PSALM LXXXIV.

1 How lovely are thy dwellings fair!
O Lord of Hosts, how dear
The pleasant tabernacles are,

Where thou dost dwell so near!

2 My soul doth long and almost die
Thy courts, O Lord, to see;
My heart and flesh aloud do cry,
O living God, for thee.

3 There even the sparrow, freed from wrong,
Hath found a house of rest;
The swallow there, to lay her young,
Hath built her brooding nest;

Even by the altars, Lord of Hosts,
They find their safe abode ;
And home they fly, from round the coasts,
Toward thee, my King, my God.

4 Happy who in thy house reside, Where thee they ever praise!

5 Happy, whose strength in thee doth bide, And in their hearts thy ways!

6 They pass through Baca's thirsty vale, That dry and barren ground;

As through a fruitful watery dale,
Where springs and showers abound.

7 They journey on from strength to strength, With joy and gladsome cheer,

Till all before our God at length,

In Sion do appear.

8 Lord God of Hosts, hear now my prayer, O Jacob's God, give ear:

9 Thou, God, our shield, look on the face Of thy anointed dear.

10 For one day in thy courts to be,
Is better, and more blest,
Than in the joys of vanity
A thousand days at best.

I, in the temple of my God,

Had rather keep a door,
Than dwell in tents, and rich abode,

With sin for evermore.

11 For God, the Lord, both sun and shield, Gives grace and glory bright;

No good from them shall be withheld
Whose ways are just and right.

12 Lord God of Hosts, that reign'st on high, That man is truly blest,

Who only on thee doth rely,
And in thee only rest.

PSALM LXXXV.

1 THY land to favour graciously

Thou hast not, Lord, been slack;
Thou hast from hard captivity
Returned Jacob back.

2 The iniquity thou didst forgive

That wrought thy people woe;
And all their sin that did thee grieve,
Hast hid where none shall know.

3 Thine anger all thou hadst removed, And calmly didst return

From thy fierce wrath, which we had proved Far worse than fire to burn.

4 God of our saving health and peace,
Turn us, and us restore;
Thine indignation cause to cease
Towards us, and chide no more.

5 Wilt thou be angry without end, For ever angry thus ?

Wilt thou thy frowning ire extend
From age to age on us?

6 Wilt thou not turn and hear our voice,
And us again revive,

That so thy people may rejoice,
By thee preserved alive?

7 Cause us to see thy goodness, Lord,
To us thy mercy show;

Thy saving health to us afford,
And life in us renew.

8 And now, what God the Lord will speak,
I will go straight and hear,
For to his people he speaks peace,
And to his saints full dear,

To his dear saints he will speak peace ;
But let them never more
Return to folly, but surcease
To trespass as before.

9 Surely, to such as do him fear,
Salvation is at hand;

And glory shall, ere long, appear
To dwell within our land.

10 Mercy and truth, that long were miss'd,
Now joyfully are met;

Sweet peace and righteousness have kiss'd,
And hand in hand are set.

11 Truth from the earth, like to a flower,
Shall bud and blossom then;
And justice from her heavenly bower
Look down on mortal men.

12 The Lord will also then bestow Whatever thing is good;

Our land shall forth in plenty throw
Her fruits, to be our food.

13 Before him righteousness shall go, His royal harbinger:

Then will he come, and not be slow ;
His footsteps cannot err.

PSALM LXXXVI.

1 THY gracious ear, O Lord, incline,
O hear me, I thee pray ;
For I am poor, and almost pine
With need, and sad decay.

2 Preserve my soul; for I have trod
Thy ways, and love the just :
Save thou thy servant, O my God,
Who still in thee doth trust.

3 Pity me, Lord, for daily thee

I call; [4] oh make rejoice
Thy servant's soul; for, Lord, to thee
I lift my soul and voice.

5 For thou art good; thou, Lord, art prone To pardon, thou to all

Art full of mercy, thou alone,
To them that on thee call.

6 Unto my supplication, Lord,
Give ear, and to the cry
Of my incessant prayers afford
Thy hearing graciously.

7 I, in the day of my distress,
Will call on thee for aid;
For thou wilt grant me free access,
And answer what I pray'd.

8 Like thee among the gods is none,
O Lord; nor any works,
Of all that other gods have done,
Like to thy glorious works.

9 The nations all whom thou hast made
Shall come, and all shall frame
To bow them low before thee, Lord,
And glorify thy name.

10 For great thou art, and wonders great
By thy strong hand are done;

Thou, in thy everlasting seat,
Remainest God alone.