Psalms 102 KJV
A Prayer of the Afflicted
About This Psalm
A prayer of the afflicted when overwhelmed. My days vanish like smoke. But God remains the same forever.
1ear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
4 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.
13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.
15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.
25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
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Did You Know?
Psalm 102 belongs to the traditional set of seven Penitential Psalms, yet uniquely moves beyond personal confession to intercede for Zion's future restoration, modeling how individual affliction can fuel corporate eschatological hope.
Verses 25-27 are quoted verbatim in Hebrews 1:10-12 and applied to Christ, using the psalm's contrast between perishable creation and God's unchanging years to argue for the Son's eternal supremacy over angels.
The psalmist's self-description as 'a pelican of the wilderness' and 'owl of the desert' (v. 6) echoes ancient Near Eastern lament motifs found in texts like the Babylonian 'Poem of the Righteous Sufferer,' linking Hebrew poetry to broader Mesopotamian suffering literature.
Its superscription 'A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is overwhelmed' is one of the most explicit in the Psalter, framing the entire chapter as a prescribed liturgical text for those experiencing overwhelming distress rather than a private composition.
The closing declaration that the servants' children 'shall be established before thee' (v. 28) subtly echoes the Abrahamic covenant promises, transforming a lament over personal mortality into a reaffirmation of enduring divine faithfulness to future generations.