Psalm CII.
1
Lord hear my prayer, and do not hide
Thy face in time of need:
But in my trouble bow thine ear,
And answer me with speed.
2
For as an hearth my bones are burnt,
My days like smoke do pass:
My heart with sorrow smitten is,
And withered like the grass.
3
I quite forget to eat my bread;
And with my cries and groans,
Am so consum'd, that all my skin
Doth cleave unto my bones.
4
As Pelican in wilderness,
Or as the owls I moan:
And like the sparrow on the house,
I watch and sit alone.
5
All day mine enemies slander me,
And swear to what they say:
My bread is ashes, and my drink
Is weeping every day.
6
So great thine indignation is,
Thine anger and thy frown:
For thou at first did'st lift me up,
And after cast me down.
7
My days are like declining shades,
Or like the fading grass:
But thou forever shalt endure,
Thy age shall never pass.
8
Arise O Lord, and mercy shew
Unto thy Zion dear:
For now the fixed time is come,
The time to favour her.
9
For in the very stones thereof,
Thy servants take delight:
Her very rubbish, and her dust
Are precious in their sight.
10
So shall the heathens dread thy name,
And kings thy glory fear:
When thou shalt build thy Zion up,
And gloriously appear.
11
Then thou wilt hear the poor mans prayer,
And we will it record,
That generations yet unborn,
May know, and praise the Lord.
12
For he from heaven hath looked down,
From heaven his temple high:
To hear their groans, and set them free,
That were condemn'd to die.
13
That men thy glorious name and praise,
In Zion may declare:
When people meet to serve the Lord,
And kingdoms worship there.
14
But as for me, my strength is gone,
My life apace decays:
I said, Lord, take me not away,
In midst of all my days.
15
Thy years, O Son of God shall last,
Though heaven and earth shall fade:
And all th e works shall pass away,
That by thy hands were made.
16
As garments change and fade with age,
So shall they changed be:
But thou art evermore the same,
Thy years no end shall see.
17
The children of thy servants dear,
From age to age shall last:
Their seed shall flourish in their sight,
And stand forever fast.
