MATINS: First Nocturn
Psalm 77
Attendite
God's great benefits to the people of Israel, notwithstanding their ingratitude.
1 Understanding for Asaph. ATTEND, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables: I will utter propositions from the beginning. 3 How great things have we heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4 They have not been hidden from their children, in another generation. Declaring the praises of the Lord, and his powers, and his wonders which he hath done. 5 And he set up a testimony in Jacob: and made a law in Israel. How great things he commanded our fathers, that they should make the same known to their children: 6 that another generation might know them. The children that should be born and should rise up, and declare them to their children. 7 That they may put their hope in God and may not forget the works of God: and may seek his commandments. 8 That they may not become like their fathers, a perverse end exasperating generation. A generation that set not their heart aright: and whose spirit was not faithful to God. 9 The sons of Ephraim who bend and shoot with the bow: they have turned back in the day of battle. 10 They kept not the covenant of God: and in his law they would not walk. 11 And they forgot his benefits, and his wonders that he had shewn them. 12 Wonderful things did he do in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis. 13 He divided the sea and brought them through: and he made the waters to stand as in a vessel. 14 And he conducted them with a cloud by day: and all the night with a light of fire. 15 He struck the rock in the wilderness: and gave them to drink, as out of the great deep. 16 He brought forth water out of the rock: and made streams run down as rivers. 17 And they added yet more sin against him: they provoked the most High to wrath in the place without water. 18 And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking meat for their desires. 19 And they spoke ill of God: they said: Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? 20 Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he also give bread, or provide a table for his people? 21 Therefore the Lord heard, and was angry: and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and wrath came up against Israel. 22 Because they believed not in God: and trusted not in his salvation. 23 And he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of heaven. 24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven. 25 Man ate the bread of angels: he sent them provisions in abundance. 26 He removed the south wind from heaven: and by his power brought in the southwest wind. 27 And he rained upon them flesh as dust: and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea. 28 And they fell in the midst of their camp, round about their pavilions. 29 So they did eat, and were filled exceedingly, and he gave them their desire: 30 They were not defrauded of that which they craved. As yet their meat was in their mouth: 31 And the wrath of God came upon them. And he slew the fat ones amongst them, and brought down the chosen men of Israel.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
SECOND NOCTURN:
Psalm 77
Attendite
God's great benefits to the people of Israel, notwithstanding their ingratitude. 32 In all these things they sinned still: and they believed not for his wondrous works. 33 And their days were consumed in vanity, and their years in haste. 34 When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned, and came to him early in the morning. 35 And they remembered that God was their helper: and the most high God their redeemer. 36 And they loved him with their mouth: and with their tongue they lied unto him: 37 But their heart was not right with him: nor were they counted faithful in his covenant. 38 But he is merciful, and will forgive their sins: and will not destroy them. And many a time did he turn away his anger: and did not kindle all his wrath. 39 And he remembered that they are flesh: a wind that goeth and returneth not. 40 How often did they provoke him in the desert: and move him to wrath in the place without water? 41 And they turned back and tempted God: and grieved the holy one of Israel. 42 They remembered not his hand, in the day that he redeemed them from the hand of him that afflicted them: 43 How he wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Tanis. 44 And he turned their rivers into blood, and their showers that they might, not drink. 45 He sent amongst them divers sores of flies, which devoured them: and frogs which destroyed them. 46 And he gave up their fruits to the blast, and their labours to the locust. 47 And he destroyed their vineyards with hail, and their mulberry trees with hoarfrost. 48 And he gave up their cattle to the hail, and their stock to the fire. 49 And he sent upon them the wrath of his indignation: indignation and wrath and trouble, which he sent by evil angels. 50 He made a way for a path to his anger: he spared not their souls from death, and their cattle he shut up in death. 51 And he killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt: the firstfruits of all their labour in the tabernacles of Cham. 52 And he took away his own people as sheep: and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 53 And he brought them out in hope, and they feared not: and the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 54 And he brought them into the mountain of his sanctuary: the mountain which his right hand had purchased. And he cast out the Gentiles before them: and by lot divided to them their land by a line of distribution. 55 And he made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tabernacles. 56 Yet they tempted, and provoked the most high God: and they kept not his testimonies. 57 And they turned away, and kept not the covenant: even like their fathers they were turned aside as a crooked bow. 58 They provoked him to anger on their hills: and moved him to jealousy with their graven things. 59 God heard, and despised them, and he reduced Israel exceedingly as it were to nothing. 60 And he put away the tabernacle of Silo, his tabernacle where he dwelt among men. 61 And he delivered their strength into captivity: and their beauty into the hands of the enemy. 62 And he shut up his people under the sword: and he despised his inheritance. 63 Fire consumed their young men: and their maidens were not lamented. 64 Their priests fell by the sword: and their widows did not mourn. 65 And the Lord was awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that hath been surfeited with wine. 66 And he smote his enemies on the hinder parts: he put them to an everlasting reproach. 67 And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph: and chose not the tribe of Ephraim: 68 But he chose the tribe of Juda, mount Sion which he loved. 69 And he built his sanctuary as of unicorns, in the land which he founded for ever. 70 And he chose his servant David, and took him from the flocks of sheep: he brought him from following the ewes great with young, 71 To feed Jacob his servant, and Israel his inheritance. 72 And he fed them in the innocence of his heart: and conducted them by the skilfulness of his hands.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
THIRD NOCTURN
Psalm 78
Deus Venerunt Gentes
The Church in time of persecution prayeth for relief. It seems to belong to the time of the Machabees. 1 A psalm for Asaph. O GOD, the heathens are come into thy inheritance, they have defiled thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit. 2 They have given the dead bodies of thy servants to be meat for the fowls of the air: the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the earth. 3 They have poured out their blood as water, round about Jerusalem and there was none to bury them. 4 We are become a reproach to our neighbours: a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. 5 How long, O Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever: shall thy zeal be kindled like a fire? 6 Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that have not known thee: and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. 7 Because they have devoured Jacob; and have laid waste his place. 8 Remember not our former iniquities: let thy mercies speedily prevent us, for we are become exceeding poor. 9 Help us, O God, our saviour: and for the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us: and forgive us our sins for thy name's sake: 10 Lest they should say among the Gentiles: Where is their God? And let him be made known among the nations before our eyes, By the revenging the blood of thy servants, which hath been shed: 11 let the sighing of the prisoners come in before thee. According to the greatness of thy arm, take possession of the children of them that have been put to death. 12 And render to our neighbours sevenfold in their bosom: the reproach wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. 13 But we thy people, and the sheep of thy pasture, will give thanks to thee for ever. We will shew forth thy praise, unto generation and generation.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm80
Exulate Deo
An invitation to a solemn praising of God. 1 Unto the end, for the winepresses, a psalm for Asaph himself. 2 REJOICE to God our helper: sing aloud to the God of Jacob. 3 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel: the pleasant psaltery with the harp. 4 Blow up the trumpet on the new moon, on the noted day of your solemnity. 5 For it is a commandment in Israel, and a judgment to the God of Jacob. 6 He ordained it for a testimony in Joseph, when he came out of the land of Egypt: he heard a tongue which he knew not. 7 He removed his back from the burdens: his hands had served in baskets. 8 Thou calledst upon me in affliction, and I delivered thee: I heard thee in the secret place of tempest: I proved thee at the waters of contradiction. 9 Hear, O my people, and I will testify to thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken to me, 10 there shall be no new god in thee: neither shalt thou adore a strange god. 11 For I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. 12 But my people heard not my voice: and Israel hearkened not to me. 13 So I let them go according to the desires of their heart: they shall walk in their own inventions. 14 If my people had heard me: if Israel had walked in my ways: 15 I should soon have humbled their enemies, and laid my hand on them that troubled them. 16 The enemies of the Lord have lied to him: and their time shall be for ever. 17 And he fed them with the fat of wheat, and filled them with honey out of the rock.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm82
Deus Quis Similis
A prayer against the enemies of God's Church. 1 A canticle of a psalm for Asaph. 2 O GOD, who shall be like to thee? hold not thy peace, neither be thou still, O God. 3 For lo, thy enemies have made a noise: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 4 They have taken a malicious counsel against thy people, and have consulted against thy saints. 5 They have said: Come and let us destroy them, so that they be not a nation: and let the name of Israel be remembered no more. 6 For they have contrived with one consent: they have made a covenant together against thee, 7 the tabernacles of the Edomites, and the Ismahelites: Moab, and the Agarens, 8 Gebal, and Ammon and Amalec: the Philistines, with the inhabitants of Tyre. 9 Yea, and the Assyrian also is joined with them: they are come to the aid of the sons of Lot. 10 Do to them as thou didst to Madian and to Sisara: as to Jabin at the brook of Cisson. 11 Who perished at Endor: and became as dung for the earth. 12 Make their princes like Oreb, and Zeb, and Zebee, and Salmana. All their princes, 13 who have said: Let us possess the sanctuary of God for an inheritance. 14 O my God, make them like a wheel; and as stubble before the wind. 15 As fire which burneth the wood: and as a flame burning mountains: 16 So shalt thou pursue them with thy tempest: and shalt trouble them in thy wrath. 17 Fill their faces with shame; and they shall seek thy name, O Lord. 18 Let them be ashamed and troubled for ever and ever: and let them be confounded and perish. 19 And let them know that the Lord is thy name: thou alone art the most High over all the earth.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
LAUDS:
Psalm 98
Dominus Regnavit
The reign of the Lord in Sion: that is, of Christ in his Church. 1 A psalm for David himself. THE Lord hath reigned, let the people be angry: he that sitteth on the cherubims: let the earth be moved. 2 The Lord is great in Sion, and high above all people. 3 Let them give praise to thy great name: for it is terrible and holy: 4 and the king's honour loveth judgment. Thou hast prepared directions: thou hast done judgment and justice in Jacob. 5 Exalt ye the Lord our God, and adore his footstool, for it is holy. 6 Moses and Aaron among his priests: and Samuel among them that call upon his name. They called upon the Lord, and he heard them: 7 he spoke to them in the pillar of the cloud. They kept his testimonies, and the commandment which he gave them. 8 Thou didst hear them, O Lord our God: thou wast a merciful God to them, and taking vengeance on all their inventions. 9 Exalt ye the Lord our God, and adore at his holy mountain: for the Lord our God is holy.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm 142
Domine Exaudi
The psalmist in tribulation calleth upon God for his delivery. The seventh penitential psalm. 1 A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him. HEAR, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in thy truth: hear me in thy justice. 2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight no man living shall be justified. 3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul: he hath brought down my life to the earth. He hath made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old: 4 and my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled. 5 I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all thy works: I meditated upon the works of thy hands. 6 I stretched forth my hands to thee: my soul is as earth without water unto thee. 7 Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit hath fainted away. Turn not away thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. 8 Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning; for in thee have I hoped. Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to thee. 9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to thee have I fled: 10 teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land: 11 for thy name's sake, O Lord, thou wilt quicken me in thy justice. Thou wilt bring my soul out of trouble: 12 and in thy mercy thou wilt destroy my enemies. And thou wilt cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm 84
Benedixisti Domine
The coming of Christ, to bring peace and salvation to man. 1 Unto the end, for the sons of Core, a psalm. 2 LORD, thou hast blessed thy land: thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. 3 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people: thou hast covered all their sins. 4 Thou hast mitigated all thy anger: thou hast turned away from the wrath of thy indignation. 5 Convert us, O God our saviour: and turn off thy anger from us. 6 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever: or wilt thou extend thy wrath from generation to generation? 7 Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life: and thy people shall rejoice in thee. 8 Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation. 9 I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people: And unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart. 10 Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land. 11 Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed. 12 Truth is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven. 13 For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit. 14 Justice shall walk before him: and shall set his steps in the way.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Canticle of Isaias 45: 15-26
15 Verily thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel the saviour. 16 They are all confounded and ashamed: the forgers of errors are gone together into confusion. 17 Israel is saved in the Lord with as eternal salvation: you shall not be confounded, and you shall not be ashamed for ever and ever. 18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth, and made it, the very maker thereof: he did not create it in vain: he formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I have not said to the seed of Jacob: Seek me in vain. I am the Lord that speak justice, that declare right things. 20 Assemble yourselves, and come, and draw near together, ye that are saved of the Gentiles: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven work, and pray to a god that cannot save. 21 Tell ye, and come, and consult together: who hath declared this from the beginning, who hath foretold this from that time? Have not I the Lord, and there is no God else besides me? A just God and a saviour, there is none besides me. 22 Be converted to me, and you shall be saved, all ye ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is no other. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word of justice shall go out of my mouth, and shall not return: 24 For every knee shall be bowed to me, and every tongue shall swear. 25 Therefore shall he say: In the Lord are my justices and empire: they shall come to him, and all that resist him shall be confounded. 26 In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and praised.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm 147
Lauda Jerusalem
The Church is called upon to praise God for his peculiar graces and favours to his people. In the Hebrew, this psalm is joined to the foregoing. 1 Alleluia. PRAISE the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy God, O Sion. 2 Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children within thee. 3 Who hath placed peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the fat of corn. 4 Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: his word runneth swiftly. 5 Who giveth snow like wool: scattereth mists like ashes. 6 He sendeth his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold? 7 He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run. 8 Who declareth his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgments to Israel. 9 He hath not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them. Alleluia.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
PRIME:
Psalm 21
Deus Deus Meus
Christ's passion: and the conversion of the Gentiles. 1 Unto the end, for the morning protection, a psalm for David. 2 O GOD my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. 3 O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me. 4 But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel. 5 In thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped, and thou hast delivered them. 6 They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. 7 But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people. 8 All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head. 9 He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him. 10 For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from the breasts of my mother. 11 I was cast upon thee from the womb. From my mother's womb thou art my God, 12 depart not from me. For tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me. 13 Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me. 14 They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring. 15 I am poured out like water; and all my bones are scattered. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels. 16 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death. 17 For many dogs have encompassed me: the council of the malignant hath besieged me. They have dug my hands and feet. 18 They have numbered all my bones. And they have looked and stared upon me. 19 They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast lots. 20 But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from me; look towards my defence. 21 Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand of the dog. 22 Save me from the lion's mouth; and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns. 23 I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I praise thee. 24 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him. 25 Let all the seed of Israel fear him: because he hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man. Neither hath he turned away his face from me: and when I cried to him he heard me. 26 With thee is my praise in a great church: I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him. 27 The poor shall eat and shall be filled: and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever. 28 All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord: And all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight. 29 For the kingdom is the Lord's; and he shall have dominion over the nations. 30 All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all they that go down to the earth shall fall before him. 31 And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him. 32 There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall shew forth his justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
TERCE:
Psalm 79
Qui Regis Israel
A prayer for the Church in tribulation, commemorating God's former favours. 1 Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, a testimony for Asaph, a psalm. 2 GIVE ear, O thou that rulest Israel: thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. Thou that sittest upon the cherubims, shine forth 3 before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses. Stir up thy might, and come to save us. 4 Convert us, O God: and shew us thy face, and we shall be saved. 5 O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy servant? 6 How long wilt thou feed us with the bread of tears: and give us for our drink tears in measure? 7 Thou hast made us to be a contradiction to our neighbours: and our enemies have scoffed at us. 8 O God of hosts, convert us: and shew thy face, and we shall be saved. 9 Thou hast brought a vineyard out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the Gentiles and planted it. 10 Thou wast the guide of its journey in its sight: thou plantedst the roots thereof, and it filled the land. 11 The shadow of it covered the hills: and the branches thereof the cedars of God. 12 It stretched forth its branches unto the sea, and its boughs unto the river. 13 Why hast thou broken down the hedge thereof, so that all they who pass by the way do pluck it? 14 The boar out of the wood hath laid it waste: and a singular wild beast hath devoured it. 15 Turn again, O God of hosts, look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vineyard: 16 And perfect the same which thy right hand hath planted: and upon the son of man whom thou hast confirmed for thyself. 17 Things set on fire and dug down shall perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. 18 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand: and upon the son of man whom thou hast confirmed for thyself. 19 And we depart not from thee, thou shalt quicken us: and we will call upon thy name. 20 O Lord God of hosts, convert us: and shew thy face, and we shall be saved.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm 81
Deus Stetit
An exhortation to judges and men in power. 1 A psalm for Asaph. GOD hath stood in the congregation of gods: and being in the midst of them he judgeth gods. 2 How long will you judge unjustly: and accept the persons of the wicked? 3 Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble and the poor. 4 Rescue the poor; and deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner. 5 They have not known nor understood: they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be moved. 6 I have said: You are gods and all of you the sons of the most High. 7 But you like men shall die: and shall fall like one of the princes. 8 Arise, O God, judge thou the earth: for thou shalt inherit among all the nations.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
SEXT:
Psalm 83
Quam Dilecta
The soul aspireth after heaven: rejoicing, in the mean time, in being in the communion of God's Church upon earth. 1 Unto the end, for the winepresses, a psalm for the sons of Core. 2 HOW lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! 3 my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. 4 For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young ones: Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God. 5 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever. 6 Blessed is the man whose help is from thee: in his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps, 7 in the vale of tears, in the place which be hath set. 8 For the lawgiver shall give a blessing, they shall go from virtue to virtue: the God of gods shall be seen in Sion. 9 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. 10 Behold, O God our protector: and look on the face of thy Christ. 11 For better is one day in thy courts above thousands. I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners. 12 For God loveth mercy and truth: the Lord will give grace and glory. 13 He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence: O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm 86
Fundamenta Ejus
The glory of the Church of Christ. 1 For the sons of Core, a psalm of a canticle. THE foundations thereof are in the holy mountains: 2 The Lord loveth the gates of Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God. 4 I will be mindful of Rahab and of Babylon knowing me. Behold the foreigners, and Tyre, and the people of the Ethiopians, these were there. 5 Shall not Sion say: This man and that man is born in her? and the Highest himself hath founded her. 6 The Lord shall tell in his writings of peoples and of princes, of them that have been in her. 7 The dwelling in thee is as it were of all rejoicing.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
NONE:
Psalm 88
Misericordias Domini
The perpetuity of the Church of Christ, in consequence of the promises of God: which notwithstanding, God permits her to suffer sometimes most grievous afflictions. 1 Of understanding, for Ethan the Ezrahite. 2 THE mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever. I will shew forth thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation. 3 For thou hast said: Mercy shall be built up for ever in the heavens: thy truth shall be prepared in them. 4 I have made a covenant with my elect: I have sworn to David my servant: 5 Thy seed will I settle for ever. And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation. 6 The heavens shall confess thy wonders, O Lord: and thy truth in the church of the saints. 7 For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord: or who among the sons of God shall be like to God? 8 God, who is glorified in the assembly of the saints: great and terrible above all them that are about him. 9 O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee? thou art mighty, O Lord, and thy truth is round about thee. 10 Thou rulest the power of the sea: and appeasest the motion of the waves thereof. 11 Thou hast humbled the proud one, as one that is slain: with the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies. 12 Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth: the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded: 13 the north and the sea thou hast created. Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name: 14 thy arm is with might. Let thy hand be strengthened, and thy right hand exalted: 15 justice and judgment are the preparation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face: 16 blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance: 17 and in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy justice they shall be exalted. 18 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted. 19 For our protection is of the Lord, and of our king the holy one of Israel. 20 Then thou spokest in a vision to thy saints, and saidst: I have laid help upon one that is mighty, and have exalted one chosen out of my people. 21 I have found David my servant: with my holy oil I have anointed him. 22 For my hand shall help him: and my arm shall strengthen him. 23 The enemy shall have no advantage over him: nor the son of iniquity have power to hurt him. 24 And I will cut down his enemies before his face; and them that hate him I will put to flight. 25 And my truth and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 26 And I will set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in the rivers. 27 He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father: my God, and the support of my salvation. 28 And I will make him my firstborn, high above the kings of the earth. 29 I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him. 30 And I will make his seed to endure for evermore: and his throne as the days of heaven. 31 And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments: 32 If they profane my justices: and keep not my commandments: 33 I will visit their iniquities with a rod: and their sins with stripes. 34 But my mercy I will not take away from him: nor will I suffer my truth to fail. 35 Neither will I profane my covenant: and the words that proceed from my mouth I will not make void. 36 Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David: 37 his seed shall endure for ever. 38 And his throne as the sun before me: and as the moon perfect for ever, and a faithful witness in heaven. 39 But thou hast rejected and despised: thou hast been angry with thy anointed. 40 Thou hast overthrown the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his sanctuary on the earth. 41 Thou hast broken down all his hedges: thou hast made his strength fear. 42 All that pass by the way have robbed him: he is become a reproach to his neighbours. 43 Thou hast set up the right hand of them that oppress him: thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. 44 Thou hast turned away the help of his sword; and hast not assisted him in battle. 45 Thou hast made his purification to cease: and thou hast cast his throne down to the ground. 46 Thou hast shortened the days of his time: thou hast covered him with confusion. 47 How long, O Lord, turnest thou away unto the end? shall thy anger burn like fire? 48 Remember what my substance is: for hast thou made all the children of men in vain? 49 Who is the man that shall live, and not see death: that shall deliver his soul from the hand of hell? 50 Lord, where are thy ancient mercies, according to what thou didst swear to David in thy truth? 51 Be mindful, O Lord, of the reproach of thy servants (which I have held in my bosom) of many nations: 52 Wherewith thy enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the change of thy anointed. 53 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. So be it. So be it.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
VESPERS:
Psalm 138
Domine Probasti
God's special providence over his servants. 1 Unto the end, a psalm of David. LORD, thou hast proved me, and known me: 2 thou hast known my sitting down, and my rising up. 3 Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off: my path and my line thou hast searched out. 4 And thou hast foreseen all my ways: for there is no speech in my tongue. 5 Behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, the last and those of old: thou hast formed me, and hast laid thy hand upon me. 6 Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach to it. 7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy face? 8 If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present. 9 If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea: 10 Even there also shall thy hand lead me: and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 And I said: Perhaps darkness shall cover me: and night shall be my light in my pleasures. 12 But darkness shall not be dark to thee, and night shall be light as day: the darkness thereof, and the light thereof are alike to thee. 13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my mother's womb. 14 I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified: wonderful are thy works, and my soul knoweth right well. 15 My bone is not hidden from thee, which thou hast made in secret: and my substance in the lower parts of the earth. 16 Thy eyes did see my imperfect being, and in thy book all shall be written: days shall be formed, and no one in them. 17 But to me thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable: their principality is exceedingly strengthened. 18 I will number them, and they shall be multiplied above the sand: I rose up and am still with thee. 19 If thou wilt kill the wicked, O God: ye men of blood, depart from me: 20 Because you say in thought: They shall receive thy cities in vain. 21 Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hated thee: and pined away because of thy enemies? 22 I have hated them with a perfect hatred: and they are become enemies to me. 23 Prove me, O God, and know my heart: examine me, and know my paths. 24 And see if there be in me the way of iniquity: and lead me in the eternal way.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm 139
Eripe Me Domine
A prayer to be delivered from the wicked. 1 Unto the end, a psalm for David. 2 DELIVER me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man. 3 Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles. 4 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips. 5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me. Who have proposed to supplant my steps. 6 the proud have hidden a net for me. And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumblingblock by the wayside. 7 I said to the Lord: Thou art my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication. 8 O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle. 9 Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not thou forsake me, lest they should triumph. 10 The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them. 11 Burning coals shall fall upon them; thou wilt cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand. 12 A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction. 13 I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor. 14 But as for the just, they shall give glory to thy name: and the upright shall dwell with thy countenance.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm 140
Domine Clamavi
A prayer against sinful words, and deceitful flatterers. 1 A psalm of David. I HAVE have cried to the, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to thee. 2 Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice. 3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips. 4 Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins. With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them. 5 The just shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head. For my prayer also shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased: 6 their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up. They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed: 7 as when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground: Our bones are scattered by the side of hell. 8 But to thee, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in thee have I put my trust, take not away my soul. 9 Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumblingblocks of them that work iniquity. 10 The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm 141
Voce mea
A prayer of David in extremity of danger. 1 Of understanding for a David. A prayer when he was in the cave. 2 I CRIED to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord. 3 In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble: 4 When my spirit failed me, then thou knewest my paths. In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me. 5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me. Flight hath failed me: and there is no one that hath regard to my soul. 6 I cried to thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living. 7 Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low. Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. 8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the just wait for me, until thou reward me.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
COMPLINE:
Psalm 76
Voce Mea
The faithful have recourse to God in trouble of mind, with confidence in his mercy and power. 1 Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of Asaph. 2 I CRIED to the Lord with my voice; to God with my voice, and he gave ear to me. 3 In the day of my trouble I sought God, with my hands lifted up to him in the night, and I was not deceived. My soul refused to be comforted: 4 I remembered God, and was delighted, and was exercised, and my spirit swooned away. 5 My eyes prevented the watches: I was troubled, and I spoke not. 6 I thought upon the days of old: and I had in my mind the eternal years. 7 And I meditated in the night with my own heart: and I was exercised and I swept my spirit. 8 Will God then cast off for ever? or will he never be more favourable again? 9 Or will he cut off his mercy for ever, from generation to generation? 10 Or will God forget to shew mercy? or will he in his anger shut up his mercies? 11 And I said, Now have I begun: this is the change of the right hand of the most High. 12 I remembered the works of the Lord: for I will be mindful of thy wonders from the beginning. 13 And I will meditate on all thy works: and will be employed in thy inventions. 14 Thy way, O God, is in the holy place: who is the great God like our God? 15 Thou art the God that dost wonders. Thou hast made thy power known among the nations: 16 with thy arm thou hast redeemed thy people the children of Jacob and of Joseph. 17 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee: and they were afraid, and the depths were troubled. 18 Great was the noise of the waters: the clouds sent out a sound. For thy arrows pass: 19 the voice of thy thunder in a wheel. Thy lightnings enlightened the world: the earth shook and trembled. 20 Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters: and thy footsteps shall not be known. 21 Thou hast conducted thy people like sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Psalm 85
Inclina Domine
A prayer for God's grace to assist us to the end. 1 A prayer for David himself. INCLINE thy ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am needy and poor. 2 Preserve my soul, for I am holy: save thy servant, O my God, that trusteth in thee. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I have cried to thee all the day. 4 Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul. 5 For thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild: and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon thee. 6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer: and attend to the voice of my petition. 7 I have called upon thee in the day of my trouble: because thou hast heard me. 8 There is none among the gods like unto thee, O Lord: and there is none according to thy works. 9 All the nations thou hast made shall come and adore before thee, O Lord: and they shall glorify thy name. 10 For thou art great and dost wonderful things: thou art God alone. 11 Conduct me, O Lord, in thy way, and I will walk in thy truth: let my heart rejoice that it may fear thy name. 12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God: with my whole heart, and I will glorify thy name for ever: 13 For thy mercy is great towards me: and thou hast delivered my soul out of the lower hell. 14 O God, the wicked are risen up against me, and the assembly of the mighty have sought my soul: and they have not set thee before their eyes. 15 And thou, O Lord, art a God of compassion, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and true. 16 O look upon me, and have mercy on me: give thy command to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid. 17 Shew me a token for good: that they who hate me may see, and be confounded, because thou, O Lord, hast helped me and hast comforted me.
Haydock’s Bible Commentary
Divine Office "Liturgy of the Hours"
The Psalms: The Perfect Prayer Book for Everyone
"Quodcúmque díxerit vobis, fácite".
"Ego sum Alpha et Omega, princípium
et finis, dicit Dóminus Deus : qui est,
et qui erat, et qui ventúrus est, omnípotens".
"The psalms are prayer, in which God Himself teaches us how to pray; for they were written under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Herein we have the answer to the question: "What prayers shall I say?" Why the prayers of Holy Scripture itself! "There is no need to scrape together endless man-made prayers when Sacred Scripture frames the very thoughts of God." The psalms are the vital presentation of God's inspirations and man's aspirations; they are the ideal manifestations of man's hunger and thirst after God and of God's loving response to man. Of great age, they are ever new and appropriate. They are as satisfying and stimulating to us of the twentieth century as they were to men before the birth of Christ and down through the Apostolic and Middle Ages".
Rev. Joseph B. Frey; July 16, 1947.
Jesse Tree ~ Isaac
Saint Sabbas the Sanctified was born in the fifth century in Cappadocia, in the pious Christian family of John and Sophia. His father was a military commander. Journeying to Alexandria on military matters, his wife went with him, but they left their five-year-old son in the care of an uncle. When the boy reached eight years of age, he entered the monastery of St. Flavian, located nearby. The gifted child quickly learned to read and became an expert on the Holy Scriptures. In vain did his parents urge St. Sabbas to return to the world and enter into marriage. At seventeen years of age he received monastic tonsure, and attained such perfection in fasting and prayer that he was given the gift of wonderworking. After spending ten years at the monastery of St. Flavian, he went to other monasteries. St. Sabbas lived in obedience at this monastery until the age of thirty.