84  How ^rlovely is your ^sdwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

2  My soul ^tlongs, yes, ^ufaints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to ^vthe 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,

^wmy King and my God.

4  ^xBlessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever ^ysinging your praise! Selah

5  Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

^zin whose heart are the highways to Zion.²

6  As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

^athe early rain also covers it with ^bpools.

7  They go ^cfrom strength to strength;

each one ^dappears before God in Zion.

8  O ^eLord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9  ^fBehold our ^gshield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed!

10  For a day ^hin your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

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

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11  For the Lord God is ^ja sun and ^gshield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

^kNo good thing does he withhold

from those who ^lwalk uprightly.

12  O Lord of hosts,

^mblessed is the one who trusts in you!

85  Lord, you were ^ofavorable to your land;

you ^prestored the fortunes of Jacob.

2  You ^qforgave the iniquity of your people;

you ^qcovered all their sin. Selah

3  You withdrew all your wrath;

you ^rturned from your hot anger.

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

and put away your indignation toward us!

5  ^tWill you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

6  Will you not ^urevive us again,

that your people may ^vrejoice in you?

7  Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

8  ^wLet me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will ^xspeak peace to his people, to his ^ysaints;

but let them not ^zturn back to ^afolly.

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

that ^cglory may dwell in our land.

10  ^dSteadfast love and faithfulness meet;

^erighteousness and peace kiss each other.

11  Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.

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

and our land ^gwill yield its increase.

13  ^hRighteousness will go before him

and make his footsteps a way.

86  ^jIncline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

for I am ^kpoor and needy.

2  Preserve my life, for I am ^lgodly;

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

3  ⁿBe gracious to me, O Lord,

for to you do I cry all the day.

4  Gladden the soul of your servant,

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

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

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

6  ^rGive ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

listen to my plea for grace.

7  In ^sthe day of my trouble I call upon you,

^tfor you answer me.

8  There is ^unone like you among the gods, O Lord,

^vnor are there any works like yours.

9  ^wAll the nations you have made shall come

and worship before you, O Lord,

and shall glorify your name.

10  For ^xyou are great and ^ydo wondrous things;

^zyou alone are God.

11  ^aTeach me your way, O Lord,

that I may ^bwalk in your truth;

^cunite 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  ^dFor great is your steadfast love toward me;

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

14  O God, insolent men have ^frisen 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 ^gmerciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16  ^hTurn to me and be gracious to me;

give your strength to ⁱyour servant,

and save ⁱthe son of your maidservant.

17  ^jShow me a sign of your ^kfavor,

that those who hate me may see and be put to shame

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

87  On ^mthe holy mount ⁿstands the city he founded;

2  the Lord ^oloves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

3  ^pGlorious things of you are spoken,

O ^qcity of God. Selah

4  Among those who ^rknow me I mention ^sRahab and Babylon;

behold, Philistia and Tyre, with ^tCush¹—

“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 ^uestablish her.

6  The Lord records as he ^vregisters the peoples,

“This one was born there.” Selah

7  ^wSingers and ^xdancers alike say,

“All my ^ysprings are in you.”

88  O Lord, ^cGod of my salvation,

I ^dcry out day and night before you.

2  Let my prayer come before you;

^eincline your ear to my cry!

3  For my soul is full of troubles,

and ^fmy life draws near to ^gSheol.

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

I am a man who has no strength,

5  like one set loose among the dead,

like the slain that lie in the grave,

like those whom ⁱyou remember no more,

for they are ^jcut off from your hand.

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

in the ^lregions dark and ^mdeep.

7  Your wrath ⁿlies heavy upon me,

and you overwhelm me with ^oall your waves. Selah

8  You have caused ^pmy companions to shun me;

you have made me ^qa horror² to them.

I am ^rshut in so that I cannot escape;

9  ^smy eye grows dim through sorrow.

Every day I call upon you, O Lord;

I ^tspread out my hands to you.

10  Do you work wonders for the dead?

^uDo 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 ^vwonders known in ^wthe darkness,

or your righteousness in the land of ^xforgetfulness?

13  But I, O Lord, cry ^yto you;

^zin the morning my prayer comes before you.

14  O Lord, why ^ado you cast my soul away?

Why ^bdo 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 ^cdreadful assaults destroy me.

17  They ^dsurround me like a flood ^eall day long;

they ^fclose in on me together.

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

my companions have become darkness.⁴