O Lord of hosts, how lovely
Thy tabernacles are;
For them my heart is yearning
In banishment afar
My soul is longing, fainting,
Thy sacred courts to see;
My heart and flesh are crying,
O living God for Thee.

Behold the sparrow finds place
For peaceful rest,
To keep her young in safety
The swallow finds a nest;
Then, Lord, my King al­migh­ty,
Thy love will shelter me;
Beside Thy holy altar
My dwelling-place shall be.

Blest they who dwell in Zion,
Whose joy and strength Thou art;
Forever they will praise Thee,
Thy ways are in their heart.
Though tried, their tears like showers
Shall fill the springs of peace,
And all the way to Zion
Their strength shall still increase.

So they from strength unwearied
Go forward unto strength,
Till they appear in Zion,
Before the Lord at length.
O hear, Lord God of Jacob,
To me an answer yield;
The face of Thine anointed,
Behold, O God, our shield.

One day excels a thousand,
If spent Thy courts within;
I’ll chose Thy threshold rather
Than dwell in tents of sin.
Our sun and shield Je­ho­vah,
Will grace and glo­ry give;
No good will He deny them
That uprightly do live.