Psalms 102 — BSB

The Prayer of the Afflicted

A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.

102Hear my prayer, O LORD;let my cry for help come before You.²Do not hide Your face from mein my day of distress.Incline Your ear to me;answer me quickly when I call.³For my days vanish like smoke,and my bones burn like glowing embers.⁴My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass;I even forget to eat my bread.⁵Through my loud groaningmy skin hangs on my bones.⁶I am like a desert owl,like an owl among the ruins.⁷I lie awake;I am like a lone bird on a housetop.⁸All day long my enemies taunt me;they ridicule me and curse me.⁹For I have eaten ashes like breadand mixed my drink with tears¹⁰because of Your indignation and wrath,for You have picked me up and cast me aside.¹¹My days are like lengthening shadows,and I wither away like grass.¹²But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;Your renown endures to all generations.¹³You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,for it is time to show her favor—
the appointed time has come.¹⁴For Your servants delight in her stonesand take pity on her dust.¹⁵So the nations will fear the name of the LORD,and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.¹⁶For the LORD will rebuild Zion;He has appeared in His glory.¹⁷He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute;He will not despise their prayer.¹⁸Let this be written for the generation to come,so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.¹⁹For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary;the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth²⁰to hear a prisoner’s groaning,to release those condemned to death,²¹that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zionand praise Him in Jerusalem,²²when peoples and kingdoms assembleto serve the LORD.²³He has broken my strength on the way;He has cut short my days.²⁴I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days!Your years go on through all generations.²⁵In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth,and the heavens are the work of Your hands.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.²⁷But You remain the same,and Your years will never end.⁺²⁸The children of Your servants will dwell securely,and their descendants will be established before You.”