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Psalm 102:13
You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come.
11My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.
12But you, LORD, will remain forever; your renown endures to all generations.
13You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come.
14For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity on her dust.
15So the nations will fear the LORD’s name, all the kings of the earth your glory.
Notice
Mercy for Zion has a set time here, giving the prayer a bold confidence even while the surrounding lines speak of withering and dust.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do you notice about the turn from withered grass to mercy for Zion?
Write on thisWhat hopes or hesitations surface as you read about mercy’s set time?
Write on thisHow might Zion’s need for mercy shape a prayer for your own church?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Jeremiah 30:18The LORD says: “Behold, I will reverse the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling places. The city will be built on its own hill, and …Both passages speak of God’s compassion for a place his people inhabit, with Jeremiah describing the rebuilding of the city.
John 7:6Jesus therefore said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.Both name a particular time: Zion’s time for mercy has come, while Jesus says his time has not yet come.
Habakkuk 2:3For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hurries toward the end, and won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it, because it will surely …Both speak of an appointed time, with the psalm announcing its arrival and Habakkuk telling the hearer to wait.
Galatians 4:4But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,Both link God’s action to the arrival of a time: mercy for Zion in the psalm, sending his Son in Galatians.
Psalm 44:26Rise up to help us. Redeem us for your loving kindness’ sake.Both address God as the one who rises to help, grounding that help in his mercy or loving kindness.
Isaiah 60:1“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the LORD’s glory has risen on you!The psalm says God will arise in mercy; Isaiah tells his hearer to arise because the LORD’s glory has risen.
Isaiah 40:2“Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of the LORD’s hand …Both announce relief for Jerusalem, called Zion in the psalm: mercy has its time, and Isaiah declares her warfare accomplished.
Psalm 69:35–36For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah. They shall settle there, and own it.Zion is named in both passages as the place God will help through mercy or saving and rebuilding.
Zechariah 2:10–12Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion! For behold, I come and I will dwell within you,’ says the LORD.Both name Zion as the recipient of God’s action: he will show mercy, and he promises to come and dwell within her.
Isaiah 60:10–14“Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will serve you; for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you.Mercy toward the afflicted city joins these passages, with Isaiah describing favor after wrath and the rebuilding of walls.
2 Peter 3:8But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.The shared thread is time in relation to God; Peter describes its scale, while the psalm announces mercy’s set time.
Revelation 11:15–18The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. He will …The connection rests in the surrounding psalm’s declaration that the LORD remains forever and Revelation’s announcement of his enduring reign.
Where this verse fits
Waiting. fear for the future. wanting a steady prayer habit.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The surrounding lament does not vanish when mercy is named. No date for your own relief is given here. The hope rests on God’s compassion for Zion.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).