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.
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 118 (119): 145-152
As I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked man; rather let him turn from his evil way and live.
I call on you with all my heart –
answer me, Lord.
I will obey your laws.
I call on you –
save me
so that I can keep your decrees.
At first light I cry to you,
I put all my hope in your word.
In the night I keep watch,
pondering your sayings.
In your mercy, Lord, hear my voice;
in your justice, give me life.
My persecutors come to do me harm:
they are far from your law.
But you, Lord, are near to me,
and you are trustworthy in all your precepts.
From the beginning I have known your decrees,
how you have made them to 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.
Psalm 93 (94)
God, the avenger of the just
O Lord, O God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, appear!
Rise up, judge of the world,
and give the proud their punishment.
How long will the wicked, O Lord,
how long will the wicked triumph?
They open their mouths and speak boldly
and proudly, those who do evil.
They oppress your people, O Lord,
they trouble your people, your inheritance.
They kill the widow and stranger,
they murder the orphans.
They have said to themselves
‘The Lord will not see.
The God of Jacob will not notice.’
Understand, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
He gave us ears: will he not hear?
He made the eye: will he not see?
He crushed the nations: will he not punish?
He is the teacher of wisdom to mankind.
The Lord knows the thoughts of men
in all their empty vanity.
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 93 (94)
Happy the man whom you instruct, O Lord;
to whom you teach your law.
You give him peace in evil days
while a pit is being dug for the wicked.
The Lord will not reject his people:
he will not abandon his inheritance.
Judgements will be just once more
and the upright of heart will follow them.
Who will rise up with me against the wicked?
Who will stand by my side against those who do evil?
If it were not for the Lord’s help,
I should quickly find myself in the land of silence.
Whenever I said, ‘My feet are slipping,’
your loving kindness, O Lord, held me upright.
In the midst of my heart’s troubles,
your consolations gave me back my happiness.
The unjust tribunal can never be your friend,
whose judges do evil against the law.
They attack the life of the just
and condemn innocent blood.
The Lord is my stronghold,
the rock where I shelter.
He will pay them back for their wickedness,
scatter them in their malice,
the Lord our God will scatter them.
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 have no pleasure in the death of the wicked man; rather let him turn from his evil way and live.
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
As I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked man; rather let him turn from his evil way and live.
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.
As I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked man; rather let him turn from his evil way and live.
CONCLUSION
Short Reading
Zechariah 1:3-4
©
Return to me, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will return to you. Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the prophets in the past cried ‘Turn back from your evil ways and evil deeds’ but they would not listen.
℣. From my sins turn away your face.
℟. And blot out all my guilt.
Let us pray.
Support us, Lord, as with this Lenten fast
we begin our Christian warfare,
so that in doing battle against the spirit of evil
we may be armed with the weapon of self-denial.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
