The Midday Office

God has gone up with a shout,* the LORD with the sound of the ram's-horn. Sing praises to God, sing praises;* sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is King of all the earth;* sing praises with all your skill. God reigns over the nations;* God sits upon his holy throne.

Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause;* you set me free when I am hard-pressed; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,* from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor. For you are my hope, O Lord GOD,* my confidence since I was young. I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;* from my mother's womb you have been my strength; my praise shall be always of you.

Your love, O LORD, for ever will I sing;* from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.

I myself shall go before you, I shall level the heights, I shall shatter the bronze gateways, I shall smash the iron bars. I shall give you hidden treasures and hidden hoards of wealth, so that you will know that I am YAHWEH, the God of Israel. It is for the sake of my servant Jacob and of Israel my chosen one, that I have called you by your name, have given you a title though you do not know me. I am YAHWEH, and there is no other; there is no other God except me. Though you do not know me, I have armed you so that it may be known from east to west that there is no one except me. I am YAHWEH, and there is no other, I form the light and create the darkness, I make well being and create disaster, I, YAHWEH, do all these things. Rain down, you heavens, from above and let the clouds pour down saving justice, let the earth open up and blossom with salvation, and let justice sprout up with it; I, YAHWEH, do all these things.

Your love, O LORD, for ever will I sing;* from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.

Do you indeed decree righteousness, you rulers?* do you judge the peoples with equity? No; you devise evil in your hearts,* and your hands deal out violence in the land. The wicked are perverse from the womb;* liars go astray from their birth. They are as venomous as a serpent,* they are like the deaf adder which stops its ears, Which does not heed the voice of the charmer,* no matter how skillful his charming. O God, break their teeth in their mouths;* pull the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. Let them vanish like water that runs off;* let them wither like trodden grass. Let them be like the snail that melts away,* like a stillborn child that never sees the sun. Before they bear fruit, let them be cut down like a brier;* like thorns and thistles let them be swept away. The righteous will be glad when they see the vengeance;* they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. And they will say, "Surely, there is a reward for the righteous;* surely, there is a God who rules in the earth."

Your love, O LORD, for ever will I sing;* from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.

Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, so it is now and so it shall ever be, world without end. Alleluia. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name. May your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Grant me, O Lord, to trust in you with all my heart; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

In truth God has heard me; he has attended the voice of my prayer. Thanks be to God. Amen.