MATINS: First Nocturn
Dixit Insipiens
1 Unto the end, a psalm for David. THE fool hath said in his heart: There is no God. They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one. 2 The Lord hath looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes. 4 Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people as they eat bread? 5 They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. 6 For the Lord is in the just generation: you have confounded the counsel of the poor man, but the Lord is his hope. 7 Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when the Lord shall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Domine Quis Habitabit
1 A psalm of David. LORD, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? or who shall rest in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh without blemish, and worketh justice: 3 He that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath not used deceit in his tongue: Nor hath done evil to his neighbour: nor taken up a reproach against his neighbours. 4 In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing: but he glorifieth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his neighbour, and deceiveth not; 5 he that hath not put out his money to usury, nor taken bribes against the innocent: He that doth these things shall not be moved for ever.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Exaudi Dominum Justitium
1 The prayer of David. HEAR, O Lord, my justice: attend to my supplication. Give ear unto my prayer, which proceedeth not from deceitful lips. 2 Let my judgment come forth from thy countenance: let thy eyes behold the things that are equitable. 3 Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night, thou hast tried me by fire: and iniquity hath not been found in me. 4 That my mouth may not speak the works of men: for the sake of the words of thy lips, I have kept hard ways. 5 Perfect thou my goings in thy paths: that my footsteps be not moved. 6 I have cried to thee, for thou, O God, hast heard me: O incline thy ear unto me, and hear my words. 7 Shew forth thy wonderful mercies; thou who savest them that trust in thee. 8 From them that resist thy right hand keep me, as the apple of thy eye. Protect me under the shadow of thy wings. 9 From the face of the wicked who have afflicted me. My enemies have surrounded my soul: 10 they have shut up their fat: their mouth hath spoken proudly. 11 They have cast me forth and now they have surrounded me: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth. 12 They have taken me, as a lion prepared for the prey; and as a young lion dwelling in secret places. 13 Arise, O Lord, disappoint him and supplant him; deliver my soul from the wicked one: thy sword 14 from the enemies of thy hand. O Lord, divide them from the few of the earth in their life: their belly is filled from thy hidden stores. They are full of children: and they have left to their little ones the rest of their substance. 15 But as for me, I will appear before thy sight in justice: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
SECOND NOCTURN:
Diligam Te Domine
1 Unto the end, for David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 I WILL love thee, O Lord, my strength: 3 The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector and the horn of my salvation, and my support. 4 Praising I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies. 5 The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity troubled me. 6 The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death prevented me. 7 In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God: And he heard my voice from his holy temple: and my cry before him came into his ears. 8 The earth shook and trembled: the foundations of the mountains were troubled and were moved, because he was angry with them. 9 There went up a smoke in his wrath: and a fire flamed from his face: coals were kindled by it. 10 He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 11 And he ascended upon the cherubim, and he flew; he flew upon the wings of the winds. 12 And he made darkness his covert, his pavilion round about him: dark waters in the clouds of the air. 13 At the brightness that was before him the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire. 14 And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the highest gave his voice: hail and coals of fire. 15 And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them: he multiplied lightnings, and troubled them. 16 Then the fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were discovered: At thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the spirit of thy wrath.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Diligam Te Domine
17 He sent from on high, and took me: and received me out of many waters. 18 He delivered me from my strongest enemies, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. 19 They prevented me in the day of my affliction: and the Lord became my protector. 20 And he brought me forth into a large place: he saved me, because he was well pleased with me. 21 And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and will repay me according to the cleanness of my hands: 22 Because I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not done wickedly against my God. 23 For all his judgments are in my sight: and his justices I have not put away from me. 24 And I shall be spotless with him: and shall keep myself from my iniquity. 25 And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and according to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes. 26 With the holy, thou wilt be holy; and with the innocent man thou wilt be innocent. 27 And with the elect thou wilt be elect: and with the perverse thou wilt be perverted. 28 For thou wilt save the humble people; but wilt bring down the eyes of the proud. 29 For thou lightest my lamp, O Lord: O my God enlighten my darkness. 30 For by thee I shall be delivered from temptation; and through my God I shall go over a wall. 31 As for my God, his way is undefiled: the words of the Lord are fire tried: he is the protector of all that trust in him.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Diligam Te Domine
32 For who is God but the Lord? or who is God but our God? 33 God who hath girt me with strength; and made my way blameless. 34 Who hath made my feet like the feet of harts: and who setteth me upon high places. 35 Who teacheth my hands to war: and thou hast made my arms like a brazen bow. 36 And thou hast given me the protection of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath held me up: And thy discipline hath corrected me unto the end: and thy discipline, the same shall teach me. 37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; and my feet are not weakened. 38 I will pursue after my enemies, and overtake them: and I will not turn again till they are consumed. 39 I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand: they shall fall under my feet. 40 And thou hast girded me with strength unto battle; and hast subdued under me them that rose up against me. 41 And thou hast made my enemies turn their back upon me, and hast destroyed them that hated me. 42 They cried, but there was none to save them, to the Lord: but he heard them not. 43 And I shall beat them as small as the dust before the wind; I shall bring them to nought, like the dirt in the streets. 44 Thou wilt deliver me from the contradictions of the people: thou wilt make me head of the Gentiles. 45 A people, which I knew not, hath served me: at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me. 46 The children that are strangers have lied to me, strange children have faded away, and have halted from their paths. 47 The Lord liveth, and blessed be my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted: 48 O God, who avengest me, and subduest the people under me, my deliverer from my enemies. 49 And thou wilt lift me up above them that rise up against me: from the unjust man thou wilt deliver me. 50 Therefore will I give glory to thee, O Lord, among the nations, and I will sing a psalm to thy name. 51 Giving great deliverance to his king, and shewing mercy to David his anointed: and to his seed for ever.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
THIRD NOCTURN
Exaudiat Te Dominus
1 Unto the end. A psalm for David. 2 MAY the Lord hear thee in the day of tribulation: may the name of the God of Jacob protect thee. 3 May he send thee help from the sanctuary: and defend thee out of Sion. 4 May he be mindful of all thy sacrifices: and may thy whole burnt offering be made fat. 5 May he give thee according to thy own heart; and confirm all thy counsels. 6 We will rejoice in thy salvation; and in the name of our God we shall be exalted. 7 The Lord fulfil all thy petitions: now have I known that the Lord hath saved his anointed. He will hear him from his holy heaven: the salvation of his right hand is in powers. 8 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. 9 They are bound, and have fallen; but we are risen, and are set upright. 10 O Lord, save the king: and hear us in the day that we shall call upon thee.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Domine In Virtute
1 Unto the end. A psalm for David. 2 IN thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy; and in thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly. 3 Thou hast given him his heart's desire: and hast not withholden from him the will of his lips. 4 For thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness: thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones. 5 He asked life of thee: and thou hast given him length of days for ever and ever. 6 His glory is great in thy salvation: glory and great beauty shalt thou lay upon him. 7 For thou shalt give him to be a blessing for ever and ever: thou shalt make him joyful in gladness with thy countenance. 8 For the king hopeth in the Lord: and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. 9 Let thy hand be found by all thy enemies: let thy right hand find out all them that hate thee. 10 Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire, in the time of thy anger: the Lord shall trouble them in his wrath, and fire shall devour them. 11 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth: and their seed from among the children of men. 12 For they have intended evils against thee: they have devised counsels which they have not been able to establish. 13 For thou shalt make them turn their back: in thy remnants thou shalt prepare their face. 14 Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy own strength: we will sing and praise thy power.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Exaltabo Te Domine
1 A psalm of a canticle, at the dedication of David's house. 2 I WILL extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me. 3 O Lord my God, I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me. 4 Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell: thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit. 5 Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness. 6 For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will. In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness. 7 And in my abundance I said: I shall never be moved. 8 O Lord, in thy favour, thou gavest strength to my beauty. Thou turnedst away thy face from me, and I became troubled. 9 To thee, O Lord, will I cry: and I will make supplication to my God. 10 What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption? Shall dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth? 11 The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper. 12 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness: 13 To the end that my glory may sing to thee, and I may not regret: O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
LAUDS:
Omnes Gentes Plaudite
1 Unto the end, for the sons of Core. 2 O CLAP your hands, all ye nations: shout unto God with the voice of joy, 3 For the Lord is high, terrible: a great king over all the earth. 4 He hath subdued the people under us; and the nations under our feet. 5 He hath chosen for us his inheritance, the beauty of Jacob which he hath loved. 6 God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of trumpet. 7 Sing praises to our God, sing ye: sing praises to our king, sing ye. 8 For God is the king of all the earth: sing ye wisely. 9 God shall reign over the nations: God sitteth on his holy throne. 10 The princes of the people are gathered together, with the God of Abraham: for the strong gods of the earth are exceedingly exalted.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Verba Mea Audibus
1 Unto the end, for her that obtaineth the inheritance. A psalm of David. 2 GIVE ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry. 3 Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God. 4 For to thee will I pray: O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my voice. 5 In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see: because thou art not a God that willest iniquity. 6 Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee: nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes. 7 Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity: Thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor. 8 But as for me in the multitude of thy mercy, I will come into thy house; I will worship towards thy holy temple, in thy fear. 9 Conduct me, O Lord, in thy justice: because of my enemies, direct my way in thy sight. 10 for there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is vain. 11 Their throat is an open sepulchre: they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: judge them, O God. Let them fall from their devices: according to the multitude of their wickedness cast them out: for they have provoked thee, O Lord. 12 But let all them be glad that hope in thee: they shall rejoice for ever, and thou shalt dwell in them. And all they that love thy name shall glory in thee: 13 For thou wilt bless the just. O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy good will.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Afferte Domino
1 A psalm for David, at the finishing of the tabernacle. BRING to the Lord, O ye children of God: bring to the Lord the offspring of rams. 2 Bring to the Lord glory and honour: bring to the Lord glory to his name: adore ye the Lord in his holy court. 3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of majesty hath thundered, The Lord is upon many waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord in magnificence. 5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars: yea, the Lord shall break the cedars of Libanus. 6 And shall reduce them to pieces, as a calf of Libanus, and as the beloved son of unicorns. 7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flame of fire: 8 The voice of the Lord shaketh the desert: and the Lord shall shake the desert of Cades. 9 The voice of the Lord prepareth the stags: and he will discover the thick woods: and in his temple all shall speak his glory. 10 The Lord maketh the flood to dwell: and the Lord shall sit king for ever. 11 The Lord will give strength to his people: the Lord will bless his people with peace.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
57 10 And he blessed the Lord before all the multitude, and he said: Blessed art thou, O Lord the God of Israel, our father from eternity to eternity. 11 Thine, O Lord, is magnificence, and power, and glory, and victory: and to thee is praise: for all that is in heaven, and in earth, is thine: thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art above all princes. 12 Thine are riches, and thine is glory, thou hast dominion over all, in thy hand is power and might: in thy hand greatness, and the empire of all things. 13 Now therefore our God we give thanks to thee, and we praise thy glorious name.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Laudate Dominum
1 Alleluia. O PRAISE the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2 For his mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever.
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PRIME:
Domini Est Terra
1 On the first day of the week, a psalm for David. THE earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof: the world, and all they that dwell therein. 2 For he hath founded it upon the seas; and hath prepared it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord: or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who hath not taken his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbour. 5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour. 6 This is the generation of them that seek him, of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob. 7 Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in. 8 Who is this King of Glory? the Lord who is strong and mighty: the Lord mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in. 10 Who is this King of Glory? the Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Coeli Enarrant
1 Unto the end. A psalm for David. 2 THE heavens shew forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands. 3 Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night sheweth knowledge. 4 There are no speeches nor languages, where their voices are not heard. 5 Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the world. 6 He hath set his tabernacle in the sun: and he, as a bridegroom coming out of his bride chamber, Hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way: 7 His going out is from the end of heaven, And his circuit even to the end thereof: and there is no one that can hide himself from his heat. 8 The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones. 9 The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts: the commandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes. 10 The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever: the judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves. 11 More to be desired than gold and many precious stones: and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. 12 For thy servant keepeth them, and in keeping them there is a great reward. 13 Who can understand sins? from my secret ones cleanse me, O Lord: 14 and from those of others spare thy servant. If they shall have no dominion over me, then shall I be without spot: and I shall be cleansed from the greatest sin. 15 And the words of my mouth shall be such as may please: and the meditation of my heart always in thy sight. O Lord, my helper, and my redeemer.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
TERCE:
Dominus Illuminatio
1 The psalm of David before he was anointed. THE Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid? 2 Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat my flesh. My enemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen. 3 If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident. 4 One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I may see the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple. 5 For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle; in the day of evils, he hath protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle. 6 He hath exalted me upon a rock: and now he hath lifted up my head above my enemies. I have gone round, and have offered up in his tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation: I will sing, and recite a psalm to the Lord. 7 Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee: have mercy on me and hear me. 8 My heart hath said to thee: My face hath sought thee: thy face, O Lord, will I still seek. 9 Turn not away thy face from me; decline not in thy wrath from thy servant. Be thou my helper, forsake me not; do not thou despise me, O God my Saviour. 10 For my father and my mother have left me: but the Lord hath taken me up. 11 Set me, O Lord, a law in thy way, and guide me in the right path, because of my enemies. 12 Deliver me not over to the will of them that trouble me; for unjust witnesses have risen up against me; and iniquity hath lied to itself. 13 I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Ad Te Domine Clamabo
1 A psalm for David himself. UNTO thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not thou silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 2 Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple. 3 Draw me not away together with the wicked; and with the workers of iniquity destroy me not: Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts. 4 Give them according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their inventions. According to the works of their hands give thou to them: render to them their reward. 5 Because they have not understood the works of the Lord, and the operations of his hands: thou shalt destroy them, and shalt not build them up. 6 Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my supplication. 7 The Lord is my helper and my protector: in him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again, and with my will I will give praise to him. 8 The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the salvation of his anointed. 9 Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheritance: and rule them and exalt them for ever.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
SEXT:
In Te Domine Speravi
1 Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy. 2 IN thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice. 3 Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me. 4 For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name's sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me. 5 Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for thou art my protector. 6 Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth. 7 Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord: 8 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou best regarded my humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses. 9 And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a spacious place. 10 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly: 11 For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed. 12 I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance. They that saw me without fled from me. 13 I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. I am become as a vessel that is destroyed. 14 For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life. 15 But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my God. 16 My lots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me. 17 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy. 18 Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell. 19 Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse. 20 O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men. 21 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. 22 Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city. 23 But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to thee. 24 O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly. 25 Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
NONE:
Beati Quorum
1 To David himself, understanding. BLESSED are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3 Because I was silent my bones grew old; whilst I cried out all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I am turned in my anguish, whilst the thorn is fastened. 5 I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and my injustice I have not concealed. I said I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin. 6 For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee in a seasonable time. And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come nigh unto him. 7 Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath encompassed me: my joy, deliver me from them that surround me. 8 I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee in this way, in which thou shalt go: I will fix my eyes upon thee. 9 Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding. With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto thee. 10 Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy shall encompass him that hopeth in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just, and glory, all ye right of heart.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Exultate Justi
1 A psalm for David. REJOICE in the Lord, O ye just: praise becometh the upright. 2 Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings. 3 Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise. 4 For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done with faithfulness. 5 He loveth mercy and judgment; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the power of them by the spirit of his mouth: 7 Gathering together the waters of the sea, as in a vessel; laying up the depths in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of the world be in awe of him. 9 For he spoke and they were made: he commanded and they were created. 10 The Lord bringeth to naught the counsels of nations; and he rejecteth the devices of people, and casteth away the counsels of princes. 11 But the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever: the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: the people whom he hath chosen for his inheritance. 13 The Lord hath looked from heaven: he hath beheld all the sons of men. 14 From his habitation which he hath prepared, he hath looked upon all that dwell on the earth. 15 He who hath made the hearts of every one of them: who understandeth all their works. 16 The king is not saved by a great army: nor shall the giant be saved by his own great strength. 17 Vain is the horse for safety: neither shall he be saved by the abundance of his strength. 18 Behold the eyes of the Lord are on them that fear him: and on them that hope in his mercy. 19 To deliver their souls from death; and feed them in famine. 20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: for he is our helper and protector. 21 For in him our heart shall rejoice: and in his holy name we have trusted. 22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hoped in thee.
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VESPERS:
Dilexi
1 Alleluia. I HAVE loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer. 2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me: and in my days I will call upon him. 3 The sorrows of death have compassed me: and the perils of hell have found me. I met with trouble and sorrow: 4 and I called upon the name of the Lord. O Lord, deliver my soul. 5 The Lord is merciful and just, and our God sheweth mercy. 6 The Lord is the keeper of little ones: I was humbled, and he delivered me. 7 Turn, O my soul, into thy rest: for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee. 8 For he hath delivered my soul from death: my eyes from tears, my feet from falling. 9 I will please the Lord in the land of the living.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Credidi
1 Alleluia. I HAVE believed, therefore have I spoken; but I have been humbled exceedingly. 2 I said in my excess: Every man is a liar. 3 What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things he hath rendered unto me? 4 I will take the chalice of salvation; and I will call upon the name of the Lord. 5 I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people: 6 precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 7 O Lord, for I am thy servant: I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid. Thou hast broken my bonds: 8 I will sacrifice to thee the sacrifice of praise, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. 9 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people: 10 in the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Ad Dominum
1 A gradual canticle. IN my trouble I cried to the Lord: and he heard me. 2 O Lord, deliver my soul from wicked lips, and a deceitful tongue. 3 What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added to thee, to a deceitful tongue? 4 The sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste. 5 Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar: 6 my soul hath been long a sojourner. 7 With them that hated peace I was peaceable: when I spoke to them they fought against me without cause.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Levavi Oculos
1 A gradual canticle. I HAVE lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me. 2 My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 May he not suffer thy foot to be moved: neither let him slumber that keepeth thee. 4 Behold he shall neither slumber nor sleep, that keepeth Israel. 5 The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy protection upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not burn thee by day: nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord keepeth thee from all evil: may the Lord keep thy soul. 8 May the Lord keep thy going in and thy going out; from henceforth now and for ever.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Laetatus Sum In His
1 A gradual canticle. I REJOICED at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord. 2 Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem. 3 Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together. 4 For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord: the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord. 5 Because their seats have sat in judgment, seats upon the house of David. 6 Pray ye for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem: and abundance for them that love thee. 7 Let peace be in thy strength: and abundance in thy towers. 8 For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbours, I spoke peace of thee. 9 Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good things for thee.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
COMPLINE:
Domine Ne In Furore
1 Unto the end, in verses, a psalm for David, for the octave. 2 O LORD, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak: heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 4 And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long? 5 Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercy's sake. 6 For there is no one in death, that is mindful of thee: and who shall confess to thee in hell? 7 I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears. 8 My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old amongst all my enemies. 9 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity: for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. 10 The Lord hath heard my supplication: the Lord hath received my prayer. 11 Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled: let them be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Domine Deus Meus
1 The psalm of David which he sung to the Lord for the words of Chusi the son of Jemini. 2 O LORD my God, in thee have I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me. 3 Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, while there is no one to redeem me, nor to save. 4 O Lord my God, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in my hands: 5 If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies. 6 Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it, and tread down my life on the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust. 7 Rise up, O Lord, in thy anger: and be thou exalted in the borders of my enemies. And arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thou hast commanded: 8 and a congregation of people shall surround thee. And for their sakes return thou on high. 9 The Lord judgeth the people. Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, and according to my innocence in me. 10 The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought: and thou shalt direct the just: the searcher of hearts and reins is God. 11 Just is my help from the Lord: who saveth the upright of heart. 12 God is a just judge, strong and patient: is he angry every day? 13 Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword: he hath bent his bow and made it ready. 14 And in it he hath prepared the instruments of death, he hath made ready his arrows for them that burn. 15 Behold he hath been in labour with injustice; he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity. 16 He hath opened a pit and dug it: and he is fallen into the hole he made. 17 His sorrow shall be turned on his own head: and his iniquity shall come down upon his crown. 18 I will give glory to the Lord according to his justice: and will sing to the name of the Lord the most high. Glory be to the Father...
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
et finis, dicit Dóminus Deus : qui est,
et qui erat, et qui ventúrus est, omnípotens".