Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 144[a]
Prayer for Victory and Peace
1 [b]Of David.
Blessed be the Lord,[c] my Rock,
who trains my hands for war
and my fingers for battle.
2 You are my safeguard[d] and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield in whom I take refuge,
the one who subdues nations under me.
3 O Lord, what is man that you care for him,
or the son of man that you think of him?[e]
4 Man is nothing more than a breath;
his days are like a fleeting shadow.[f]
5 [g]Part the heavens, O Lord, and descend;
touch the mountains so that they smoke.[h]
6 Flash forth lightning bolts and scatter my foes;
rout them with your arrows.[i]
7 Reach forth your hand[j] from on high;
deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters
and from the power of foreign foes
8 whose mouths utter lies[k]
and whose right hands are raised to swear to untruths.
9 [l]I will sing a new song to you, my God;
on a ten-stringed lyre I will play music for you.[m]
10 You grant victory to kings
and deliverance to your servant David from the cruel sword.[n]
11 Deliver me and rescue me
from the hands of foreign foes
whose mouths utter lies
and whose right hands are raised to swear to untruths.[o]
12 [p]May our sons in their youth
be like carefully nurtured plants,
and may our daughters be like pillars
designed to adorn a palace.[q]
13 May our barns be filled
with every kind of crop.
May our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields,[r]
14 and may our cattle be well fed.[s]
May there be no breach in our walls,
no going into exile,
no cries of distress in our streets.
15 Blessed are the people for whom this is true;
blessed[t] are the people whose God is the Lord.
Allegory of the Vine Branch
10 Your mother was like a vine
planted by the water.
It was fruitful and full of branches
because of the abundant water.
11 Its branches were strong,
suitable for a ruler’s scepter.
It towered in stately height
among the dense foliage.
It was conspicuous for its height
and its many branches.
12 However, it was uprooted in fury
and thrown to the ground.
Its strong branches became withered
and were consumed by fire.
13 Now it has been transplanted to the desert,
to a dry and thirsty land.
14 Fire burst forth from its stem,
devouring its branches and fruit.
It no longer has any strong branch
that could serve as a ruler’s scepter.
This is a lamentation, and it is used for this purpose.
The Mystery of the Church.[a] 4 Come to him, a living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious. 5 You, too, are like living stones, being built up into a spiritual temple and a holy priesthood[b] to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it states in Scripture,
“See, I am laying a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone chosen and precious.
Whoever believes in it
will not be put to shame.”
7 Therefore, it is precious to you who believe. However, for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”
8 and
“A stone that makes them stumble,
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the word—for this they were born.[c]
9 But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people claimed by God as his own possession,” so that you may proclaim the praise of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people.
Once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
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