Psalm 102

¹ Hear my prayer, LORD! Let my cry come to you.

² Don’t hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me. Answer me quickly in the day when I call.

³ For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a torch.

⁴ My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, for I forget to eat my bread.

⁵ By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones stick to my skin.

⁶ I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I have become as an owl of the waste places.

⁷ I watch, and have become like a sparrow that is alone on the housetop.

⁸ My enemies reproach me all day. Those who are mad at me use my name as a curse.

⁹ For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears,

¹⁰ because of your indignation and your wrath; for you have taken me up and thrown me away.

¹¹ My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.

¹² But you, LORD, will remain forever; your renown endures to all generations.

¹³ You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come.

¹⁴ For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity on her dust.

¹⁵ So the nations will fear the LORD’s name, all the kings of the earth your glory.

¹⁶ For the LORD has built up Zion. He has appeared in his glory.

¹⁷ He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.

¹⁸ This will be written for the generation to come. A people which will be created will praise the LORD,

¹⁹ for he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven, the LORD saw the earth,

²⁰ to hear the groans of the prisoner, to free those who are condemned to death,

²¹ that men may declare the LORD’s name in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,

²² when the peoples are gathered together, the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

²³ He weakened my strength along the course. He shortened my days.

²⁴ I said, “My God, don’t take me away in the middle of my days. Your years are throughout all generations.

²⁵ Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.

²⁶ They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed.

²⁷ But you are the same. Your years will have no end.

²⁸ The children of your servants will continue. Their offspring will be established before you.”

Around Psalm 102

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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