Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

144 Blessed be the Lord my strength, who teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight;

² my goodness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I trust, who subdueth my people under me.

³ Lord, what is man that Thou takest notice of him? Or the son of man that Thou makest account of him?

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

⁵ Bow Thy heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

⁶ Cast forth lightning and scatter them; shoot out Thine arrows and destroy them.

⁷ Send Thine hand from above; rescue me and deliver me out of great waters from the hand of strangers,

⁸ whose mouth speaketh vanity and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⁹ I will sing a new song unto Thee, O God; upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto Thee.

¹⁰ It is He that giveth salvation unto kings, who delivereth David His servant from the hurtful sword.

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

¹² that our sons may be as plants full grown in their youth, that our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace;

¹³ that our garners may be full, affording all manner of store, that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets;

¹⁴ that our oxen may be strong to labor, that there be no breaking in, nor going out, that there be no complaining in our streets.

¹⁵ Happy is that people for whom such is the case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.

¹⁰ “‘Thy mother is like a vine in thy likeness, planted by the waters; she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

¹¹ And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bore rule; and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.

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

¹³ And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.

¹⁴ And fire has gone out from 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 Coming to Him as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,

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

⁶ Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious; and he that believeth in Him shall not be confounded.”

⁷ Unto you therefore who believe, He is precious; but unto those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,”

⁸ and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,” even to those who stumble at the Word, being disobedient, unto which also they were appointed.

⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

¹⁰ In times past ye were not a people, but are now the people of God; who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.