Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 144[a]
A Prayer for Victory and Prosperity
1 Of David.
I
[b]Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle,
my fingers for war;
2 My safeguard and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
II
3 [c]Lord, what is man that you take notice of him;
the son of man, that you think of him?(A)
4 [d]Man is but a breath,
his days are like a passing shadow.(B)
5 [e]Lord, incline your heavens and come down;
touch the mountains and make them smoke.(C)
6 Flash forth lightning and scatter my foes;
shoot your arrows and rout them.
7 Reach out your hand from on high;
deliver me from the many waters;
rescue me from the hands of foreign foes.
8 Their mouths speak untruth;
their right hands are raised in lying oaths.[f]
9 O God, a new song I will sing to you;
on a ten-stringed lyre I will play for you.(D)
10 You give victory to kings;
you delivered David your servant.(E)
From the menacing sword 11 deliver me;
rescue me from the hands of foreign foes.
Their mouths speak untruth;
their right hands are raised in lying oaths.
III
12 May our sons be like plants(F)
well nurtured from their youth,
Our daughters, like carved columns,
shapely as those of the temple.
13 May our barns be full
with every kind of store.
May our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
may our oxen be well fattened.
14 May there be no breach in the walls,
no exile, no outcry in our streets.(G)
15 Blessed the people so fortunate;
blessed the people whose God is the Lord.(H)
Chapter 27
The Judgment and Deliverance of Israel
1 On that day,
The Lord will punish with his sword
that is cruel, great, and strong,
Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
Leviathan the coiled serpent;
he will slay the dragon[a] in the sea.(A)
2 [b]On that day—
The pleasant vineyard, sing about it!(B)
3 I, the Lord, am its keeper,
I water it every moment;
Lest anyone harm it,
night and day I guard it.(C)
4 I am not angry.
But if I were to find briers and thorns,
In battle I would march against it;
I would burn it all.(D)
5 But if it holds fast to my refuge,
it shall have peace with me;(E)
it shall have peace with me.
6 In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall sprout and blossom,
covering all the world with fruit.(F)
17 (A)So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 [a]And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.(B) 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.(C) 21 [b]For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,(D) so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.