Psalms 102

Psalm 102

Prayer to the Eternal King for Help

1Hear my prayer, O Lord ;[#1 Sam 9.16]

let my cry come to you.

2Do not hide your face from me[#Ps 69.17; 71.2]

in the day of my distress.

Incline your ear to me;

answer me speedily in the day when I call.

3For my days pass away like smoke,[#Job 30.30; Ps 31.10; Jas 4.14]

and my bones burn like a furnace.

4My heart is stricken and withered like grass;[#Ps 37.2]

I am too wasted to eat my bread.

5Because of my loud groaning,[#Lam 4.8]

my bones cling to my skin.

6I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,[#Isa 34.11; #102.6 Meaning of Heb uncertain]

like a little owl of the waste places.

7I lie awake;[#Ps 38.11; 77.4]

I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.

8All day long my enemies taunt me;[#Acts 23.12; 26.11]

those who deride me use my name for a curse.

9Indeed, I eat ashes like bread[#Ps 42.3]

and mingle tears with my drink,

10because of your indignation and anger,

for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.

11My days are like a lengthening shadow;[#v 4 ; Job 14.2]

I wither away like grass.

12But you, O Lord , are enthroned forever;[#Ps 135.13; Lam 5.19]

your name endures to all generations.

13You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,[#Ps 75.2; Isa 60.10]

for it is time to favor it;

the appointed time has come.

14For your servants hold its stones dear

and have pity on its dust.

15The nations will fear the name of the Lord[#1 Kings 8.43; Ps 138.4]

and all the kings of the earth your glory.

16For the Lord will build up Zion;[#Isa 60.1, 2]

he will appear in his glory.

17He will regard the prayer of the destitute[#Neh 1.6]

and will not despise their prayer.

18Let this be recorded for a generation to come,[#Ps 22.31; Rom 15.4]

so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord :

19that he looked down from his holy height,[#Deut 26.15; Ps 33.13]

from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

20to hear the groans of the prisoners,[#Ps 79.11]

to set free those who were doomed to die,

21so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion[#Ps 22.22]

and his praise in Jerusalem,

22when peoples gather together,[#Ps 86.9]

and kingdoms, to serve the Lord .

23He has broken my strength in midcourse;[#Job 21.21]

he has shortened my days.

24“O my God,” I say, “do not take me away[#Isa 38.10; Hab 1.12]

at the midpoint of my life,

you whose years endure

throughout all generations.”

25Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,[#Gen 1.1; Ps 96.5]

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26They will perish, but you endure;[#Isa 34.4; Mt 24.35; Rev 20.11]

they will all wear out like a garment.

You change them like clothing, and they pass away,

27but you are the same, and your years have no end.[#Mal 3.6; Jas 1.17]

28The children of your servants shall live secure;[#Ps 69.36; 89.4]

their offspring shall be established in your presence.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by: National Council of the Churches of Christ