Thursday, April 16

The Midday Office To Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m

The Call to Prayer

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD.

Isaiah 1:18, KJV

The Request for Presence

O LORD, I call to you; come to me quickly;* hear my voice when I cry to you.

Psalm 141:1

The Greeting

In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge;* let me never be ashamed.

Psalm 71:1

The Refrain for the Midday Lessons

Happy are they all who fear the LORD,* and who follow in his ways!

Psalm 128:1

A Reading

For I, YAHWEH, your God, I grasp you by your right hand; I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid, I shall help you.’

Isaiah 41:13

The Refrain

Happy are they all who fear the LORD,* and who follow in his ways!

The Midday Psalm

Happy Are They Who Delight in the LORD

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked,* nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful! Their delight is in the law of the LORD,* and they meditate on his law day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither;* everything they do shall prosper. It is not so with the wicked;* they are like chaff which the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes,* nor the sinner in the council of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,* but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Psalm 1

The Refrain

Happy are they all who fear the LORD,* and who follow in his ways!

The Cry of the Church

Be, Lord, my helper and forsake me not. Do not despise me, O God, my savior.

THE SHORT BREVIARY

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name. May your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week

Almighty God, you have surrounded me with a great cloud of witnesses: Grant that I too may persevere in running the race that is set before me, until at last I may with him attain to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. †

The Concluding Prayer of the Church

Direct me, O Lord, in all my doings with your most gracious favor, and further me with your continual help; that in all my work begun, continued, and ended in you, I may glorify your holy name, and finally, by your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. †