Roman Breviary

Let angels chant thy praise, pure spouse of purest bride,

While Christendom's sweet choirs the gladsome strains repeat,

To tell thy wondrous fame, to raise the pealing hymn,

Wherewith we all thy glory greet.

When doubts and bitter fears thy heavy heart oppressed,

And filled thy righteous soul with sorrow and dismay,

An angel quickly came, the wondrous secret told,

And drove thy anxious griefs away.

Thy arms thy new-born Lord, with tender joy embrace;

Him then to Egypt's land thy watchful care doth bring;

Him in the temple's courts once lost thou dost regain,

And 'mid thy tears dost greet thy King.

Not till death's pangs are o'er do others gain their crown,

But, Joseph, unto thee the blessed lot was given

While life did yet endure, thy God to see and know,

As do the saints above in heaven.

Grant us, great Trinity, for Joseph's holy sake,

In highest bliss and love, above the stars to reign,

That we in joy with him may praise our loving God,

And sing our glad eternal strain.

Amen.

1:1 Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, * nor sat in the chair of pestilence.

1:2 But his will is in the law of the Lord, * and on his law he shall meditate day and night.

1:3 And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, * which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season.

1:3 And his leaf shall not fall off: * and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.

1:4 Not so the wicked, not so: * but like the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth.

1:5 Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: * nor sinners in the council of the just.

1:6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the just: * and the way of the wicked shall perish.

2:1 Why have the Gentiles raged, * and the people devised vain things?

2:2 The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, * against the Lord and against his Christ.

2:3 Let us break their bonds asunder: * and let us cast away their yoke from us.

2:4 He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them: * and the Lord shall deride them.

2:5 Then shall he speak to them in his anger, * and trouble them in his rage.

2:6 But I am appointed king by him over Sion his holy mountain, * preaching his commandment.

2:7 The Lord hath said to me: * Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.

2:8 Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, * and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.

2:9 Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, * and shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

2:10 And now, O ye kings, understand: * receive instruction, you that judge the earth.

2:11 Serve ye the Lord with fear: * and rejoice unto him with trembling.

2:12 Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, * and you perish from the just way.

2:13 When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, * blessed are all they that trust in him.

3:2 Why, O Lord, are they multiplied that afflict me? * many are they who rise up against me.

3:3 Many say to my soul: * There is no salvation for him in his God.

3:4 But thou, O Lord art my protector, * my glory, and the lifter up of my head.

3:5 I have cried to the Lord with my voice: * and he hath heard me from his holy hill.

3:6 I have slept and taken my rest: * and I have risen up, because the Lord hath protected me.

3:7 I will not fear thousands of the people, surrounding me: * arise, O Lord; save me, O my God.

3:8 For thou hast struck all them who are my adversaries without cause: * thou hast broken the teeth of sinners.

3:9 Salvation is of the Lord: * and thy blessing is upon thy people.

4:2 When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: * when I was in distress, thou hast enlarged me.

4:2 Have mercy on me: * and hear my prayer.

4:3 O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? * Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?

4:4 Know ye also that the Lord hath made his holy one wonderful: * the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.

4:5 Be ye angry, and sin not: * the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.

4:6 Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: * many say, Who sheweth us good things?

4:7 The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: * thou hast given gladness in my heart.

4:8 By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, * they are multiplied.

4:9 In peace in the selfsame * I will sleep, and I will rest:

4:10 For thou, O Lord, singularly * hast settled me in hope.

5:2 Give ear, O Lord, to my words * understand my cry.

5:3 Hearken to the voice of my prayer, * O my King and my God.

5:4 For to thee will I pray: * O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my voice.

5:5 In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see: * because thou art not a God that willest iniquity.

5:6 Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee: * nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes.

5:7 Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity: * thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie.

5:7 The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor. * But as for me in the multitude of thy mercy,

5:8 I will come into thy house; * I will worship towards thy holy temple, in thy fear.

5:9 Conduct me, O Lord, in thy justice: * because of my enemies, direct my way in thy sight.

5:10 For there is no truth in their mouth: * their heart is vain.

5:11 Their throat is an open sepulchre: they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: * judge them, O God.

5:11 Let them fall from their devices: according to the multitude of their wickednesses cast them out: * for they have provoked thee, O Lord.

5:12 But let all them be glad that hope in thee: * they shall rejoice for ever, and thou shalt dwell in them.

5:12 And all they that love thy name shall glory in thee: * For thou wilt bless the just.

5:13 O Lord, thou hast crowned us, * as with a shield of thy good will.

8:2 O Lord our Lord, * how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!

8:2 For thy magnificence is elevated * above the heavens.

8:3 Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, * that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger.

8:4 For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: * the moon and the stars which thou hast founded.

8:5 What is man that thou art mindful of him? * or the son of man that thou visitest him?

8:6 Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour: * and hast set him over the works of thy hands.

8:8 Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, * all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the fields.

8:9 The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, * that pass through the paths of the sea.

8:10 O Lord our Lord, * how admirable is thy name in all the earth!

14:1 Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? * or who shall rest in thy holy hill?

14:2 He that walketh without blemish, * and worketh justice:

14:3 He that speaketh truth in his heart, * who hath not used deceit in his tongue:

14:3 Nor hath done evil to his neighbour: * nor taken up a reproach against his neighbours.

14:4 In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing: * but he glorifieth them that fear the Lord:

14:4 He that sweareth to his neighbour, and deceiveth not; * He that hath not put out his money to usury, nor taken bribes against the innocent:

14:5 He that doth these things, * shall not be moved for ever.

20:2 The king rejoices in thy strength, O Lord; * and in thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly.

20:3 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire: * and hast not withholden from him the will of his lips.

20:4 For thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness: * thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones.

20:5 He asked life of thee: * and thou hast given him length of days for ever and ever.

20:6 His glory is great in thy salvation: * glory and great beauty shalt thou lay upon him.

20:7 For thou shalt give him to be a blessing for ever and ever: * thou shalt make him joyful in gladness with thy countenance.

20:8 For the king hopeth in the Lord: * and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.

20:9 Let thy hand be found by all thy enemies: * let thy right hand find out all them that hate thee.

20:10 Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire, * in the time of thy anger: the Lord shall trouble them in his wrath, and fire shall devour them.

20:11 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth: * and their seed from among the children of men.

20:12 For they have intended evils against thee: * they have devised counsels which they have not been able to establish.

20:13 For thou shalt make them turn their back: * in thy remnants thou shalt prepare their face.

20:14 Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy own strength: * we will sing and praise thy power.

23:1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof: * the world, and all they that dwell therein.

23:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas; * and hath prepared it upon the rivers.

23:3 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord: * or who shall stand in his holy place?

23:4 The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, * who hath not taken his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbour.

23:5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, * and mercy from God his Saviour.

23:6 This is the generation of them that seek him, * of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob.

23:7 Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: * and the King of Glory shall enter in.

23:8 Who is this King of Glory? * the Lord who is strong and mighty: the Lord mighty in battle.

23:9 Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: * and the King of Glory shall enter in.

23:10 Who is this King of Glory? * the Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory.