Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
144 He praiseth the Lord with great affection and humility for his kingdom restored, and for his victories obtained. 5 Demanding help, and the destruction of the wicked, 9 Promising to acknowledge the same with songs of praises, 15 And declareth wherein the felicity of any people consisteth.
A Psalm of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord my strength, which [a]teacheth mine hands to fight, and my fingers to battle.
2 He is my goodness and my fortress, my tower and [b]my deliverer, my shield and in him I trust, [c]which subdueth my people under me.
3 Lord, what is man that thou [d]regardest him! or the son of man that thou thinkest upon him?
4 Man is like to vanity; his days are like a shadow that vanisheth.
5 [e]Bow thine heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 [f]Cast forth the lightning and scatter them; shoot out thine arrows and consume them.
7 Send thine hand from above: deliver me, and take me out of the great [g]waters, and from the hand of strangers,
8 Whose mouth talketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand [h]of falsehood.
9 I will sing a [i]new song unto thee, O God, and sing unto thee upon a viol, and an instrument of ten strings.
10 It is he that giveth deliverance unto kings, and rescueth David his [j]servant from the hurtful sword.
11 Rescue me, and deliver me from the hand of strangers, whose mouth talketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:
12 [k]That our sons may be as the plants growing up in their youth, and our daughters as the corner stones, graven after the similitude of a palace:
13 That our [l]corners may be full and abounding with divers sorts, and that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousand in our streets.
14 That our [m]oxen may be strong to labor; that there be none invasion, nor going out, nor no crying in our streets.
15 Blessed are the people, that be [n]so, yea blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
10 Thy [a]mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she brought forth fruit and branches by the abundant waters,
11 And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bear rule, and her stature was exalted among the branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.
12 But she was plucked up in wrath: she was cast down to the ground, and the [b]East wind dried up her fruit: her branches were broken and withered: as for the rod of her strength, the fire consumed it.
13 And now she is planted in the wilderness in a dry and thirsty ground.
14 And fire is gone out [c]of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a scepter to rule: this is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
4 [a]To whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed of men, but chosen of God and precious,
5 Ye also as lively stones, be made a spiritual house, [b]an holy (A)Priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
6 [c]Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, (B)Behold, I put in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect and precious, and he that believeth therein, shall not be ashamed.
7 [d]Unto you therefore which believe, it is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the (C)stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8 And a (D)stone to stumble at, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, unto the which thing they were even ordained.
9 [e]But ye are a chosen generation, a royal (E)Priesthood, an holy nation, a people set at liberty, that ye should show forth the virtues of him that hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light,
10 (F)Which in time past were not a people, yet are now the people of God: which in time past were not under mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.