Psalms 102
1 A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come before You.
The prayer of the pauper, when he was anxious, and so he poured out his petition in the sight of the Lord. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my outcry reach you.
2 Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call.
Do not turn your face away from me. In whatever day that I am in trouble, incline your ear to me. In whatever day that I will call upon you, heed me quickly.
3 For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.
For my days have faded away like smoke, and my bones have dried out like firewood.
4 My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread.
I have been cut down like hay, and my heart has withered, for I had forgotten to eat my bread.
5 Through my loud groaning my flesh clings to my bones.
Before the voice of my groaning, my bone has adhered to my flesh.
6 I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
I have become like a pelican in solitude. I have become like a night raven in a house.
7 I lie awake; I am like a lone bird on a housetop.
I have kept vigil, and I have become like a solitary sparrow on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me; they ridicule me and curse me.
All day long my enemies reproached me, and those who praised me swore oaths against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread and mixed my drink with tears
For I chewed on ashes like bread, and I mixed weeping into my drink.
10 because of Your indignation and wrath, for You have picked me up and cast me aside.
By the face of your anger and indignation, you lifted me up and threw me down.
11 My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.
My days have declined like a shadow, and I have dried out like hay.
12 But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; Your renown endures to all generations.
But you, O Lord, endure for eternity, and your memorial is from generation to generation.
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor— the appointed time has come.
You will rise up and take pity on Zion, for it is time for its mercy, for the time has come.
14 For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust.
For its stones have pleased your servants, and they will take pity on its land.
15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.
And the Gentiles will fear your name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory.
For the Lord has built up Zion, and he will be seen in his glory.
17 He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer.
He has noticed the prayer of the humble, and he has not despised their petition.
18 Let this be written for the generation to come, so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.
Let these things be written in another generation, and the people who will be created will praise the Lord.
19 For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth
For he has gazed from his high sanctuary. From heaven, the Lord has beheld the earth.
20 to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death,
So may he hear the groans of those in shackles, in order that he may release the sons of the slain.
21 that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion and praise Him in Jerusalem,
So may they announce the name of the Lord in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem:
22 when peoples and kingdoms assemble to serve the LORD.
while the people convene, along with kings, in order that they may serve the Lord.
23 He has broken my strength on the way; He has cut short my days.
He responded to him in the way of his virtue: Declare to me the brevity of my days.
24 I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days! Your years go on through all generations.
Do not call me back in the middle of my days: your years are from generation to generation.
25 In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
In the beginning, O Lord, you founded the earth. And the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them, and they will be passed on.
They will perish, but you remain. And all will grow old like a garment. And, like a blanket, you will change them, and they will be changed.
27 But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.
Yet you are ever yourself, and your years will not decline.
28 The children of Your servants will dwell securely, and their descendants will be established before You.”
The sons of your servants will live, and their offspring will be guided aright in every age.
