Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A King’s Prayer
Of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord, my rock(A)
who trains my hands for battle
and my fingers for warfare.(B)
2 He is my faithful love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield,(C) and I take refuge in him;(D)
he subdues my people[a] under me.(E)
3 Lord, what is a human that you care for him,
a son of man[b] that you think of him?(F)
4 A human is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.(G)
5 Lord, part your heavens and come down.(H)
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.(I)
6 Flash your lightning and scatter the foe;[c]
shoot your arrows and rout them.(J)
7 Reach down[d] from on high;(K)
rescue me from deep water, and set me free
from the grasp of foreigners(L)
8 whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.(M)
9 God, I will sing a new song to you;
I will play on a ten-stringed harp for you(N) –
10 the one who gives victory to kings,
who frees his servant David
from the deadly sword.(O)
11 Set me free and rescue me
from foreigners(P)
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.(Q)
12 Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.(R)
13 Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all kinds of produce;(S)
our flocks will increase by thousands
and tens of thousands in our open fields.(T)
14 Our cattle will be well fed.[e]
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,[f]
and no cry of lament in our public squares.(U)
15 Happy are the people with such blessings.
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.(V)
10 Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,[a](A)
planted by the water;
it was fruitful and full of branches(B)
because of abundant water.
11 It had strong branches, fit for the sceptres of rulers;
its height towered among the clouds.[b]
So it was conspicuous for its height
as well as its many branches.
12 But it was uprooted in fury,(C)
thrown to the ground,
and the east wind dried up its fruit.
Its strong branches were torn off and dried up;(D)
fire consumed them.
13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,(E)
in a dry and thirsty land.
14 Fire has gone out from its main branch[c]
and has devoured its fruit,
so that it no longer has a strong branch,
a sceptre for ruling.(F)
This is a lament and should be used as a lament.’
4 As you come to him, a living stone – rejected by people but chosen and honoured by[a] God – 5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood[b] to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God(A) through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:
See, I lay a stone in Zion,(B)
a chosen and honoured[c] cornerstone,(C)
and the one who believes in him
will never be put to shame.[d](D)
7 So honour will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,
8 and
They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined(G) for this.
9 But you are a chosen race,[g][h](H) a royal priesthood,[i](I) a holy nation,[j](J) a people for his possession,[k](K) so that you may proclaim the praises[l][m](L) of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.(M) 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy,(N) but now you have received mercy.
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