Psalm 102a

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

1 Hear my prayer,f Lord;

let my cry for helpg come to you.

2 Do not hide your faceh from me

when I am in distress.

Turn your eari to me;

when I call, answer me quickly.

3 For my days vanish like smoke;j

my bonesk burn like glowing embers.

4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;l

I forget to eat my food.m

5 In my distress I groan aloudn

and am reduced to skin and bones.

6 I am like a desert owl,o

like an owl among the ruins.

7 I lie awake;p I have become

like a bird aloneq on a roof.

8 All day long my enemiesr taunt me;s

those who rail against me use my name as a curse.t

9 For I eat ashesu as my food

and mingle my drink with tearsv

10 because of your great wrath,w

for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.

11 My days are like the evening shadow;x

I withery away like grass.

12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;z

your renown enduresa through all generations.b

13 You will arisec and have compassiond on Zion,

for it is timee to show favorf to her;

the appointed timeg has come.

14 For her stones are dear to your servants;

her very dust moves them to pity.

15 The nations will fearh the name of the Lord,

all the kingsi of the earth will revere your glory.

16 For the Lord will rebuild Zionj

and appear in his glory.k

17 He will respond to the prayerl of the destitute;

he will not despise their plea.

18 Let this be writtenm for a future generation,

that a people not yet createdn may praise the Lord:

19 “The Lord looked downo from his sanctuary on high,

from heaven he viewed the earth,

20 to hear the groans of the prisonersp

and release those condemned to death.”

21 So the name of the Lord will be declaredq in Zion

and his praiser in Jerusalem

22 when the peoples and the kingdoms

assemble to worships the Lord.

23 In the course of my lifeb he broke my strength;

he cut short my days.t

24 So I said:

“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;

your years go onu through all generations.

25 In the beginningv you laid the foundations of the earth,

and the heavensw are the work of your hands.x

26 They will perish,y 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,z

and your years will never end.a

28 The children of your servantsb will live in your presence;

their descendantsc will be established before you.”

Psalm 103

Of David.

1 Praise the Lord,d my soul;e

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.f

2 Praise the Lord,g my soul,

and forget noth all his benefits—

3 who forgives all your sinsi

and healsj all your diseases,

4 who redeems your lifek from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,l

5 who satisfiesm your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewedn like the eagle’s.o

6 The Lord works righteousnessp

and justice for all the oppressed.q

7 He made knownr his wayss to Moses,

his deedst to the people of Israel:

8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,u

slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever;v

10 he does not treat us as our sins deservew

or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his lovex for those who fear him;y

12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressionsz from us.

13 As a father has compassiona on his children,

so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,b

he remembers that we are dust.c

15 The life of mortals is like grass,d

they flourish like a flowere of the field;

16 the wind blowsf over it and it is gone,

and its placeg 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 childrenh—

18 with those who keep his covenanti

and rememberj to obey his precepts.k

19 The Lord has established his thronel in heaven,

and his kingdom rulesm over all.

20 Praise the Lord,n you his angels,o

you mighty onesp who do his bidding,q

who obey his word.

21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,r

you his servantss who do his will.

22 Praise the Lord, all his workst

everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.u