Psalm 102:23–26 is one of the most striking passages in the Psalter for the way it layers contrasting images to set human frailty against divine permanence. Here's the terrain of its imagery:

The broken journey (v. 23). The psalmist's strength is broken "in midcourse" (בַּדֶּרֶךְ, literally "in the way/road") — life pictured as a road or race that gets cut short before the traveler reaches his destination. His days are "shortened," as though God has measured out a span and then compressed it. The image is of a man stopped mid-stride.

The plea from the middle (v. 24). The cry "take me not away in the midst of my days" deepens the journey metaphor: life has a natural arc, and the psalmist feels himself yanked from its midpoint. But the pivot comes immediately — "you whose years endure throughout all generations." The contrast is sharp. The psalmist's days are a shrinking line segment; God's years are an unbroken horizon stretching behind and ahead of every generation that has ever lived.

God as architect and craftsman (v. 25). "Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands." Two images fuse here: God as a builder who laid a foundation (יָסַד) and God as an artisan whose hands shaped the heavens. The earth has a foundation stone; the sky is handwork. Both images convey deliberate, personal craftsmanship — and both set up the shock of what comes next.

Creation as a worn-out garment (v. 26). "They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away." This is the passage's most arresting image. The entire created order — earth and heavens — is compared to clothing that frays, fades, and eventually has to be replaced. God folds up creation the way a man changes a robe. The imagery implies that what looks permanent (mountains, sky) is actually as disposable as fabric, while the God who wears and discards it abides unchanged.

The cumulative effect is a three-level contrast: the psalmist's life is shorter than he hoped, creation itself is temporary, and God alone is permanent. Human brevity is not the lowest rung — even the cosmos wears out. Only Yahweh remains.

Worth noting for your work: Hebrews 1:10–12 takes vv. 25–27 and applies them directly to the Son, making this psalm a key Christological text. What the psalmist says about Yahweh, the author of Hebrews says about Christ — he is the one who laid the foundations, and he is the one who will roll up creation like a garment. That's a significant piece of the NT's high Christology, and it runs right through the OT substructure you've been tracing in Romans 8:31–39 (where Isaiah 50:8–9 and Psalm 44:22 similarly apply Yahweh-texts to Christ's redemptive work).

• Psalm 102:23–26 contrasts human weakness with God’s permanence.
• The psalmist says their strength fails “midcourse,” like a journey cut short.
• They plead not to be taken away in the middle of life because their days feel shortened.
• God’s years continue through every generation without end.
• God is pictured as the builder who laid earth’s foundation and the craftsman who made the heavens.
• Even the created world will perish and wear out like old clothing.
• God will “change” creation like a robe, but God remains the same.
• The main point: humans are brief, creation is temporary, but God alone is permanent.
• The passage is echoed in Hebrews 1:10–12, where these words are applied to the Son (Christ).