(Alleluia.)

Praise the Lord, my soul; while life lasts, I will praise the Lord; of him, my God, shall my songs be while I am here to sing them. Do not put your trust in princes;

they are but men, they have no power to save.

As soon as the breath leaves his body, man goes back to the dust he belongs to; with that, all his designs will come to nothing.

Happier the man who turns to the God of Jacob for help, puts no confidence but in the Lord his God,

maker of heaven and earth and sea and all they contain;

the God who keeps faith for ever, who redresses wrong, and gives food to the hungry. The Lord, who brings release to the prisoner,

the Lord, who gives sight to the blind, the Lord, who comforts the burdened, the Lord, who befriends the innocent!

The Lord, who protects the stranger, who defends orphan and widow, who overturns the counsel of the wicked!

The Lord, reigning for ever, thy God, Sion, reigning from age to age! Alleluia.