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
Psalm 118(119): 89-96
A meditation on the word of the Lord in the law
Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Your word, O Lord,
is established in heaven for ever.
Your truth lasts from generation to generation:
you have set the earth firm and it endures.
It is by your decree that they endure to this day,
for all things serve you.
Had your law not been my delight
I might have suffered and perished.
To all eternity I shall remember your commandments,
for in them you have given me life.
I am yours; keep me safe,
for I have sought out your commands.
The wicked waited for me, to destroy me;
but I have understood your sayings.
All that seems perfect has its limits;
but the perfection of your commands is boundless.
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 70 (71)
The Lord has been my hope since my youth
In you, Lord, I have placed my hope:
I shall never be put to shame.
In your righteousness, free me and rescue me;
turn your ear to my pleas and save me.
Be my rock, Lord, be my refuge,
a stronghold where I can be safe.
For you are my strength
and you are my refuge.
My God, rescue me from the hands of the wicked,
from the power of the unjust, the law-breakers.
For you, O Lord, are my hope;
Lord, my hope from my youth.
From birth I have leant on you,
from my mother’s womb you have been my support:
I praise you unceasingly.
Many people look at me in wonder,
but you are my strength and my helper.
May my mouth be full of your praises,
with your greatness all the day long.
Do not throw me out now I am old;
now I am weak, do not abandon me.
For my enemies have been watching me.
They have come together and discussed me.
They say, ‘God has abandoned him!
Follow him and surround him:
he has no-one to rescue him.’
God, do not distance yourself:
my God, hurry to my help.
Let those who seek my life
be powerless and ashamed.
Let confusion and shame overwhelm
those who wish harm to me.
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 70 (71)
But I will always have hope.
I will heap praise upon praise of you.
My mouth will proclaim your righteousness,
your saving power all the day long,
and your mercies, impossible to count.
I will turn to the power of the Lord
and recall only your righteousness.
God, from my youth you have taught me;
I am still proclaiming your marvels.
O God, do not abandon me,
now I have come to be old,
before I have proclaimed the strength of your arm
to every generation that is to come.
Your power, O God, and your righteousness
rise to the heights.
You have done great things,
for who, O God, is like you?
How many tribulations you have given me!
How many, and how severe!
But you have brought me to life again,
led me back up from the abyss.
You will lift me on high once again.
You will turn and console me.
I in my turn will proclaim you, my God:
on the lyre I will sing of your faithfulness,
on the harp I will praise you, O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will rejoice as I sing;
my soul will rejoice, for you have saved it.
Still I will meditate on your righteousness,
while my enemies who plotted my harm
will be ashamed and disgraced.
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. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Short Reading
Colossians 2:9,12
©
In Christ lives the fullness of divinity, and in him you too find your own fulfilment. You have been buried with him, when you were baptised; and by baptism, too, you have been raised up with him through your belief in the power of God who raised him from the dead.
℣. The disciples rejoiced, alleluia.
℟. When they saw the Lord, alleluia.
Let us pray.
Lord God,
let the grace of the Holy Spirit come upon us,
so that we may hold fast to your will with fidelity
and show it forth in a holy life.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
