Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A King Thanks God for Victory[a]
144 Praise the Lord, my protector!
He trains me for battle
and prepares me for war.
2 He is my protector and defender,
my shelter and savior,
in whom I trust for safety.
He subdues the nations under me.
3 (A)Lord, what are mortals, that you notice them;
mere mortals, that you pay attention to us?
4 We are like a puff of wind;
our days are like a passing shadow.
5 O Lord, tear the sky open and come down;
touch the mountains, and they will pour out smoke.
6 Send flashes of lightning and scatter your enemies;
shoot your arrows and send them running.
7 Reach down from above,
pull me out of the deep water, and rescue me;
save me from the power of foreigners,
8 who never tell the truth
and lie even under oath.
9 I will sing you a new song, O God;
I will play the harp and sing to you.
10 You give victory to kings
and rescue your servant David.
11 Save me from my cruel enemies;
rescue me from the power of foreigners,
who never tell the truth
and lie even under oath.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants that grow up strong.
May our daughters be like stately columns
which adorn the corners of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled
with crops of every kind.
May the sheep in our fields
bear young by the tens of thousands.
14 May our cattle reproduce plentifully
without miscarriage or loss.
May there be no cries of distress in our streets.
15 Happy is the nation of whom this is true;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord!
10 Your mother was like a grapevine[a]
planted near a stream.
Because there was plenty of water,
the vine was covered with leaves and fruit.
11 Its branches were strong
and grew to be royal scepters.
The vine grew tall enough to reach the clouds;
everyone saw how leafy and tall it was.
12 But angry hands pulled it up by the roots
and threw it to the ground.
The east wind dried up its fruit.
Its branches were broken off;
they dried up and were burned.
13 Now it is planted in the desert,
in a dry and waterless land.
14 The stem of the vine caught fire;
fire burned up its branches and fruit.
The branches will never again be strong,
will never be royal scepters.
This is a song of sorrow; it has been sung again and again.
4 Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable. 5 Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. 6 (A)For the scripture says,
“I chose a valuable stone,
which I am placing as the cornerstone in Zion;
and whoever believes in him will never be disappointed.”
7 (B)This stone is of great value for you that believe; but for those who do not believe:
“The stone which the builders rejected as worthless
turned out to be the most important of all.”
8 (C)And another scripture says,
“This is the stone that will make people stumble,
the rock that will make them fall.”
They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God's will for them.
9 (D)But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light. 10 (E)At one time you were not God's people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.