Bible Glide

Psalms 102

Psalms 102 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Psalm 102 gives voice to deep distress, loneliness, and weakness, yet it also turns steadily toward hope. The prayer moves from personal lament to confidence in the LORD's compassion, His care for Zion, and His unchanging rule over all generations.

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What happens in Psalms 102?

The psalm begins with a cry for help from someone overwhelmed by suffering, taunting enemies, loss of strength, and a sense of being cut down before his time. In the middle of the prayer, the focus shifts from personal pain to the LORD's enduring throne and His future mercy toward Zion. The psalm looks ahead to rebuilding, gathered worship, and the testimony of generations yet to come. It ends by contrasting the weakness of creation with the LORD's permanence and by trusting Him to establish the children of His servants.

Psalm 102 is one of the laments in Book IV of Psalms, where questions of suffering, exile, and hope before God often come into view. It stands between psalms of trust and praise, and its language moves from an individual cry to a wider hope for Zion and future generations. The chapter also fits the Psalms' larger theme of God's kingship and lasting faithfulness.

Themes to notice

  • LamentThe prayer gives honest words for pain, weakness, sleeplessness, and feeling abandoned.
  • God's compassionThe psalm turns to the LORD's mercy, His attention to the afflicted, and His care for Zion.
  • God's permanenceHuman life fades, but the LORD remains the same and His years never end.

Questions for Psalms 102

  • What details in this psalm show the writer's distress and exhaustion?
  • How does the focus change between the first half and second half of the chapter?
  • What does this psalm teach about God's rule over suffering, Zion, and future generations?

Read the full text of Psalms 102 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Psalms 102

The Prayer of the Afflicted

A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.

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 flesh clings to 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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