Psalms 102
102
PSALM 102
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord.
1O Lord, unto my pray'r give ear,
my cry let come to thee;
2And in the day of my distress
hide not thy face from me.
Give ear to me; what time I call,
to answer me make haste:
3For, as an hearth, my bones are burnt,
my days, like smoke, do waste.
4My heart within me smitten is,
and it is withered
Like very grass; so that I do
forget to eat my bread.
5By reason of my groaning voice
my bones cleave to my skin.
6Like pelican in wilderness
forsaken I have been:
I like an owl in desert am,
that nightly there doth moan;
7I watch, and like a sparrow am
on the house-top alone.
8My bitter en'mies all the day
reproaches cast on me;
And, being mad at me, with rage
against me sworn they be.
9For why? I ashes eaten have
like bread, in sorrows deep;
My drink I also mingled have
with tears that I did weep.
10Thy wrath and indignation
did cause this grief and pain;
For thou hast lift me up on high,
and cast me down again.
11My days are like unto a shade,
which doth declining pass;
And I am dry'd and withered,
ev'n like unto the grass.
12But thou, Lord, everlasting art,
and thy remembrance shall
Continually endure,
and be to generations all.
13Thou shalt arise, and mercy have
upon thy Sion yet;
The time to favour her is come,
the time that thou hast set.
14For in her rubbish and her stones
thy servants pleasure take;
Yea, they the very dust thereof
do favour for her sake.
15So shall the heathen people fear
the Lord's most holy name;
And all the kings on earth shall dread
thy glory and thy fame.
16When Sion by the mighty Lord
built up again shall be,
In glory then and majesty
to men appear shall he.
17The prayer of the destitute
he surely will regard;
Their prayer will he not despise,
by him it shall be heard.
18For generations yet to come
this shall be on record:
So shall the people that shall be
created praise the Lord.
19He from his sanctuary's height
hath downward cast his eye;
And from his glorious throne in heav'n
the Lord the earth did spy;
20That of the mournful prisoner
the groanings he might hear,
To set them free that unto death
by men appointed are:
21That they in Sion may declare
the Lord's most holy name,
And publish in Jerusalem
the praises of the same;
22When as the people gather shall
in troops with one accord,
When kingdoms shall assembled be
to serve the highest Lord.
23My wonted strength and force he hath
abated in the way,
And he my days hath shortened:
24Thus therefore did I say,
My God, in mid-time of my days
take thou me not away:
From age to age eternally
thy years endure and stay.
25The firm foundation of the earth
of old time thou hast laid;
The heavens also are the work
which thine own hands have made.
26Thou shalt for evermore endure,
but they shall perish all;
Yea, ev'ry one of them wax old,
like to a garment, shall:
Thou, as a vesture, shalt them change,
and they shall changed be:
27But thou the same art,
and thy years are to eternity.
28The children of thy servants shall
continually endure;
And in thy sight, O Lord, their seed
shall be establish'd sure.
Currently Selected:
Psalms 102: MP1650
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 102
102
Prayer in Time of Distress
1The prayer of one afflicted and wasting away whose anguish is poured out before the Lord.
I
2Lord, hear my prayer;
let my cry come to you.
3Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.#Ps 69:18; 143:7.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
4For my days vanish like smoke;#Ps 38:7–9.
my bones burn away as in a furnace.
5My heart is withered, dried up like grass,
too wasted to eat my food.
6From my loud groaning
I become just skin and bones.
7I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
8I lie awake and moan,
like a lone sparrow on the roof.
9All day long my enemies taunt me;
in their rage, they make my name a curse.#They make my name a curse: enemies use the psalmist’s name in phrases such as, “May you be as wretched as this person!”
10I eat ashes like bread,
mingle my drink with tears.#Ps 42:4; 80:6.
11Because of your furious wrath,
you lifted me up just to cast me down.
12#Ps 109:23; 144:4; Jb 8:9; 14:2; Eccl 6:12; Wis 2:5.My days are like a lengthening shadow;#Ps 90:5–6.
I wither like the grass.
II
13But you, Lord, are enthroned forever;
your renown is for all generations.#Ps 55:20; 90:2; 93:2; 135:13; 145:13; Lam 5:19; Heb 1:12.
14You will again show mercy to Zion;
now is the time for pity;
the appointed time has come.
15Its stones are dear to your servants;
its dust moves them to pity.
16The nations shall fear your name, Lord,
all the kings of the earth, your glory,#Is 59:19; 66:18.
17Once the Lord has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in glory,
18Heeding the plea of the lowly,
not scorning their prayer.
19Let this be written for the next generation,
for a people not yet born,
that they may praise the Lord:#Ps 22:31–32.
20#Both Ps 102:20–21 and Ps 102:22–23 depend on Ps 102:19.“The Lord looked down from the holy heights,
viewed the earth from heaven,#Ps 11:4; 14:2.
21To attend to the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”#Ps 79:11.
22Then the Lord’s name will be declared on Zion,
his praise in Jerusalem,
23When peoples and kingdoms gather
to serve the Lord.#Is 60:3–4; Zec 2:15; 8:22.
III
24He has shattered my strength in mid-course,
has cut short my days.
25I plead, O my God,
do not take me in the midst of my days.#In the midst of my days: when the normal span of life is but half completed, cf. Is 38:10; Jer 17:11.#Ps 39:5; 90:10; Jb 14:5.
Your years last through all generations.
26Of old you laid the earth’s foundations;#Heb 1:10–12.
the heavens are the work of your hands.
27They perish, but you remain;
they all wear out like a garment;
Like clothing you change them and they are changed,
28but you are the same, your years have no end.
29May the children of your servants live on;
may their descendants live in your presence.#Ps 69:36–37.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc