Psalm 144, Chant B

Psalm 144     Benedictus Dominus

1 Blessed be the Lord my rock! *
who trains my hands to fight and my fingers to bat-tle;

2 My help and my fortress, my stronghold and my de-liverer, *
my shield in whom I trust, who subdues the peo-ples un-der 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 pas-sing shadow.

5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down; *
touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

6 Hurl the lightning and scat-ter 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 for-eign peo-ples,

8 Whose mouths speak de-ceit-fully *
and whose right hand is raised in false-hood.

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 ser-vant.

11 Rescue me from the hurtful sword *
and deliver me from the hand of for-eign peo-ples,

12 Whose mouths speak de-ceit-fully *
and whose right hand is raised in false-hood.

13 May our sons be like plants well nurtured from their youth, *
and our daughters like sculptured corners of a pa-lace.

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 ex-ile, *
no wailing in the pub-lic squares.

16 Happy are the people of whom this is so! *
happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spir-it: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ev–er. A-men.