Psalm 84 (83)
I want to see the living God. The joy of the pilgrimage and of going up to the Temple.
2 How lovely are your rooms,
O Lord of hosts!
3 My soul yearns, pines,
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
4 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God!
5 Happy are those who live in your house,
continually singing your praise!
6 Happy the pilgrims whom you strengthen,
to make the ascent to you.
7 As they pass through the Valley,
they make it a place of springs,
the early rain covers it with blessings.
8 They go from strength to strength
till they appear before God in Zion.
9 O Lord of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!
10 Look upon our shield, O God;
look upon the face of your anointed!
11 One day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be left at the threshold
in the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
12 For the Lord God is a sun and a shield;
he bestows favor and glory.
The Lord withholds no good thing
from those who walk in uprightness.
13 O Lord of hosts,
blessed are those who trust in you.