Complementary Psalmody
for Midmorning, Midday, and Midafternoon
After the verse "God, come to my assistance" and the hymn, the gradual psalms, which follow, are said with their antiphon.
Eternal are Thy mercies, Lord;
Eternal truth attends Thy Word.
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
Text: Isaac Watts, 1719; Melody: Eisenach, LM, Johann Schein, 1630
Antiphon: I cried out and the Lord heard me.
Psalm 120
Longing for peace
Be patient in suffering, be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12)
To the Lord in the hour of my distress
I call and he answers me.
O Lord, save my soul from lying lips,
from the tongue of the deceitful.
What shall he repay you in return,
O treacherous tongue?
The warriors arrows sharpened
and coals, red-hot, blazing.
Alas, that I abide a stranger in Meshech,
dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Long enough have I been dwelling
with those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak,
they are for fighting. Glory...
Antiphon: I cried out and the Lord heard me.
Antiphon: May the Lord watch over you as you come and as you go.
Psalm 121
Guardian of his people
Never again will they hunger and thirst, never again know scorching heat (Revelation 7:16)
I lift up my eyes to the mountains;
from where shall come my help?
My help shall come from the Lord
who made heaven and earth.
May he never allow you to stumble!
Let him sleep not, your guard.
No, he sleeps not nor slumbers,
Israel's guard.
The Lord is your guard and your shade;
at your right side he stands.
By day the sun shall not smite you
nor the moon in the night.
The Lord will guard you from evil,
he will guard your soul.
The Lord will guard your going and coming
both now and for ever. Glory...
Antiphon: May the Lord watch over you as you come and as you go.
Antiphon: I rejoiced in the good news they told me.
Psalm 122
The holy city, Jerusalem
You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22)
I rejoiced when I heard them say:
Let us go to God's house.
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built as a city
strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.
For Israel's law it is,
there to praise the Lord's name.
There were set the thrones of judgment
of the house of David.
For the peace of Jerusalem pray:
"Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls!
In your palaces, peace!"
For love of my brethren and friends
I say: Peace upon you.
For love of the house of the Lord
I will ask for your good. Glory...
Antiphon: I rejoiced in the good news they told me.
The reading and the concluding prayer are from the Psalter, or from the appropriate Proper or Common, according to the season or celebration.
HYMN
O Cross of Christ, immortal tree
on which our Saviour died,
The world is sheltered by your arms
That bore the Crucified
From bitter death and barren wood
the tree of life is made;
Its branches bear unfailing fruit
And leaves that never fade
O faithful Cross, you stand unmoved
while ages run their course:
Foundation of the universe,
Creation’s binding force.
Give glory to the risen Christ
and to his Cross give praise,
The sign of God’s unfathomed love,
the hope of all our days
Text: Stanbrook Abbey
Antiphon: You dwell in the heavens; have mercy on us.
Psalm 123
The Lord is the hope of his people
Two blind men cried out: "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us" (Matthew 20:30)
To you have I lifted up my eyes,
you who dwell in the heavens;
my eyes, like the eyes of slaves
on the hand of their lords.
Like the eyes of a servant
on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
till he show us his mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
We are filled with contempt.
Indeed all too full is our soul
with the scorn of the rich,
with the proud man's disdain. Glory...
Antiphon: You dwell in the heavens; have mercy on us.
Antiphon: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Psalm 124
Our help is in the name of the Lord
The Lord said to Paul: Fear not...I am with you" (Acts 18:9-10)
If the Lord had not been on our side,
this is Israel's song.
If the Lord had not been on our side
when men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive
when their anger was kindled.
Then would the waters have engulfed us,
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept
the raging waters.
Blessed be the Lord who did not give us
as prey to their teeth!
Our life, like a bird, has escaped
from the snare of the fowler.
Indeed the snare has been broken
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth. Glory...
Antiphon: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Antiphon: The Lord surrounds his people with love, now and for ever.
Psalm 125
The Lord, the guardian of his people
Peace to God's true Israel (Galatians 6:16)
Those who put their trust in the Lord
are like Mount Zion, that cannot be shaken,
that stands for ever.
Jerusalem! The mountains surround her,
so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and for ever.
For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest
over the land of the just
for fear that the hands of the just
should turn to evil.
Do good, Lord, to those who are good,
to the upright of heart;
but the crooked and those who do evil,
drive them away!
On Israel, peace! Glory...
Antiphon: The Lord surrounds his people with love, now and for ever.
The reading and the concluding prayer are from the Psalter, or from the appropriate Proper or Common, according to the season or celebration.
HYMN
All hail, adored Trinity!
all hail, eternal Unity!
O God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit, ever One.
Three Persons praise we evermore,
our only God our hearts adore;
in thy sweet mercy ever kind
may we our sure protection find.
O Trinity! O Unity!
Be present as we worship thee;
and with the songs that angels sing
unite the hymns of praise we bring.
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Words: Stanzas 1,2,3: Anglo-Saxon, before the eleventh century; Stanza 4: Thomas Ken
Antiphon: The Lord has done great things for us; he is the source of all our joy.
Psalm 126
Joyful hope in God
Companions with him in suffering, you will share his over-flowing happiness (2 Corinthians 1:7)
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
The heathens themselves said: "What marvels
the Lord worked for them!"
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves. Glory...
Antiphon: The Lord has done great things for us; he is the source of all our joy.
Antiphon: May the Lord build our house and watch over our city.
Psalm 127
Apart from God our labors are worthless
You are God's building (1 Corinthians 3:9)
If the Lord does not build the house,
in vain do its builders labor;
if the Lord does not watch over the city,
in vain does the watchman keep vigil.
In vain is your earlier rising,
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat,
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.
Truly sons are a gift from the Lord,
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons of youth
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
O the happiness of the man
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways. Glory...
Antiphon: May the Lord build our house and watch over our city.
Antiphon: Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Psalm 128
Happiness of family life rooted in God
"May the Lord bless you from Zion," that is, from the Church (Arnobius)
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labor of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper;
the wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
Your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
May you see your children's children
in a happy Jerusalem!
On Israel, peace! Glory...
Antiphon: Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
The reading and the concluding prayer are from the Psalter, or from the appropriate Proper or Common, according to the season or celebration.
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