Morning Prayers – LAUDS

Invitatory Prayers here

My heart is steadfast, oh God, my heart is steadfast;

I will sing and make melody.

Awake, my soul! Awake, oh harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn.

I will give thanks to you, oh Lord, among the peoples,

And I will sing praises to you among the nations.

For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,

And your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Be exalted, oh God, above the heavens,

And let your glory be over all the earth.

Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,

So that those whom you love may be rescued.

God has promised in his sanctuary:

"With exultation I will divide up Shechem,

And portion out the Vale of Succoth.

Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter.

Moab is my washbasin;

On Edom I hurl my shoe;

Over Philistia I shout in triumph."

Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

Have you not rejected us, oh God?

You do not go out, oh God, with our armies.

Oh grant us help against the foe,

For human help is worthless.

With God we shall do valiantly;

It is he who will tread down our foes.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

My whole being shall exult in my God;

For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,

He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

To spring up before all the nations.

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,

For Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,

Until her vindication shines out like the dawn,

And her salvation like a burning torch.

The nations shall see your justice,

All kings shall see your glory.

By a new name shall you be called,

A name that the mouth of the Lord will give.

For you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,

And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You shall no more be termed "Forsaken",

Nor shall your land any more be termed "Desolate";

But you shall be called "My Delight Is in Her",

And your land "Spouse";

For the Lord delights in you,

And your land shall be married.

For as a young man marries a young woman,

So shall your Builder marry you;

And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

So shall your God rejoice over you.

Praise the Lord, oh my soul!

I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes,

Or mortals, in whom there is no help.

When their breath departs, they return to the earth;

On that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

Whose hope is in the Lord their God,

Who made heaven and earth, the sea,

And all that is in them;

Who keeps faith forever;

Who executes justice for the oppressed;

Who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

The Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the strangers;

He upholds the orphan and the widow,

But the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever,

Your God, oh Zion, for all generations.

Dt. 4, 39-40

So acknowledge today and take to heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other but him. Keep his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding you today.

End Prayers here

Liturgy of the Hours - Lessons - Home