Psalms

Chapter 102

The Prayer of the Afflicted

This psalm begins as the worn-out prayer of one who feels his days thinning into smoke under sorrow and divine wrath. Yet the lament widens into hope for Zion, for future generations, and for gathered nations, before ending with a final contrast: human life fades quickly, but the Lord who founded heaven and earth remains the same.

Psalm 102 holds private affliction and redemptive history in one frame. It shows how the Psalter's laments can move from personal weakness into confidence that God's enduring reign will rebuild Zion, hear the destitute, and outlast the whole created order.

1 section·219 words·~1 min read

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Psalms 102

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vv. 1-28

The Prayer of the Afflicted

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A¹ prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD. ²Do not hide Your face from me ³For my days vanish like smoke, ⁴My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; ⁵Through my loud groaning ⁶I am like a desert owl, ⁷I lie awake; ⁸All day long my enemies taunt me; ⁹For I have eaten ashes like bread ¹⁰because of Your indignation and wrath, ¹¹My days are like lengthening shadows,

¹²But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; ¹³You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, ¹⁴For Your servants delight in her stones ¹⁵So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, ¹⁶For the LORD will rebuild Zion; ¹⁷He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; ¹⁸Let this be written for the generation to come, ¹⁹For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; ²⁰to hear a prisoner’s groaning, ²¹that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion ²²when peoples and kingdoms assemble

²³He has broken my strength on the way; ²⁴I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days! ²⁵In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, ²⁶They will perish, but You remain; ²⁷But You remain the same, ²⁸The children of Your servants will dwell securely,

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01vv. 1-28The Prayer of the AfflictedThe afflicted speaker pleads for the LORD to hear while describing loneliness, weakness, reproach, and the shortness of his days. From that distress he turns to the LORD's enduring throne and to coming compassion on Zion, then closes by resting his fading life against the permanence of the God who created all things and remains unchanged.