A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before Jehovah.
102:1Hear my prayer, O Jehovah,
And let my cry come unto thee.
102:2Hide not thy face from me in the day of my distress:
Incline thine ear unto me;
In the day when I call answer me speedily.
102:3For my days consume away like smoke,
And my bones are burned as a firebrand.
102:4My heart is smitten like grass, and withered;
102:5By reason of the voice of my groaning
My bones cleave to my flesh.
102:6I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am become as an owl of the waste places.
102:7I watch, and am become like a sparrow
That is alone upon the house-top.
102:8Mine enemies reproach me all the day;
They that are mad against me do curse by me.
102:9For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
102:10Because of thine indignation and thy wrath:
For thou hast taken me up, and cast me away.
102:11My days are like a shadow that declineth;
And I am withered like grass.
102:12But thou, O Jehovah, wilt abide for ever;
And thy memorial name unto all generations.
102:13Thou wilt arise, and have mercy upon Zion;
For it is time to have pity upon her,
Yea, the set time is come.
102:14For thy servants take pleasure in her stones,
And have pity upon her dust.
102:15So the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah,
And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
102:16For Jehovah hath built up Zion;
He hath appeared in his glory.
102:17He hath regarded the prayer of the destitute,
And hath not despised their prayer.
102:18This shall be written for the generation to come;
And a people which shall be created shall praise Jehovah.
102:19For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary;
From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth;
102:20To hear the sighing of the prisoner;
To loose those that are appointed to death;
102:21That men may declare the name of Jehovah in Zion,
102:22When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah.
102:23He weakened my strength in the way;
He shortened my days.
102:24I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days:
Thy years are throughout all generations.
102:25Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth;
And the heavens are the work of thy hands.
102:26They shall perish, but thou shalt endure;
Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment;
As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
102:27But thou art the same,
And thy years shall have no end.
102:28The children of thy servants shall continue,
And their seed shall be established before thee.
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