Chronological
Psalm 102[a]
The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.
102 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.[b]
2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble.[c]
Listen to me.[d]
When I call out to you, quickly answer me.
3 For my days go up in smoke,[e]
and my bones are charred as in a fireplace.[f]
4 My heart is parched[g] and withered like grass,
for I am unable[h] to eat food.[i]
5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin.[j]
6 I am like an owl[k] in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl[l] among the ruins.[m]
7 I stay awake;[n]
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses.[o]
9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread,[p]
and mix my drink with my tears,[q]
10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed,[r] you pick me up and throw me away.
11 My days are coming to an end,[s]
and I am withered like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, rule forever,[t]
and your reputation endures.[u]
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion.[v]
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Indeed,[w] your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for[x] the dust of her ruins.[y]
15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord,[z]
and all the kings of the earth will respect[aa] his splendor,
16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute,[ab]
and does not reject[ac] their request.[ad]
18 The account of his intervention[ae] will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born[af] will praise the Lord.
19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above;[ag]
from heaven the Lord will look toward earth,[ah]
20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,
and to set free those condemned to die,[ai]
21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,
and praise him[aj] in Jerusalem,
22 when the nations gather together,
and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord.[ak]
23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life;[al]
he has cut short my days.
24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life.[am]
You endure through all generations.[an]
25 In earlier times you established the earth;
the skies are your handiwork.
26 They will perish,
but you will endure.[ao]
They will wear out like a garment;
like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear.[ap]
27 But you remain;[aq]
your years do not come to an end.
28 The children of your servants will settle down here,
and their descendants[ar] will live securely in your presence.”[as]
Psalm 103[at]
By David.
103 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
With all that is within me, praise[au] his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Do not forget all his kind deeds.[av]
3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases,[aw]
4 who delivers[ax] your life from the Pit,[ay]
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life with good things,[az]
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.[ba]
6 The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed.[bb]
7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts[bc] to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient[bd] and demonstrates great loyal love.[be]
9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry.[bf]
10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;[bg]
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.[bh]
11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers[bi] over his faithful followers.[bj]
12 As far as the eastern horizon[bk] is from the west,[bl]
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions[bm] from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,[bn]
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.[bo]
14 For he knows what we are made of;[bp]
he realizes[bq] we are made of clay.[br]
15 A person’s life is like grass.[bs]
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
16 but when the hot wind[bt] blows, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers,[bu]
and is faithful to their descendants,[bv]
18 to those who keep his covenant,
who are careful to obey his commands.[bw]
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom extends over everything.[bx]
20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,
you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees
and obey his orders.[by]
21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his,[bz]
you servants of his who carry out his desires.[ca]
22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made,[cb]
in all the regions[cc] of his kingdom.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Psalm 104[cd]
104 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent.[ce]
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds.[cf]
He makes the clouds his chariot,
and travels on the wings of the wind.[cg]
4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant.[ch]
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be moved.
6 The watery deep covered it[ci] like a garment;
the waters reached[cj] above the mountains.[ck]
7 Your shout made the waters retreat;
at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off—
8 as the mountains rose up,
and the valleys went down—
to the place you appointed for them.[cl]
9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,
so that they would not cover the earth again.[cm]
10 He turns springs into streams;[cn]
they flow between the mountains.
11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live beside them;
they chirp among the bushes.[co]
13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace;[cp]
the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow.[cq]
14 He provides grass[cr] for the cattle,
and crops for people to cultivate,[cs]
so they can produce food from the ground,[ct]
15 as well as wine that makes people glad,[cu]
and olive oil to make their faces shine,[cv]
as well as bread that sustains them.[cw]
16 The trees of the Lord[cx] receive all the rain they need,[cy]
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,
17 where the birds make nests,
near the evergreens in which the herons live.[cz]
18 The wild goats live in the high mountains;[da]
the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.
19 He made the moon to mark the months,[db]
and the sun sets according to a regular schedule.[dc]
20 You make it dark and night comes,[dd]
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
21 The lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God.[de]
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and sleep[df] in their dens.
23 People then go out to do their work,
and they labor until evening.[dg]
24 How many living things you have made, O Lord![dh]
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;[di]
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
25 Over here is the deep, wide sea,[dj]
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures,[dk]
living things both small and large.
26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale[dl] you made to play in it.
27 All your creatures[dm] wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis.[dn]
28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food.[do]
29 When you ignore them, they panic.[dp]
When you take away their life’s breath,
they die and return to dust.
30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
31 May the splendor of the Lord endure.[dq]
May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made.[dr]
32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes;
he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist.[ds]
34 May my thoughts[dt] be pleasing to him.
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners disappear[du] from the earth,
and the wicked vanish.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.
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