The Sixteenth Kathisma

Antiphon One

The Lord says to my lord: Sit enthroned at my right, for I have made your enemies a seat for you, a footstool for your feet. 2) He has forged your victorious sceptre; the Lord of Sion has hammered it out. 3) In battle with your foes, he is your mighty one, your courage on the day of your conquest. The holy one will appear to console you, he who is the dawn of your life, the dew of your youth.

4) The Lord has sworn to it with his right hand, and he will not go back on his word: You are a priest of God eternal, like Melchisedek of old.

5) You will destroy kings the day your anger flares; 6) You will put nations to flight; you will pile high the corpses and shatter heads far and wide. 7) He who makes kings has himself given you your throne; the God of truth enables you to hold your head up high.

Alleluia! I will extol the Lord with all my heart, in the council of the upright and in the great gathering of the people. 2) Great are the works of the Lord; they should be studied by all who delight in them. 3) Splendid and glorious are his works, and his generosity lasts forever. 4) He has made himself a memorial in his wonderful works, the Lord who is gracious and merciful. 5) He nourishes those who revere him; he remembers his covenant of old. 6) By his works, he displays his power to his people, by giving them the lands of other nations. 7) His handiwork is truth and justice; trustworthy are all his precepts, 8) ordained to last for all eternity, framed in truth and fairness. 9) He has sent redemption to his people; he has decreed his covenant to stand forever; holy and awesome is his name. 10) Reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; God in his goodness will give understanding to all who strive for it. May his praise last forever.

Alleluia! Happy the man who reveres the Lord, who takes great delight in his commandments. 2) Many will his children be upon the earth, blessed generations of upright people. 3) Wealth and riches abound in his house, and there is no end to his concern for others. 4) He shines like a light in the darkness for all who are honest; he is gracious, merciful, and just. 5) All goes well with the man who is generous, who conducts his affairs honestly, for he will never stumble. 6) The just man will be remembered forever; he will not be disturbed when he gets bad news. 7) Constant in heart, he trusts in the Lord; with confident heart, he fears nothing. 8) In the end he will see the downfall of all his foes. 9) Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity endures forever; proudly will he hold his head up high. 10) The wicked man looks on with envy and gives way to anger; he gnashes his teeth, consumed by resentment. The cravings of the wicked will come to nothing.

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

Alleluia! Praise, you servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! 2) Blessed be the Lord's name now, and forevermore! 3) From the rising of the sun to its setting, praised be the name of the Lord!

4) High above all nations is the Lord; far above the heavens is his glory. 5) Who can compare with the Lord, our God, enthroned on high, 6) yet able to see all the earth as well as the heavens?

7) From the dust he raises the lowly to his feet; he lifts the poor from the dunghill, 8) to seat him among princes, in the midst of the princes of his own people. 9) He confirms the barren wife in her home; then he makes her a mother, overjoyed in her children. Alleluia!

When Israel went out of Egypt, Jacob's house from a barbaric people, 2) Judah became his holy nation, Israel, his domain. 3) The sea looked and took to flight; the Jordan turned back on its course; 4) the mountains took to dancing like rams, and the hills, like yearling sheep! 5) What ailed you, sea, that you took to flight, O Jordan, that you reeled backward, 6) you mountains, that you took to dancing like rams, and you hills, like yearling sheep? 7) Tremble, earth, in the presence of the Lord, in the presence of Jacob's God, 8) who turned a rock into a pool of water, and flint into a flowing spring.

Not for our sake, O Lord, not for our sake, but for your name's sake, display your glory, because of your loving mercy, because of your faithfulness, 2) lest unbelievers say: Where is their God? 3) Our God is in heaven and on earth; whatever pleases him, he does.

4) Their idols, gold and silver, are the works of human hands! 5) They have mouths, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; 6) they have ears, but they cannot hear; they have a nose, but they cannot smell; 7) they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk; and from their throats, not a sound! 8) Like them will their makers be, and all who trust in them!

9) House of Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their helper and protector. 10) House of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their helper and protector. 11) You who revere the Lord, trust the Lord! He is their helper and protector. 12) May the Lord bless our throne; may he bless the house of Israel; may he bless the house of Aaron. 13) May he bless those who revere the Lord, the small with the great. 14) May the Lord make you increase, you and your children! 15) May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth! 16) The heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth, this he has given to the children of men. 17) It is not the dead who praise the Lord, not those who have gone down to the fortress of death, 18) but the living: We bless the Lord now and forever! Alleluia!

Out of love for me, the Lord heard my plea for mercy! 2) Yes! He bent down to listen to me as I was calling. 3) The cords of death were tightening about me; the agents of the world beneath were right behind me; anguish and grief confronted me. 4) I was being pursued, and in my alarm, I thought: No one can be trusted! 5) But I kept faith and called on the name of the Lord: I beg you, Lord, rescue my life! 6) For I am your servant -- yes, your servant and faithful son! Undo my fetters!

7) Gracious is the Lord, and just; yes, our God is full of compassion. 8) Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his friends. 9) The Lord watches over the innocent; I was brought to my knees, but he saved me. 10) Be calm once more, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. 11) He has saved you from death, my soul, and you, my eyes, from tears; you he has saved from banishment, my feet, 12) that I might walk before the face of the Lord in the land of the living.

13) How can I repay the Lord all his favors to me? 14) I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord; 15) I will offer you a sacrifice of praise. 16) I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, 17) in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Alleluia!

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

Antiphon Three

Praise the Lord, all peoples; feast him, all nations! 2) Strong is his love for us, without end his faithfulness. Alleluia!

With praise, bless the Lord, for he is good! His love lasts forever! 2) Let Israel's house declare it: His love lasts forever! 3) Let Aaron's house declare it: His love lasts forever! 4) Let those who revere the Lord, let them declare it: His love lasts forever!

5) From dire straits I cried out to the Lord; he answered me from the vastness of his domain. 6) The Lord is with me; I am not afraid! What can man do to me? 7) The Lord is with me; my helper in everything! I will see the downfall of my foes! 8) It is better to count on the Lord than to depend on men; 9) it is better to count on the Lord than to depend on princes.

10) The nations all surrounded me; in the Lord's name I cut them off; 11) they surrounded me, they encircled me; in the Lord's name I cut them off; 12) they swarmed around me like bees; they flared up like fire in thickets; in the Lord's name I cut them off. 13) You kept on pushing me [O death] until I almost fell, but the Lord came to my aid; 14) my strength and my song is the Lord; he has been my salvation.

15) Shouts of victory and joy in the tents of the just! The Lord's hand has triumphed; 16) the Lord's right hand has raised me up; the Lord's right hand has won the victory! 17) No, I will not die; I will live and declare the works of the Lord. 18) The Lord has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

19) Open the gates of justice for me; let me enter and give thanks to the Lord! 20) This is the Lord's own gate, where the just enter in. 21) I give you thanks for hearing me; you have been my salvation. 22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone; 23) this is the Lord's doing, a marvel in our eyes. 24) This is the day the Lord has made: for us, joy and gladness. 25) Salvation, O Lord! Grant salvation! Victory, O Lord! Grant victory!

26) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the Lord's house. 27) The Lord God is our light! Join in procession, branches in hand, up to the horns of the altar. 28) You are my God and I give thanks to you; my God, and I extol you to the heavens! 29) With praise, bless the Lord for he is good! His love lasts forever!

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

The Psalter Copyright © 1984 by the Monks of New Skete
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