A Psalm of David.
[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 struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread.
[102:5] Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh.
[102:6] I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places;
[102:7] I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
[102:8] All the day 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 taken me up and thrown me down.
[102:11] My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
[102:12] But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.
[102:13] You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.
[102:14] For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.
[102:15] Nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
[102:16] For the Lord builds up Zion; he appears in his glory;
[102:17] he regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.
[102:18] Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created 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] that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord, and in Jerusalem his praise,
[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, “take me not away in the midst of my days— you whose years endure throughout all generations!”
[102:25] Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
[102:26] They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
[102:27] but you are the same, and your years have no end.
[102:28] The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.