Vespers: Fridays Through the Year

V. † God, come to my assistance.

R. Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia.

Antiphon I
O LORD, You have probed me, and You know me.

Psalmus 138 (139) i

O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:*
you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar.
My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar.*
Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, you know it all.
Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me.*
Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach.
Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee?*
If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too.
If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea,*
Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light" --*
Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one.
You formed my inmost being;*
you knit me in my mother's womb.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Antiphon I
O LORD, You have probed me, and You know me.

Antiphon II
Wonderful are your works, O Lord; my very self you knew.

Psalm 138 (139) ii

I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works!*
My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,*
fashioned as in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down;*
my days were shaped, before one came to be.
How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!*
Were I to count, they would outnumber the sands; to finish, I would need eternity.
If only you would destroy the wicked, O God, and the bloodthirsty would depart from me!*
Deceitfully they invoke your name; your foes swear faithless oaths.
Do I not hate, LORD, those who hate you? Those who rise against you, do I not loathe?*
With fierce hatred I hate them, enemies I count as my own.
Probe me, God, know my heart; try me, know my concerns.*
See if my way is crooked, then lead me in the ancient paths.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Antiphon II
Wonderful are your works, O Lord; my very self you knew.

Antiphon III
Do not grant the desires of the wicked, LORD, my strong helper.

Psalm 139 (140)

Deliver me, LORD, from the wicked; preserve me from the violent,*
From those who plan evil in their hearts, who stir up conflicts every day,
Who sharpen their tongues like serpents, *
venom of asps upon their lips.
Keep me, LORD, from the clutches of the wicked;*
preserve me from the violent, who plot to trip me up.
The arrogant have set a trap for me;*
villains have spread a net, laid snares for me by the wayside.
I say to the LORD: You are my God; listen, LORD, to the words of my prayer.*
My revered LORD, my strong helper, my helmet on the day of battle.
LORD, do not grant the desires of the wicked;*
do not let their plots succeed.
Around me they raise their proud heads; may the mischief they threaten overwhelm them.*
May God rain burning coals upon them, cast them into the grave never more to rise.
Slanderers will not survive on earth; evil will quickly entrap the violent.*
For I know the LORD will secure justice for the needy, their rights for the poor.
Then the just will give thanks to your name; *
the upright will dwell in your presence.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Antiphon III
Do not grant the desires of the wicked, LORD, my strong helper.

Antiphon IV
LORD, I call to you; come quickly to help me.

Psalm 140 (141)

LORD, I call to you; come quickly to help me; listen to my plea when I call.*
Let my prayer be incense before you; my uplifted hands an evening sacrifice.
Set a guard, LORD, before my mouth,*
a gatekeeper at my lips.
Do not let my heart incline to evil, or yield to any sin.*
I will never feast upon the fine food of evildoers.
Let the just strike me; that is kindness;*
 let them rebuke me; that is oil for my head.
All this I shall not refuse,*
but will pray despite these trials.
When their leaders are cast over the cliff,*
all will learn that my prayers were heard.
As when a farmer plows a field into broken clods,*
so their bones will be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
My eyes are upon you, O GOD, my Lord;*
in you I take refuge; do not strip me of life.
Guard me from the trap they have set for me, from the snares of evildoers.*
Into their own nets let all the wicked fall, while I make good my own escape.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Antiphon IV
LORD, I call to you; come quickly to help me.

Antiphon V
Lead me out of my prison, O Lord, that I may give thanks to your name.

Psalm 141 (142)

With full voice I cry to the LORD; with full voice I beseech the LORD.*
Before God I pour out my complaint, lay bare my distress.
My spirit is faint within me, but you know my path. *
Along the way I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
I look to my right hand, but no friend is there. *
There is no escape for me; no one cares for me.
I cry out to you, LORD, I say, You are my refuge, *
my portion in the land of the living.
Listen to my cry for help, for I am brought very low. *
Rescue me from my pursuers, for they are too strong for me.
Lead me out of my prison, that I may give thanks to your name. *
Then the just shall gather around me because you have been good to me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Antiphon V
Lead me out of my prison, O Lord, that I may give thanks to your name.

Chapter (2 Corinthians 1:3-4a)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all
encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction.
R. Thanks be to God.

Hymn
Versicle
V. Let my prayer be incense before you.
R. My uplifted hands an evening sacrifice.

Antiphon at Magnificat
The Lord has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.

Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary

My soul proclaims † the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Antiphon at Magnificat
The Lord has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto you.

Prayer
Oremus: * May the ears of thy mercy, Lord, lie open to the prayers of the supplicant: and, as you
grant to those seeking what they have desired, make it so that they, whose desires have pleased
you, ask [for them]. Per Christum...* Amen.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto you.

V. Let us bless the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.
V. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.