Lord, how many adversaries I have!
how many there are who rise up against me!
how many there are who say of me,
“There is no help for him in his God.”
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me;
you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.

I call aloud upon the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill;
I lie down and go to sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
I do not fear the multitudes of people
who set themselves against me all around.

Rise up, O Lord; set me free, O my God;
surely, you will strike all my enemies across the face,
you will break the teeth of the wicked.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing be upon your people!

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.

Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you;
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.

Incline your ear to me;
when I call, make haste to answer me.

For my days drift away like smoke,
and my bones are hot as burning coals.
My heart is smitten like grass and withered,
so that I forget to eat my bread.
Because of the voice of my groaning
I am but skin and bones.

I have become like a vulture in the wilderness,
like an owl among the ruins.
I lie awake and groan;
I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
My enemies revile me all day long,
and those who scoff at me have taken an oath against me.

For I have eaten ashes for bread
and mingled my drink with weeping.
Because of your indignation and wrath
you have lifted me up and thrown me away.
My days pass away like a shadow,
and I wither like the grass.

But you, O Lord, endure for ever,
and your Name from age to age.

You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to have mercy upon her;
indeed, the appointed time has come.
For your servants love her very rubble,
and are moved to pity even for her dust.

The nations shall fear your Name, O Lord,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
For the Lord will build up Zion,
and his glory will appear.
He will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless;
he will not despise their plea.

Let this be written for a future generation,
so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord.
For the Lord looked down from his holy place on high;
from the heavens he beheld the earth;
that he might hear the groan of the captive
and set free those condemned to die;

That they may declare in Zion the Name of the Lord,
and his praise in Jerusalem;
when the peoples are gathered together,
and the kingdoms also, to serve the Lord.

He has brought down my strength before my time;
he has shortened the number of my days;
And I said, “O my God,
do not take me away in the midst of my days;
your years endure throughout all generations.

“In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
They shall perish, but you will endure;
they all shall wear out like a garment;
as clothing you will change them,
and they shall be changed;
But you are always the same,
and your years will never end.

“The children of your servants shall continue,
and their offspring shall stand fast in your sight.”

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.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

He forgives all your sins
and heals all your infirmities;
He redeems your life from the grave
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
He satisfies you with good things,
and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

The Lord executes righteousness
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
He made his ways known to Moses
and his works to the children of Israel.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
He will not always accuse us,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.

As a father cares for his children,
so does the Lord care for those who fear him.
For he himself knows whereof we are made;
he remembers that we are but dust.

Our days are like the grass;
we flourish like a flower of the field;
When the wind goes over it, it is gone,
and its place shall know it no more.

But the merciful goodness of the Lord endures for ever on those who fear him,
and his righteousness on children’s children;
On those who keep his covenant
and remember his commandments and do them.

The Lord has set his throne in heaven,
and his kingship has dominion over all.
Bless the Lord, you angels of his,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
and hearken to the voice of his word.

Bless the Lord, all you his hosts,
you ministers of his who do his will.
Bless the Lord, all you works of his,
in all places of his dominion;
bless the Lord, O my soul.

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.

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
you are clothed with majesty and splendor.
You wrap yourself with light as with a cloak
and spread out the heavens like a curtain.

You lay the beams of your chambers in the waters above;
you make the clouds your chariot;
you ride on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers
and flames of fire your servants.

You have set the earth upon its foundations,
so that it never shall move at any time.
You covered it with the Deep as with a mantle;
the waters stood higher than the mountains.
At your rebuke they fled;
at the voice of your thunder they hastened away.

They went up into the hills and down to the valleys beneath,
to the places you had appointed for them.
You set the limits that they should not pass;
they shall not again cover the earth.

You send the springs into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.
All the beasts of the field drink their fill from them,
and the wild asses quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the air make their nests
and sing among the branches.

You water the mountains from your dwelling on high;
the earth is fully satisfied by the fruit of your works.

You make grass grow for flocks and herds
and plants to serve mankind;
That they may bring forth food from the earth,
and wine to gladden our hearts,
Oil to make a cheerful countenance,
and bread to strengthen the heart.

The trees of the Lord are full of sap,
the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,
In which the birds build their nests,
and in whose tops the stork makes his dwelling.
The high hills are a refuge for the mountain goats,
and the stony cliffs for the rock badgers.

You appointed the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows the time of its setting.
You make darkness that it may be night,
in which all the beasts of the forest prowl.
The lions roar after their prey
and seek their food from God.

The sun rises and they slip away
and lay themselves down in their dens.
Man goes forth to his work
and to his labor until the evening.

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 Lord, how manifold are your works!
in wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number,
creatures both small and great.
There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan,
which you have made for the sport of it.

All of them look to you
to give them their food in due season.
You give it to them; they gather it;
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.

You hide your face, and they are terrified;
you take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
You send forth your Spirit, and they are created;
and so you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
He looks at the earth and it trembles;
he touches the mountains and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will praise my God while I have my being.
May these words of mine please him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.

Let sinners be consumed out of the earth,
and the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.

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 and call upon his Name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him, sing praises to him,
and speak of all his marvelous works.
Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Search for the Lord and his strength;
continually seek his face.
Remember the marvels he has done,
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth.

O offspring of Abraham his servant,
O children of Jacob his chosen:
He is the Lord our God;
his judgments prevail in all the world.

He has always been mindful of his covenant,
the promise he made for a thousand generations:
The covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath that he swore to Isaac,

Which he established as a statute for Jacob,
an everlasting covenant for Israel,
Saying, “To you will I give the land of Canaan
to be your allotted inheritance.”

When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in the land,
Wandering from nation to nation
and from one kingdom to another,

He let no one oppress them
and rebuked kings for their sake,
Saying, “Do not touch my anointed
and do my prophets no harm.”

Then he called for a famine in the land
and destroyed the supply of bread.
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

They bruised his feet in fetters;
his neck they put in an iron collar.
Until his prediction came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.

The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He set him as a master over his household,
as a ruler over all his possessions,
To instruct his princes according to his will
and to teach his elders wisdom.

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.

Israel came into Egypt,
and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.
The Lord made his people exceedingly fruitful;
he made them stronger than their enemies;
Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people,
and dealt unjustly with his servants.

He sent Moses his servant,
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
They worked his signs among them,
and portents in the land of Ham.

He sent darkness, and it grew dark;
but the Egyptians rebelled against his words.
He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.

Their land was overrun by frogs,
in the very chambers of their kings.
He spoke, and there came swarms of insects
and gnats within all their borders.

He gave them hailstones instead of rain,
and flames of fire throughout their land.
He blasted their vines and their fig trees
and shattered every tree in their country.

He spoke, and the locust came,
and young locusts without number,
Which ate up all the green plants in their land
and devoured the fruit of their soil.
He struck down all the firstborn of their land,
the firstfruits of all their strength.

He led out his people with silver and gold;
in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.
Egypt was glad of their going,
because they were afraid of them.

He spread out a cloud for a covering
and a fire to give light in the night season.

They asked, and quails appeared,
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
He opened the rock, and water flowed,
so the river ran in the dry places.

For God remembered his holy word
and Abraham his servant.
So he led forth his people with gladness,
his chosen with shouts of joy.

He gave his people the lands of the nations,
and they took the fruit of others’ toil,
That they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.

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.

Alleluia!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures for ever.
Who can declare the mighty acts of the Lord
or show forth all his praise?
Happy are those who act with justice
and always do what is right!

Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you have for your people,
and visit me with your saving help;
That I may see the prosperity of your elect
and be glad with the gladness of your people,
that I may glory with your inheritance.

We have sinned as our forebears did;
we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.

In Egypt they did not consider your marvelous works,
nor remember the abundance of your love;
they defied the Most High at the Red Sea.
But he saved them for his Name’s sake,
to make his power known.

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up,
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
He saved them from the hand of those who hated them
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

The waters covered their oppressors;
not one of them was left.
Then they believed his words
and sang him songs of praise.

But they soon forgot his deeds
and did not wait for his counsel.
A craving seized them in the wilderness,
and they put God to the test in the desert.

He gave them what they asked,
but sent leanness into their soul.
They envied Moses in the camp,
and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

The earth opened and swallowed Dathan
and covered the company of Abiram.
Fire blazed up against their company,
and flames devoured the wicked.

Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb,
and worshiped a molten image;
And so they exchanged their Glory
for the image of an ox that feeds on grass.

They forgot God their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham,
and fearful things at the Red Sea.

So he would have destroyed them,
had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach,
to turn away his wrath from consuming them.

They refused the pleasant land
and would not believe his promise.
They grumbled in their tents
and would not listen to the voice of the Lord.

So he lifted his hand against them,
to overthrow them in the wilderness,
To cast out their seed among the nations,
and to scatter them throughout the lands.

They joined themselves to Baal-Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
They provoked him to anger with their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.

Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
and the plague came to an end.
This was reckoned to him as righteousness
throughout all generations 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.

Again they provoked his anger at the waters of Meribah,
so that he punished Moses because of them;
For they so embittered his spirit
that he spoke rash words with his lips.

They did not destroy the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them.
They intermingled with the heathen
and learned their pagan ways.

So that they worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to evil spirits.

They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
which they offered to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was defiled with blood.

Thus they were polluted by their actions
and went whoring in their evil deeds.
Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against his people
and he abhorred his inheritance.

He gave them over to the hand of the heathen,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were humbled under their hand.

Many a time did he deliver them,
but they rebelled through their own devices,
and were brought down in their iniquity.
Nevertheless, he saw their distress,
when he heard their lamentation.

He remembered his covenant with them
and relented in accordance with his great mercy.
He caused them to be pitied
by those who held them captive.

Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy Name
and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting;
and let all the people say, “Amen!”
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,
and his mercy endures for ever.
Let all those whom the Lord has redeemed proclaim
that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
He gathered them out of the lands;
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes;
they found no way to a city where they might dwell.
They were hungry and thirsty;
their spirits languished within them.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He put their feet on a straight path
to go to a city where they might dwell.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy
and the wonders he does for his children.
For he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

Some sat in darkness and deep gloom,
bound fast in misery and iron;
Because they rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
So he humbled their spirits with hard labor;
they stumbled and there was none to help.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them out of darkness and deep gloom
and broke their bonds asunder.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy
and the wonders he does for his children.
For he shatters the doors of bronze
and breaks in two the iron bars.

Some were fools and took to rebellious ways;
they were afflicted because of their sins.
They abhorred all manner of food
and drew near to death’s door.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent forth his word and healed them
and saved them from the grave.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy
and the wonders he does for his children.
Let them offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.

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.

Some went down to the sea in ships
and plied their trade in deep waters;
They beheld the works of the Lord
and his wonders in the deep.

Then he spoke, and a stormy wind arose,
which tossed high the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to the heavens and fell back to the depths;
their hearts melted because of their peril.
They reeled and staggered like drunkards
and were at their wits’ end.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper
and quieted the waves of the sea.
Then were they glad because of the calm,
and he brought them to the harbor they were bound for.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy
and the wonders he does for his children.
Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.

The Lord changed rivers into deserts,
and water-springs into thirsty ground,
A fruitful land into salt flats,
because of the wickedness of those who dwell there.

He changed deserts into pools of water
and dry land into water-springs.
He settled the hungry there,
and they founded a city to dwell in.

They sowed fields, and planted vineyards,
and brought in a fruitful harvest.
He blessed them, so that they increased greatly;
he did not let their herds decrease.

Yet when they were diminished and brought low,
through stress of adversity and sorrow,
(He pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes)

He lifted up the poor out of their misery
and multiplied their families like flocks of sheep.
The upright will see this and rejoice,
but all wickedness will shut its mouth.

Whoever is wise will ponder these things,
and consider well the mercies 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.

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 praises 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.
So that those who are dear to you may be delivered,
save with your right hand and answer me.

God spoke from his holy place and said,
“I will exult and parcel out Shechem;
I will divide the valley of Succoth.

“Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet and Judah my scepter.
Moab is my washbasin,
on Edom I throw down my sandal to claim it,
and over Philistia will I shout in triumph.”

Who will lead me into the strong city?
who will bring me into Edom?
Have you not cast us off, O God?
you no longer go out, O God, with our armies.

Grant us your help against the enemy,
for vain is the help of man.
With God we will do valiant deeds,
and he shall tread our enemies under foot.

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.

Hold not your tongue, O God of my praise;
for the mouth of the wicked,
the mouth of the deceitful, is opened against me.

They speak to me with a lying tongue;
they encompass me with hateful words
and fight against me without a cause.

Despite my love, they accuse me;
but as for me, I pray for them.
They repay evil for good,
and hatred for my love.

Set a wicked man against him,
and let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
and let his appeal be in vain.

Let his days be few,
and let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless,
and his wife become a widow.

Let his children be waifs and beggars;
let them be driven from the ruins of their homes.
Let the creditor seize everything he has;
let strangers plunder his gains.

Let there be no one to show him kindness,
and none to pity his fatherless children.
Let his descendants be destroyed,
and his name be blotted out in the next generation.

Let the wickedness of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
and his mother’s sin not be blotted out;
Let their sin be always before the Lord;
but let him root out their names from the earth;

Because he did not remember to show mercy,
but persecuted the poor and needy
and sought to kill the brokenhearted.
He loved cursing,
let it come upon him;
he took no delight in blessing,
let it depart from him.

He put on cursing like a garment,
let it soak into his body like water
and into his bones like oil;
Let it be to him like the cloak which he wraps around himself,
and like the belt that he wears continually.

Let this be the recompense from the Lord to my accusers,
and to those who speak evil against me.

But you, O Lord my God,
oh, deal with me according to your Name;
for your tender mercy’s sake, deliver me.

For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
I have faded away like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like a locust.

My knees are weak through fasting,
and my flesh is wasted and gaunt.
I have become a reproach to them;
they see and shake their heads.

Help me, O Lord my God;
save me for your mercy’s sake.
Let them know that this is your hand,
that you, O Lord, have done it.

They may curse, but you will bless;
let those who rise up against me be put to shame,
and your servant will rejoice.
Let my accusers be clothed with disgrace
and wrap themselves in their shame as in a cloak.

I will give great thanks to the Lord with my mouth;
in the midst of the multitude will I praise him;
Because he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to save his life from those who would condemn 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.