Sext (Midday Prayer)
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
At one of today's daytime hours (Terce, Sext, None), use the psalms of the day. At the others, use the complementary psalms, which are shown further down the page.
PSALMS OF THE DAY
Psalm 18 (19)
Praise of God, the Lord of the law |
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As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
The law of the Lord is spotless,
it refreshes the soul.
The teaching of the Lord can be trusted,
it gives wisdom to children.
The judgements of the Lord are right:
they give joy to the heart.
The precepts of the Lord are clear:
they give light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure:
it lasts through all ages.
The decrees of the Lord are true:
each one of them is just.
They are more desirable than gold,
than heaps of precious stones.
They are sweeter than honey,
than dripping honeycomb.
From them your servant learns;
keeping them brings rich rewards.
But who knows his own errors?
Save me from those I do not see.
Save me, your servant, from pride:
let it have no hold over me.
Then I will be spotless
washed clean of the gravest sin.
May the words of my mouth be pleasing
and the thoughts of my heart, in your sight.
O Lord, you are my helper,
O Lord, you are my redeemer.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
Psalm 7
Prayer of the just man under persecution |
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As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
I put my hope in you, O Lord, my God.
Save me from all who persecute me,
save me and set me free.
Lest my enemy rip me to pieces like a lion
because no-one defends me.
If I have done this, O Lord, my God –
if my hands have done wickedness,
if I have done harm to those who harm me,
if I have ruined my enemy and sent him away with nothing –
then let my enemy pursue me and surround me;
let him pound my life into the ground,
let him drag my glory down to the dust.
Lord, rise up in wrath.
Rise up against the fury of my enemies.
My God, come out
to the trial that you commanded.
The assembly of the peoples will gather round you
and you will be above them –
the Lord judges the peoples.
Judge me, Lord, in your justice,
judge me according to the innocence that is mine.
Annihilate the wickedness of sinners
and set the righteous firm:
God, you are just and see into men’s hearts.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
My help comes from God,
who saves the upright of heart.
God is a just judge,
he is strong and his anger grows daily.
See, he has sharpened his sword once again,
he has stretched his bow and prepared it.
He has prepared to pour out death,
made ready his burning arrows.
See, the enemy is pregnant with wickedness,
he has conceived torment and given birth to evil.
He has opened a pit and excavated it –
and fallen into the pit he has dug.
His wickedness will rebound on his head;
on his head his own evil will fall.
I will proclaim the Lord and his justice.
I will sing psalms to his name,
the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
At the daytime hours (Terce, Sext, None) when you don't choose to use the psalms of the day, use the complementary psalms instead.
COMPLEMENTARY PSALMS
Psalm 122 (123)
The Lord guards his people |
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As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
To you I lift up my eyes,
to you who dwell in the heavens.
Like the eyes of a servant watching his master,
like the eyes of a maid on her mistress’s hands,
so we keep our eyes on the Lord our God,
as we wait for his kindness.
Take pity on us, Lord, take pity:
we have had our fill of contempt.
Our souls have had their fill
of the laughter of the rich,
of the contempt of the proud.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
Psalm 123 (124)
Our help is in the name of the Lord |
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As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
If the Lord had not been with us
(so let Israel sing),
If the Lord had not been with us
when men rose up against us,
they might have skinned us alive,
such was their anger.
The waters could have drowned us,
the torrent poured over us,
the foaming waters poured over us.
Blessed be the Lord, who saved us
from being torn to pieces by their teeth.
We have escaped, like a bird
from the snare of the fowler.
The snare was broken,
and we escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
Psalm 124 (125)
The Lord guards his people |
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As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
Those who trust in the Lord are like the mountain of Zion:
it cannot be shaken, it will stand firm for ever.
Jerusalem – the mountains stand guard over it,
and the Lord stands guard over his people,
both now and for ever.
The sceptre of the wicked shall not rest
upon the inheritance of the just;
lest the just themselves stretch out their hands
and turn to wickedness.
Be good, O Lord, to the good
and the upright of heart.
As for those who turn away to crooked paths,
the Lord shall treat them like the doers of evil.
Peace be on Israel!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
CONCLUSION
| Short reading | Jeremiah 18:20 © |
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Remember how I stood in your presence to plead on their behalf, to turn your wrath away from them.
Turn your face away from my sins
– and wipe out all my transgressions.
O God, lord and guardian of both vineyard and harvest, you allot us our tasks and give us the rewards we deserve.
Give us strength to bear the burden of today
and not to be overwhelmed by what you have willed for us.
Through Christ our Lord,
AMEN
The psalms and canticles here are our own translation. The Grail translation of the psalms, which is used liturgically in most of the English-speaking world, cannot be displayed on the Web for copyright reasons. The downloadable versions of Universalis do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.
