Psalms 102

A Prayer of a Troubled Soul

1 Lord, hear my prayer, And let my cry get to You.

2 Do not hide Your face from me in my day of trouble; Bend Your ear to me; In the day I call, hurry up and answer me.

3 Because my days are gone like smoke, And my bones are burning like a furnace.

4 My heart is hit and dried up like grass, So I forgot to eat my bread.

5 Because of the sound of my groaning, My bones are stuck to my flesh.

6 I am like a pelican of the desert; I am like an owl in the ruins.

7 I stay up all night and I am like a lonely bird on a roof.

8 My haters diss me all day; Those who are mad at me swear by my name.

9 Because I ate dust like bread, And I mixed my drinks with crying,

10 Because of Your rebuke and Your anger, because You lifted me up and then you threw me away.

11 My days are like a long shadow, And I am dried up like grass.

A Confession of God’s Eternity

12 But You, Lord, will live forever, And Your name will be remembered for all generations.

13 You will get up and show mercy to Zion, because it is time to show her favor; For sure, the set time has come.

14 Because Your servants are happy with its stones, And they feel for its dust.

15 So the nations will fear the name of the Lord, And all the kings of the earth Your props.

16 Because the Lord will build Zion; He will appear in His props;

17 He will pay attention to the prayer of the needy, And will not look down on their prayer.

18 This will be written for the next generation, And a people yet to be made will praise the Lord.

19 Because He looked down from His holy high spot; From heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To free those doomed to die,

21 To tell the name of the Lord in Zion, And His praise in Jerusalem,

22 When the people get together, And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

A Final Plea

23 He lowered my strength in the way; He cut my days short.

24 I said, “My God, do not take me away in the middle of my days; Your years are through all generations.”

25 From the old days, You laid the base of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

26 They will be gone, but You will stay; For sure, all of them will get old like a jacket; Like clothes You will change them, and they will be changed.

27 But You are the same, And Your years will not end.

28 The kids of Your servants will live, And their family will be set up in front of You.