Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.

A Prayer of the afflicted when he is weak and [a]pours out his complaint before the Lord.

102 (A)Hear my prayer, Lord!
And let my cry for help (B)come to You.
(C)Do not hide Your face from me on the day of my distress;
(D)Incline Your ear to me;
On the day when I call (E)answer me quickly.
For my days (F)have ended in smoke,
And my (G)bones have been scorched like a hearth.
My heart (H)has been struck like [b]grass and has (I)withered,
Indeed, I (J)forget to eat my bread.
Because of the [c]loudness of my groaning
My (K)bones [d]cling to my flesh.
I resemble a (L)pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the ruins.
I (M)lie awake,
I have become like a solitary bird on a housetop.

My enemies (N)have taunted me all day long;
Those who [e](O)deride me [f]have used my name as a (P)curse.
For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And (Q)mixed my drink with weeping
10 (R)Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have (S)lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a [g](T)lengthened shadow,
And [h]I (U)wither away like [i]grass.

12 But You, Lord, [j](V)remain forever,
And Your [k](W)name remains to all generations.
13 You will (X)arise and have (Y)compassion on Zion;
For (Z)it is time to be gracious to her,
For the (AA)appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants [l]take pleasure in her stones,
And feel pity for her dust.
15 [m]So the [n](AB)nations will fear the name of the Lord,
And (AC)all the kings of the earth, Your glory.
16 For the Lord has (AD)built up Zion;
He has (AE)appeared in His glory.
17 He has (AF)turned His attention to the prayer of the [o]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.

18 [p]This will be (AG)written for the (AH)generation to come,
[q]That (AI)a people yet to be created [r]may praise [s]the Lord:
19 For He (AJ)looked down from His holy height;
(AK)From heaven the Lord looked [t]upon the earth,
20 To hear the (AL)groaning of the prisoner,
To (AM)set free [u]those who were doomed to death,
21 So that people may (AN)tell of the name of the Lord in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 When (AO)the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

23 He has broken my strength in the way;
He has (AP)shortened my days.
24 I say, “My God, (AQ)do not take me away in the middle of my days,
Your (AR)years are [v]throughout all generations.
25 In time of old You (AS)founded the earth,
And the (AT)heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 [w]Even they will (AU)perish, but You endure;
All of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will pass away.
27 But You are [x](AV)the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
28 The (AW)children of Your servants will continue,
And their [y](AX)descendants will be established before You.”

Praise for the Lords Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

103 (AY)Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (AZ)holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul,
And (BA)do not forget any of His benefits;
Who (BB)pardons all your guilt,
Who (BC)heals all your diseases;
Who (BD)redeems your life from the pit,
Who (BE)crowns you with favor and compassion;
Who (BF)satisfies your [z]years with good things,
So that your youth is (BG)renewed like the eagle.

The Lord (BH)performs [aa]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are (BI)oppressed.
He (BJ)made known His ways to Moses,
His (BK)deeds to the sons of Israel.
The Lord is (BL)compassionate and gracious,
(BM)Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He (BN)will not always contend with us,
Nor will He (BO)keep His anger forever.
10 He has (BP)not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
11 For as high (BQ)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who [ab]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (BR)removed our wrongdoings from us.
13 Just (BS)as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who [ac]fear Him.
14 For (BT)He Himself knows [ad]our form;
He (BU)is mindful that we are nothing but (BV)dust.

15 As for man, his days are (BW)like grass;
Like a (BX)flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 When the (BY)wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its (BZ)place no longer knows about it.
17 But the [ae](CA)mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who [af]fear Him,
And His justice (CB)to the children’s children,
18 To (CC)those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts, so as to do them.

19 The Lord has established His (CD)throne in the heavens,
And His [ag](CE)sovereignty rules over [ah]all.
20 Bless the Lord, you (CF)His angels,
(CG)Mighty in strength, who (CH)perform His word,
(CI)Obeying the voice of His word!
21 Bless the Lord, all you (CJ)His [ai]angels,
You (CK)who serve Him, doing His will.
22 Bless the Lord, (CL)all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, my soul!

The Lords Care over All His Works.

104 (CM)Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord my God, You are very great;
You are (CN)clothed with splendor and majesty,
Covering Yourself with (CO)light as with a cloak,
(CP)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
[aj]He (CQ)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[ak]He makes the (CR)clouds His chariot;
[al]He walks on the (CS)wings of the wind;
[am]He makes [an](CT)the winds His messengers,
[ao]Flaming (CU)fire His ministers.

He (CV)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not [ap]totter forever and ever.
You (CW)covered it with the deep sea as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
They fled from Your (CX)rebuke,
At the (CY)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the (CZ)place which You established for them.
You set a (DA)boundary so that they will not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.

10 [aq]He sends forth (DB)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (DC)give drink to every animal of the field;
The (DD)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky (DE)dwell [ar]beside them;
They [as]lift up their voices from among the branches.
13 [at]He (DF)waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
(DG)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

14 [au]He causes the (DH)grass to grow for the [av]cattle,
And (DI)vegetation for the labor of mankind,
So that [aw]they may produce [ax]food (DJ)from the earth,
15 And (DK)wine, which makes a human heart cheerful,
(DL)So that he makes his face gleam with oil,
And [ay]food, which (DM)sustains a human heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [az]drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (DN)birds build their nests,
And the (DO)stork, whose home is the juniper trees.

18 The high mountains are for the (DP)wild goats;
The (DQ)cliffs are a refuge for the (DR)rock hyrax.
19 He made the moon (DS)for the seasons;
The (DT)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (DU)appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the (DV)animals of the forest [ba]prowl about.
21 The (DW)young lions roar for their prey
[bb]And (DX)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw,
And they lie down in their (DY)dens.
23 A person goes out to (DZ)his work
And to his labor until evening.

24 Lord, how (EA)many are Your works!
[bc]In (EB)wisdom You have made them all;
The (EC)earth is full of Your [bd]possessions.
25 [be]There is the (ED)sea, great and [bf]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 The (EE)ships move along there,
And [bg](EF)Leviathan, which You have formed to have fun in it.

27 They all (EG)wait for You
To (EH)give them their food in [bh]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (EI)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (EJ)hide Your face, they are terrified;
You (EK)take away their breath, they perish
And (EL)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [bi](EM)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.

31 May the (EN)glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord (EO)rejoice in His works;
32 [bj]He (EP)looks at the earth, and it (EQ)trembles;
He (ER)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [bk]I will sing to the Lord [bl](ES)as long as I live;
[bm]I will (ET)sing praise to my God [bn]while I have my being.
34 May my (EU)praise be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (EV)rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners be (EW)removed from the earth
And may the (EX)wicked be no more.
(EY)Bless the Lord, my soul.
[bo](EZ)Praise [bp]the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 102 Title Ps 142:2
  2. Psalm 102:4 Lit herbage
  3. Psalm 102:5 Lit voice
  4. Psalm 102:5 Lit have cleaved
  5. Psalm 102:8 Or made a fool of
  6. Psalm 102:8 Lit have sworn by me
  7. Psalm 102:11 Lit stretched out
  8. Psalm 102:11 Or as for me, I
  9. Psalm 102:11 Lit herbage
  10. Psalm 102:12 Or sit enthroned
  11. Psalm 102:12 Lit memorial
  12. Psalm 102:14 Or have found
  13. Psalm 102:15 Or And
  14. Psalm 102:15 Or Gentiles, heathen
  15. Psalm 102:17 Or naked
  16. Psalm 102:18 Or Let this be written
  17. Psalm 102:18 Or And
  18. Psalm 102:18 Or will
  19. Psalm 102:18 Heb Yah
  20. Psalm 102:19 Lit toward
  21. Psalm 102:20 Lit the sons of death
  22. Psalm 102:24 Lit in generation of generations
  23. Psalm 102:26 Lit They themselves
  24. Psalm 102:27 Lit He
  25. Psalm 102:28 Lit seed
  26. Psalm 103:5 Or desire
  27. Psalm 103:6 Or deeds of vindication
  28. Psalm 103:11 Or revere
  29. Psalm 103:13 Or revere
  30. Psalm 103:14 I.e., what we are made of
  31. Psalm 103:17 Or faithfulness
  32. Psalm 103:17 Or revere
  33. Psalm 103:19 Or kingdom
  34. Psalm 103:19 I.e., the universe
  35. Psalm 103:21 Lit hosts
  36. Psalm 104:3 Lit The one who
  37. Psalm 104:3 Lit The one who
  38. Psalm 104:3 Lit The one who
  39. Psalm 104:4 Lit Who
  40. Psalm 104:4 Or His angels, spirits
  41. Psalm 104:4 Or His ministers flames of fire
  42. Psalm 104:5 Or move out of place
  43. Psalm 104:10 Lit The one who sends
  44. Psalm 104:12 Or over; or above
  45. Psalm 104:12 Lit give forth
  46. Psalm 104:13 Lit Who
  47. Psalm 104:14 Lit Who
  48. Psalm 104:14 Or animals
  49. Psalm 104:14 Or He
  50. Psalm 104:14 Lit bread
  51. Psalm 104:15 Lit bread
  52. Psalm 104:16 Lit are satisfied
  53. Psalm 104:20 Lit crawl
  54. Psalm 104:21 Lit And to seek
  55. Psalm 104:24 Or With
  56. Psalm 104:24 Or creatures
  57. Psalm 104:25 Or This
  58. Psalm 104:25 Or broad of dimensions; lit hands
  59. Psalm 104:26 Or a sea monster
  60. Psalm 104:27 Lit its appointed time
  61. Psalm 104:30 Or breath
  62. Psalm 104:32 Lit The one who
  63. Psalm 104:33 Or Let me sing
  64. Psalm 104:33 Lit in my lifetime
  65. Psalm 104:33 Or Let me sing
  66. Psalm 104:33 Lit while I still am
  67. Psalm 104:35 Or Hallelujah!
  68. Psalm 104:35 Heb Yah

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