Canon for Apocreos. Ode III
ODE III.
by Theodore of the Studium
Ὁ Κύριος ἔρχεται.
God comes;—and who shall stand before His fear?
Who bide His Presence, when He draweth near?
My soul, my soul, prepare
To kneel before Him there!
Haste,—weep,—be reconciled to Him before
The fearful judgment knocketh at the door
Where, in the Judge's eyes,
All bare and naked lies.
Have mercy, Lord, have mercy, Lord, I cry,
When with Thine angels Thou appear’st on high:
And each shall doom inherit,
According to his merit.
How can I bear Thy fearful anger, Lord?
I, that have so often transgressed Thy word?
But put my sins away,
And spare me in that day!
O miserable soul, return, lament,
Ere earthly converse end, and life be spent:
Ere, time for sorrow o’er,
The Bridegroom close the door!
Yea, I have sinned, as no man sinned beside:
With more than human guilt my soul is dyed:
But spare, and save me here,
Before that day appear!
Three Persons in One Essence uncreate,
On Whom, both Three and One, our praises wait,
Give everlasting light,
To them that sing Thy might!