Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

102 A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is xfaint and ypours out his complaint before the Lord.

1  zHear my prayer, O Lord;

let my cry acome to you!

2  bDo not hide your face from me

in cthe day of my distress!

dIncline your ear to me;

eanswer me speedily fin the day when I call!

3  For my days gpass away like smoke,

and my hbones burn like a furnace.

4  My heart is istruck down like grass and jhas withered;

I kforget to eat my bread.

5  Because of my loud groaning

my lbones cling to my flesh.

6  I am like ma desert owl of the wilderness,

like an owl1 of the waste places;

7  I nlie awake;

I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.

8  All the day my enemies taunt me;

those who oderide me puse my name for a curse.

9  For I eat ashes like bread

and qmingle tears with my drink,

10  because of your indignation and anger;

for you have rtaken me up and sthrown me down.

11  My days are like tan evening shadow;

I jwither away like grass.

12  But you, O Lord, are uenthroned forever;

you vare remembered throughout all generations.

13  You will warise and have xpity on Zion;

it is the time to favor her;

ythe appointed time has come.

14  For your servants hold her zstones dear

and have pity on her dust.

15  Nations will afear the name of the Lord,

and all bthe kings of the earth will fear your glory.

16  For the Lord cbuilds up Zion;

he dappears in his glory;

17  he eregards the prayer of the destitute

and does not despise their prayer.

18  Let this be frecorded for ga generation to come,

so that ha people yet to be created may praise the Lord:

19  that he ilooked down from his holy height;

from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

20  to hear jthe groans of the prisoners,

to set free kthose who were doomed to die,

21  that they may ldeclare in Zion the name of the Lord,

and in Jerusalem his praise,

22  when mpeoples gather together,

and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

23  He has broken my strength in midcourse;

he nhas shortened my days.

24  “O my God,” oI say, “take me not away

in the midst of my days—

pyou whose years endure

throughout all generations!”

25  qOf old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and rthe heavens are the work of your hands.

26  sThey will perish, but tyou will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

27  but uyou are the same, and your years have no end.

28  vThe children of your servants wshall dwell secure;

xtheir offspring shall be established before you.

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

103 Of David.

1  yBless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

2  yBless the Lord, O my soul,

and zforget not all his benefits,

3  who aforgives all your iniquity,

who bheals all your diseases,

4  who credeems your life from the pit,

who dcrowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

5  who esatisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like fthe eagle’s.

6  The Lord works grighteousness

and justice for all who are oppressed.

7  He made known his hways to Moses,

his iacts to the people of Israel.

8  The Lord is jmerciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9  kHe will not always chide,

nor will he lkeep his anger forever.

10  He does not deal with us maccording to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

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

so great is his osteadfast love toward pthose who fear him;

12  as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he qremove our transgressions from us.

13  As ra father shows compassion to his children,

so the Lord shows compassion pto those who fear him.

14  For he knows our frame;1

he sremembers that we are dust.

15  As for man, his days are like tgrass;

he flourishes like ua flower of the field;

16  for vthe wind passes over it, and wit is gone,

and xits place knows it no more.

17  But ythe steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on pthose who fear him,

and his righteousness to zchildren’s children,

18  to those who akeep his covenant

and bremember to do his commandments.

19  The Lord has cestablished his throne in the heavens,

and his dkingdom rules over all.

20  Bless the Lord, O you ehis angels,

you fmighty ones who gdo his word,

obeying the voice of his word!

21  Bless the Lord, all his hhosts,

his iministers, who do his will!

22  jBless the Lord, all his works,

in all places of his dominion.

kBless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord My God, You Are Very Great

104 lBless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are mvery great!

nYou are clothed with splendor and majesty,

2  covering yourself with light as with a garment,

ostretching out the heavens plike a tent.

3  He qlays the beams of his rchambers on the waters;

he makes sthe clouds his chariot;

he rides on tthe wings of the wind;

4  he umakes his messengers winds,

his vministers wa flaming fire.

5  He xset the earth on its foundations,

so that it should never be moved.

6  You ycovered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

7  At zyour rebuke they fled;

at athe sound of your thunder they btook to flight.

8  The mountains rose, the valleys sank down

to the place that you cappointed for them.

9  You set da boundary that they may not pass,

so that they emight not again cover the earth.

10  You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills;

11  they fgive drink to every beast of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12  Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;

they sing among the branches.

13  gFrom your lofty abode you hwater the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14  You cause ithe grass to grow for the livestock

and jplants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth kfood from the earth

15  and lwine to gladden the heart of man,

moil to make his face shine

and bread to nstrengthen man’s heart.

16  The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,

othe cedars of Lebanon pthat he planted.

17  In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has her home in the fir trees.

18  The high mountains are for qthe wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for rthe rock badgers.

19  He made the moon to mark the sseasons;1

the sun knows its time for setting.

20  tYou make darkness, and it is night,

when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

21  uThe young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

22  When the sun rises, they steal away

and lie down in their vdens.

23  wMan goes out to his work

and to his labor until the evening.

24  O Lord, how manifold are your works!

In xwisdom have you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

25  Here is the sea, great and wide,

ywhich teems with creatures innumerable,

living things both small and great.

26  There go the ships,

and zLeviathan, which you formed to aplay in it.2

27  These ball look to you,

to cgive them their food in due season.

28  When you give it to them, they gather it up;

when you dopen your hand, they are filled with good things.

29  When you ehide your face, they are fdismayed;

when you gtake away their breath, they die

and hreturn to their dust.

30  When you isend forth your Spirit,3 they are created,

and you jrenew the face of the ground.

31  May the glory of the Lord kendure forever;

may the Lord lrejoice in his works,

32  who looks on the earth and it mtrembles,

who ntouches the mountains and they smoke!

33  I will sing to the Lord oas long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34  May my pmeditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the Lord.

35  Let qsinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more!

rBless the Lord, O my soul!

sPraise the Lord!