Psalms

Chapter 84

1 How lovely are your homes, O God of armies!

2 My soul longs and even grows weak for God’s courtyards; my heart and body cry out for the living God.

3 Yes, the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she can lay her chicks, by your altars, O God of all, my King and my God.

4 Happy are those who live in your house; they will always praise you.

5 Happy is the person who finds strength in you; whose heart follows your paths.

6 Traveling through the Valley of Baca, they turn it into a place with springs; the rain also fills the ponds.

7 They grow stronger and stronger, and each appears before God in Zion.

8 God of all, listen to my prayer: pay attention, God of Jacob. Pause.

9 See, O God our protector, and gaze at your chosen one’s face.

10 One day in your courtyards is better than a thousand days elsewhere. I prefer to be a gatekeeper in the home of my God than to live in the homes of the wicked.

11 God is like the sun and a protector: God will give kindness and honor: He won’t keep back any good thing from those who live rightly.

12 God of all, happy is the person who trusts in you.