[A Prayer Commemorative of the Incarnation of Christ, and His Various Providence to the Saints.]

XXXVI. O Lord Almighty Thou hast created the world by Christ, and hast appointed the Sabbath in memory thereof, because that on that day Thou hast made us rest from our works, for the meditation upon Thy laws. Thou hast also appointed festivals for the rejoicing of our souls, that we might come into the remembrance of that wisdom which was created by Thee; how He submitted to be made of a woman on our account;  152  Prov. viii. 22, LXX. He appeared in life, and demonstrated Himself in His baptism; how He that appeared is both God and man; He suffered for us by Thy permission, and died, and rose again by Thy power: on which account we solemnly assemble to celebrate the feast of the resurrection on the Lord’s day, and rejoice on account of Him who has conquered death, and has brought life and immortality to light. For by Him Thou hast brought home the Gentiles to Thyself for a peculiar people, the true Israel beloved of God, and seeing God. For Thou O Lord, broughtest our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and didst deliver them out of the iron furnace, from clay and brick-making, and didst redeem them out of the hands of Pharaoh, and of those under him, and didst lead them through the sea as through dry land, and didst bear their manners in the wilderness, and bestow on them all sorts of good things. Thou didst give them the law or decalogue, which was pronounced by Thy voice and written with Thy hand. Thou didst enjoin the observation of the Sabbath, not affording them an occasion of idleness, but an opportunity of piety, for their knowledge of Thy power, and the prohibition of evils; having limited them as within an holy circuit for the sake of doctrine, for the rejoicing upon the seventh period. On this account was there appointed one week, and seven weeks, and the seventh month, and the seventh year, and the revolution of these, the jubilee, which is the fiftieth year for remission, that men might have no occasion to pretend ignorance.  153  Lev. xxiii., xxv. On this account He permitted men every Sabbath to rest, that so no one might be willing to send one word out of his mouth in anger on the day of the Sabbath. For the Sabbath is the ceasing of the creation, the completion of the world, the inquiry after laws, and the grateful praise to God for the blessings He has bestowed upon men. All which the Lord’s day excels,  154  [Vol. vi. p. 149, note 8, this series.] and shows the Mediator Himself, the Provider, the Lawgiver, the Cause of the resurrection, the First-born of the whole creation, God the Word, and man, who was born of Mary alone, without a man, who lived holily, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose again from the dead. So that the Lord’s day commands us to offer unto Thee, O Lord, thanksgiving for all.  155  [Justin Martyr, vol. i. p. 186, this series.] For this is the grace afforded by Thee, which on account of its greatness has obscured all other blessings.

[36] Κύριε παντοκράτορ, κόσμον ἔκτισας διὰ Χριστοῦ καὶ σάββατον ὥρισας εἰς μνήμην τούτου, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ κατέπαυσας ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων εἰς μελέτην τῶν σῶν νόμων, καὶ ἑορτὰς διετάξω εἰς εὐφροσύνην τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν, ὅπως εἰς μνήμην ἐρχώμεθα τῆς ὑπὸ σοῦ κτισθείσης σοφίας: Ὡς δι' ἡμᾶς γένεσιν ὑπέστη τὴν διὰ γυναικός, ἐπεφάνη τῷ βίῳ ἀναδεικνὺς ἑαυτὸν ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι, ὡς Θεός ἐστι καὶ ἄνθρωπος ὁ φανείς, ἔπαθεν δι' ἡμᾶς σῇ συγχωρήσει καὶ ἀπέθανεν καὶ ἀνέστη σῷ κράτει: διὸ καὶ τὴν ἀναστάσιμον ἑορτὴν πανηγυρίζοντες τῇ κυριακῇ χαίρομεν ἐπὶ τῷ νικήσαντι μὲν τὸν θάνατον, φωτίσαντι δὲ ζωὴν καὶ ἀφθαρσίαν: δι' αὐτοῦ γὰρ προσηγάγου τὰ ἔθνη ἑαυτῷ εἰς λαὸν περιούσιον, τὸν ἀληθινὸν Ἰσραήλ, τὸν θεοφιλῆ, τὸν ὁρῶντα Θεόν. Σὺ γάρ, Κύριε, καὶ τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν ἐξήγαγες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐρρύσω ἐκ καμίνου σιδηρᾶς καὶ ἐκ πηλοῦ καὶ πλινθουργίας, ἐλυτρώσω ἐκ χειρὸς Φαραῶ καὶ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτὸν καὶ διὰ θαλάσσης ὡς διὰ ξηρᾶς αὐτοὺς παρήγαγες καὶ ἐτροποφόρησας αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ παντοίοις ἀγαθοῖς. Νόμον αὐτοῖς ἐδωρήσω δέκα λογίων σῇ φωνῇ φθεγχθέντα καὶ χειρὶ σῇ καταγραφέντα: σαββατίζειν ἐνετείλω, οὐ πρόφασιν ἀργίας διδούς, ἀλλ' ἀφορμὴν εὐσεβείας, εἰς γνῶσιν τῆς σῆς δυνάμεως, εἰς κώλυσιν κακῶν ὡς ἐν ἱερῷ καθείρξας περιβόλῳ διδασκαλίας χάριν, εἰς ἀγαλλίαμα ἑβδομάδος: διὰ τοῦτο ἑβδομὰς μία καὶ ἑβδομάδες ἑπτὰ καὶ μὴν ἕβδομος καὶ ἐνιαυτὸς ἕβδομος καὶ τούτου κατὰ ἀνακύκλησιν ἔτος πεντηκοστὸν εἰς ἄφεσιν. Ὅπως μηδεμίαν ἔχωσιν πρόφασιν ἄνθρωποι ἄγνοιαν σκήψασθαι, τούτου χάριν πᾶν σάββατον ἐπέτρεψας ἀργεῖν, ὅπως μηδὲ λόγον τις ἐν ὀργῇ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ προέσθαι θελήσῃ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων: σάββατον γάρ ἐστιν κατάπαυσις δημιουργίας, τελείωσις κόσμου, νόμων ζήτησις, αἶνος εἰς Θεὸν εὐχάριστος ὑπὲρ ὧν ἀνθρώποις ἐδωρήσατο. Ὧν ἁπάντων ἡ κυριακὴ προὔχουσα, αὐτὸν τὸν μεσίτην, τὸν προνοητήν, τὸν νομοθέτην, τὸν ἀναστάσεως αἴτιον, τὸν πρωτότοκον πάσης κτίσεως, τὸν Θεὸν λόγον καὶ ἄνθρωπον τὸν ἐκ Μαρίας γεννηθέντα μόνον δίχα ἀνδρός, τὸν πολιτευσάμενον ὁσίως, τὸν σταυρωθέντα ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου καὶ ἀποθανόντα καὶ ἀναστάντα ἐκ νεκρῶν ὑποδεικνύουσα, ὡς κυριακὴ παρακελεύεται σοί, δέσποτα, τὴν ὑπὲρ πάντων εὐχαριστίαν προσφέρειν. Αὕτη γὰρ ἡ ὑπὸ σοῦ παρασχεθεῖσα χάρις, ἥτις διὰ μέγεθος πᾶσαν εὐεργεσίαν ἐκάλυψεν.