Psalms 102 — AAB
The Prayer of the Afflicted
A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.
102Verse 1Hear my prayer, O LORD;let my cry for help come before You.Verse 2Do not hide Your face from mein my day of distress.Incline Your ear to me;answer me quickly when I call.Verse 3For my days vanish like smoke,and my bones burn like glowing embers.Verse 4My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass;I even forget to eat my bread.Verse 5Through my loud groaningmy skin hangs on my bones.Verse 6I am like a desert owl,like an owl among the ruins.Verse 7I lie awake;I am like a lone bird on a housetop.Verse 8All day long my enemies taunt me;they ridicule me and curse me.Verse 9For I have eaten ashes like breadand mixed my drink with tearsVerse 10because of Your indignation and wrath,for You have picked me up and cast me aside.Verse 11My days are like lengthening shadows,and I wither away like grass.Verse 12But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;Your renown endures to all generations.Verse 13You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,for it is time to show her favor—the appointed time has come.Verse 14For Your servants delight in her stonesand take pity on her dust.Verse 15So the nations will fear the name of the LORD,and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.Verse 16For the LORD will rebuild Zion;He has appeared in His glory.Verse 17He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute;He will not despise their prayer.Verse 18Let this be written for the generation to come,so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.Verse 19For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary;the LORD gazed out from heaven to earthVerse 20to hear a prisoner’s groaning,to release those condemned to death,Verse 21that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zionand praise Him in Jerusalem,Verse 22when peoples and kingdoms assembleto serve the LORD.Verse 23He has broken my strength on the way;He has cut short my days.Verse 24I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days!Your years go on through all generations.Verse 25In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth,and the heavens are the work of Your hands.Verse 26They 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.Verse 27But You remain the same,and Your years will never end.+Verse 28The children of Your servants will dwell securely,and their descendants will be established before You.”