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 26 (27)
Keeping faith in time of peril
Lord, you have saved my soul from hell.
The Lord is my light and my help:
whom should I fear?
The Lord protects my life:
what could terrify me?
When they come to do me harm,
to consume my flesh,
my enemies and my persecutors,
it is they who stumble and fall.
If their armies encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
if battle flares up against me,
even then will I hope.
One thing I beg of the Lord, one thing will I ask:
that I may live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
so that I may behold the joys of the Lord
and always see his temple.
For he will shelter me in his tent in the time of evils.
He will hide me in the hidden parts of the tabernacle;
then raise me up on a rock,
lift me high up above the enemies who surround me.
In his tabernacle I will offer him a sacrifice
of shouts, of songs, of psalms to the Lord.
Listen, Lord, to my voice as I cry:
have mercy and listen to me.
“Seek his face,” my heart has said,
and so I will seek your face, O Lord.
Do not turn your face away from me,
do not turn from your servant in anger.
You are my helper, do not reject me;
do not abandon me, God, my help.
For when my father and mother have abandoned me,
the Lord will take me up.
Show me your ways, Lord, and guide me along the right path,
out of the reach of my enemies.
Do not hand me over to the whim of those who would persecute me,
when lying witnesses have risen up against me,
with those who plan to do me violence.
I trust I shall see the joys of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Hope in the Lord, be brave,
let your heart take comfort and trust in the Lord.
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 29 (30)
Thanksgiving for rescue from death
Lord, I will give you all praise, for you have rescued me
and not let my foes triumph over me.
My Lord God, I cried to you
and you healed me.
Lord, you led my soul out from the underworld,
gave me life so that I would not sink into the abyss.
Sing to the Lord, his holy ones,
and proclaim the truth of his holiness.
His anger lasts a moment,
but his favour for a lifetime.
At night there are tears,
but in the morning, joy.
Once I was secure. I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
Lord, by your
favour you had given me strength, set me high;
but then you turned your face from me
and I was shaken.
I cried to you, Lord,
and prayed to my God.
“What use is my life,
when I sink into decay?
Will dust proclaim you,
or make known your faithfulness?”
The Lord heard and took pity on me.
The Lord became my helper.
You have turned my weeping into dancing,
torn off my sackcloth and clothed me in joy,
It is my glory to sing to you and never cease:
Lord, my God, I will proclaim your goodness 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 75 (76)
Thanksgiving after victory
God’s name is known in Judah,
in Israel his name is great.
His dwelling-place is in Salem,
in Zion his habitation.
He has destroyed gleaming bows,
shields, swords, and whole armies.
God of Wonders, your glory shines
from the mountains of spoil.
The proud and powerful are despoiled
and now they sleep their sleep –
all men have lost their strength.
God of Jacob, at the sound of your rebuke
chariot and horse fall stunned.
You bring terror and no-one will stand up to you
when your anger is roused.
From the heavens you have made your judgement known:
the earth trembled and lay still
when God rose up to give judgement
to save all the humble of the world.
For the rage of man will proclaim your greatness
and the remnants of that rage will make a festival for you.
Make vows to the Lord and fulfil them.
Let all around bring gifts to the God of Terror,
to him who takes away the breath of princes
and brings terror to the kings of the 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.
Lord, you have saved my soul from hell.
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
Lord, you have saved my soul from hell.
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.
Lord, you have saved my soul from hell.
CONCLUSION
Short Reading
1 John 2:1-2
©
If anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is just. He is the sacrifice that takes our sins away; and not only ours, but the whole world’s.
℣. The Lord gives death and he gives life.
℟. He sends men down to hell and he draws them back up again.
Let us pray.
Almighty, ever-living God,
whose Only-Begotten Son descended to the realm of the dead,
and rose from there to glory,
grant that your faithful people,
who were buried with him in baptism,
may, by his resurrection, obtain eternal life.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
