Sext (Midday Prayer)
INTRODUCTION
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
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. Alleluia.
Hymn
Lord God and Maker of all things,
Creation is upheld by you.
While all must change and know decay,
You are unchanging, always new.
You are man’s solace and his shield,
His Rock secure on which to build.
You are the spirit’s tranquil home,
In you alone is hope fulfilled.
To God the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit render praise:
Blest Trinity, from age to age
The strength of all our living days.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
The psalms of the day are shown here. If you are reciting more than one daytime hour (Terce, Sext, None) today, use the psalms of the day at one hour and the complementary psalms at the others.
PSALMS OF THE DAY
Psalm 21 (22)
The just man suffers; the Lord hears him
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, ‘Rejoice, most highly favoured one! The Lord is with you. Of all women you are the most blessed.’
God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
The words that I groan do not reach my saviour.
My God, I call by day and you do not listen.
I call to you by night, but no rest comes.
But still you are holy,
the one whom Israel praises.
Our fathers put their hope in you;
they gave you their trust and you freed them.
They called on you and they were saved,
they trusted and were not disappointed.
But I am a worm and no man,
despised by mankind and rejected by the people.
All who see me deride me,
they make faces and toss their heads:
“He trusted in the Lord, so let the Lord rescue him:
let him save him, if he truly delights in him!”
Indeed, you drew me from my mother’s womb,
you set me to suck at her breasts.
I have depended on you since before I was born,
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Do not be far from me now,
for my tribulation is close at hand,
for there is no-one who will help.
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.
Psalm 21 (22)
I am surrounded by many cattle,
the bulls of Bashan hem me in.
Their mouths open wide before me,
like a fierce and roaring lion.
I have flowed away like water,
and all my bones come apart.
My heart has turned to wax,
it melts away within me.
My mouth is dry as burnt clay,
my tongue sticks in my throat:
you have laid me in the dust of death.
I am surrounded by many dogs,
my enemies unite and hem me in.
They have pierced my hands and my feet:
I can count all my bones.
They gaze on me, they inspect me.
They have divided my clothing between them,
they have cast lots for my garment.
So you, Lord, do not stay away:
Lord, my strength, hurry to my help.
Rescue my soul from the sword,
my only child from the teeth of the dogs.
Save me from the lion’s mouth,
from the wild oxen’s horns that brought me low.
I will tell of your glory to my brethren;
I will praise you in the midst of the assembly.
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.
Psalm 21 (22)
Praise the Lord, you who fear him!
Give him glory, all the seed of Jacob.
Let Israel tremble before him,
for he does not spurn the poor or ignore their plight.
He does not turn his face away –
whoever calls on him, he listens.
I shall cry out your praise in the great assembly,
I shall fulfil my vows before all those who fear you.
The poor will eat and be filled,
those who seek the Lord will praise him.
“Let their hearts live for ever!”
All the ends of the earth will remember the Lord:
they will turn to him.
All the families of nations will worship before him.
For the Lord’s is the kingdom,
it is he who will rule all the nations.
Him alone will they praise, those who sleep in the earth;
they will worship before him, who go down into the dust.
But my soul will be alive to him,
and my seed shall serve him.
They shall tell of the Lord to the next generation,
they shall proclaim his righteousness to a people yet to be born.
“Hear what the Lord has done!”
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.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, ‘Rejoice, most highly favoured one! The Lord is with you. Of all women you are the most blessed.’
OR:
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
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, ‘Rejoice, most highly favoured one! The Lord is with you. Of all women you are the most blessed.’
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.
Psalm 123 (124)
Our help is in the name of the Lord
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.
Psalm 124 (125)
The Lord guards his people
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.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, ‘Rejoice, most highly favoured one! The Lord is with you. Of all women you are the most blessed.’
CONCLUSION
Short Reading
Isaiah 12:2
©
See now, he is the God of my salvation. I have trust now and no fear, for the Lord is my strength, my song, he is my salvation.
℣. Remember us, Lord, for the love you bear your people.
℟. Come to us as a saviour.
Let us pray.
In your goodness, Lord,
listen to your people’s prayer.
As we rejoice in the coming of your Son
in flesh and blood like ours,
grant that when he comes again in glory
we may receive the gift of eternal life.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
