Psalm 102[a]

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

Hear my prayer,(A) Lord;
    let my cry for help(B) come to you.
Do not hide your face(C) from me
    when I am in distress.
Turn your ear(D) to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

For my days vanish like smoke;(E)
    my bones(F) burn like glowing embers.
My heart is blighted and withered like grass;(G)
    I forget to eat my food.(H)
In my distress I groan aloud(I)
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
I am like a desert owl,(J)
    like an owl among the ruins.
I lie awake;(K) I have become
    like a bird alone(L) on a roof.
All day long my enemies(M) taunt me;(N)
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.(O)
For I eat ashes(P) as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears(Q)
10 because of your great wrath,(R)
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like the evening shadow;(S)
    I wither(T) away like grass.

12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;(U)
    your renown endures(V) through all generations.(W)
13 You will arise(X) and have compassion(Y) on Zion,
    for it is time(Z) to show favor(AA) to her;
    the appointed time(AB) has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
    her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear(AC) the name of the Lord,
    all the kings(AD) of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion(AE)
    and appear in his glory.(AF)
17 He will respond to the prayer(AG) of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.

18 Let this be written(AH) for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created(AI) may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down(AJ) from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners(AK)
    and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared(AL) in Zion
    and his praise(AM) in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship(AN) the Lord.

23 In the course of my life[b] he broke my strength;
    he cut short my days.(AO)
24 So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
    your years go on(AP) through all generations.
25 In the beginning(AQ) you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens(AR) are the work of your hands.(AS)
26 They will perish,(AT) but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
    and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,(AU)
    and your years will never end.(AV)
28 The children of your servants(AW) will live in your presence;
    their descendants(AX) will be established before you.”

Psalm 103

Of David.

Praise the Lord,(AY) my soul;(AZ)
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.(BA)
Praise the Lord,(BB) my soul,
    and forget not(BC) all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins(BD)
    and heals(BE) all your diseases,
who redeems your life(BF) from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,(BG)
who satisfies(BH) your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed(BI) like the eagle’s.(BJ)

The Lord works righteousness(BK)
    and justice for all the oppressed.(BL)

He made known(BM) his ways(BN) to Moses,
    his deeds(BO) to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,(BP)
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;(BQ)
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve(BR)
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love(BS) for those who fear him;(BT)
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions(BU) from us.

13 As a father has compassion(BV) on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,(BW)
    he remembers that we are dust.(BX)
15 The life of mortals is like grass,(BY)
    they flourish like a flower(BZ) of the field;
16 the wind blows(CA) over it and it is gone,
    and its place(CB) remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children(CC)
18 with those who keep his covenant(CD)
    and remember(CE) to obey his precepts.(CF)

19 The Lord has established his throne(CG) in heaven,
    and his kingdom rules(CH) over all.

20 Praise the Lord,(CI) you his angels,(CJ)
    you mighty ones(CK) who do his bidding,(CL)
    who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,(CM)
    you his servants(CN) who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works(CO)
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.(CP)

Psalm 104

Praise the Lord, my soul.(CQ)

Lord my God, you are very great;
    you are clothed with splendor and majesty.(CR)

The Lord wraps(CS) himself in light(CT) as with a garment;
    he stretches(CU) out the heavens(CV) like a tent(CW)
    and lays the beams(CX) of his upper chambers on their waters.(CY)
He makes the clouds(CZ) his chariot(DA)
    and rides on the wings of the wind.(DB)
He makes winds his messengers,[c](DC)
    flames of fire(DD) his servants.

He set the earth(DE) on its foundations;(DF)
    it can never be moved.
You covered it(DG) with the watery depths(DH) as with a garment;
    the waters stood(DI) above the mountains.
But at your rebuke(DJ) the waters fled,
    at the sound of your thunder(DK) they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
    they went down into the valleys,
    to the place you assigned(DL) for them.
You set a boundary(DM) they cannot cross;
    never again will they cover the earth.

10 He makes springs(DN) pour water into the ravines;
    it flows between the mountains.
11 They give water(DO) to all the beasts of the field;
    the wild donkeys(DP) quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky(DQ) nest by the waters;
    they sing among the branches.(DR)
13 He waters the mountains(DS) from his upper chambers;(DT)
    the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.(DU)
14 He makes grass grow(DV) for the cattle,
    and plants for people to cultivate—
    bringing forth food(DW) from the earth:
15 wine(DX) that gladdens human hearts,
    oil(DY) to make their faces shine,
    and bread that sustains(DZ) their hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord(EA) are well watered,
    the cedars of Lebanon(EB) that he planted.
17 There the birds(EC) make their nests;
    the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;(ED)
    the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.(EE)

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,(EF)
    and the sun(EG) knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness,(EH) it becomes night,(EI)
    and all the beasts of the forest(EJ) prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey(EK)
    and seek their food from God.(EL)
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
    they return and lie down in their dens.(EM)
23 Then people go out to their work,(EN)
    to their labor until evening.(EO)

24 How many are your works,(EP) Lord!
    In wisdom you made(EQ) them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.(ER)
25 There is the sea,(ES) vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small.(ET)
26 There the ships(EU) go to and fro,
    and Leviathan,(EV) which you formed to frolic(EW) there.(EX)

27 All creatures look to you
    to give them their food(EY) at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied(EZ) with good things.
29 When you hide your face,(FA)
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.(FB)
30 When you send your Spirit,(FC)
    they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord(FD) endure forever;
    may the Lord rejoice in his works(FE)
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,(FF)
    who touches the mountains,(FG) and they smoke.(FH)

33 I will sing(FI) to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    as I rejoice(FJ) in the Lord.
35 But may sinners vanish(FK) from the earth
    and the wicked be no more.(FL)

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.[d](FM)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 102:1 In Hebrew texts 102:1-28 is numbered 102:2-29.
  2. Psalm 102:23 Or By his power
  3. Psalm 104:4 Or angels
  4. Psalm 104:35 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; in the Septuagint this line stands at the beginning of Psalm 105.

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