How dear to me, O Lord of Hosts,
The place where Thou dost dwell;
The tabernacles of Thy grace
In pleasantness excel.

My spirit longs, yea, even faints,
Thy sacred courts to see;
My thirsting heart and flesh cry out,
O living God, for Thee.

Beneath Thy care the sparrow finds
A place of peaceful rest;
Where she may safely lay her young
The swallow finds a nest.

Then, Lord of Hosts, my King, my God,
Thy love will shelter me;
Beneath Thy altar’s peaceful shade
My dwelling place shall be.

Blest they who dwell within Thy house,
Their perfect strength Thou art;
Their joyful praise shall never cease,
Thy ways are in their heart.

Their tears of grief, like early rain,
Sweet springs of joy shall fill;
With strength renewed they journey safe
To Zion’s holy hill.

How lovely are Thy dwellings fair,
O Lord of hosts; how dear
The pleasant tabernacles are
Where Thou dost dwell so near!

Happy, who in Thy house reside,
Where Thee they ever praise!
Happy, whose strength in Thee doth bide,
And in their hearts Thy ways!

They journey on from strength to strength
With joy and gladsome cheer,
Till all before our God at length
In Zion doth appear.

Lord God of hosts that reign’st on high,
That man is truly blest
Who only on Thee doth rely,
And in Thee only rest.

How lovely is Thy dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts to me!
The tabernacles of Thy grace
How pleasant, Lord, they be!

My thirsty soul longs ardently,
Yes, faints Thy courts to see;
My very heart and flesh cry out,
O living God, for Thee.

Behold the sparrow findeth out
A house wherein to rest;
The swallow also, for herself,
Provided hath a nest.

Ee’n Thine own altars, where she safe
Her young ones forth may bring,
O Thou, almighty Lord of hosts,
Who art my God and King.

Blest are they in Thy house that dwell,
They ever give Thee praise,
Blest is the man whose strength Thou art,
In whose heart are Thy ways.

Lord of the worlds above, how pleasant and how fair
The dwellings of Thy love, Thine earthly temples are!
To Thine abode, my heart aspires with warm desires
To see my God.

The sparrow for her young with pleasure seeks a nest,
And wand’ring swallows long to find their wonted rest:
My spirit faints With equal zeal to rise and dwell
Among thy saints.

O happy souls that pray where God appoints to hear!
O happy men that pay their constant service there!
They praise Thee still; and happy they that love the way
To Zion’s hill.

They go from strength to strength, through this dark vale of tears,
Till each arrives at length, till each in heaven appears;
O glorious seat, when God, our King, shall thither bring
Our willing feet!

To spend one sacred day where God and saints abide,
Affords diviner joy than thousand days beside:
Where God resorts, I love it more to keep the door
Than shine in courts.

God is our Sun and Shield, our Light and our Defense;
With gifts His hands are filled; we draw our blessings thence.
He shall bestow on Jacob’s race peculiar grace
And glory too.

The Lord his people loves; His hand no good withholds
From those his heart approves, From pure and pious souls:
Thrice happy he, O God of hosts, whose spirit trusts
Alone in Thee.

O God of hosts, the mighty Lord,
How lovely is the place
Where Thou, enthroned in glory, show’st,
The brightness of Thy face.

O Lord of hosts, my King and God,
How highly blest are they
Who in Thy temple always dwell,
And there Thy praise display.

Thrice happy they whose choice has Thee
Their sure protection made;
Who long to tread the sacred ways
That to Thy dwelling lead.

For in Thy courts one single day
’Tis better to attend,
Than, Lord, in any place besides
A thousand days to spend.

For God, who is our Sun and Shield,
Will grace and glory give;
And no good thing will He withhold
From them that justly live.

Thou God, whom heav’nly host obey,
How highly blest is he
Whose hope and trust, securely placed,
Is still reposed on Thee.

O Lord of hosts, how lovely the place where Thou dost dwell!
Thy tabernacles holy in pleasantness excel.
My soul is longing, fainting, Jehovah’s courts to see;
My heart and flesh are crying, O living God for Thee.

Behold the sparrow findeth a house in which to rest,
The swallow has discovered where she may build her nest;
And where, securely sheltered, her young she forth may bring;
So Lord of hosts, Thine altars I seek, my God, my King.

Blest who Thy house inhabit, they ever give Thee praise.
Blest all whom Thou dost strengthen, who love the sacred ways.
Who pass through Baca’s valley, and make in it a well;
There rains in shower abundant the pools with water fill.

So they from strength unwearied go forward unto strength,
Till they appear in Zion, before the Lord at length.
O hear, Lord God of Jacob, to me an answer yield;
The face of Thine anointed, behold, O God, our Shield.

One day excels a thousand, if spent Thy courts within;
I’ll chose Thy threshold rather than dwell in tents of sin.
Our Sun and Shield Jehovah, will grace and glory give;
No good will He deny them that uprightly do live.

I am a stranger here, within a foreign land;
My home is far away, upon a golden strand;
Ambassador to be of realms beyond the sea,
I’m here on business for my King.

Refrain

This is the message that I bring,
A message angels fain would sing:
“Oh, be ye reconciled,”
Thus saith my Lord and King,
“Oh, be ye reconciled to God.”

This is the King’s command: that all men, everywhere,
Repent and turn away from sin’s seductive snare;
That all who will obey, with Him shall reign for aye,
And that’s my business for my King.

Refrain

My home is brighter far than Sharon’s rosy plain,
Eternal life and joy throughout its vast domain;
My Sovereign bids me tell how mortals there may dwell,
And that’s my business for my King.

Refrain

Inspirer and hearer of prayer,
Thou Shepherd and Guardian of Thine,
My all to Thy covenant care,
I, sleeping or waking, resign.

If Thou art my Shield and my Sun,
The night is no darkness to me;
And, fast as my minutes roll on,
They bring me but nearer to Thee.

A sovereign Protector I have,
Unseen, yet for ever at hand;
Unchangeably faithful to save,
Almighty to rule and command.

His smiles and His comforts abound,
His grace, as the dew, shall descend;
And walls of salvation surround
The soul He delights to defend.

Lord God of hosts, in mercy
My supplication hear;
Almighty and all faithful,
Our fathers’ God, give ear.
Our Shield and great Defender,
No longer hide Thy face,
But look upon Thy servant,
Anointed by Thy grace.

In Thy blest courts to worship,
My God, a single day
Is better than a thousand
While far from Thee I stray.
Though in a lowly station,
The service of my Lord
I choose above all pleasures
That sinful ways afford.

A sun and shield forever
Is God, the Lord Most High,
To those who walk uprightly
No good will He deny.
His saints, His grace receiving,
Shall soon His glory see;
O Lord of hosts, most blessèd
Are they that trust in Thee.

O Lord of hosts, to Thee I cry,
Our fathers’ God, to Thee;
Let my petition reach Thine ear,
My prayer accepted be.
O God our Shield, look Thou on us,
Reveal Thyself in grace,
And let Thine own anointed one
Behold Thee face to face.

A single day within Thy courts,
Where I Thy beauty see,
Is better than a thousand days,
My God, apart from Thee.
A lowly station in Thy house
Were dearer to my heart
Than in the tents of wickedness
To claim the chiefest part.

A Sun and Shield is God, the Lord,
To lighten and defend;
The Lord to such as look to Him
Will grace and glory send.
To those that walk in righteousness
No good will He deny.
O Lord of hosts, how blest are they
Who on Thy grace rely!

How lovely are Thy tents, O Lord!
Where’er Thou choosest to record
Thy Name, or place Thy house of prayer;
My soul outflies the angel choir,
And faints, o’erpowered with strong desire,
To meet Thy special presence there.

My heart and flesh cry out for God;
There would I fix my soul’s abode,
As birds that in the altars nest;
There would I all my young ones bring,
An offering to my God and King,
And in Thy courts for ever rest.

Happy the men to whom ’tis given,
To dwell within that gate of Heaven,
And in Thy house record Thy praise;
Whose strength and confidence Thou art,
Who feel Thee, Savior, in their heart,
The Way, the Truth, the Life of grace:

Who, passing through the mournful vale,
Drink comfort from the living well,
That flows replenished from above;
From strength to strength advancing here,
Till all before their God appear,
And each receives the crown of love.

Better a day Thy courts within
Than thousands in the tents of sin;
How base the noblest pleasure there!
How great the weakest child of Thine!
His meanest task is all divine,
And kings and priests Thy servants are.

The Lord protects and cheers His own,
Their light and strength, their shield and sun;
He shall both grace and glory give;
Unlimited His bounteous grant;
No real good they e’er shall want;
All, all is theirs, who righteous live.

O Lord of hosts, how blest is he
Who steadfastly believes in Thee!
He all Thy promises shall gain;
The soul that on Thy love is cast
Thy perfect love on earth shall taste,
And soon with Thee in glory reign.

How lovely, how divinely sweet,
Oh Lord! Thy sacred courts appear;
Fain would my longing passions meet
The glories of Thy presence there.

O bless’d the men, bless’d their employ,
Whom Thy indulgent favors raise
To dwell in those abodes of joy,
And sing Thy never ceasing praise.

Happy the men whom strength divine
With ardent love and zeal inspires;
Whose steps to Thy blest way incline
With willing hearts and warm desires.

One day within Thy sacred gate,
Affords more real joy to me
Than thousands in the tents of state;
The meanest place is bliss with Thee.

My soul, how lovely is the place
To which thy God resorts!
’Tis heav’n to see His smiling face,
Though in His earthly courts.

There the great Monarch of the skies
His saving power displays,
And light breaks in upon our eyes
With kind and quick’ning rays.

With His rich gifts the heav’nly Dove
Descends and fills the place,
While Christ reveals His wondrous love,
And sheds abroad His grace.

There, mighty God, Thy words declare
The secrets of Thy will;
And still we seek Thy mercy there,
And sing Thy praises still.

My heart and flesh cry out for Thee,
While far from Thine abode;
When shall I tread Thy courts, and see
My Savior and my God?

The sparrow builds herself a nest,
And suffers no remove;
O make me, like the sparrows, blest,
To dwell but where I love.

To sit one day beneath Thine eye,
And hear Thy gracious voice,
Exceeds a whole eternity
Employed in carnal joys.

Lord, at Thy threshold I would wait
While Jesus is within,
Rather than fill a throne of state,
Or live in tents of sin.

Could I command the spacious land,
And the more boundless sea,
For one blest hour at Thy right hand
I’d give them both away.

Pleasant are Thy courts above,
In the land of light and love;
Pleasant are Thy courts below
In this land of sin and woe;
O, my spirit longs and faints
For the converse of Thy saints,
For the brightness of Thy face,
For Thy fullness, God of grace.

Happy birds that sing and fly
Round Thy altars, O most High;
Happier souls that find a rest
In a heavenly Father’s breast;
Like the wandering dove that found
No repose on earth around,
They can to their ark repair,
And enjoy it ever there.

Happy souls, their praises flow
Even in this vale of woe;
Waters in the desert rise,
Manna feeds them from the skies;
On they go from strength to strength,
Till they reach Thy throne at length,
At Thy feet adoring fall,
Who hast led them safe through all.

Lord, be mine this prize to win,
Guide me through a world of sin,
Keep me by Thy saving grace,
Give me at Thy side a place;
Sun and shield alike Thou art,
Guide and guard my erring heart.
Grace and glory flow from Thee;
Shower, O shower them, Lord, on me.