Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

[A Psalm] of David.

144 Blessed be Jehovah my rock, who teacheth my hands to war, my fingers to fight;

² My mercy and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I trust, who subdueth my people under me!

³ Jehovah, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him, the son of man, that thou takest thought of him?

⁴ Man is like to vanity; his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

⁵ Jehovah, bow thy heavens, and come down; touch the mountains, that they smoke;

⁶ Cast forth lightnings, and scatter them; send forth thine arrows, and discomfit them:

⁷ Stretch out thy hands from above; rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of aliens,

⁸ Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⁹ O God, I will sing a new song unto thee; with the ten-stringed lute will I sing psalms unto thee:

¹⁰ Who givest salvation unto kings; who rescuest David thy servant from the hurtful sword.

¹¹ Rescue me, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

¹² That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; our daughters as corner-columns, sculptured after the fashion of a palace:

¹³ Our granaries full, affording all manner of store; our sheep bringing forth thousands, ten thousands in our pastures;

¹⁴ Our kine laden [with young]; no breaking in and no going forth, and no outcry in our streets.

¹⁵ Blessed the people that is in such a case! Blessed the people whose God is Jehovah!

¹⁰ Thy mother was as a vine, in thy rest, planted by the waters: it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

¹¹ And it had strong rods for sceptres of them that bear rule, and its stature was exalted between the thick boughs; and it was conspicuous by its height with the multitude of its branches.

¹² But it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit; its strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

¹³ And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground:

¹⁴ and a fire is gone out of a rod of its branches, [which] hath devoured its fruit; so that it hath no strong rod to be a sceptre for ruling. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

⁴ To whom coming, a living stone, cast away indeed as worthless by men, but with God chosen, precious,

⁵ yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

⁶ Because it is contained in the scripture: Behold, I lay in Zion a corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believes on him shall not be put to shame.

⁷ To you therefore who believe [is] the preciousness; but to the disobedient, the stone which the builders cast away as worthless, this is become head of [the] corner,

⁸ and a stone of stumbling and rock of offence; [who] stumble at the word, being disobedient to which also they have been appointed.

⁹ But *ye* [are] a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession, that ye might set forth the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness to his wonderful light;

¹⁰ who once [were] not a people, but now God's people; who were not enjoying mercy, but now have found mercy.