divine protection

¹⁷No object which has been formed to use against you will succeed. And every tongue that resists you in judgment, you shall judge. This is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and this is their justice with me, says the Lord.

¹The Praise of a Canticle, of David. Whoever dwells with the assistance of the Most High will abide in the protection of the God of heaven. ²He will say to the Lord, “You are my supporter and my refuge.” My God, I will hope in him. ³For he has freed me from the snare of those who go hunting, and from the harsh word. ⁴He will overshadow you with his shoulders, and you will hope under his wings. ⁵His truth will surround you with a shield. You will not be afraid: before the terror of the night, ⁶before the arrow flying in the day, before the troubles that wander in the darkness, nor of invasion and the midday demon.

²⁴Then, to him who has the power to keep you free from sin and to present you, immaculate, with exultation, before the presence of his glory at the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²⁵to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord: to him be glory and magnificence, dominion and power, before all ages, and now, and in every age, forever. Amen.

¹A Psalm of David. The Lord directs me, and nothing will be lacking to me. ²He has settled me here, in a place of pasture. He has led me out to the water of refreshment. ³He has converted my soul. He has led me away on the paths of justice, for the sake of his name. ⁴For, even if I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they have given me consolation. ⁵You have prepared a table in my sight, opposite those who trouble me. You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup, which inebriates me, how brilliant it is! ⁶And your mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and so may I dwell in the house of the Lord for length of days.

²⁸Do you not know, or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, who has created the limits of the earth. He does not diminish, and he does not struggle. Neither is his wisdom searchable. ²⁹It is he who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing. ³⁰Servants will struggle and fail, and young men will fall into infirmity. ³¹But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.

³The old error has gone away. You will serve peace: peace, for we have hoped in you. ⁴You have trusted in the Lord for all eternity, in the Lord God almighty forever.

²I will love you, O Lord my strength. ³The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my liberator. My God is my helper, and I hope in him: my protector, and the horn of my salvation, and my support. ⁴Praising, I will call upon the Lord. And I will be saved from my enemies. ⁵The sorrows of death surrounded me, and the torrents of iniquity dismayed me. ⁶The sorrows of Hell encompassed me, and the snares of death intercepted me. ⁷In my tribulation, I called upon the Lord, and I cried out to my God. And he listened to my voice from his holy temple. And my cry in his presence entered into his ears.

¹⁰Disaster will not draw near to you, and the scourge will not approach your tabernacle.

¹A Canticle in steps. I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains; from thence help will come to me. ²My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. ³May he not allow your foot to be moved, and may he not slumber, who guards you. ⁴Behold, he who guards Israel will neither sleep, nor slumber. ⁵The Lord is your keeper, the Lord is your protection, above your right hand. ⁶The sun will not burn you by day, nor the moon by night.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.

¹And now thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and who formed you, O Israel: Do not be afraid. For I have redeemed you, and I have called you by your name. You are mine. ²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not cover you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not scorch you. ³For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have presented Egypt as your atonement, Ethiopia and Seba on your behalf. ⁴Since then, you have become honorable in my eyes, and glorious. I have loved you, and I will present men on behalf of you, and people on behalf of your life. ⁵Fear not, for I am with you. I will lead your offspring from the East, and I will gather you from the West. ⁶I will say to the North, “Release him,” and to the South, “Do not turn him away.” Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

¹⁴If you shall ask anything of me in my name, that I will do.

⁹But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, an acquired people, so that you may announce the virtues of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹Blessed is the man who has not followed the counsel of the impious, and has not remained in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the chair of pestilence. ²But his will is with the law of the Lord, and he will meditate on his law, day and night. ³And he will be like a tree that has been planted beside running waters, which will provide its fruit in its time, and its leaf will not fall away, and all things whatsoever that he does will prosper. ⁴Not so the impious, not so. For they are like the dust that the wind casts along the face of the earth. ⁵Therefore, the impious will not prevail again in judgment, nor sinners in the council of the just. ⁶For the Lord knows the way of the just. And the path of the impious will pass away.