The Lord’s Eternal Love

A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord.

102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,And let my cry come to You.² Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;Incline Your ear to me;In the day that I call, answer me speedily.

³ For my days are consumed like smoke,And my bones are burned like a hearth.⁴ My heart is stricken and withered like grass,So that I forget to eat my bread.⁵ Because of the sound of my groaningMy bones cling to my skin.⁶ I am like a pelican of the wilderness;I am like an owl of the desert.⁷ I lie awake,And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.

⁸ My enemies reproach me all day long;Those who deride me swear an oath against me.⁹ For I have eaten ashes like bread,And mingled my drink with weeping,¹⁰ Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;For You have lifted me up and cast me away.¹¹ My days are like a shadow that lengthens,And I wither away like grass.

¹² But You, O Lord, shall endure forever,And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.¹³ You will arise and have mercy on Zion;For the time to favor her,Yes, the set time, has come.¹⁴ For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,And show favor to her dust.¹⁵ So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord,And all the kings of the earth Your glory.¹⁶ For the Lord shall build up Zion;He shall appear in His glory.¹⁷ He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,And shall not despise their prayer.

¹⁸ This will be written for the generation to come,That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.¹⁹ For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary;From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,²⁰ To hear the groaning of the prisoner,To release those appointed to death,²¹ To declare the name of the Lord in Zion,And His praise in Jerusalem,²² When the peoples are gathered together,And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

²³ He weakened my strength in the way;He shortened my days.²⁴ I said, “O my God,Do not take me away in the midst of my days;Your years are throughout all generations.²⁵ Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,And the heavens are the work of Your hands.²⁶ They will perish, but You will endure;Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;Like a cloak You will change them,And they will be changed.²⁷ But You are the same,And Your years will have no end.²⁸ The children of Your servants will continue,And their descendants will be established before You.”