Psalm 102
1Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you;
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
2Incline your ear to me;
when I call, make haste to answer me,
3For my days drift away like smoke,
and my bones are hot as burning coals.
4My heart is smitten like grass and withered,
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5Because of the voice of my groaning
I am but skin and bones.
6I have become like a vulture in the wilderness,
like an owl among the ruins.
7I lie awake and groan;
I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
8My enemies revile me all day long,
and those who scoff at me have taken an oath against me.
9For I have eaten ashes for bread
and mingled my drink with weeping.
10Because of your indignation and wrath
you have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11My days pass away like a shadow,
and I wither like the grass.
12But you, O Lord, endure for ever,
and your Name from age to age.
13You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to have mercy upon her;
indeed, the appointed time has come.
14For your servants love her very rubble,
and are moved to pity even for her dust.
15The nations shall fear your Name, O Lord,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16For the Lord will build up Zion,
and his glory will appear.
17He will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless;
he will not despise their plea.
18Let this be written for a future generation,
so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord.
19For the Lord looked down from his holy place on high;
from the heavens he beheld the earth;
20That he might hear the groan of the captive
and set free those condemned to die;
21That they may declare in Zion the Name of the Lord,
and his praise in Jerusalem;
22When the peoples are gathered together,
and the kingdoms also, to serve the Lord.
23He has brought down my strength before my time;
he has shortened the number of my days;
24And I said, “O my God,
do not take me away in the midst of my days;
your years endure throughout all generations.
25In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations
of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
26They shall perish, but you will endure;
they all shall wear out like a garment;
as clothing you will change them,
and they shall be changed;
27But you are always the same,
and your years will never end.
28The children of your servants shall continue,
and their offspring shall stand fast in your sight.”
A Collect for Fridays
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
