, O Lord : deliver me according to thy word.

Now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Hymn to the Birth-giver of God.

Thou who for our sake wast born of a Virgin, and didst suffer crucifixion, O Good One, and didst despoil Death through death, and as God didst reveal Resurrection : Despise not those whom thou hast created with thine own hand ; show forth thy love for mankind, O Merciful One ; accept the Birth-giver of God who bare thee, and who entreateth thee for us ; and save thy despairing people, O our Saviour.

Forsake us not utterly, for thy holy Name’s sake, and destroy not thy covenant ; and take not thy mercies from us, for the sake of Abraham whom thou lovedst, and for the sake of Isaac thy servant, and of Israel, thy Holy One.

O Holy God, Holy Mighty, . . . {as at the beginning of the Hour)

* For Hymns in the Eight Tones, see Appendix A ; for the Great Feasts, see the Special Services.

In

. . . Glory . . . now, and ever . . . O all-holy Trinity, . . . Lord, have mercy. {Thrice.) . . . Glory . . . now, and ever . . . Our Father, who art in heaven, ...

And if it be a Feast, we say the Collect-Hymn (Kond&k) thereof.* But if not, this Hymn, in Tone VIII. :

When the thief beheld the Author of life hanging upon the Cross, he said : If thou wert not God incarnate, who art here crucified with us, then had the Sun not veiled its rays, neither would the earth have shaken with trembling. But do thou, who sufferest for all men, remember me, O Lord, when thou comest into thy kingdom.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

In the midst, between two thieves, was thy Cross found the balancebeam of righteousness ; for while the one was led down to hell by the burden of his blaspheming, the other was lightened of his sins, unto the knowledge of things divine. O Christ our God, glory to thee.

Now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

When she who bare thee beheld upon the Cross thee, the Lamb, and Shepherd, and Saviour of the world, she weeping said : The world rejoiceth, in that it hath received redemption, but my heart kindleth with yearning as I look upon thy crucifixion, which thou sufferest for all men, O my Son and my God.

Lord, have mercy. (Forty times.)

Thou who, at all times and at every hour, both in heaven and on earth, art worshipped and glorified, O Christ our God, long-suffering, plenteous in mercy and compassion ; who lovest the just and showest mercy to those who are hardened in sin ; who callest all men to repentance through the promise of good things to come : Do thou, the same Lord, receive also our supplications at this present time, and direct our lives according £o thy commandments. Sanctify our souls ; purify our bodies ; set aright our minds ; and deliver us from all calamity, wrath and distress. Compass us round about with thy holy Angels; that, guided and guarded by their host, we may attain unto the unity of the faith, and unto the comprehension of thine ineffable glory. For blessed art thou unto ages of ages. Amen.

Lord, have mercy. {Thrice.)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

More honourable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, thou who without defilement barest God the Word, true Birth-giver of God, we magnify thee.

Priest. God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and show us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us.

* For Collect-Hymns in the Eight Tones, see Appendix A ; for the Great Feasts, see the Special Services.

7*<r*/*<rINTERHOUR.

In the holy Great Fast (Lent), three great reverences shall be made, and the Prayer of St. Ephraim shall be recited once.

But otherwise^ after the Exclamation, God be merciful unto us, there shall be said this

Prayer of St. Basil the Great.

O Master, Lord Jesus Christ our God, who art long-suffering toward our sins, and who hast led us even to the present hour, in the which, as thou didst hang upon the life-giving Tree thou didst make a way into Paradise for the penitent thief, and by death didst destroy Death : Cleanse us sinners and thine unworthy servants ; for we have sinned and have dealt iniquitously, and we are not worthy to lift up our eyes and look upon the heights of heaven, inasmuch as we have departed from the path of thy righteousness, and have walked after the desires of our own hearts. But we implore of thy boundless goodness : Spare us, O Lord, according to the multitude of thy mercies, and save us, for thy holy Name’s sake ; for our days have passed away in vanity. Wrest us out of the hand of the adversary, and forgive our sins, and mortify in us carnal imagination ; that putting off the old man we may be clothed upon with the new man, and may live unto thee, our Master and our Benefactor ; and that so following after thy commandments, we may attain unto rest eternal, where is the abode of all those who rejoice. For thou art, in verity, the true joy and exultation of those who love thee, O Christ our God, and unto thee we ascribe glory, together with the Father, who is without beginning, and thine all-holy, and good, and life-giving Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

When the Ninth Hour is read separately from the Typical Psalms :

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Lord, have mercy. {Thrice.) Bless.

Then the Benediction.

Priest May Christ, our true God, through the prayers of his most holy Mother (of the holy, glorious and all-laudable Apostles) ; of Saint N. {the Saint of the day) ; of Saint N. {the Saint of the church) ; and of all the Saints, have mercy upon us and save us : for he is gracious and loveth mankind.

But if it be the Great Fast (Lent), then the Typical Psalms immediately follow, and Psalms ciii. and cxvi* are omitted*