When it is said
It suits the days when life has worn you down and you long to be comforted.
St Athanasius of Alexandria gave Psalm 102 to anyone worn down by the troubles of life who grows weary and longs for comfort.
In the Orthodox Church it is read at Great Compline, right after Psalm 51.
Where it comes from
No author known
Who wrote it?
No name stands over Psalm 102. Its heading names only the one who prays it: “A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD.” The Greek Septuagint, where it is Psalm 101, heads it “A Prayer for the Poor”.
The King James Version, Psalm 102; Brenton’s translation of the Septuagint, Psalm 101
Words God speaks to the Son
The Letter to the Hebrews quotes the psalm’s last verses, about the Lord Who laid the foundations of the earth and Whose years never end. It gives them as words God speaks to His Son (Hebrews 1:10-12).
What the words mean
Where the Greek differs
The plain wording follows the Hebrew, as the King James Version does. The Orthodox pray the psalm in the Greek of the Septuagint, which differs most at verse 23. Where the Hebrew says “He has weakened my strength along the way”, Lancelot Brenton’s English of the Greek reads “He answered him in the way of his strength: tell me the fewness of my days.”
The Hebrew Bible, on Mechon Mamre; Brenton’s translation of the Septuagint, Psalm 101
The Scripture in it
Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come before You. Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call. For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers. My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread. Through my loud groaning my skin hangs on my bones. I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. I lie awake; I am like a lone bird on a housetop. All day long my enemies taunt me; they ridicule me and curse me. For I have eaten ashes like bread and mixed my drink with tears because of Your indignation and wrath, for You have picked me up and cast me aside. My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass. But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; Your renown endures to all generations. You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor—the appointed time has come. For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust. So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory. For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory. He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer. Let this be written for the generation to come, so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD. For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death, that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion and praise Him in Jerusalem, when peoples and kingdoms assemble to serve the LORD. He has broken my strength on the way; He has cut short my days. I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days! Your years go on through all generations. In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They 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. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end. The children of Your servants will dwell securely, and their descendants will be established before You.”
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.