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Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.

A Prayer of the afflicted; when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint to God.

102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry for help come to You!

Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress!
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call, answer me quickly.

For my days have vanished in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.

My heart has been struck like grass and withered,
Indeed, [absorbed by my heartache] I forget to eat my food.

Because of the sound of my groaning [in suffering and trouble]
My bones cling to my flesh.

I am like a [mournful] [a]vulture of the wilderness;
I am like a [desolate] owl of the wasteland.

I am sleepless and lie awake [mourning],
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.


My enemies taunt me all day long;
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse.

For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And have mingled my drink with tears(A)
10 
Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,
For You have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 
My days are like an evening shadow that lengthens and vanishes [with the sun];
And as for me, I wither away like grass.

12 
But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever [ruling eternally as sovereign];
And [the fame and glory of] Your name [endures] to all generations.
13 
You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
For it is time to be gracious and show favor to her;
Yes, the appointed time [the moment designated] has come.(B)
14 
For Your servants find [melancholy] pleasure in the stones [of her ruins]
And feel pity for her dust.
15 
So the nations will fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth [will recognize] Your glory.(C)
16 
For the Lord has built up Zion;
He has appeared in His glory and brilliance;
17 
He has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
And has not despised their prayer.

18 
Let this be recorded for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created will praise the Lord.
19 
For He looked down from His holy height [of His sanctuary],
From heaven the Lord gazed on the earth,
20 
To hear the sighing of the prisoner,
To set free those who were doomed to death,
21 
So that people may declare the name of the Lord in Zion
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 
When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

23 
He has exhausted my strength [humbling me with sorrow] in the way;
He has shortened my days.
24 
I said, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days;
Your years are [eternal] throughout all generations.
25 
“At the beginning You founded the earth;
The heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 
“Even they will perish, but You endure;
Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You will change them and they shall be changed.
27 
“But You remain the same,
And Your years will never end.(D)
28 
“The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 102:6 Lit pelican, or some kind of desert bird.

Psalm 102

A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the Lord.

Lord, hear my prayer!
    Listen to my plea!
Don’t turn away from me
    in my time of distress.
Bend down to listen,
    and answer me quickly when I call to you.
For my days disappear like smoke,
    and my bones burn like red-hot coals.
My heart is sick, withered like grass,
    and I have lost my appetite.
Because of my groaning,
    I am reduced to skin and bones.
I am like an owl in the desert,
    like a little owl in a far-off wilderness.
I lie awake,
    lonely as a solitary bird on the roof.
My enemies taunt me day after day.
    They mock and curse me.
I eat ashes for food.
    My tears run down into my drink
10 because of your anger and wrath.
    For you have picked me up and thrown me out.
11 My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows.
    I am withering away like grass.

12 But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever.
    Your fame will endure to every generation.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem[a]
    and now is the time to pity her,
    now is the time you promised to help.
14 For your people love every stone in her walls
    and cherish even the dust in her streets.
15 Then the nations will tremble before the Lord.
    The kings of the earth will tremble before his glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Jerusalem.
    He will appear in his glory.
17 He will listen to the prayers of the destitute.
    He will not reject their pleas.

18 Let this be recorded for future generations,
    so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord.
19 Tell them the Lord looked down
    from his heavenly sanctuary.
He looked down to earth from heaven
20     to hear the groans of the prisoners,
    to release those condemned to die.
21 And so the Lord’s fame will be celebrated in Zion,
    his praises in Jerusalem,
22 when multitudes gather together
    and kingdoms come to worship the Lord.

23 He broke my strength in midlife,
    cutting short my days.
24 But I cried to him, “O my God, who lives forever,
    don’t take my life while I am so young!
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth
    and made the heavens with your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain forever;
    they will wear out like old clothing.
You will change them like a garment
    and discard them.
27 But you are always the same;
    you will live forever.
28 The children of your people
    will live in security.
Their children’s children
    will thrive in your presence.”

Footnotes

  1. 102:13 Hebrew Zion; also in 102:16.

Prayer in Affliction

Psalm 102

A prayer of the afflicted one, when he is faint and pours out his lament before Adonai:

Adonai, hear my prayer,
let my cry come to You.
Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress.
Turn Your ear to me—in the day I call,
answer me quickly.
For my days vanished like smoke,
and my bones were burned like coals.
My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
so that I even forget to eat my bread.
Because of the sound of my groaning,
my bones cling to my flesh.
I am like a pelican of the desert,
like an owl of the waste places.
I lie awake, like a lonely bird on a roof.
My enemies taunt me all day.
My deriders use my name to curse.
10 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
and mixed my drink with tears—
11 because of Your indignation and wrath,
for You have picked me up and tossed me aside.
12 My days are like a lengthening shadow,
and I wither away like grass.

13 But You, Adonai, sit enthroned forever.
Your renown is from generation to generation.
14 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her,
for the appointed time has come,
15 for her stones are dear to Your servants,
and they cherish her dust.
16 So the nations will fear Adonai’s Name
and all the kings of the earth Your glory.
17 For Adonai has rebuilt Zion.
He has appeared in His glory.
18 He has turned to the prayer of the destitute,
and has not despised their prayer.
19 Let it be written for a generation to come,
that a people to be created may praise Adonai.
20 For He looks down from His holy height,
from heaven Adonai gazes on the earth,
21 to hear the groaning of the prisoner,
to set free those condemned to death,
22 to declare the Name of Adonai in Zion
and His praise in Jerusalem,
23 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship Adonai.

24 He brought down my strength in midcourse.
He shortened my days.
25 I say, “My God,
do not take me up in the middle of my days.
Your years endure through all generations!
26 Long ago You founded the earth,
the heavens are the work of Your hands.
27 They will perish, but You will remain.
All of them will wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You change them, so they change.
28 But You are the same,
and Your years will never end.
29 The children of Your servants will live.
Their descendants will be established before You.”