May God be merciful to us and bless us,
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.
Let your ways be known upon earth,
your saving health among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has brought forth her increase;
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
May God give us his blessing,
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

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.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness;
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
Wash me through and through from my wickedness
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight.
And so you are justified when you speak
and upright in your judgment.

Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth,
a sinner from my mother’s womb.
For behold, you look for truth deep within me,
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure;
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.

Make me hear of joy and gladness,
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence
and take not your holy Spirit from me.

Give me the joy of your saving help again
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
I shall teach your ways to the wicked,
and sinners shall return to you.

Deliver me from death, O God,
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
O God of my salvation.
Open my lips, O Lord,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice,
but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.
The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Be favorable and gracious to Zion,
and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with the appointed sacrifices,
with burnt-offerings and oblations;
then shall they offer young bullocks upon your altar.

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 judgment for me, O God,
and defend my cause against an ungodly people;
deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.

For you are the God of my strength;
why have you put me from you?
and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?

Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me,
and bring me to your holy hill,
and to your dwelling;

That I may go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joy and gladness;
and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God.

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?
and why are you so disquieted within me?
Put your trust in God;
for I will yet give thanks to him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

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.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have taken refuge in you;
in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge
until this time of trouble has gone by.

I will call upon the Most High God,
the God who maintains my cause.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will confound those who trample upon me;
God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.

I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharp sword.

They have laid a net for my feet,
and I am bowed low;
they have dug a pit before me,
but have fallen into it themselves.

Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God,
and your glory over all the earth.

My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed;
I will sing and make melody.
Wake up, my spirit;
awake, lute and harp;
I myself will waken the dawn.

I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord;
I will sing praise to you among the nations.
For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God,
and your glory over all the earth.

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.

In my despair I said,
“In the noonday of my life I must depart;
my unspent years are summoned to the portals of death.”
And I said,
“No more shall I see the Lord in the land of the living,
never more look on my kind among dwellers on earth.

“My house is pulled down and I am uncovered,
as when a shepherd strikes his tent.
My life is rolled up like a bolt of cloth,
the threads cut off from the loom.

“Between sunrise and sunset my life is brought to an end;
I cower and hope for the dawn.
Like a lion he has crushed all my bones;
like a swallow or thrush I utter plaintive cries;
I mourn like a dove.

“My weary eyes look up to you;
Lord, be my refuge in my affliction.”
But what can I say? for he has spoken;
it is he who has done this.
Slow and halting are my steps all my days,
because of the bitterness of my spirit.

O Lord, I recounted all these things to you
and you rescued me;
when entreated, you restored my life.
I know now that my bitterness was for my good,
for you held me back from the pit of destruction,
you cast all my sins behind you.

The grave does not thank you nor death give you praise;
nor do those at the brink of the grave hang on your promises.
It is the living, O Lord,
the living who give you thanks as I do this day;
and parents speak of your faithfulness to their children.

You, Lord, are my Savior;
I will praise you with stringed instruments
all the days of my life, in the house of the Lord.

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.

Alleluia!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
Praise him all you angels of his;
praise him, all his host.

Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.

Let them praise the Name of the Lord;
for he commanded, and they were created.
He made them stand fast for ever and ever;
he gave them a law which shall not pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea-monsters and all deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and fog,
tempestuous wind, doing his will;

Mountains and all hills,
fruit-trees and all cedars;
Wild beasts and all cattle,
creeping things and wingèd birds;

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the world;
Young men and maidens,
old and young together.

Let them praise the Name of the Lord,
for his Name only is exalted,
his splendor is over earth and heaven.

He has raised up strength for his people
and praise for all his loyal servants,
the children of Israel, a people who are near him.

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in his Maker;
let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise his Name in the dance;
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people
and adorns the poor with victory.
Let the faithful rejoice in triumph;
let them be joyful on their beds.
Let the praises of God be in their throat
and a two-edged sword in their hand;

To wreak vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples;
To bind their kings in chains
and their nobles with links of iron;
To inflict on them the judgment decreed;
this is glory for all his faithful people.

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Praise God in his holy temple;
praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts;
praise him for his excellent greatness.

Praise him with the blast of the ram’s-horn;
praise him with lyre and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe.

Praise him with resounding cymbals;
praise him with loud-clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the Lord.

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.

With mighty voice the prophets cry
that Christ the Lord is drawing near,
rejoicing, they foresee the grace
by which he saves us and redeems.

And so our morning sun shines forth,
our hearts ablaze with radiant joy;
we hear the faithful voice resound,
precursor of God’s glorious gift.

At that first Advent Christ our God
came forth not to condemn the world,
but came to cleanse our gaping wound,
to seek and save what had been lost.

The Second Coming now forewarns
that Christ is standing at the gates
to give to saints their glorious crowns
and open wide the heavenly realm.

Eternal light is now foretold,
the saving star is shining forth,
its radiant splendor summons us
and calls us to the heavenly court.

Christ Jesus, you alone we seek,
to see you face to face as God,
that this unending vision be
an everlasting hymn of praise. Amen.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

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.