4Who has wrought and done these things? he has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to all futurity, I AM.
5The nations saw, and feared; the ends of the earth drew near, and came together,
6every one judging for his neighbor and that to assist his brother: and one will say,
7The artificer has become strong, and the coppersmith that smites with the hammer, and forges also: sometimes he will say, It is a piece well joined: they have fastened them with nails; they will fix them, and they shall not be moved.
8But you, Israel, are my servant Jacob, and he whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraam, whom I have loved:
9whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and from the high places of it I have called you, and said to you, You are my servant; I have chosen you, and I have not forsaken you.
10Fear not; for I am with you: wander not; for I am your God, who have strengthened you; and I have helped you, and have established you with my just right hand.
11Behold, all your adversaries shall be ashamed and confounded; for they shall be as if they were not: and all your opponents shall perish.
12You shall seek them, and you shall not find the men who shall insolently rage against you: for they shall be as if they were not, and they that war against you shall not be.
13For I am your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you,
14Fear not, Jacob, and you Israel few in number; I have helped you, says your God, he that redeems you, O Israel.
Genesis 17.1-9 (Vespers)
1And Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am your God, be well-pleasing before me, and be blameless.
2And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.
3And Abram fell upon his face, and God spoke to him, saying,
4And I, behold! my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of a multitude of nations.
5And your name shall no more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraam, for I have made you a father of many nations.
6And I will increase you very exceedingly, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you.
7And I will establish my covenant between you and your seed after you, to their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be your God, and the God of your seed after you.
8And I will give to you and to your seed after you the land wherein you sojourn, even all the land of Chanaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them a God.
9And God said to Abraam, You also shall fully keep my covenant, you and your seed after you for their generations.
Proverbs 15.20-16.9 (LXX) (Vespers)
20A wise son gladdens his father; but a foolish son sneers at his mother.
21The ways of a foolish man are void of sense; but a wise man proceeds on his way aright.
22They that honor not councils put off deliberation; but counsel abides in the hearts of counselors.
23A bad man will by no means attend to counsel; neither will he say anything seasonable, or good for the common weal.
24The thoughts of the wise are ways of life, that he may turn aside and escape from hell.
25The Lord pulls down the houses of scorners; but he establishes the border of the widow.
26An unrighteous thought is abomination to the Lord; but the sayings of the pure are held in honor.
27A receiver of bribes destroys himself; but he that hates the receiving of bribes is safe. By alms and by faithful dealings sins are purged away; but by the fear of the Lord every one departs from evil.
28The hearts of the righteous meditate faithfulness; but the mouth of the ungodly answers evil things. The ways of righteous men are acceptable with the Lord; and through them even enemies become friends.
29God is far from the ungodly; but he hearkens to the prayers of the righteous. Better are small receipts with righteousness, than abundant fruits with unrighteousness. Let the heart of a man think justly, that his steps may be rightly ordered of God. The eye that sees rightly rejoices the heart; and a good report fattens the bones.
32He that rejects instruction hates himself; but he that mind reproofs loves his soul.
33The fear of the Lord is instruction and wisdom; and the highest honor will correspond therewith.
2All the works of the humble man are manifest with God; but the ungodly shall perish in an evil day.
5Every one that is proud in heart is unclean before God, and he that unjustly strikes hands with hand shall not be held guiltless. The beginning of a good way is to do justly; and it is more acceptable with God than to offer sacrifices. He that seeks the Lord shall find knowledge with righteousness: and they that rightly seek him shall find peace. All of the works of the Lord are done with righteousness; and the ungodly man is kept for the evil day.
Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9
(Vespers, St Tikhon)
1But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.
2In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery,
3And their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace.
4For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality.
5And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself.
6As gold in the furnace has he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering.
7And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble.
8They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever.
9They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he has care for his elect.
Wisdom of Solomon 5.15-6.3
(Vespers, St Tikhon)
15But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High.
16Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them.
17He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armor, and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies.
18He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an helmet.
19He shall take holiness for an invincible shield.
20His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him against the unwise.
21Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark.
22And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them.
23Yes, a mighty wind shall stand up against them, and like a storm shall blow them away: thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth, and ill dealing shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.
1Hear therefore, O you⌃ kings, and understand; learn, you⌃ that be judges of the ends of the earth.
2Give ear, you⌃ that rule the people, and glory in the multitude of nations.
3For power is given you of the Lord, and sovereignty from the Highest, who shall try your works, and search out your counsels.
Wisdom of Solomon 4.7-15
(Vespers, St Tikhon)
7But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest.
8For honorable age is not that which stands in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years.
9But wisdom is the gray hair to men, and an unspotted life is old age.
10He pleased God, and was beloved of him: so that living among sinners he was translated.
11Yes speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit decieve his soul.
12For the bewitching of naughtiness does obscure things that are honest; and the wandering of concupiscence does undermine the simple mind.
13He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time:
14For his soul pleased the Lord: therefore hasted he to take him away from among the wicked.
15This the people saw, and understood it not, neither laid they up this in their minds, That his grace and mercy is with his saints, and that he has respect to his chosen.
Commemorations
St Eutychius, patriarch of Constantinople (582)
He was born to devout and noble parents in Phrygia. Though his father was a prominent officer, he entered monastic life when young, and became abbot of a monastery in Amasea at the age of thirty. In 553 he was sent to the Fifth Ecumenical Council as the representative of the Metropolitan of Amasea. At the Council, he was one of those who argued, successfully, that heretics could be anathematized after their deaths. The most prominent case in point was Origen, the brilliant Christian philosopher who had written that all will eventually be saved. Eutychius’ position thus earned him the enmity of the Origenists, who still made up an influential group in the Church. Saint Eutychius became a trusted confidante of the Emperor Justinian, and when Menas, Patriarch of Constantinople, reposed, Eutychius was chosen to replace him. Eutychius ruled in peace for twelve years, but was then cast into controversy when he boldly opposed one of the most hard-to-pronounce heresies in the history of the Church: Aphthartodocetism, the belief that Christ, before his resurrection, possessed an incorruptible body, not subject to hunger, thirst or pain (though the scriptures plainly speak of Christ being weary, hungry, thirsty, weeping). The Emperor Justinian for a time fell into this variant of the Monophysite heresy, and exiled Eutychius to his monastery for twelve years. During these years Eutychius showed himself to be a wonder-worker, healing many of their diseases through his prayers. Justinian repented shortly before his death, and his successor, Justin II, called Eutychius back to the Patriarchal throne, where he served the Church in peace until his repose at the age of seventy.