Psalm 102

1. Heed my prayer, O LORD, be near me;
   turn your ear to me and hear me.
   In my woes and misery,
   do not hide your face from me;
   when I pray in grief and worry,
   LORD, to me your answer hurry.
   Listen to my lamentation;
   quickly come with consolation.
   
   
2. For my days, like smoke, have vanished,
   and my life will soon be finished.
   Like a hearth my bones all burn
   while I for your answer yearn.
   For my heart is so dejected
   that my bread I have neglected.
   While I groan, my strength is going;
   through my skin my bones are showing.
   
   
3. While I lie awake in sorrow,
   I am like a lonely sparrow
   perching on a housetop high.
   Like a pelican am I,
   like an owl, whose habitation
   is a place of desolation.
   In my loneliness I languish,
   for I suffer constant anguish.
   
   
4. All day long my foes deride me;
   they with curses have defied me.
   I no longer eat my bread,
   but with ashes I am fed;
   with my drink my tears are blended,
   for your wrath has not yet ended.
   You have cast me off in fury
   and have left me sad and weary.
   
   
5. Like an evening shadow, fleeting,
   swiftly its brief span completing,
   so my days all quickly pass,
   for I wither like the grass.
   But you, LORD, enthroned forever,
   are the one who changes never;
   every passing generation
   sees your glorious exaltation.
   
   
6. LORD, you will arise in pity
   on your house and holy city.
   It is time to show your face,
   the appointed time for grace.
   You will hear our supplication
   when we pray for restoration.
   Those who serve you, LORD, sincerely
   love the stones of Zion dearly.
   
   
7. All the nations will revere you;
   all the kings of earth will fear you,
   for your city you shall build,
   to be with your glory filled.
   You will set your congregation
   firm on Zion’s strong foundation.
   When we pray, LORD, you will hear us;
   when we suffer, you are near us.
   
   
8. May a future generation
   praise the LORD for such salvation:
   “He looked down from heav’n on high
   to release those doomed to die!”
   So in Zion, in his dwelling,
   all will praise his love unfailing
   when the peoples there adore him
   and the kingdoms kneel before him.
   
   
9. God has tried me in his rigour,
   and he broke my strength and vigour.
   “O my God, my God,” I pray,
   “do not yet take me away.
   You whose years go on forever,
   do not yet my life-thread sever.
   Listen to my supplication;
   grant me life and restoration.”
   
   
10. Mighty God of all creation,
    you have laid the earth’s foundation,
    and you framed the vast extent
    of the spacious firmament.
    But they both will fall and tumble;
    what may seem secure will crumble.
    Like a garment one may cherish,
    so will they wear out and perish.
    
    
11. Like a cloak, your whole creation,
    from the skies to earth’s foundation,
    will be changed and cast aside,
    but you evermore abide.
    LORD, the children of your servants,
    all the line of their descendants,
    will in safety dwell before you,
    for your steadfast love adore you.