XIII. THE NINTH HOUR,

OR NONE.

The beginning is as at Nodurns on Sundays. Vide page 45.

After O come, let us worship .... thrice,

Psalms 83 (84), 84 (85) and 85 (86).

Glory. Both now. Alleluia .... thrice. Lord, have mercy, thrice. Glory. The Troparion of the Day. Both now.

HOU that for our sakes wast born of the Virgin, and didst, O Blessed One, endure crucifixion, and by death didst spoil death, and, as God, didst shew forth the Resurrection; despise not us whom thine hands did fashion. Shew unto us thy loving-kindness, O Merciful One; accept her that bore thee, the Mother of God, praying for us, and save, O our Saviour, thy despairing people.

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O cast us not away at the last for thy name's sake, neither annul thy testament, nor remove thy mercy from us; for the sake of Abraham thy well beloved, and of Isaac thy servant, and Israel thy Saint.

In the fasting time, instead of the Troparion.

Priest. Thou that at the ninth hour didst in thy flesh taste death for us; mortify the lusts of our flesh, O Christ our God, and save us.

The First Choir repeateth the verse.

Priest. Let my prayer come in before thee, O Lord: give me understanding according unto thy word.

Second Choir. Thou that at the ninth hour ....

Priest. Let my petition come in before thee, O Lord: deliver me according unto thy word.

First Choir. Thou that at the ninth hour ....

Priest. Glory. Reader. Both now. Thou that for our sakes .... And, O cast us not away ....

Trisagion, &c. After Our Father, the Condakion of the Day. Or, in the fasting time, the following.

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THE thief, seeing the Prince of life hanging upon the Cross, exclaimed, If he who is crucified with us were not incarnate God, the sun would not hide his light, nor would the earth be moved. But, O thou all-enduring Lord, remember me in thy kingdom. Glory.

In the midst of two thieves thy Cross appeared a balance of righteousness. On one side it sank to hades through the weight of blasphemy, on the other it rose from iniquity to divine knowledge. O Christ our God, glory to thee. Both now.

Thy Mother seeing thee, the Lamb and Shepherd and Saviour of the world, upon the Cross, said with tears, Lo! the world rejoiceth, for it gaineth deliverance; but my heart is broken, for I see thy crucifixion, which for all thou endurest, O my Son and my God.

Lord, have mercy, forty times.

And the Prayer, Thou that in all times .... Vide page 76.

In the Fasts, the Prayer of S. Ephrem.

Closing Prayer of the Ninth Hour. Of Basil the Great.

ASTER, Lord Jesus Christ our God, who art long-patient with our sins, and hast led us even until this present hour, at which thou didst hang upon the

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life-giving tree, and shew the way into Paradise to the well-intentioned thief, and death by death didst overcome; do thou cleanse us, thy sinful and unworthy servants. For we have sinned and transgressed, and are unworthy to lift up our eyes and look unto the height of heaven, because we have forsaken the way of righteousness and walked according to the desires of our own hearts. But we beseech thee, O Lord, of thine immeasurable goodness to spare us according to the greatness of thy mercy, and to save us for thy holy name's sake, for our days have been consumed in vanity. Deliver us out of the hand of the enemy, and forgive our sins, and slay our fleshly lusts, so that, putting off the old man and putting on the new, we may henceforth live for thee, our Master and Benefactor, and, keeping thy commandments, may gain thine everlasting rest, the dwelling whereof is all gladness. For thou art verily the joy and gladness of them that love thee, O Christ our God, and to thee we ascribe glory, with thine unbeginning Father, and thy most holy, and good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.