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.