Alleluia!

Praise the Name of the Lord;
give praise, you servants of the Lord,
You who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praises to his Name for it is lovely.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself
and Israel for his own possession.

For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
The Lord does whatever pleases him, in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the deeps.

He brings up rain clouds from the ends of the earth;
he sends out lightning with the rain,
and brings the winds out of his storehouse.

It was he who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstborn both of man and beast.
He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
He overthrew many nations
and put mighty kings to death:

Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, the king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
He gave their land to be an inheritance,
an inheritance for Israel his people.

O Lord, your Name is everlasting;
your renown, O Lord, endures from age to age,
For the Lord gives his people justice
and shows compassion to his servants.

The idols of the heathen are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths but they cannot speak;
eyes have they but they cannot see.

They have ears, but they cannot hear;
neither is there any breath in their mouth.
Those who make them are like them,
and so are all who put their trust in them.

Bless the Lord, O house of Israel;
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, O house of Levi;
you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem.

Alleluia.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his mercy endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his mercy endures for ever.

Who only does great wonders,
for his mercy endures for ever;
Who by wisdom made the heavens,
for his mercy endures for ever;
Who spread out the earth upon the waters,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who created great lights,
for his mercy endures for ever;
The sun to rule the day,
for his mercy endures for ever;
The moon and the stars to govern the night,
for his mercy endures for ever.

Who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his mercy endures for ever;
And brought out Israel from among them,
for his mercy endures for ever;
With a mighty hand and a stretched-out arm,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who divided the Red Sea in two,
for his mercy endures for ever;
And made Israel to pass through the midst of it,
for his mercy endures for ever;

But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
for his mercy endures for ever;
Who led his people through the wilderness,
for his mercy endures for ever.

Who struck down great kings,
for his mercy endures for ever;
And slew mighty kings,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his mercy endures for ever;
And Og, the king of Bashan,
for his mercy endures for ever;

And gave away their lands for an inheritance,
for his mercy endures for ever,
An inheritance for Israel his servant,
for his mercy endures for ever.

Who remembered us in our low estate,
for his mercy endures for ever;
And delivered us from our enemies,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who gives food to all creatures,
for his mercy endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his mercy endures for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept,
when we remembered you, O Zion.
As for our harps, we hung them up
on the trees in the midst of that land.

For those who led us away captive asked us for a song,
and our oppressors called for mirth:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

How shall we sing the Lord’s song
upon an alien soil?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill.

Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.

Remember the day of Jerusalem, O Lord,
against the people of Edom,
who said, “Down with it! down with it!
even to the ground!”

O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy the one who pays you back
for what you have done to us!
Happy shall he be who takes your little ones,
and dashes them against the rock!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I will sing your praise;
I will bow down toward your holy temple
and praise your Name,
because of your love and faithfulness.

For you have glorified your Name
and your word above all things.
When I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength within me.

All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord,
when they have heard the words of your mouth.
They will sing of the ways of the Lord,
that great is the glory of the Lord.

Though the Lord be high, he cares for the lowly;
he perceives the haughty from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe;
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies;
your right hand shall save me.

The Lord will make good his purpose for me;
O Lord, your love endures for ever;
do not abandon the works of your hands.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

O Christ, Redeemer of us all,
the Father’s sole-begotten Son,
alone before all time began,
beyond all telling, born from him,

O Light, O Father’s splendor bright,
O everlasting hope for all,
bend low to hear your servants’ prayers,
poured out by them throughout the earth.

O Author of all saving grace,
recall that once you took our flesh
and from the Virgin pure and chaste
assumed by birth our human form.

This feast today now testifies,
within the cycle of the year,
that you as Savior of the world
alone came from the Father’s throne.

The sky above, the earth, the sea,
and all creation held therein
extol with joyous hymns of praise
the Author of your advent here.

We also, whom you came to save
and by your holy blood redeem,
all sing a new and joyful hymn
to celebrate your day of birth.

To you, Lord Jesus, glory be,
the Virgin Mother’s newborn Son,
with God the Father, ever blest,
and loving Spirit, ever one. Amen.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.