Lord Almighty, God the father of us, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the seed of their righteous one: who created the heavens and the earth with all their beauty, who bound the sea with the word of command. Thine, having closed the abyss, and sealed with Thy terrible and glorious name, whom all fear, and tremble at the presence of Thy power, as no one can stand before the splendor Thy glory, and unbearable wrath against the sinners of Thy rebuke.
Immeasurable and unfathomable is the mercy of Your promise: For You are the Lord Most High, gracious, long-suffering and abundantly merciful, and repent of the wickedness of men. You, Lord, by the multitude of Your goodness, Thou hast promised repentance and forgiveness for those who have sinned against Thee, and by the multitude of Thy bounties, Thou hast ordained repentance for the sinner for salvation. For You, the Lord God of hosts, did not order repentance for the righteous, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin against You. But you have laid repentance upon me, a sinner: I have sinned more than the sand of the sea.
My iniquities have multiplied, O Lord, my iniquities have multiplied: and I am not worthy to look and see the heights of heaven because of the multitude of my iniquities. I am bound by many chains of iron, so that my head cannot be proclaimed, and I cannot bear weakness: I was angered by Thy wrath, and I did evil in Thy sight, without having done the will. Yours, and not keeping Your commandments.
And now I bow my heart’s knees, demanding goodness from You. I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned, and I am aware of my iniquities, but I ask, praying, weaken me, Lord, weaken me, and do not destroy me with my iniquities. Below in the age of enmity you have kept my evils, below you will condemn me to the depths of the earth. You are God, the God of the repentant, and show all Your goodness on me, for I am unworthy, save me according to the abundance of Your mercy, and I will praise You in the days of my life, as All the power of heaven sings to You, and Yours is the glory forever and ever, Amen.
***
***
Manasseh's repentance gives hope to any repentant sinner. The canon of the Sweetest Jesus says, “Save, be gracious to Jesus the benefactor, even as Manasseh was kind.” In the “Sequence on Confession” we hear: “Manasseh received prayer in repentance.” In the Great Canon of Repentance, Manasseh is set as an example of good repentance after many sins: “Thou didst gather up the sins of Manasseh by will, setting them up as abominations of passion, and multiplying indignation in the soul: but being zealous for that repentance, gain tenderness.”
* * *