O hear my prayer Lord, and let
my cry come unto thee:
2 In time of trouble do not hide
thy face away from me.
3 Incline thine ears to me, make haste
to hear me when I call:
For as the smoke doth fade, so do
my days consume and fall.
4 And as a hearth my bones are burnt,
my heart is smitten dead:
And withers as the grass, that I
forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of my groaning voice,
my bones cleave to my skin:
6 As Pelican in wilderness,
such case now am I in.
7 And as an Owl in desert is,
lo I am such a one:
I watch, and as a Sparrow on
the housetop am alone.
8 Lo daily in reproachful wise
min enemies do me scorn:
And they that do against me rage,
against me they have sworn.
9 Surely with ashes as with bread,
my hunger I have filled:
and mingled have my drink with tears,
that from my eyes have ‘stilled.
10 Because of thy displeasure Lord,
thy wrath, and thy disdain:
For thou hast lifted me aloft,
and cast me down again.
11 The days wherein I pass my life,
are like the fleeting shade:
And I am withered like the grass,
that soon away doth fade.
12 But thou O Lord, for ever dost
remain in steady place:
And thy remembrance ever doth
abide from race to race.
