A Prayer for the Afflicted and for the Ruins of Zion

A distinctive feature of this psalm is its blending of prayer and praise. Its structure makes clear the central issue. Juxtaposed are “my days,” which are cut short (vv. 23–24), and Yahweh’s years, which go on through all generations (v. 24). The speaker’s days are a leitmotif appearing at key turning points: twice in the introductory petitions (“in the day of my distress” and “in the day I call,” v. 2, though not evident in the NIV), in the verses opening and closing the main lament (vv. 3, 11, and in v. 8), and toward the end of the psalm where the lament is resumed (vv. 23, 24). Yahweh’s permanence is the subject at the opening of the hymnic praise (v. 12) and at its closing (vv. 24b–28). In each case it surfaces as a direct contrast t…