Midnight
The
Third Watch
INTRODUCTION TO EVERY HOUR
In the name
of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Kyrie
eleison. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord bless us. Amen.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the
ages of all ages. Amen.
THE LORD'S PRAYER
Make us
worthy to pray thankfully:
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 evil, in Christ Jesus our Lord. For Thine
is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Let us give
thanks to the beneficent and merciful God, the Father of our Lord, God and
Savior, Jesus Christ, for He has covered us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us
unto Him, spared us, supported us, and brought us to this hour. Let us also ask
Him, the Lord our God, the Almighty, to guard us in all peace this holy day and
all the days of our life.
O Master,
Lord, God the Almighty, the Father of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, we
thank You for every condition, concerning every condition, and in every
condition, for You have covered us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us unto You,
spared us, supported us, and brought us to this hour.
Therefore,
we ask and entreat Your goodness, O Lover of mankind, to grant us to complete
this holy day, and all the days of our life, in all peace with Your fear. All
envy, all temptation, all the work of Satan, the counsel of wicked men, and the
rising up of enemies, hidden and manifest, take them away from us, and from all
Your people, and from this holy place that is Yours.
But those
things which are good and profitable do provide for us; for it is You Who have
given us the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and upon all the
power of the enemy.
And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, by the grace, compassion and love
of mankind, of Your Only-Begotten Son, our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
through Whom the glory, the honor, the dominion, and the adoration are due unto
You, with Him, and the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giver, Who is of one essence with
You, now and at all times, and unto the ages of all ages. Amen.
PSALM 50
Have mercy
upon me, O God, according to Your great mercy; and according to the multitude of
Your compassions blot out my iniquity. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of my iniquity; and my sin is at all
times before me.
Against You
only I have sinned, and done evil before You: that You might be just in Your
sayings, and might overcome when You are judged. For, behold, I was conceived in
iniquities, and in sins my mother conceived me.
For, behold,
You have loved the truth: You have manifested to me the hidden and unrevealed
things of Your wisdom. You shall sprinkle me with Your hyssop, and I shall be
purified: You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. You shall
make me to hear gladness and joy: the humbled bones shall rejoice.
Turn away
Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean
heart, O God; and renew a right spirit in my inward parts. Do not cast me away
from Your face; and do not remove Your Holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of
Your salvation: and uphold me with a directing spirit. Then I shall teach the
transgressors Your ways; and the ungodly men shall turn to You.
Deliver me
from blood, O God, the God of my salvation: and my tongue shall rejoice in Your
righteousness. O Lord, You shall open my lips; and my mouth shall declare Your
praise. For if You desired sacrifice, I would have given it: You do not take
pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit: a broken
and humbled heart God shall not despise.
Do good, O
Lord, in Your good pleasure to Zion; and let the walls of Jerusalem be built.
Then You shall be pleased with sacrifices of righteousness, offering, and burnt
sacrifices: then they shall offer calves upon Your altar. ALLELUIA.
Then the
worshipper says :
Arise, you,
O children of the light, to praise the Lord of Hosts, that He may grant us the
salvation of our souls. When we stand in the flesh before You, take away from
our minds the sleep of forgetfulness, and grant us alertness, in order that we
understand how to stand up before You at the time of prayer, and send up to You
the appropriate doxology, and win the forgiveness of our many sins.
Zoxa si
Philanthrope.
Glory to
You, the Lover of mankind.
PSALM 133
Behold,
bless the Lord, O you the servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the
Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. In the nights lift up your hands
unto the Holies, and bless the Lord. The Lord shall bless you out of Zion, He
who made heaven and earth. ALLELUIA.
Zoxa si
Philanthrope.
Glory to
You, the Lover of mankind.
Let my
supplication come near before You; give me understanding according to Your word.
Let my petition come before You; revive me according to Your word. Let my lips
flow with praise, when You have taught me Your ordinances. Let my tongue speak
of Your words; for all Your commandments are righteous. Let Your hand be for
saving me; for I have desired Your commandments. I have longed for Your
salvation, O Lord; and Your law is my meditation. My soul shall live, and praise
You; and Your judgments shall help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
seek Your servant; for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the
ages of all ages. Amen.
Glory to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the
ages of all ages, Amen.
Glory to You
O the good and lover of mankind. Hail to Your mother the Virgin and to all Your
Saints. Glory to You, O Holy Trinity; have mercy upon us.
Let
God arise, and let His enemies be dispersed; and let all who hate His holy name
flee before His face. But let Your people be in blessing, thousands of
thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousands, doing Your will. O Lord, You
shall open my lips; and my mouth shall declare Your praise. Amen. ALLELUIA.
The
worshipper says:
The service
of the third watch of the blessed Midnight Hour, we offer unto Christ our King
and our God, beseeching Him to forgive us our sins.
From the
Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be upon
us all. Amen.
PSALM 129
Out of the
depths I have cried to You, O Lord. O Lord, hear my voice: let Your ears be
attentive to the voice of my supplication. If You, O Lord, should mark
iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? For through You is forgiveness. For Your
name's sake I have waited for You, O Lord. My soul has waited for Your law. My
soul has hoped in the Lord, from the morning watch till night. From the morning
watch, let Israel hope in the Lord. For with the Lord is mercy, and great is His
redemption; and He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. ALLELUIA.
PSALM 130
O Lord, my
heart was not exalted, neither have my eyes been haughtily raised: neither have
I walked in great matters, nor in wonders greater than me. If I have not humbled
myself, but raised my soul, as a weaned child with his mother, so is the
recompense upon my soul. Let Israel hope in the Lord, from now and forever.
ALLELUIA.
PSALM 131
Lord,
remember David and all his meekness: how he swore to the Lord, and vowed to the
God of Jacob, saying, “I will not go into the dwelling of my house, or go up
to the bed of my couch; I will not give sleep to my eyes, nor slumber to my
eyelids, nor rest to my temples, until I find a place for the Lord, and a
dwelling place for the God of Jacob. Behold, we heard of it in Ephratha; we
found it in the fields of the wood. Let us enter into His dwelling, and worship
at the place where His feet stood.
Arise, O
Lord, into Your rest; You, and the ark of Your holy place. Your priests shall
clothe themselves with righteousness; and Your righteous shall exult. For the
sake of Your servant David, do not turn away Your face from Your anointed.
The Lord has
sworn in truth to David, and He will not turn from it, “Of the fruit of your
loins I will set upon your throne. If your children keep My covenant and My
testimonies which I will teach them, their children also will sit upon your
throne forever.”
For the Lord
has selected Zion, He has chosen her a dwelling for Himself: “This is My
resting place forever. Here I will dwell; for I have desired it. In blessing I
shall bless her hunting. Her poor I shall satisfy with bread. Her priests I
shall clothe with salvation; and her saints with rejoicing shall rejoice. There
I shall raise a horn to David. I have prepared a lamp for My anointed. His
enemies I shall clothe with shame, and My holiness shall flourish upon Him.”
ALLELUIA.
PSALM 132
Behold! What
is so good, or what so pleasant, as for brothers dwelling together? It is as
ointment upon the head, that came down upon beard, the beard of Aaron that came
down to the fringe of his clothing; as the dew of Aermon, that comes down upon
the mountain of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing and the life
forever. ALLELUIA.
PSALM 133
Behold,
bless the Lord, O you the servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the
Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. In the nights lift up your hands
unto the Holies, and bless the Lord. The Lord shall bless you out of Zion, He
who made heaven and earth. ALLELUIA.
PSALM 136
By the
rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our
harps on the willows in the midst of it. For there those who had taken us
captive asked of us the words of a song; and those who had carried us away asked
a hymn, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
How will we
sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, I shall
forget my right hand. My tongue shall cling to my throat, if I did not remember
you; if I did not prefer Jerusalem as the head of my joy.
Remember, O
Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, “Tear it down,
tear it down, even to its foundations.” Wretched daughter of Babylon! Blessed
is he who will reward you with the reward you have given us. Blessed is he who
will seize and bury your infants by the rock. ALLELUIA.
PSALM 137
I will
confess You, O Lord, with my whole heart, for You have heard all the words of my
mouth. Before the angels I will chant to You. I will worship toward Your holy
temple, and confess Your name, on account of Your mercy and Your truth; for You
have magnified Your holy name above all. The day in which I call upon You, hear
me speedily; You shall exceedingly look upon my soul with power. Let all the
kings of the earth, O Lord, confess You; for they have heard all the words of
Your mouth. And let them sing in the ways of the Lord; for great is the glory of
the Lord.
The Lord is
high, and He regards the lowly; and He knows the existing things from afar off.
If I walk in the midst of affliction, You shall revive me; You have stretched
forth Your hands against the wrath of enemies, and Your right hand has saved me.
O Lord, You shall reward on my behalf: Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever: do
not overlook the works of Your hands. ALLELUIA.
PSALM 140
O Lord, I
have cried to You, hear me. Attend to the voice of my supplication when I cry to
You. Let my prayer be set forth before You as incense, and the lifting up of my
hands as an evening sacrifice. O Lord, set a watch on my mouth and a strong door
for my lips. Do not incline my heart to words of evil, to employ excuses for
sins with men who work iniquity; and I shall not agree with their choices. The
righteous shall chasten me with mercy, and reprove me: but do not let the oil of
the sinner anoint my head: for yet my prayer also is in their pleasures.
Their mighty
ones have been swallowed up near the rock: they shall hear my words, for they
are delightful. As a lump of earth, they are broken upon the ground, their bones
have been scattered at Hades. For my eyes are to You, O Lord: O Lord, I have
hoped in You; do not take away my soul. Keep me from the snare which they have
set for me, and from the stumbling blocks of those who work iniquity. Sinners
shall fall by their own net: I am alone until iniquity passes by. ALLELUIA.
PSALM 141
With my
voice to the Lord I cried; with my voice to the Lord I made supplication. I will
pour out before Him my supplication. My affliction I will pour out before Him,
when my spirit was fainting within me, and You knew my paths. In the way in
which I was walking, they hid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and
beheld, for there was no one who noticed me. Refuge failed me, and there was no
one who cared for my soul. I cried unto You, O Lord, and said, “You are my
hope, my portion in the land of the living. Attend to my supplication, for I am
brought very low; deliver me from those who persecute me, for they are stronger
than me. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may confess Your name, O Lord. The
righteous wait for me until You reward me.” ALLELUIA.
PSALM 145
Praise the
Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord in my life. I will sing praises to my
God as long as I exist. Do not trust in the princes, nor in the children of men,
in whom there is no salvation. Their spirit shall go forth, and they shall
return to their earth. In that day all their thoughts shall perish.
Blessed is
he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God:
who made heaven and earth, the sea and all things in them; who keeps truth
forever: who executes judgement for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord
looses the bound; the Lord sets up the broken down. The Lord gives wisdom to the
blind; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord preserves the strangers; He
accepts the orphan and widow: but He will destroy the way of sinners. The Lord
shall reign forever, and your God, O Zion, from generation to generation.
ALLELUIA.
PSALM 146
Praise the
Lord for a psalm is good; let praise be sweet unto our God. The Lord builds up
Jerusalem; and He will gather together the dispersed of Israel. He heals the
broken‑hearted, and binds up all their fractures. He numbers the
multitudes of stars, and calls them all by names. Great is the Lord, and great
is His strength; His understanding is infinite. The Lord lifts up the meek, but
brings sinners down to the ground.
Begin the
song to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises to our God on the harp: He who
covers the heaven with clouds; who prepares rain for the earth; who causes grass
to spring up on the mountains, and green herb for the service of men; who gives
food to the cattle, and to the young ravens that call upon Him. He will not take
pleasure in the strength of a horse, nor will He be well‑pleased with the
legs of man. The Lord will take pleasure in those who fear Him, and in those who
hope in His mercy. ALLELUIA.
PSALM 147
Praise the
Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion: for He has strengthened the bars of
your gates. He has blessed your children within you. He makes your borders
peaceful, and fills you with the fatness of wheat. He sends His word to the
earth: His word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool: He scatters the mist like
ashes. He casts out His ice like morsels: who will be able to stand before
His frost? He will send out His word, and melt them. His wind will blow, and the
waters shall flow. He declares His word to Jacob, His ordinances and judgements
to Israel. He has not done so with every nation; and He has not revealed to them
His judgements. ALLELUIA.
THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE (CH 12 : 32-64)
“Do not
fear, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom. Sell what you have, and give alms, provide yourselves money bags which
do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fails, where no thief
approaches, nor moth corrupts. For where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also. Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning; And you yourselves be
like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding; that
when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those
servants, whom their master, when he comes will find them: Assuredly I say to
you, that he shall gird himself, and have them sit down to eat, and will come
and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third
watch, and finds them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the
master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have
watched, and not have allowed his house to be broken into. You therefore be
ready also: for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think.”
Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do you speak this parable only to us, or to all
people?” And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward,
whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion
of food in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his master when he comes
will find so doing. Truly I say to you, that he will make him ruler over all
that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, `My master is delaying his
coming;' and begins to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink,
and be drunk; The master of that servant will come in a day when he is not
looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two,
and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.”
Glory to God
forever. Amen.
Tenoo
oasht emmok o piekhristos nem pekyot en aghathos nem pi epnevma ethowab je akee
ak soati emmon nai nan
We worship
You O Christ with Your Good Father and the Holy Spirit, for You have come and
saved us.
1.
With a compassionate eye, O Lord, look at my weakness, for shortly my life will
end, and in my deeds I shall have no salvation. Therefore, I beseech, O Lord,
with a merciful eye look at my weakness, my humility, my poverty and my sojourn,
and save me.
Doxa
Patri ke Eioa ke Agio Pnevmati
Glory to the
Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2. As
the Judge is present, take heed, O my soul, awake and consider that awesome
hour; for in the day of judgment, there will be no mercy on those who were not
merciful. Therefore, have compassion on me, O Savior, for You alone are the
Lover of mankind.
Ke nin ke
a ee ke ees toos e onas toan e oa noan ameen.
Now and
forever and unto the ages of all ages, Amen.
3. O
the reasonable gate of life, the honored Theotokos, deliver from
hardships those who, in faith, take refuge in you, so that we might glorify your
immaculate birth of Christ for the salvation of our souls.
Ke nin ke
a ee ke ees toos e onas toan e oa noan ameen.
Now and
forever and unto the ages of all ages, Amen.
4. O
Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who is present in all places
and fills all, the treasury of good things and the Life-Giver, graciously come,
and dwell in us and purify us from all defilement, O Good One, and save our
souls.
Doxa
Patri ke Eioa ke Agio Pnevmati
Glory to the
Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
5.
Just as You were with Your disciples, O Savior, and gave them peace, graciously
come also and be with us, and grant us Your peace, and save us, and deliver our
souls.
Ke nin ke
a ee ke ees toos e onas toan e oa noan ameen.
Now and
forever and unto the ages of all ages, Amen.
6.
Whenever we stand in Your holy sanctuary, we are considered standing in heaven.
O Theotokos, you are the gate of heaven, open for us the gate of mercy.
Then the
worshipper prays:
Lord, hear
us and have mercy on us and forgive us our sins. Amen.
(Lord
have mercy) 41 times
THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE (CH. 2 : 29-32)
Lord, now
let your servant depart in peace, according to Your word: For my eyes have seen
Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of people; A light to be
revealed to the Gentiles and a glory of Your people Israel.
Glory to God
forever. Amen.
THE ORTHODOX CREED
We believe
in one God, God the Father, the Almighty, Who created heaven and earth, and all
things seen and unseen.
We believe
in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father
before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not created, of
one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made; Who for us, men, and
for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnated of the Holy Spirit
and of the Virgin Mary, and became man. And He was crucified for us under
Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried. And on the third day He rose from the
dead, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into the heavens; and sat at the
right hand of His Father, and also He is coming again in His glory to judge the
living and the dead, whose kingdom has no end.
Yes, we
believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giver, Who proceeds from the
Father, Who, with the Father and the Son, is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke
by the prophets. And in one holy, catholic and apostolic church. We
confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
We look for
the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the coming age. Amen.
Then the
worshipper prays:
Lord, hear
us and have mercy on us and forgive us our sins. Amen.
(Lord
have mercy) 41 times
HOLY HOLY HOLY
Holy Holy
Holy. Lord of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Your glory and honor. Have
mercy on us, O God the Father, the Almighty O Holy Trinity, have mercy on
us. O Lord, God of hosts, be with us. For we have no helper in our hardships and
tribulations but You. Absolve, forgive, and remit, O God, our transgressions;
those which we have committed willingly and those we have committed unwillingly,
those which we have committed knowingly and those which we have committed
unknowingly, the hidden and manifest, O Lord forgive us, for the sake of Your
Holy name which is called upon us.
Let it be
according to Your mercy, O Lord, and not according to our sins.
Make us
worthy to pray thankfully:
Our Father
Who art in heaven ...
ABSOLUTION
O Lord and
Master, Jesus Christ, the Living and Eternal Son of God, enlighten our minds to
understand Your life-giving words. Raise us up from the darkness of sin which
ruins the soul.
Make us
worthy to become upright in good deeds. And at the time of Your coming to judge
the world, make us worthy of hearing that voice full of joy saying, “Come to
Me you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you before the
foundation of the world.”
Yes, Lord,
grant us in that Hour to be without fear, anxiety or condemnation; and do not
judge us according to our many iniquities. For You alone are compassionate,
longsuffering and exceedingly merciful.
We ask this,
through the intercession of our Lady the Theotokos, Saint Mary, and the
intercession of all the choir of Your saints. Amen.
THE CONCLUSION OF EVERY HOUR
Have mercy
on us, O God, and have mercy on us, who, at all times and in every hour, in
heaven and on earth, is worshipped and glorified, Christ our God, the good, the
long suffering, the abundant in mercy, and the great in compassion, who loves
the righteous and has mercy on the sinners of whom I am chief; who does not wish
the death of the sinner but rather that he returns and lives, who calls all to
salvation for the promise of the blessings to come.
Lord receive from us our prayers in this hour and in every hour. Ease our life and guide us to fulfill Your commandments. Sanctify our spirits. Cleanse our bodies. Conduct our thoughts. Purify our intentions. Heal our diseases. Forgive our sins. Deliver us from every evil grief and distress of heart. Surround us by Your holy angels, that, by their camp, we may be guarded and guided, and attain the unity of faith, and the knowledge of Your imperceptible and infinite glory. For You are blessed forever. Amen.