84  How lovely is your ^wdwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

2  ^xMy soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

3  Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

^ymy King and my God.

4  ^zBlessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise! Selah

5  Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.²

6  As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

7  They go from strength to strength;

each one ^aappears before God in Zion.

8  O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9  Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your ^banointed!

10  ^cFor a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11  For the Lord God is a ^dsun and ^eshield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

^fNo good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

12  O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the one who ^gtrusts in you!

85  Lord, you were favorable to your land;

you ^hrestored the fortunes of Jacob.

2  You ⁱforgave the iniquity of your people;

you ^jcovered all their sin. Selah

3  You withdrew all your wrath;

you turned from your hot anger.

4  ^kRestore us again, O God of our salvation,

and put away your indignation toward us!

5  ^lWill you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

6  Will you not ^mrevive us again,

that your people may rejoice in you?

7  Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

8  Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will ⁿspeak peace to his people, to his saints;

but let them not turn back to folly.

9  Surely his ^osalvation is near to those who fear him,

that ^pglory may dwell in our land.

10  Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;

righteousness and peace kiss each other.

11  Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.

12  Yes, ^qthe Lord will give what is good,

and ^rour land will yield its increase.

13  Righteousness will go before him

and make his footsteps a way.

86  Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

^sfor I am poor and needy.

2  Preserve my life, for I am godly;

save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.

3  Be gracious to me, O Lord,

for to you do I cry ^tall the day.

4  Gladden the soul of your servant,

for ^uto you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5  For you, O Lord, are good and ^vforgiving,

^wabounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

6  Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

listen to my plea for grace.

7  In the day of my trouble I call upon you,

for ^xyou answer me.

8  ^yThere is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

nor are there any works like yours.

9  ^zAll the nations you have made shall come

and worship before you, O Lord,

and shall glorify your name.

10  For ^ayou are great and do ^bwondrous things;

^cyou alone are God.

11  ^dTeach me your way, O Lord,

that I may walk ^ein your truth;

unite my heart to fear your name.

12  I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

and I will glorify your name forever.

13  For great is your steadfast love toward me;

you have ^fdelivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14  O God, ^ginsolent men have risen up against me;

a band of ruthless men seeks my life,

and they do not set you before them.

15  But you, O Lord, are a God ^hmerciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16  ⁱTurn to me and be gracious to me;

^jgive your strength to ^kyour servant,

and save the son of your maidservant.

17  Show me a sign of your favor,

that those who hate me may see and ^lbe put to shame

because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

87  On the ^mholy mount stands the city he ⁿfounded;

2  the Lord ^oloves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

3  Glorious things of you are spoken,

O ^pcity of God. Selah

4  Among those who know me I mention ^qRahab and Babylon;

behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush¹—

“This one was born there,” they say.

5  And of Zion it shall be said,

“This one and that one were born in her”;

for the Most High himself will ^restablish her.

6  The Lord records as he registers the peoples,

“This one was born there.” Selah

7  Singers and dancers alike say,

“All my springs are in you.”

88  O Lord, God of my salvation,

I ^tcry out ^uday and night before you.

2  Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my cry!

3  For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol.

4  I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

I am a man who has no strength,

5  like one set loose among the dead,

^vlike the slain that lie in the grave,

like those whom you remember no more,

for they are cut off from your hand.

6  You have put me in the depths of the pit,

in the regions dark and deep.

7  Your wrath lies heavy upon me,

and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

8  You have caused my ^wcompanions to shun me;

you have made me a horror² to them.

I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

9  ^xmy eye grows dim through sorrow.

^yEvery day I call upon you, O Lord;

I spread out my hands to you.

10  Do you work wonders for the dead?

^zDo the departed rise up to praise you? Selah

11  Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,

or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

12  Are your wonders known in the darkness,

or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13  But I, O Lord, cry to you;

^ain the morning my prayer comes before you.

14  O Lord, why do you cast my soul away?

Why do you hide your face from me?

15  Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,

I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.³

16  Your wrath has swept over me;

your dreadful assaults destroy me.

17  They surround me like a flood all day long;

they close in on me together.

18  You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;

my companions have become darkness.⁴