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.
SPECIAL FOR TODAY: If you are celebrating Afternoon Prayer (None) today, use the psalms of the day then, and the complementary psalms for the other Hours.
PSALMS OF THE DAY
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
See my distress, and rescue me,
since I have not forgotten your law.
Give judgement in my case and redeem me;
give me life, as you have promised.
The wicked are far from salvation:
they have not sought out your judgements.
Your acts of kindness are many:
Lord, give me life as you have decreed.
How many pursue me and trouble me!
But I have not abandoned your decrees.
I have seen liars and they disgust me,
since they have ignored your promises.
Lord, see how I love your commandments!
In your loving kindness, give me life.
Truth lies behind all your words:
justice makes your judgements last for ever.
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 127 (128)
Peaceful life in 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.
Blessed are all who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways.
The food you have worked for, you will eat:
God’s blessing will bring you good things.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
on the side of your house.
Your children will be like olive shoots,
seated round your table.
See, this is how the man is blessed
who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion:
may you see the wealth of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
May you see your children’s children.
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.
Psalm 128 (129)
The renewed faith of an afflicted 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.
Let Israel say: ‘They have attacked me
again and again from my youth.
Again and again from my youth –
but they could never defeat me.
My back has been scored by ploughmen
ploughing long furrows.
But the Lord, the Righteous One,
has broken the necks of the wicked.’
May all who hate Zion
be thrown back in utter confusion.
Like the grass that grows on the roof
that withers before it flowers.
He who harvests it is empty-handed;
his arms are empty of its sheaves.
Those who go past do not say
‘The blessing of the Lord be upon you,
we bless you in the name of the Lord.’
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 | Deuteronomy 30:2-3 © |
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If you return to the Lord your God, if you obey his voice with all your heart and soul in everything I enjoin on you today, you and your children, then the Lord your God will bring back your captives and will have pity on you.
Turn your face away from my sins
– and wipe out all my transgressions.
Almighty and eternal God, with you nothing is darkness or shadow.
Shine the glory of your light into us,
so that we comprehend the law of your commandments
and walk gladly in your ways, with faithful hearts.
Through Christ our Lord,
A M E N
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.
