Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 144
Of David.
1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock,(A)
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2 He is my loving God and my fortress,(B)
my stronghold(C) and my deliverer,
my shield,(D) in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples[a](E) under me.
3 Lord, what are human beings(F) that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath;(G)
their days are like a fleeting shadow.(H)
5 Part your heavens,(I) Lord, and come down;(J)
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.(K)
6 Send forth lightning(L) and scatter(M) the enemy;
shoot your arrows(N) and rout them.
7 Reach down your hand from on high;(O)
deliver me and rescue me(P)
from the mighty waters,(Q)
from the hands of foreigners(R)
8 whose mouths are full of lies,(S)
whose right hands(T) are deceitful.(U)
9 I will sing a new song(V) to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre(W) I will make music to you,
10 to the One who gives victory to kings,(X)
who delivers his servant David.(Y)
From the deadly sword(Z) 11 deliver me;
rescue me(AA) from the hands of foreigners(AB)
whose mouths are full of lies,(AC)
whose right hands are deceitful.(AD)
12 Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,(AE)
and our daughters will be like pillars(AF)
carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our barns will be filled(AG)
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
14 our oxen(AH) will draw heavy loads.[b]
There will be no breaching of walls,(AI)
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.(AJ)
15 Blessed is the people(AK) of whom this is true;
blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
Deliverance of Israel
27 In that day,(A)
the Lord will punish with his sword(B)—
his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan(C) the gliding serpent,(D)
Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster(E) of the sea.
2 In that day(F)—
“Sing(G) about a fruitful vineyard:(H)
3 I, the Lord, watch over it;
I water(I) it continually.
I guard(J) it day and night
so that no one may harm(K) it.
4 I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
I would march against them in battle;
I would set them all on fire.(L)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;(M)
let them make peace(N) with me,
yes, let them make peace with me.”
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,(A) the new creation(B) has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!(C) 18 All this is from God,(D) who reconciled us to himself through Christ(E) and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.(F) And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,(G) as though God were making his appeal through us.(H) We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.(I) 21 God made him who had no sin(J) to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.(K)
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