Psalm 144
1 Blessed be the LORD my rock!*
who trains my hands to fight and my fingers to battle;
2 My help and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer,*
my shield in whom I trust,
who subdues the peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what are we that you should care for us?*
mere mortals that you should think of us?
4 We are like a puff of wind;*
our days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down; *
touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 Hurl the lightning and scatter them;*
shoot out your arrows and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;*
rescue me and deliver me from the great waters,
from the hand of foreign peoples,
8 Whose mouths speak deceitfully*
and whose right hand is raised in falsehood.
9 O God, I will sing to you a new song;*
I will play to you on a ten-stringed lyre.
10 You give victory to kings*
and have rescued David your servant.
11 Rescue me from the hurtful sword*
and deliver me from the hand of foreign peoples,
12 Whose mouths speak deceitfully*
and whose right hand is raised in falsehood.
13 May our sons be like plants well nurtured from their youth,*
and our daughters like sculptured corners of a palace.
14 May our barns be filled to overflowing with all manner of crops;*
may the flocks in our pastures increase by thousands and tens of thousands;
may our cattle be fat and sleek.
15 May there be no breaching of the walls, no going into exile,*
no wailing in the public squares.
16 Happy are the people of whom this is so! *
happy are the people whose God is the LORD!
A Collect for Saturdays
Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all you works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
