Psalm 102[a]

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

Hear my prayer,(A) Lord;
    let my cry for help(B) come to you.
Do not hide your face(C) from me
    when I am in distress.
Turn your ear(D) to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

For my days vanish like smoke;(E)
    my bones(F) burn like glowing embers.
My heart is blighted and withered like grass;(G)
    I forget to eat my food.(H)
In my distress I groan aloud(I)
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
I am like a desert owl,(J)
    like an owl among the ruins.
I lie awake;(K) I have become
    like a bird alone(L) on a roof.
All day long my enemies(M) taunt me;(N)
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.(O)
For I eat ashes(P) as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears(Q)
10 because of your great wrath,(R)
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like the evening shadow;(S)
    I wither(T) away like grass.

12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;(U)
    your renown endures(V) through all generations.(W)
13 You will arise(X) and have compassion(Y) on Zion,
    for it is time(Z) to show favor(AA) to her;
    the appointed time(AB) has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
    her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear(AC) the name of the Lord,
    all the kings(AD) of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion(AE)
    and appear in his glory.(AF)
17 He will respond to the prayer(AG) of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.

18 Let this be written(AH) for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created(AI) may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down(AJ) from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners(AK)
    and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared(AL) in Zion
    and his praise(AM) in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship(AN) the Lord.

23 In the course of my life[b] he broke my strength;
    he cut short my days.(AO)
24 So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
    your years go on(AP) through all generations.
25 In the beginning(AQ) you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens(AR) are the work of your hands.(AS)
26 They will perish,(AT) but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
    and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,(AU)
    and your years will never end.(AV)
28 The children of your servants(AW) will live in your presence;
    their descendants(AX) will be established before you.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 102:1 In Hebrew texts 102:1-28 is numbered 102:2-29.
  2. Psalm 102:23 Or By his power

Psalm 106(A)

Praise the Lord.[a](B)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;(C)
    his love endures forever.(D)

Who can proclaim the mighty acts(E) of the Lord
    or fully declare his praise?
Blessed are those who act justly,(F)
    who always do what is right.(G)

Remember me,(H) Lord, when you show favor(I) to your people,
    come to my aid(J) when you save them,
that I may enjoy the prosperity(K) of your chosen ones,(L)
    that I may share in the joy(M) of your nation
    and join your inheritance(N) in giving praise.

We have sinned,(O) even as our ancestors(P) did;
    we have done wrong and acted wickedly.(Q)
When our ancestors were in Egypt,
    they gave no thought(R) to your miracles;
they did not remember(S) your many kindnesses,
    and they rebelled by the sea,(T) the Red Sea.[b]
Yet he saved them(U) for his name’s sake,(V)
    to make his mighty power(W) known.
He rebuked(X) the Red Sea, and it dried up;(Y)
    he led them through(Z) the depths as through a desert.
10 He saved them(AA) from the hand of the foe;(AB)
    from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.(AC)
11 The waters covered(AD) their adversaries;
    not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his promises
    and sang his praise.(AE)

13 But they soon forgot(AF) what he had done
    and did not wait for his plan to unfold.(AG)
14 In the desert(AH) they gave in to their craving;
    in the wilderness(AI) they put God to the test.(AJ)
15 So he gave them(AK) what they asked for,
    but sent a wasting disease(AL) among them.

16 In the camp they grew envious(AM) of Moses
    and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
17 The earth opened(AN) up and swallowed Dathan;(AO)
    it buried the company of Abiram.(AP)
18 Fire blazed(AQ) among their followers;
    a flame consumed the wicked.
19 At Horeb they made a calf(AR)
    and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
20 They exchanged their glorious God(AS)
    for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
21 They forgot the God(AT) who saved them,
    who had done great things(AU) in Egypt,
22 miracles in the land of Ham(AV)
    and awesome deeds(AW) by the Red Sea.
23 So he said he would destroy(AX) them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach(AY) before him
    to keep his wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they despised(AZ) the pleasant land;(BA)
    they did not believe(BB) his promise.
25 They grumbled(BC) in their tents
    and did not obey the Lord.
26 So he swore(BD) to them with uplifted hand
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,(BE)
27 make their descendants fall among the nations
    and scatter(BF) them throughout the lands.

28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor(BG)
    and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
29 they aroused the Lord’s anger(BH) by their wicked deeds,(BI)
    and a plague(BJ) broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas(BK) stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was checked.(BL)
31 This was credited to him(BM) as righteousness
    for endless generations(BN) to come.
32 By the waters of Meribah(BO) they angered the Lord,
    and trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 for they rebelled(BP) against the Spirit(BQ) of God,
    and rash words came from Moses’ lips.[c](BR)

34 They did not destroy(BS) the peoples
    as the Lord had commanded(BT) them,
35 but they mingled(BU) with the nations
    and adopted their customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,(BV)
    which became a snare(BW) to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons(BX)
    and their daughters to false gods.(BY)
38 They shed innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons(BZ) and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was desecrated by their blood.
39 They defiled themselves(CA) by what they did;
    by their deeds they prostituted(CB) themselves.

40 Therefore the Lord was angry(CC) with his people
    and abhorred his inheritance.(CD)
41 He gave them into the hands(CE) of the nations,
    and their foes ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed(CF) them
    and subjected them to their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,(CG)
    but they were bent on rebellion(CH)
    and they wasted away in their sin.
44 Yet he took note of their distress
    when he heard their cry;(CI)
45 for their sake he remembered his covenant(CJ)
    and out of his great love(CK) he relented.(CL)
46 He caused all who held them captive
    to show them mercy.(CM)

47 Save us,(CN) Lord our God,
    and gather us(CO) from the nations,
that we may give thanks(CP) to your holy name(CQ)
    and glory in your praise.

48 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.

Let all the people say, “Amen!”(CR)

Praise the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 48
  2. Psalm 106:7 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verses 9 and 22
  3. Psalm 106:33 Or against his spirit, / and rash words came from his lips

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say(A)
if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
the flood(B) would have engulfed us,
    the torrent(C) would have swept over us,
the raging waters
    would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;(D)
the snare has been broken,(E)
    and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name(F) of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(G) and earth.

Psalm 137

By the rivers of Babylon(A) we sat and wept(B)
    when we remembered Zion.(C)
There on the poplars(D)
    we hung our harps,(E)
for there our captors(F) asked us for songs,
    our tormentors demanded(G) songs of joy;
    they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”(H)

How can we sing the songs of the Lord(I)
    while in a foreign land?
If I forget you,(J) Jerusalem,
    may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof(K) of my mouth
    if I do not remember(L) you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem(M)
    my highest joy.

Remember, Lord, what the Edomites(N) did
    on the day Jerusalem fell.(O)
“Tear it down,” they cried,
    “tear it down to its foundations!”(P)
Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,(Q)
    happy is the one who repays you
    according to what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who seizes your infants
    and dashes them(R) against the rocks.

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