Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 144[a]
By David.
144 The Lord, my Protector,[b] deserves praise[c]—
the one who trains my hands for battle,[d]
and my fingers for war,
2 who loves me[e] and is my stronghold,
my refuge[f] and my deliverer,
my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,
who makes nations submit to me.[g]
3 O Lord, of what importance is the human race,[h] that you should notice them?
Of what importance is mankind,[i] that you should be concerned about them?[j]
4 People[k] are like a vapor,
their days like a shadow that disappears.[l]
5 O Lord, make the sky sink[m] and come down.[n]
Touch the mountains and make them smolder.[o]
6 Hurl lightning bolts and scatter the enemy.
Shoot your arrows and rout them.[p]
7 Reach down[q] from above.
Grab me and rescue me from the surging water,[r]
from the power of foreigners,[s]
8 who speak lies,
and make false promises.[t]
9 O God, I will sing a new song to you.
Accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, I will sing praises to you,
10 the one who delivers[u] kings,
and rescued David his servant from a deadly[v] sword.
11 Grab me and rescue me from the power of foreigners,[w]
who speak lies,
and make false promises.[x]
12 Then[y] our sons will be like plants,
that quickly grow to full size.[z]
Our daughters will be like corner pillars,[aa]
carved like those in a palace.[ab]
13 Our storehouses[ac] will be full,
providing all kinds of food.[ad]
Our sheep will multiply by the thousands
and fill[ae] our pastures.[af]
14 Our cattle will be weighted down with produce.[ag]
No one will break through our walls,
no one will be taken captive,
and there will be no terrified cries in our city squares.[ah]
15 How blessed are the people who experience these things.[ai]
How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,[a] planted by water.
It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.
11 Its boughs were strong, fit[b] for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.
It stood out because of its height and its many branches.[c]
12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.
The east wind[d] dried up its fruit;
its strong branches broke off and withered—
a fire consumed them.
13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.[e]
14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit.[f]
No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’
“This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”
A Living Stone, a Chosen People
4 So as you come to him,[a] a living stone rejected by men but[b] chosen and precious[c] in God’s sight, 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer[d] spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it says[e] in scripture, “Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone,[f] and whoever believes[g] in him[h] will never[i] be put to shame.”[j] 7 So you who believe see[k] his value,[l] but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the[m] cornerstone,[n] 8 and a stumbling-stone[o] and a rock to trip over.[p] They stumble[q] because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.[r] 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues[s] of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 You[t] once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy,[u] but now you have received mercy.
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