Lord, who shall come to Thee,
And stand before Thy face?
Who shall abide, a welcome guest,
Within Thy holy place?

The man of upright life,
Sincere in word and deed,
Who slanders neither friend nor foe,
Nor idle tales will heed.

Who honors godly men,
But scorns the false and vile,
Who keeps his promised word to all,
Though loss be his the while.

Who loves not usury,
Nor takes a base reward;
Unmoved forever he shall be,
And stand before the Lord.

Who, O Lord, with Thee abiding,
In Thy House shall be Thy guest?
Who, his feet to Zion turning,
In Thy holy hill shall rest?
He that ever walks uprightly,
Does the right without a fear,
When he speaks, he speaks not lightly,
But with truth and love sincere.

He that slanders not his brother,
Does not evil to a friend;
To reproaches of another
He refuses to attend.
Wicked men win not his favor,
But the good who fear the Lord;
From his vow he will not waver,
Though it bring him sad reward.

Freely to the needy lending,
No excess he asks again;
And the innocent befriending,
He desires not praise of men.
Doing this, and evil spurning,
He shall nevermore be moved;
This the man with Thee sojourning,
This the man by Thee approved.

Who shall ascend Thy heav’nly place,
Great God, and dwell before Thy face?
The man that minds religion now,
And humbly walks with God below.

Whose hands are pure, whose heart is clean,
Whose lips still speak the thing they mean;
No slanders dwell upon his tongue;
He hates to do his neighbor wrong.

Scarce will he trust an ill report,
Nor vents it to his neighbor’s hurt:
Sinners of state he can despise,
But saints are honored in his eyes.

Firm to his word he ever stood,
And always makes his promise good;
Nor dares to change the thing he swears,
Whatever pain or loss he bears.

He never deals in bribing gold,
And mourns that justice should be sold;
While others gripe and grind the poor,
Sweet charity attends his door.

He loves his enemies, and prays
For those that curse him to his face
And doth to all men still the same
That he would hope or wish from them.

Yet, when his holiest works are done,
His soul depends on grace alone:
This is the man Thy face shall see,
And dwell for ever, Lord, with Thee.

Who shall inhabit in Thy hill,
O God of holiness?
Whom will the Lord admit to dwell
So near His throne of grace?

The man that walks in pious ways,
And works with righteous hands;
That trusts his Maker’s promises,
And follows His commands.

He speaks the meaning of his heart,
Nor slanders with his tongue;
Will scarce believe an ill report,
Nor do his neighbor wrong.

The wealthy sinner he contemns,
Loves all that fear the Lord;
And though to his own hurt he swears,
Still he performs his word.

His hands disdain a golden bribe,
And never gripe the poor:
This man shall dwell with God on earth,
And find his Heav’n secure.

Why doth the Lord stand off so far?
And why conceal His face,
When great calamities appear,
And times of deep distress?

Lord, shall the wicked still deride
Thy justice and Thy power?
Shall they advance their heads in pride,
And still Thy saints devour?

They put Thy judgments from their sight,
And then insult the poor;
They boast in their exalted height,
That they shall fall no more.

Arise, O God, lift up Thine hand,
Attend our humble cry;
No enemy shall dare to stand
When God ascends on high.

Why do the men of malice rage,
And say, with foolish pride,
“The God of Heav’n will ne’er engage
To fight on Zion’s side?”

But Thou forever art our Lord;
And powerful is Thine hand,
As when the heathens felt Thy sword,
And perished from Thy land.

Thou wilt prepare our hearts to pray,
And cause Thine ear to hear;
He hearkens what His children say,
And puts the world in fear.

Proud tyrants shall no more oppress,
No more despise the just;
And mighty sinners shall confess
They are but earth and dust.