The Fourth Kathisma

Antiphon One

To you, O Lord, do I lift my soul! 2) My God, in you I trust! Do not disappoint me, lest my enemies jeer at me. 3) Do not disappoint any of those who look to you, but disappoint the treacherous in their schemes. 4) Make me know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5) Guide me along the path of your truth, and teach me well, for you are the God of my salvation; it is you I look to at all times. 6) In your goodness, Lord, remember your mercy and your love, for they are as old as time itself. 7) Do not remember the mistakes of my youth; but me, in your love remember me! In your kindness remember me, in keeping with your goodness, O Lord.

8) The Lord is upright and good; he points out his path to those who stray. 9) He directs the humble along the path of justice; he teaches his way to the oppressed. 10) All the Lord's ways are love and truth for those who keep their word and abide by his precepts. 11) For your name's sake, Lord, wash away my guilt, great as it is. 12) If a man reveres the Lord, he will show him the path to choose. 13) His soul will enjoy prosperity, and his children will inherit the land. 14) The Lord's friendship is for those who revere him; to them he reveals his covenant. 15) My eyes are forever fixed on the Lord, for it is he who frees my feet from the snare.

16) Turn to me and pity me, lonely wretch that I am! 17) Relieve the anguish of my heart; do away with my distress. 18) Look upon my misery and pain; forgive me all my sins. 19) See how many are my foes, how intense their hatred of me. 20) Protect me and save me; do not disappoint me, for you are my refuge. 21) May innocence and righteousness protect me, for I trust in you, O Lord. 22) Rescue Israel, O God, from all its troubles.

Be my judge, O Lord! On my word, I go my way in innocence. I trust in the Lord; I do not waver. 2) Examine me, Lord, and try me; test me, heart and mind.

3) For your steadfast love is ever before my eyes; I have set my course by it. 4) I never deal with scoundrels, nor do I mix with hypocrites, 5) I hate the company of evildoers; I want nothing to do with the wicked. 6) To prove my innocence, I wash my hands, that I may walk about your altar, O Lord, 7) letting my thanks resound, recounting all your wonders. 8) I love the beauty of your house, O Lord, the tenting-place of your glory.

9) Do not sweep me away with sinners, nor snuff out my life with bloodthirsty men. 10) Their hands are covered with guilt, their right hands forever clutching bribes. 11) As for me, I live my life in innocence; redeem me, Lord, and show me your favor. 12) With my feet firmly planted on the right path, I will bless the Lord in the great gathering of his people.

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, before whom should I tremble? 2) When evildoers draw near to eat up my flesh, it is they, my enemies and foes, who stumble and fall. 3) Though an army marches against me, my heart will not fear; though war breaks out against me, even then will I be hopeful.

4) One thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long: To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to feast my eyes on the beauty of the Lord, to linger in his temple. 5) For he gives me refuge there the day trouble comes, he conceals me in the shelter of his tent, he sets me safe upon a rock. 6) Even now, I hold my head high above my enemies who surround me, and I will offer a sacrifice of praise within his tent. I will sing and make music to the Lord!

7) Lord, hear my voice when I call; have mercy and answer me. 8) My heart keeps pressing me: Seek out the Lord. It is your face, Lord, that I seek; 9) do not hide from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger; be my help. Do not desert me; do not abandon me, O God, my saving help. 10) Though my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will receive me.

11) Teach me your way, Lord; lead me along the path of righteousness, because of my enemies. 12) Let me not fall into the hands of my foes, for they rise up against me, lying about me and breathing forth violence. 13) I am sure I will see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living. 14) Wait for the Lord; take heart, be strong, and hope in the Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: Both now and forever, and unto ages of ages, amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.

Antiphon Two

To you I cry out, O Lord! O my rock, be not deaf to me! In the face of your silence, I would be like those who go into the pit. 2) Hear the sound of my pleading as I call for help, as I lift my hands in prayer toward your holy of holies. 3) Do not count me among the wicked, with evildoers who talk of peace to their neighbors, while their hearts are full of treachery. 4) Repay them as their actions deserve, for the malice of their deeds. For the work of their hands repay them; give them what they deserve. 5) For they ignore what the Lord does, and they pay no head to the work of his hands. May he bring them down in destruction, never to rise again!

6) Blessed be the Lord for hearing my prayer. 7) The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts. He has restored me to vigor, and my flesh has come back to life; with all my heart I give thanks to him.

8) The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of saving help for his anointed. 9) Save your people and bless your inheritance; lead them and carry them forever.

Give the Lord, O you spirit powers, give the Lord glory and praise! 2) Give the Lord the glory of his name! Adore the Lord in the splendor of his holiness!

3) The Lord's voice resounds upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, on the immense vastness of the waters! 4) The Lord's voice, full of power, the Lord's voice, full of splendor! 5) The Lord's voice shatters the cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon! 6) He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion, like a young wild ox. 7) The Lord's voice--like flashing flames of fire! 8) The Lord's voice shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9) The Lord's voice rends the oak trees; it strips the forest bare. In his temple, they all cry: Glory!

10) The Lord sits enthroned above the floodwaters; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever! 11) May the Lord give his people strength; may the Lord bless his people with peace.

I extol you, O Lord, for lifting me up, for not letting my foe gloat over me.

2) O Lord, my God, I cried out to you, and you healed me. 3) O Lord, you brought me out of hell; you restored me to life as I was sinking into the pit. 4) Sing to the Lord, you who are devoted to him; praise his holy name! 5) For death comes with his anger, life eternal, with his favor. In the evening one falls off to sleep weeping, but dawn brings shouts of joy.

6) I said to myself in good fortune: Nothing can ever disturb me. 7) For in your pleasure, O Lord, you made me as firm as a mountain. But when you turned away your face, I was filled with dismay.

8) To you, O Lord, I cried out; with my God I pleaded for mercy: 9) What gain will there be in my death, in my descent to the pit? Can the mud sing your praises, acknowledge your faithfulness? 10) Hear me, O Lord, and have mercy! O Lord, come quick to help me!

11) Turn my lament into dancing! Undo my sackcloth and wrap me in gladness! 12) That all my being may sing hymns to you and weep no more. O Lord, my God, I will praise you forever!

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

Antiphon Three

I place my trust in you, O Lord; let me not be put to shame, O eternal one; in your justice set me free. 2) Turn your ear to me and deliver me at once! Be a rock of refuge for me, a mighty stronghold to shelter me. 3) For you are indeed my rock, my stronghold! Lead me and guide me for the honor of your name. 4) Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. 5) Into your hands I commend my spirit; redeem me, Lord God of truth. 6) I detest those who worship false gods; I place all my trust in you. 7) I rejoice and exult in your loving kindness, for you see my affliction, and you note the distress of my soul. 8) Before the enemy can close in on me, set me free to roam where I please.

9) Have mercy on me, O Lord; misery overwhelms me and tears have wasted away my eyes. 10) For my life is nothing but sorrow, my years, groaning and sighing. Strong as I am, I stumble and falter under affliction; my bones waste away within me. 11) I have such enemies that all men scorn me; my neighbors find me a burden, and my friends, even my friends, dread the sight of me. 12) Those who pass me in the streets turn the other way; I am like a dead man: forgotten, like something thrown away. 13) I hear how they whisper against me, how they threaten me, as they plot against me, as they work out their plans to take my life.

14) Still, I count on you, Lord! I insist: You are my God! 15) My fate is in your hands; deliver me from those who hate me. 16) Make your face shine forth on your servant; in your steadfast love, save me. 17) Let not my pleading be in vain when I call on you, O Lord! Shame the wicked; drive them into the grave! 18) Strike dumb their lying lips, those lips brimming with arrogance, with scorn and contempt for the just one.

19) But your goodness, Lord -- how great the goodness you reserve for those who revere you, with which you favor those who trust you, in plain sight, for the sons of men to see. 20) You protect them in the shelter of your presence, safe from scheming men; you conceal them in your tent, far beyond the range of treacherous tongues. 21) Praise to the Lord for showing me the wonders of his love when I was hard pressed! 22) For a moment I was alarmed, and I said: He has shut me out! But I cried out to you and you heard my voice! 23) So love the Lord, all you his loyal servants! The Lord cares for those who remain faithful to him, but the arrogant he will punish in full! 24) Be strong, take heart, all you who hope in the Lord!

Happy is he whose offense is forgiven, whose sin is blotted out. 2) Happy the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, and in whose spirit there is no guile!

3) As long as I kept it a secret, my bones wasted away, while I groaned in anguish all day long. 4) For day and night, O most high, your hand was heavy on me; I was worn out, O mighty one, as in the summer heat. 5) Then I said: I will confess, O most high, my offense, O Lord! I acknowledged my sin to you; I did not cover up my guilt, so you forgave my sinful heart. 6) And so, on discovering his sin, let the devout man pray to you lest mighty rushing waters overtake him. 7) For you are my shelter; you preserve me from distress; you surround me with the joys of salvation.

8) Let me instruct you and teach you the way you should go. Let me offer you counsel, and watch over you. 9) Be not senseless like horse or mule, whose course must be checked by bit and bridle before they obey you.

10) How many the torments of the wicked! But love enfolds him who trusts in the Lord. 11) Rejoice in the Lord; exult, you just! Shout for joy, you upright hearts!

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

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