Psalm 84:1–85:13

Longing for God’s House^c

84 How I love your Temple, Lord Almighty!

²How I want to be there!

I long to be in the Lord’s Temple.

With my whole being I sing for joy

to the living God.

³Even the sparrows have built a nest,

and the swallows have their own home;

they keep their young near your altars,

⁴How happy are those who live in your Temple, always singing praise to you.

⁵How happy are those whose strength comes from you,

who are eager to make the pilgrimage to Mount Zion.

⁶As they pass through the dry valley of Baca,

it becomes a place of springs;

the autumn rain fills it with pools.

⁷They grow stronger as they go;

they will see the God of gods on Zion.

⁸Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty.

Listen, O God of Jacob!

⁹Bless our king, O God,

the king you have chosen.

¹⁰One day spent in your Temple

is better than a thousand anywhere else;

I would rather stand at the gate of the house of my God

than live in the homes of the wicked.

¹¹The Lord is our protector and glorious king,

blessing us with kindness and honour.

He does not refuse any good thing

to those who do what is right.

¹²Lord Almighty, how happy are those who trust in you!

A Prayer for the Nation’s Welfare^d

85 Lord,

you have been merciful to your land; you have made Israel prosperous again.

²You have forgiven your people’s sins

and pardoned all their wrongs.

³You stopped being angry with them

and held back your furious rage.

⁴Bring us back, O God our saviour,

and stop being displeased with us!

⁵Will you be angry with us for ever?

Will your anger never cease?

⁶Make us strong again,

and we, your people, will praise you.

⁷Show us your constant love, O Lord,

and give us your saving help.

⁸I am listening to what the Lord God is saying;

he promises peace to us, his own people,

if we do not go back to our foolish ways.

⁹Surely he is ready to save those who honour him,

and his saving presence will remain in our land.

¹⁰Love and faithfulness will meet;

righteousness and peace will embrace.

¹¹Human loyalty will reach up from the earth,

and God’s righteousness will look down from heaven.

¹²The Lord will make us prosperous,

and our land will produce rich harvests.

¹³Righteousness will go before the Lord

and prepare the path for him.