Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

² From the mouths of children and babies come songs of praise to you.
    They sing of your power to silence your enemies who were seeking revenge.

³ I look at the heavens you made with your hands.
    I see the moon and the stars you created.
⁴ And I wonder, “Why are people so important to you?
    Why do you even think about them?
Why do you care so much about humans^[a]?
    Why do you even notice them?”

⁵ But you made them almost like gods
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
⁶ You put them in charge of everything you made.
    You put everything under their control.
⁷ People rule over the sheep and cattle and all the wild animals.
⁸ They rule over the birds in the sky
    and the fish that swim in the sea.
⁹ Lord our Lord, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!

¹² “Did you ever in your life command the morning to begin
    or the day to dawn?
¹³ Did you ever tell the morning light to grab the earth
    and shake those who are evil out of their hiding places?
¹⁴ The morning light makes the hills
    and valleys easy to see.
When the daylight comes to the earth,
    the shapes of these places stand out like the folds of a coat.
They take shape like soft clay
    that is pressed with a stamp.
¹⁵ Evil people don’t like the daylight.
    When it shines bright, it keeps them from doing the bad things they do.

¹⁶ “Have you ever gone to the deepest parts of the sea?
    Have you ever walked on the ocean bottom?
¹⁷ Has anyone shown you the gates to the world of the dead?
    Have you ever seen those gates that lead to the dark place of death?
¹⁸ Do you really understand how big the earth is?
    Tell me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where does light come from?
    Where does darkness come from?
²⁰ Can you take them back to where they belong?
    Do you know how to get there?
²¹ Surely you know these things, since you are so old and wise.
    You were alive when I made them, weren’t you?^[a]