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!

²² “Have you ever gone into the storerooms
    where I keep the snow and the hail?
²³ I save them there for times of trouble,
    for the times of war and battle.
²⁴ Have you ever gone to the place where the sun comes up,
    where it makes the east wind blow all over the earth?^[a]
25 Who dug ditches in the sky for the heavy rain?
    Who made a path for the thunderstorm?
²⁶ Who makes it rain even in desert places
    where no one lives?
²⁷ The rain gives that dry empty land all the water it needs,
    and grass begins to grow.
²⁸ Does the rain have a father?
    Who produces the drops of dew?
²⁹ Does ice have a mother?
    Who gives birth to the frost?
³⁰ That’s when the water freezes as hard as a rock.
    Even the deep sea freezes over!

³¹ “Can you tie up the Pleiades^[b]?
    Can you unfasten the belt of Orion^[c]?
³² Can you bring out the other constellations^[d] at the right times?
    Can you lead out the Bear^[e] with its cubs?
³³ Do you know the laws that control the sky?
    Can you put each star in its place above the earth?^[f]

³⁴ “Can you shout at the clouds
    and command them to cover you with rain?
³⁵ Can you give a command to the lightning?
    Will it come to you and say, ‘Here we are; what do you want, sir?’
    Will it go wherever you want it to go?

³⁶ “Who makes people wise?
    Who puts wisdom deep inside them?
³⁷ Who is wise enough to count the clouds
    and tip them over to pour out their rain?
³⁸ The rain makes the dust become mud,
    and the clumps of dirt stick together.