Dual PanelA prayer in time of trouble
1I pray to you, Lord! Please listen.
2Don't hide from me in my time of trouble. Pay attention to my prayer and quickly give an answer.
3My days disappear like smoke, and my bones are burning as though in a furnace.
4I am wasting away like grass, and my appetite is gone.
5My groaning never stops, and my bones can be seen through my skin.
6I am like a lonely owl in the desert
7or a restless sparrow alone on a roof.
8My enemies insult me all day, and they use my name for a curse word.
9Instead of food, I have ashes to eat and tears to drink,
10because you are furious and have thrown me aside.
11My life fades like a shadow at the end of day and withers like grass.
12Our Lord, you are King for ever and will always be famous.
13You will show pity to Zion because the time has come.
14We, your servants, love each stone in the city, and we are sad to see them lying in the dust.
15Our Lord, the nations will honour you, and all kings on earth will praise your glory.
16You will rebuild the city of Zion. Your glory will be seen,
17and the prayers of the homeless will be answered.
18Future generations must also praise the Lord, so write this for them:
19“From his holy temple, the Lord looked down at the earth.
20He listened to the groans of prisoners, and he rescued everyone who was doomed to die.”
21All Jerusalem should praise you, our Lord,
22when people from every nation meet to worship you.
23I should still be strong, but you, Lord, have made an old person of me.
24You will live for ever! Years mean nothing to you. Don't cut my life in half!
25In the beginning, Lord, you laid the earth's foundation and created the heavens.
26They will all disappear and wear out like clothes. You change them, as you would a coat, but you last for ever.
27You are always the same. Years cannot change you.
28Every generation of those who serve you will live in your presence.