O Lord, I have cried out to you, O Lord hear me. Give heed to the voice of my supplication when I cry out to you.
O Lord, set a guard over my lips, and set a seal upon the door of my lips.
Incline my heart away from evil dealings, and from finding excuses for the sins I commit." - Excerpt from the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
PSALM 103/104
Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, you are great indeed! Clothed in pomp and brilliance, arrayed with light as with a cloak, stretching out the sky as a tent-cloth, establishing your lofty halls on water. You make the clouds your conveyance, you surge on the wings of the wind. You make the winds your messengers, and flaming fires your attendants.
You settled the earth on its foundation: it shall stand unmoved from age to age. The abyss covered it like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke, they take to flight, at the peal of your thunder, they flee. They hurdle the hills and run down the dales to the place you have chosen for them. You have set up a boundary not to be passed: they shall never return to cover the earth.
Down in the gullies, you make springs to rise; waters shall flow between the mountains. They shall give drink to the beasts of the field; wild asses will seek them to quench their thirst. The birds of the sky shall abide by them; from among the rocks, they will raise their song. From your lofty halls you refresh the hills; the earth shall be fed with the fruit of your works.
You make green pastures for the cattle and food-plants for the service of man, so that bread may be drawn from the earth, and wine that gladdens the heart of man; so that oil may put a gleam on his face, and that bread may strengthen the heart of man. The trees of the plain shall be satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. Sparrows shall build their nests in them, herons shall call them their home. To the deer belong the high mountains; to rodents, the shelter of the rock.
You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows the time of its setting. You establish darkness, and it is night, wherein the forest creatures prowl. Young lions roar for their prey, and call out to God for their meat. As the sun rises, they will come together, and lay themselves down in their dens. Man will go out to his labor, and work until eventide.
How great are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you have wrought them all. The earth is filled with your creatures, even the wide and open sea. Within it are countless creeping things, living beings small and large. Upon it there are ships a-sailing, and the great beast you made to have fan. All of them look to you to give them their food in due season. You provide and they gather up; you open your hands, and they are full. You hide your face, and they cringe; you suspend their breath, and they die and return to their dust. You send forth your breath, and they live; you renew the face of the earth.
May the Lord's glory endure forever, may the Lord rejoice in his works. He looks upon the earth, and makes it quake; he touches the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live, I will praise my God as long as I last. Would that my thoughts be pleasing to him, and I will rejoice in the Lord. May the sinners vanish from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
The sun knows the time of its setting. You establish darkness and it is night.
How great are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you have wrought them all.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.
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