Add parallel Print Page Options

A prayer by someone who is suffering, when he is weary and pours out his troubles in the Lord’s presence.

102 O Lord, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you.
Do not hide your face from me when I am in trouble.
Turn your ear toward me.
Answer me quickly when I call.
My days disappear like smoke.
My bones burn like hot coals.
My heart is beaten down and withered like grass
because I have forgotten about eating.
I am nothing but skin and bones
because of my loud groans.
I am like a desert owl,
like an owl living in the ruins.
I lie awake.
I am like a lonely bird on a rooftop.
All day long my enemies insult me.
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse.
I eat ashes like bread
and my tears are mixed with my drink
10 because of your hostility and anger,
because you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that is getting longer,
and I wither away like grass.

12 But you, O Lord, remain forever.
You are remembered throughout every generation.
13 You will rise and have compassion on Zion,
because it is time to grant a favor to it.
Indeed, the appointed time has come.
14 Your servants value Zion’s stones,
and they pity its rubble.
15 The nations will fear the Lord’s name.
All the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 When the Lord builds Zion,
he will appear in his glory.
17 He will turn his attention to the prayers
of those who have been abandoned.
He will not despise their prayers.
18 This will be written down for a future generation
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his holy place high above.
From heaven he looked at the earth.
20 He heard the groans of the prisoners
and set free those who were condemned to death.

21 The Lord’s name is announced in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when nations and kingdoms gather
to worship the Lord.”

23 He has weakened my strength along the way.
He has reduced ⌞the number of⌟ my days.
24 I said, “My God, don’t take me now in the middle of my life.
Your years ⌞continue on⌟ throughout every generation.
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth.
Even the heavens are the works of your hands.
26 They will come to an end, but you will still go on.
They will all wear out like clothing.
You will change them like clothes,
and they will be thrown away.
27 But you remain the same, and your life will never end.
28 The children of your servants will go on living ⌞here⌟.
Their descendants will be secure in your presence.”

By David.

103 Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise his holy name, all that is within me.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and never forget all the good he has done:
He is the one who forgives all your sins,
the one who heals all your diseases,
the one who rescues your life from the pit,
the one who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
the one who fills your life with blessings
so that you become young again like an eagle.

The Lord does what is right and fair
for all who are oppressed.
He let Moses know his ways.
He let the Israelites know the things he had done.
The Lord is compassionate, merciful, patient,
and always ready to forgive.

He will not always accuse us of wrong
or be angry ⌞with us⌟ forever.
10 He has not treated us as we deserve for our sins
or paid us back for our wrongs.

11 As high as the heavens are above the earth—
that is how vast his mercy is toward those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west—
that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself.
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.

14 He certainly knows what we are made of.
He bears in mind that we are dust.
15 Human life is as short-lived as grass.
It blossoms like a flower in the field.
16 When the wind blows over the flower, it disappears,
and there is no longer any sign of it.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting,
the Lord’s mercy is on those who fear him.
His righteousness belongs
to their children and grandchildren,
18 to those who are faithful to his promise,[a]
to those who remember to follow his guiding principles.
19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
His kingdom rules everything.

20 Praise the Lord, all his angels,
you mighty beings who carry out his orders
and are ready to obey his spoken orders.
21 Praise the Lord, all his armies,
his servants who carry out his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his creatures
in all the places of his empire.
Praise the Lord, my soul!

104 Praise the Lord, my soul!
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
You cover yourself with light as though it were a robe.
You stretch out the heavens as though they were curtains.
You lay the beams of your home in the water.
You use the clouds for your chariot.
You move on the wings of the wind.
You make your angels winds
and your servants flames of fire.

You set the earth on its foundations
so that it can never be shaken.
You covered the earth with an ocean as though it were a robe.
Water stood above the mountains
and fled because of your threat.
Water ran away at the sound of your thunder.
The mountains rose and the valleys sank
to the place you appointed for them.
Water cannot cross the boundary you set
and cannot come back to cover the earth.

10 You make water gush from springs into valleys.
It flows between the mountains.
11 Every wild animal drinks ⌞from them⌟.
Wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds live by the streams.
They sing among the branches.
13 You water the mountains from your home above.
You fill the earth with the fruits of your labors.

14 You make grass grow for cattle
and make vegetables for humans to use
in order to get food from the ground.
15 You make wine to cheer human hearts,
olive oil to make faces shine,
and bread to strengthen human hearts.
16 The Lord’s trees, the cedars in Lebanon which he planted,
drink their fill.
17 Birds build their nests in them.
Storks make their homes in fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for wild goats.
The rocks are a refuge for badgers.

19 He created the moon, which marks the seasons,
and the sun, which knows when to set.
20 He brings darkness, and it is nighttime,
when all the wild animals in the forest come out.
21 The young lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises,
they gather and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go to do their work,
to do their tasks until evening.

24 What a large number of things you have made, O Lord!
You made them all by wisdom.
The earth is filled with your creatures.
25 The sea is so big and wide with countless creatures,
living things both large and small.
26 Ships sail on it,
and Leviathan, which you made, plays in it.
27 All of them look to you to give them their food at the right time.
28 You give it to them, and they gather it up.
You open your hand, and they are filled with blessings.
29 You hide your face, and they are terrified.
You take away their breath, and they die and return to dust.
30 You send out your Spirit, and they are created.
You renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever.
May the Lord find joy in what he has made.
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles.
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord throughout my life.
I will make music to praise my God as long as I live.
34 May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
I will find joy in the Lord.
35 May sinners vanish from the world.
May there no longer be any wicked people.
Praise the Lord, my soul!

Hallelujah!

Footnotes

  1. 103:18 Or “covenant.”

Bible Gateway Recommends

Little Girls Bible Storybook for Mothers and Daughters
Little Girls Bible Storybook for Mothers and Daughters
Retail: $17.99
Our Price: $13.49
Save: $4.50 (25%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
The Concise A to Z Guide to Finding It in the Bible
The Concise A to Z Guide to Finding It in the Bible
Retail: $13.99
Our Price: $12.59
Save: $1.40 (10%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars