SATURDAY.
Morning Praise and Petition
The day begins with songs of praise and requests for God's guidance and protection.
O Lord, I will sing of your power and praise your mercy in the morning, for you have been my defense and my refuge in the day of my trouble. To you, O my strength, I will sing; for you, O God, are my defense and my merciful God. Amen. May your glorious majesty, O Lord my God, be upon me; prosper the work of my hands, and bless my efforts. Amen. O Lord, open my eyes so that I may see the wonders of your Law. I am a stranger on earth; don't hide your commandments from me. For your testimonies are my delight and my counselors. Lord, continue that favor to me, so that they may always be. Amen. O Lord, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, you’ve brought me safely to the beginning of this day; defend me with your mighty power, and grant that I may fall into no sin today, nor run into any kind of danger. Instead, may all my actions be guided by your governance, so that I always do what is right in your sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Trust in the Midst of Trouble
A series of prayers for endurance, mercy, and protection against enemies and pride.
O my soul, wait patiently for my God, for my hope is in Him. He is my strength and my salvation; He is my defense, so I won't fall. Amen, Lord Jesus. Amen. O Lord God, be merciful to everyone who prepares their whole heart to seek you, O Lord God, the God of their fathers, even if they are not in accordance with the purification of the sanctuary. Amen. O Lord, I walk in the midst of trouble; I beseech you, refresh me. Stretch out your hand against the fury and cunning of my enemies, so that your right hand may save me. O make your loving-kindness good towards me, and do not despise, I beseech you, the work of your own hands. Amen. I strive to do what is lawful and right; please don’t hand me over to my oppressors. Amen. O Lord, make me, your poor servant, always delight in what is good, so that the proud do me no harm; for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Seeking Wisdom and Obedience
Petitions for divine wisdom, the ability to keep God's statutes, and deliverance from distress.
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, who knows our needs before we ask and our ignorance in asking; I beseech you to have compassion on my weaknesses, and for those things I dare not ask because of my unworthiness, and for those I cannot ask because of my blindness, please grant me, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. O Lord, I will always put my trust in you; let your people do the same with me, and I will pour out my heart before you, O God my hope. Amen. O that my ways were made so direct that I could keep your statutes! O Lord, direct them. Amen. O Lord, teach me the way of your statutes, and I will keep it to the end; yes, I will keep it with my whole heart. O establish your word in your servant, that I may fear you; and that for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen. O Lord, I will call upon you in my troubles; deliver me and hear me, especially when any storm falls upon me, even for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes, so that my whole heart may seek you and I won't stray from your commandments. Let me take greater delight in the way of your testimonies than in all kinds of riches. Amen.
Evening Vigil and Reflection
Evening prayers of thanksgiving, protection, and reflection on God's constant presence.
Praise the Lord, all you his servants, you who stand in the house of the Lord at night. With them, O Lord, I lift up my hands to your sanctuary and will praise your name. O Lord, be with me this evening in all the mercies of Jesus Christ my Savior. Amen. You know the weakness of my miserable flesh, O Lord, who created me. You know the vigilance against the invisible enemies that I face, for you see them. May your wing of goodness protect me through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. O Lord, there's no hiding from your presence: if I say that darkness will cover me, my night will turn into day. For with you, darkness isn't dark; the night is as clear as day; both darkness and light are the same to you. Therefore, O God, I present myself openly before you; O cleanse my soul, so that I may rejoice in being seen by you in Jesus Christ. Amen. Now that the day is over, I give you thanks, Lord; I give you glory for keeping me safe from harm. I lift my voice in hymns, for I have lived this day free from danger, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Your righteousness, O God, is very high; great are the things you have done for me. O God, who is like you? You have brought me to great honor and comforted me on every side. Therefore, I will praise you and your righteousness, O God, and I will sing to you, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will be glad when I sing to you, and so will my soul, which you have delivered. My tongue will also speak of your righteousness all day long, for those who sought to do me evil are confounded and brought to shame. O Lord, continue your blessings to me and multiply my thankfulness to you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. O Lord, keeper of Israel, you who neither slumber nor sleep while watching over your servants, be my protector and keep me safe this night. O keep my soul. Amen. Lord, grant me the grace to act quickly and not delay in keeping your commandments. That I may remember my own ways and turn my feet toward your testimonies. Then at midnight I will rise to thank you for your righteous judgments, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Amen. Woe is me, for I am forced to dwell with Mesech and to have my home among the tents of Kedar. My soul has dwelt too long among those who are enemies of peace. Amen.
The Incomprehensible Majesty of God
A profound meditation on the paradoxical attributes of God and the inadequacy of human speech to describe Him.
What are you, my God? What do I ask for but the Lord, my God? For who is the Lord besides the Lord, or who is God besides our God? You are the highest, the best, the most powerful, the most merciful and just, the most secret and present, the most beautiful and strong, stable and incomprehensible, unchanging, and changing all things. Never new, never old, renewing all things, and leading the proud into old age, and they do not know. Always acting, always at rest, gathering and never in need. Carrying, filling, protecting, creating, nourishing, and perfecting. You ask, even when you lack nothing. You love, and you aren't afraid. You are zealous, and you are secure. You regret, and you do not grieve. You get angry, and you are calm. You change your actions, but not your purpose. You receive what you find, and you never lose. You are never in need, and you rejoice in gain. You are never greedy, and you demand no interest. Is it really necessary for you to do more than what you owe, and who has anything that isn't yours? You repay what you owe without being in debt to anyone; you give what you owe without losing anything. And what do we say, my God, my life, my holy sweetness? Or what does anyone say when they speak of you? And woe to those who are silent about you, since the talkative are mute: Have mercy on me, God, so that I may speak of you and glorify your name. Amen.
Read the original Latin
O Lord, I will sing of thy power, and will praise thy mercy in the morning, for thou hast been my defence and my refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength will I sing; for thou, O God, art my defence and my merciful God. Amen.
The glorious Majesty of thee, O Lord my God, be upon me: prosper thou the work of my hands upon me, O prosper thou my handy-work. Amen.
O Lord, open mine eyes that I may see the wonders of thy Law. I am a stranger upon earth, O hide not thy Commandments from me. For thy Testimonies are my delight and my counsellors. Lord continue that favour to me, that so they may ever be. Amen.
O Lord, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought me to the beginning of this day; defend me in the same with thy mighty power, and grant that this day I fall into no sin, nor run into any kind of danger: but that all my doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do alwayes that which is righteous in thy sight, through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O My soul, wait thou still upon my God, for my hope is in him: he is my strength and my salvation, he is my defence so that I shall not fall. So Amen Lord Iesu, Amen.
O Lord God, be mercifull unto every one that prepares his whole heart to seek thee, O Lord God, the God of his Fathers, though he be not according to the Purification of the Sanctuary. Amen.
O Lord, I walk in the midst of trouble, I beseech thee refresh me. Stretch forth thy hand upon the fury and the cunning of mine enemies, that thy right hand may save me. O make good thy loving-kindness towards me, and despise not, I beseech thee, the work of thine own hands. Amen.
I deal with the thing that is lawful and right; O give me not over unto mine oppressors. Amen.
O make me, thy poor servant, still to delight in that which is good, that the proud do me no wrong; for Iesus Christ his sake. Amen.
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, who knowest our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in asking; I beseech thee to have compassion upon my infirmities, and those things which for my unworthiness I dare not, and for my blindness I cannot ask, vouchsafe to give me, for the worthiness of thy Son Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Lord,I will put my trust in thee alwayes: O let thy people do it with me, and I will pour out my heart before thee, O God my hope. Amen.
O that my wayes were made so direct that I might keep thy Statutes! O Lord direct them. Amen.
O Lord, teach me the way of thy Statutes, and I shall keep it unto the end: yea, I shall keep it with my whole heart. O stablish thy word in thy sevant, that I may fear thee; and that for Iesus Christ his sake. Amen.
O Lord, I will call upon thee in my troubles, O deliver me and hear me; and then especially at what time any storm falls upon me, even for Iesus Christ his sake. Amen.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, O teach me thy Statuts: That my whole heart may seek thee, and that I may not go wrong out of thy Commandments: That I may take greater delight in the way of thy Testimonies, then in all manner of riches. Amen.
O Praise the Lord all ye his servants, ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord. With these, O Lord, I lift up my hands to thy Sanctuary, and will praise thy Name. O Lord, be with me this Evening in all the mercies of Iesus Christ my Saviour. Amen.
Miserae carnis meae infirmitatem tu nosti, qui finxisti me: Invisibilium hostium meorum vigilantiam tu nosti, qui vides eos; Protegat me ala bonitatis tuae, per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
O Lord, there is no hiding me from thy presence: For if I should say, the darkness shall cover me, then shall my night be turned to day. For the darkness is no darkness with thee, but the night is as clear as the day, the darkness and the light to thee are both alike. Therefore, O God, I present my self open before thee, O cleanse my soul, that it may rejoyce to be seen of thee in Iesus Christ. Amen.
Die jam transacto, gra…ias tibi ago Domine, gloriam tibi tribuo, quod sine scandalo; hymnis effero, quod liber ab insidiis diem transegerim, per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Thy righteousness, O God, is very high, and great things are they which thou hast done for me. O God, who is like unto thee? Thou hast brought me to great honour, and comforted me on every side. Therefore will I praise thee and thy righteousness, O God, and unto thee will I sing, O thou holy One of Israel. My lips will be glad when I sing unto thee, and so will my soul which thou hast delivered. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for many are confounded & brought to shame that have sought to do me evil. O Lord, continue thy blessings to me, and multiply my thankfulness to thee, through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Lord, thou keeper of Israel, which in the watch over thy servants dost neither slumber nor sleep, be my keeper, and preserve me this night. O keep my soul. Amen.
Lord, give me grace to make haste, and not prolong the time to keep thy Commandments. That I may call my own ways to remembrance, and turn my feet to thy Testimonies. And then at midnight will I rise and give thee thanks, because of thy righteous judgments, O Lord my strength and my Redeemer. Amen.
Wo is me, that I am constrain …d to dwell with Mesech, and to have my habitation among the tents of Kedar: For my soul hath too long dwelt among them that are enemies unto peace: Too long, O Lord, but that it is thy good pleasure to continue my dwelling in this vale of misery. Amen.
Quid es, ô Deus meus? Quid rogo nisi Dominum, Deus? Quis enim Dominus praeter Dominum, aut quis Deus praeter Deum nostrum? Summe, Optime, Potentissime, Misericordissime & Iustissime, Secretissime & Presentissime, Pulcherrime & Fortissime, Stabilis & Incomprehensibilis, Immutabilis, mutans omnia. Nunquam novus, nunquam vetus, innovans omnia, & in vetustatem perducens superbos, & nesciunt. Semper agens, semper quietus, colligens & non egens. Portans, & implens, & protegens, creans, & nutriens, & perficiens. Quaeris, cum nihil desit tibi.
Amas, necaestuas. Zelas, & securus es. Poenitet te, & non doles. Irasceris, & tranquillus es. Opera mutas, non consilium. Recipis quod invenis, & nunquam amisisti. Nunquam inops, & gaudes lucris. Nunquam avarus, & usuras exigis.
Supererogatur tibi ut debeas, & quis habet quicquam non tuum? Reddis debita, nulli debens: Donas debita, nihil perdens. Et quid dicimus, Deus meus, vita mea, dulcedo mea sancta? Aut quid dicit aliquis, quum de te dicit? Et vae tacentibus de te, quoniam loquaces muti sunt: Miserere mei Deus, ut loquar de te, & glorificem nomen tuum. Amen.
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