"Hearmy prayer,O LORD,and giveearto my cry;Do not be silentat my tears;For I am a strangerwith You, A sojournerlike allmy fathers.
And Abrahamsojournedin the landof the Philistinesfor manydays.
So Jacobsaidto Pharaoh,"The yearsof my sojourningare one hundredand thirty;fewand unpleasanthave beenthe yearsof my life,norhave they attainedthe yearsthat my fatherslivedduring the daysof their sojourning."
"Perhapsthe LORDwill lookon my afflictionand returngoodto me insteadof his cursingthisday."
"Returnand sayto Hezekiahthe leaderof My people,'Thussaysthe LORD,the Godof your fatherDavid,"I have heardyour prayer,I have seenyour tears;behold,I will healyou. On the thirddayyou shall goup to the houseof the LORD.
"For we are sojournersbeforeYou, and tenants,as allour fatherswere; our dayson the earthare like a shadow,and thereis nohope.
While I am decayinglike a rottenthing,Like a garmentthat is moth-eaten.
"My friendsare my scoffers;My eyeweepsto God.
Hearmy prayer,O LORD!And let my cryfor helpcometo You.
The cordsof deathencompassedme And the terrorsof Sheolcameupon me; I founddistressand sorrow.
I am a strangerin the earth;Do not hideYour commandmentsfrom me.
Your statutesare my songsIn the houseof my pilgrimage.
You have takenaccountof my wanderings;Putmy tearsin Your bottle.Are [they] not in Your book?
For allour dayshave declinedin Your fury;We have finishedour yearslikea sigh.
The land,moreover, shall not be soldpermanently,for the landis Mine; for you are [but] aliensand sojournerswith Me.
Therefore,being alwaysof good courage,and knowingthat while we are at homein the bodywe are absentfrom the Lord--
Allthesediedin faith,withoutreceivingthe promises,but having seenthem and having welcomedthem from a distance,and having confessedthat they were strangersand exileson the earth.
In the daysof His flesh,He offeredup bothprayersand supplicationswith loudcryingand tearsto the One ableto saveHim from death,and He was heardbecauseof His piety.
Ifyou addressas Fatherthe One who impartiallyjudgesaccordingto each one'swork,conductyourselves in fearduring the timeof your stay[on earth];
Beloved,I urgeyou as aliensand strangersto abstainfrom fleshlylustswhichwage waragainstthe soul.
