Lauds for the Dead
Psalter
The bones which thou hast broken shall rejoice in the Lord.
Psalm 51. Miserere mei, Deus.
1 HAVE mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; *according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences.
2 Wash me throughly from my wickedness, *
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my faults, *
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; *
that thou mightest be justified in thy saying, and clear when thou shalt judge.
5 Behold, I was shapen in wickedness, *
and in sin hath my mother conceived me.
6 But lo, thou requirest truth in the inward parts, *
and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly.
7 Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; *
thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Turn thy face from my sins, *
and put out all my misdeeds.
10 Make me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence, *
and take not thy holy Spirit from me.
12 O give me the comfort of thy help again, *
and stablish me with thy free Spirit.
13 Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked, *
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou that art the God of my health; *
and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness.
15 Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord, *
and my mouth shall show thy praise.
16 For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it thee; *
but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.
17 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: *
a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise.
18 O be favourable and gracious unto Sion; *
build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings and oblations; *
then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar.
Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord
And let light perpetual shine upon them.
The bones which thou hast broken shall rejoice in the Lord.
Thou, O Lord, that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Psalm 65. Te decet hymnus.
1 THOU, O God, art praised in Sion; *and unto thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem.
2 Thou that hearest the prayer, *
unto thee shall all flesh come.
3 My misdeeds prevail against me: *
O be thou merciful unto our sins.
4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and receivest unto thee: *
he shall dwell in thy court, and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
5 Thou shalt show us wonderful things in thy righteousness, O God of our salvation; *
thou that art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that remain in the broad sea.
6 Who in his strength setteth fast the mountains, *
and is girded about with power.
7 Who stilleth the raging of the sea, *
and the noise of his waves, and the madness of the peoples.
8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth shall be afraid at thy tokens, *
thou that makest the out-goings of the morning and evening to praise thee.
9 Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it; *
thou makest it very plenteous.
10 The river of God is full of water: *
thou preparest their corn, for so thou providest for the earth.
11 Thou waterest her furrows; thou sendest rain into the little valleys thereof; *
thou makest it soft with the drops of rain, and blessest the increase of it.
12 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; *
and thy clouds drop fatness.
13 They shall drop upon the dwellings of the wilderness; *
and the little hills shall rejoice on every side.
14 The folds shall be full of sheep; *
the valleys also shall stand so thick with corn, that they shall laugh and sing.
Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord
And let light perpetual shine upon them.
Thou, O Lord, that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Thy right hand hath upholden me, O Lord.
Psalm 63. Deus, Deus meus.
1 O GOD, thou art my God; *early will I seek thee.
2 My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh also longeth after thee, *
in a barren and dry land where no water is.
3 Thus have I looked for thee in the sanctuary, *
that I might behold thy power and glory.
4 For thy loving-kindness is better than the life itself: *
my lips shall praise thee.
5 As long as I live will I magnify thee in this manner, *
and lift up my hands in thy Name.
6 My soul shall be satisfied, even as it were with marrow and fatness, *
when my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lips.
7 Have I not remembered thee in my bed, *
and thought upon thee when I was waking?
8 Because thou hast been my helper; *
therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
9 My soul hangeth upon thee; *
thy right hand hath upholden me.
10 These also that seek the hurt of my soul, *
they shall go under the earth.
11 Let them fall upon the edge of the sword, *
that they may be a portion for foxes.
12 But the King shall rejoice in God; all they also that swear by him shall be commended; *
for the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord
And let light perpetual shine upon them.
Thy right hand hath upholden me, O Lord.
From the gate of hell, deliver my soul, O Lord.
Canticle of Hezekiah Ego dixi in dimidio
Is. 38:10-20
I said, In the midst of my days *
I shall go unto the gates of hell.
I sought for the residue of my years. *
I said, I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living.
I shall behold man no more, *
neither the inhabitant of the land of rest.
Mine age is departed, and is rolled up from me, *
like as it were a shepherd's tent.
My life is cut off as by a weaver, whilst I was yet but beginning, he
cut me off : *
from morning even until night shalt thou make an end of me.
I hoped till morning, *
as a lion, so hath he broken all my bones.
From morning even until night shalt thou make an end of me : *
I will cry like a young swallow; I will meditate like a dove.
Mine eyes are weakened, *
with looking upward.
O Lord, I suffer violence, answer thou for me. *
What shall I say, or what shall he answer me, whereas he himself
hath done it?
I will call to remembrance before thee all my years *
in the bitterness of my soul.
O Lord, if man's life be such, and the life of my spirit be in such
things as these, thou shalt chasten me, and make me to live. *
Behold, in peace is my my bitterness most bitter.
But thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish: *
thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
For hell shall not give glory unto thee,
neither shall death praise thee, *
nor yet shall they that go down into the pit look for thy truth.
The living, yea the living, he shall give praise unto thee,
as I do this day; *
the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
O Lord, save me, *
and we will sing our psalms all the days of our life in the house of
the Lord
Rest eternal * grant unto them, O Lord.
And let light perpetual * shine upon them.
From the gate of hell, deliver my soul, O Lord.
Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord
Psalm 148. Laudate Dominum.
1 O PRAISE the LORD from the heavens: *praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all ye angels of his: *
praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him, sun and moon: *
praise him, all ye stars and light.
4 Praise him, all ye heavens, *
and ye waters that are above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the Name of the LORD: *
for he spake the word, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created.
6 He hath made them fast for ever and ever: *
he hath given them a law which shall not be broken.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth, *
ye dragons and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and vapours, *
wind and storm, fulfilling his word;
9 Mountains and all hills; *
fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle; *
creeping things and flying fowls;
11 Kings of the earth, and all peoples; *
princes, and all judges of the world;
12 Young men and maidens, old men and children, praise the Name of the LORD: *
for his Name only is excellent, and his praise above heaven and earth.
13 He shall exalt the horn of his people: all his saints shall praise him; *
even the children of Israel, even the people that serveth him.
Psalm 149. Cantate Domino.
1 O SING unto the LORD a new song; *let the congregation of saints praise him.
2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him, *
and let the children of Sion be joyful in their King.
3 Let them praise his Name in the dance: *
let them sing praises unto him with tabret and harp.
4 For the LORD hath pleasure in his people, *
and helpeth the meek-hearted.
5 Let the saints be joyful with glory; *
let them rejoice in their beds.
6 Let the praises of God be in their mouth; *
and a two-edged sword in their hands;
7 To be avenged of the nations, *
and to rebuke the peoples;
8 To bind their kings in chains, *
and their nobles with links of iron;
9 To execute judgment upon them; as it is written, *
Such honour have all his saints.
Psalm 150. Laudate Dominum.
1 O PRAISE God in his sanctuary: *praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him in his noble acts: *
praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him in the sound of the trumpet: *
praise him upon the lute and harp.
4 Praise him in the timbrels and dances: *
praise him upon the strings and pipe.
5 Praise him upon the well-tuned cymbals: *
praise him upon the loud cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath *
praise the LORD.
Rest eternal * grant unto them, O Lord.
And let light perpetual * shine upon them.
Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord
V. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord
R. And let light perpetual shine upon them.
I am * the resurrection and the life : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
The Song of Zechariah Benedictus Dominus Deus
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, *
for he hath visited and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us *
in the house of his servant David,
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, *
which have been since the world began:
That we should be saved from our enemies, *
and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, *
and to remember his holy covenant;
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham, *
that he would give us,
That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies *
might serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him, *
all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, *
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people *
for the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God, *
whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Rest eternal * grant unto them, O Lord.
And let light perpetual * shine upon them.
I am * the resurrection and the life : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
The Prayers
V. Lord, have mercy.
R. Christ, have mercy.
V. Lord, have mercy.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Psalm 142. Voce mea ad Dominum.
1 I CRIED unto the LORD with my voice; *yea, even unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
2 I poured out my complaints before him, *
and showed him of my trouble.
3 When my spirit was in heaviness, thou knewest my path; *
in the way wherein I walked, have they privily laid a snare for me.
4 I looked also upon my right hand, *
and saw there was no man that would know me.
5 I had no place to flee unto, *
and no man cared for my soul.
6 I cried unto thee, O LORD, and said, *
Thou art my hope, and my portion in the land of the living.
7 Consider my complaint; *
for I am brought very low.
8 O deliver me from my persecutors; *
for they are too strong for me.
9 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks unto thy Name; *
which thing if thou wilt grant me, then shall the righteous resort unto my company.
V. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord.
R. And let light perpetual shine upon them.
V. From the gate of hell.
R. Deliver their souls, O Lord.
V. I believe to see the goodness of the Lord.
R. In the land of the living.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
V. Let us pray.
May the prayer of thy suppliants, we beseech thee, O Lord, avail the souls of all the faithful departed; that thou mayest deliver them from all their sins and make them partakers in thy redemption. Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth God, world without end. Amen.
May they rest in peace. Amen.