NRSV Psalms 102 Chapter
102:1
Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you.
102:2
Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call.
102:3
For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
102:4
My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread.
102:5
Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin.
102:6
I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places.
102:7
I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
102:8
All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.
102:9
For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink,
102:10
because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
102:11
My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
102:12
But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations.
102:13
You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to favor it; the appointed time has come.
102:14
For your servants hold its stones dear, and have pity on its dust.
102:15
The nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth your glory.
102:16
For the LORD will build up Zion; he will appear in his glory.
102:17
He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.
102:18
Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD:
102:19
that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
102:20
to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die;
102:21
so that the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
102:22
when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.
102:23
He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.
102:24
"O my God," I say, "do not take me away at the mid-point of my life, you whose years endure throughout all generations."
102:25
Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
102:26
They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
102:27
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
102:28
The children of your servants shall live secure; their offspring shall be established in your presence.