Psalms 102

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Psalm 102 begins with an afflicted suppliant pleading for God to hear his urgent cry and turn His face toward him in his day of distress. The speaker describes his physical and emotional deterioration, comparing his fading days to smoke, his withered heart to grass, and noting that enemies taunt him all day long. Amidst this personal suffering, the psalmist contrasts his transient state with the eternal throne of the Lord, who will arise to show compassion, rebuild Zion, and answer the prayers of the destitute. The text records that the Lord looks down from heaven to hear prisoners, release the condemned, and gather peoples and kingdoms to serve Him in Jerusalem. Finally, the speaker appeals to God regarding his shortened days, contrasting human mortality and the changing heavens with the unchanging creator whose years never end and whose servants' descendants will remain established before Him.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come before You. ²Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call. ³For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers. ⁴My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread. ⁵Through my loud groaning my skin hangs on my bones. ⁶I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. ⁷I lie awake; I am like a lone bird on a housetop. ⁸All day long my enemies taunt me; they ridicule me and curse me. ⁹For I have eaten ashes like bread and mixed my drink with tears ¹⁰because of Your indignation and wrath, for You have picked me up and cast me aside. ¹¹My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass. ¹²But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; Your renown endures to all generations. ¹³You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor— the appointed time has come. ¹⁴For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust. ¹⁵So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory. ¹⁶For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory. ¹⁷He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer. ¹⁸Let this be written for the generation to come, so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD. ¹⁹For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth ²⁰to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death, ²¹that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion and praise Him in Jerusalem, ²²when peoples and kingdoms assemble to serve the LORD. ²³He has broken my strength on the way; He has cut short my days. ²⁴I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days! Your years go on through all generations. ²⁵In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. ²⁶They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them, and they will be passed on. ²⁷But You remain the same, and Your years will never end. ²⁸The children of Your servants will dwell securely, and their descendants will be established before You.”

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.