CONFESSION OF FAITH AND
THANKSGIVING TO CHRIST ,
SON OF GOD AND SAVIOR OF THE WORLD
(Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk)
What can I repay the Lord for all He me?
Oh, Lord! That's all we that You came into the world, and therefore, for me too! It was to save sinners Thou art come, and therefore, to save me me too, the sinner. You came for those who were in distress, and I'm one of them! Oh, my God, my Lord, my Creator! It was to me come before You I bow, humbly to implore Your forgiveness and mercy, because I have transgressed Your law! But now you're moving in person, You my Lord, for Thy mercy visit miserable and unworthy servant, Your enemy, the renegade! Listen, O my soul! Be careful! God has come to you! Your Lord has seen! ...
Whoever is born of the Father before the ages is born for me of the Virgin Mother. Whoever wrapped in light as with a mantle, which has made the heavens like a tent, wore diapers for me. Whoever has the throne heaven and earth to stool, rested for me in a manger. He who eats all flesh was fed to me breastmilk. One who fills all and is based upon the cherubim was brought to me by maternal arms. The author of the Act was circumcised for me under the Act. For me, the Invisible has shown, living among men. For me, God became my likeness, becoming Man. For me, the Word made flesh, the Lord of glory took on the character of a servant, the King of Heaven lived and walked the earth. Lord of all has struggled, He did miracles, He met with the men he had presented himself as a slave. One who nourishes and refreshes all flesh has been hungry and thirsty. The one who wipes away every tear from every face has cried. The Comforter has suffered and grieved. The Holy and the Just spoke to sinners. The Almighty has experienced fatigue. He who dwells in light inaccessible found no place to lay His head. He who provides all the rich became poor. One who is present everywhere and fills everything moved from town to town. The Son of God was born without leaving the bosom of the Father, He has lived and toiled thirty-three years on earth for me, His slave.
But what your eyes may well have to find worthy in me, that You have come to fetch me in this vale of tears? Regardless, the pastor runs behind his lost sheep ... but this is after all his property, the traveler goes abroad ... but for the benefit of the king bought the prisoners ... but with gold or silver, through an ambassador, and to satisfy his interest. But you, what have you found in me , O my Lord? What use, what good, what good King of heaven and earth did he get to come to my research, in person, without an embassy? The Lord Himself came to redeem His slave, not the price of silver or gold, but at the price of His holy blood. And what did he find? Nothing! If this is corruption, weakness, misery, disobedience, and even animosity! That would be a great thing that you have come to me if I had lost my way, or if I had been caught and ripped to You. But now, it's incomprehensible! I am a renegade, Your enemy deliberate !
Oh, I am ashamed to say! And yet it's true: I have disowned, I went myself to follow your opponent. I heard him with delight Thy divine dignity. Not content to have been honored more than any other, Your creature wanted to be god! You've honored with a rational soul, the resemblance to Thy divine image, but this great honor was too small ...
Here I coveted to become a god and disgrace you, You my Master, when You had just honored me! I have offended Your infinite majesty and irritated by becoming your enemy. Such was my situation, and you came anyway, for me, no other reason than my hello and my profit!
My unhappiness and distress have been my loss for You also , hello and my gain! You felt like my fall personal injury, and my happiness as an advantage! Your goodness, Lord, could not bear to see me in distress, she convinced you, You are the undefeated, heading down to me, not through an angel or ambassador, to get me in person since I could not climb to Thee. The pastor came out, he labored in seeking His lost sheep in the mountains!
Lord, you visited me with Your mercy, You have searched without profit, You have loved me without deriving benefit. Oh, my God! That's true love, who do research or interest or hope of reward! Thou hast so loved that you come to my hello, without drawing any profit. Oh, goodness, what a mercy, the Son of God and Ever-Virgin! As we are blessed, we the poor and wretched humans: the Lord King came to live among us! God became like men, He lived for us among us!
Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed Thee, O Son of God! Blessed are those who've swaddled swaddling! Blessed the manger who brought you received! Blessed are the arms that cradled infant Thee, Thou God of centuries before! Blessed as the tunic of God incarnate, who wrapped himself in light as with a coat! Blessed are the eyes that saw you, ears to Thee Naturally, the hands that touched you, You the Living Word, the Giver of life! Blessed when the Heavenly King appeared on the earth! More blessed, those who see you, not walking on earth, but at the right hand of the Father, Thou Jesus, the saints who believe without seeing you again, rejoicing with joy unspeakable! Make me worthy to behold Thee in faith and worship You in love, then see you up there face to face!
But see, O my soul, and see how the Heavenly King was not allowed his subjects, how the slaves received their Lord, how humans have honored the God incarnate! Look what gifts, what gratitude, what an honor and worship what they presented to their benefactors who came to save them, performing miracles before them, cleansing lepers, healing the sick, delivering the lame, illuminating the blind, the lame straightening and hunchbacked, resurrecting the dead and feeding thousands of hungry! Here shame reddens my face that terror oppresses my heart and my tongue stutters! What emotion in that cry of the evangelist: He came unto His own and His own did not receive! All this is terrible and pathetic! God comes among men in the flesh, and they receive the item! The Lord is king among his subjects, among His slaves, and they deny Him! Sky, listen! Shout to the earth that men have not received their God, their Lord's slaves, and subjects their King!
Oh, my God! You knew all this, and yet, You came to save me, and I'm lost! Wickedness and ingratitude of your enemies do not stop Thee! Your goodness, Your love and my poverty prevailed. And not only did they not receive their Lord and Benefactor and deny Him, the ingrates have filled with evil, cruelty, lack of humanity, and the grossness: they considered the possession of Thy heavenly teaching ! He hath a devil, He is crazy, why do you listen? They have attributed miracles to Your Your enemy is Béélezbul by the prince of demons He casts out demons! As you frequent sinners to touch Your kindness, to save them, He called Thee eater, drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners! And how many other blasphemies they have not murmur against Thee, their Lord, their Benefactor, you who are yet above all honor! Oh, cruelty and ingratitude of men! Oh, goodness and forbearance of God!
And then they tried to kill you, you who came to save them. You knew the counsel of the wicked, You read it in their hearts, You could see everything, but you waited patiently. They found occasionally in Your ungrateful disciple, who Thee sold for thirty pieces of silver (nominal price of priceless), who sold one who is worth more than the world and thousands of people. You could see their council impious, iniquitous their bargain, but you waited patiently, because you wanted to suffer for me, Thy servant, to purify me by Thy blood, revive me by Your death, to honor me by Thy dishonor ... Glory to You for everything!
O Thou, sold and betrayed, O Thou who hast surrendered voluntarily to those who seek you, O you who knew what to expect, you've been bound, Thou art the Lord inaccessible to cherubim and seraphim, one has judged you, You judge the living and the dead! You were outraged, dishonored, was spat upon Thy holy face that angels do not dare look, you've been slapped and held, it proclaimed that you deserve death, Thou life of all! You've preferred a robber and murderer, the Son of God, you only good and only fair. The people shouted slay He and release to us Barabbas! Crucify him! Crucify Him! What a miracle, what horror, what an act unheard of! Immortal lead outside the city as a convict to be hanged between two thieves and put to death! According To have you hanging on the Cross was blasphemed and nodded, giving you food for gall and vinegar to quench your thirst. It was pierced Your hands and your feet, counting all thy bones! Death, you have been pierced Coasts and insulted again: we remember what was said by this impostor! was then handed over your body holy and sealed to guard your grave. Who did this? Those that You came to save!
You have supported their wickedness like a lamb to the slaughter ... The Lord has endured all of His slaves, the Creator of His creatures, God of His people, the king of his subjects, the benefactor of those he had met his countless blessings the righteous and the wicked Innocent. He bore it all before heaven and earth, before men and angels, Se engaged to perform for large crowds, His friends and His enemies. He endured all naked and abandoned by all. He has endured everything for us all, and for me the sinner, since He was just coming into the world to us all! My Lord endured for me such disgrace and such punishments, and most importantly, voluntarily! What am I, who am I, that my Lord has borne all this for me? Earth and ashes, a sinner, and unworthy slave ... So what is new and unheard of miracle, what is inexpressible and inconceivable that goodness, what is this indulgence ineffable? Arise, O my soul! Arise and fear! Humble yourself, love and humble yourself before your Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song for the Lord has done wonders! For His unworthy slave, miserable and criminal, the Creator and Lord has endured everything, even death!
As for me, criminal and lawbreaker, blasphemer without honor, I devoted myself to the devil my enemy! I deserve the spitting demons, insults, ridicule, beatings, blows, suffering and death eternal! And this is my Lord and Creator who has supported my place ! The slave has sinned and the Lord has endured torture. The slave has sinned, and his master was defeated. The slave and his master flew to the reward. The Slave and the Master in debt repaid debts. How, for money, for gold? No! By His disgrace, His wounds, His blood and His death on the Cross. For me, wretched and cursed You have sworn to for ever, the only blessed. For me the blasphemer, You have borne the blasphemy and disgrace, You the Lord of glory. For me, sold under sin, Thou hast borne, Thou Priceless, to be sold, delivered to trial, convicted and killed. Glory to Thee, O Lord and Creator, glory to Thee for Everything! I have nothing else to offer you these words: Glory to You for everything! You lived on earth, Thou art the King of heaven, to ascend to heaven, I who had been expelled from paradise! You were born in the flesh of a Virgin to make me reborn by the Spirit. You have borne the blasphemies to close the mouths of my enemies and slanderers. You have borne the shame, You above all honor to honor me, shamed me. You cried to remove the tears from my eyes. You sighed, You're afflicted, you knew the anxiety away for me the eternal sighs, grief, anxiety, illness, and make me the gift of happiness and eternal joy. You have been sold and delivered for free myself, me captive. You were attached to break my bonds. You've presented before judges unfair, you who judges all the earth, so spare me the eternal judgment. You have been stripped to cover my nakedness with the mantle of deliverance. You have worn the crown of thorns for the crown of my hair life. You accepted the insults, Thou King of all, to open up the kingdom of heaven. Your head was beaten with a cane to get in the book of life. You agreed to suffer outside the city to introduce me into the heavenly Jerusalem, I who had been expelled from paradise. You have been counted among the wicked, Thou alone just to justify myself, me perverse. You've made a curse, You the one blessed to bless me, cursed me. You shed your blood to wash the pus from my sins. You were drenched with gall to invite me to your table in the kingdom. You have experienced death, Thou Life of all, to resurrect the dead than I was. You were lying in the grave to snatch me from the grave. You rose to convince me of the resurrection. Thou hast ascended to heaven to bring me to Thy glory now and me in Thy kingdom. You did all this for me , Your slave!
O Lord! What is man that you remember and the son of man that You visit him? Man is but dust and ashes, and most importantly, a transgressor of Your holy law. Yet You have honored the one who disgraced thee, Thee its Creator and Lord! Creator, Thou hast mercy to Thy creatures. Master, Thou hast had pity on thy slave. Pastor, You went in search of Thy lost sheep. Deliverer, You freed the captive, You reminded rejected, You freed the chains. My Life, You revived the dead. My Strength, You have raised the fallen. My Protector, You have honored the dishonored, You protected the powerless. You broke my links, I'll sacrifice a sacrifice of praise. I confess Thy grace, I embrace Your love of man, I greet Thy goodness and mercy, I honor and I sing Thy inconceivable indulgence.
Oh, what can I give back to your goodness? What can I repay the Lord for all He has given me? If I should die a thousand times for you, this would have anything yet, for Thou art my Lord, my Creator and my God. I am but dust and ashes, I am a sinner, a worthless slave, and I deserve not only temporal death, but eternal death. That make you, my Lord who loves me, my protector, my Deliverer, my Redeemer? What shall I render Thee, to Thee who hast not pitied Thyself, who hast delivered to dishonor, to blasphemy, the mockery, to insults, spitting, conviction, beatings, wounds, martyrdom, the crucifixion, death, to make miserable and rejected I am blessed? What could I make you, I who own anything except my corruption, my weaknesses and sins? My soul and my body is Your work, they are yours. Alas, the corrupt and fallen! The advice from the devil and my own will have ruined me. I'll bring out a grateful heart, and this is the only thing you looking at me, but even so, I can not offer it to you without your help! For without Your help, I do not know you, and if I do not know you, how can I love you? Oh, I am weak, miserable, poor and corrupt ! As the enemy hurt me and broke! Have mercy on me, my Deliverer, as You have loved me already, because already, you're up for me! Have mercy on me and enlighten me so that I knew you, You my life! Kindle in me the love of you, put my feet on the rock and guide my steps that I follow you, You my Deliverer, my only guide to heaven, and my eternal life! Draw me after thee, Love hot! Draw me by Thy fragrance, so that I jumped in your wake, and that wherever you are, I am! Thy slave redeemed can contemplate your glory! O Merciful, compassionate Friend of man! Give me the heart to follow you, leads me on the path of your chosen ones! Lead me in Your continued by Your Holy Spirit! Your good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness. Your work is great, my mind can understand. Lord, King of heaven and earth, You came down from heaven, You took flesh from the Virgin Mother of God, Thou hast suffered, was crucified You, You shed Your blood for me, Thy slave ! Great indeed is thy work, great and wonderful! I think I confess, I confess, I preach, and yet I am always amazed at Ta so much goodness and mercy towards me, a sinner ...
I humbly beg You, Friend of man, give me one more grace to me a sinner: washing all my sins by the Holy Blood that You shed Your sinful slave, strengthen me in Thy fear and thy love, make me worthy of Thy saints follow it with faith and love, Keep me by Thy power from enemies who seek to divert my route and get away from you, my Redeemer! Thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life so that totally saved by Your grace, I bring you my gratitude face to face, I will sing praise Thee and glorify Thee with all Thy elect, and Your Eternal Father and Your most holy, good, and quickening Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen!
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