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Longing for God's House[a]

84 How I love your Temple, Lord Almighty!
    How 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.
Even the sparrows have built a nest,
    and the swallows have their own home;
they keep their young near your altars,
    Lord Almighty, my king and my God.
How happy are those who live in your Temple,
    always singing praise to you.

How happy are those whose strength comes from you,
    who are eager to make the pilgrimage to Mount Zion.
As they pass through the dry valley of Baca,
    it becomes a place of springs;
    the autumn rain fills it with pools.
They grow stronger as they go;
    they will see the God of gods on Zion.

Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty.
    Listen, O God of Jacob!
Bless our king, O God,
    the king you have chosen.

10 One 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.
11 The Lord is our protector and glorious king,
    blessing us with kindness and honor.
He does not refuse any good thing
    to those who do what is right.
12 Lord Almighty, how happy are those who trust in you!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 84:1 HEBREW TITLE: A psalm by the clan of Korah.

Psalm 84

The Joy of Worship in the Temple

To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!(A)
My soul longs, indeed it faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
    to the living God.(B)

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,
    my King and my God.(C)
Happy are those who live in your house,
    ever singing your praise. Selah(D)

Happy are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[a](E)
As they go through the valley of Baca,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.(F)
They go from strength to strength;
    the God of gods will be seen in Zion.(G)

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
Behold our shield, O God;
    look on the face of your anointed.(H)

10 For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than live in the tents of wickedness.(I)
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.(J)
12 O Lord of hosts,
    happy is everyone who trusts in you.(K)

Footnotes

  1. 84.5 Heb lacks to Zion

84 (0) For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of the sons of Korach:

(1) How deeply loved are your dwelling-places,
Adonai-Tzva’ot!
(2) My soul yearns, yes, faints with longing
for the courtyards of Adonai;
my heart and body cry for joy
to the living God.

(3) As the sparrow finds herself a home
and the swallow her nest, where she lays her young,
[so my resting-place is] by your altars,
Adonai-Tzva’ot, my king and my God.

(4) How happy are those who live in your house;
they never cease to praise you! (Selah)
(5) How happy the man whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are [pilgrim] highways.

(6) Passing through the [dry] Baka Valley,
they make it a place of springs,
and the early rain clothes it with blessings.
(7) They go from strength to strength
and appear before God in Tziyon.

(8) Adonai, God of armies, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
10 (9) God, see our shield [the king];
look at the face of your anointed.
11 (10) Better a day in your courtyards
than a thousand [days elsewhere].
Better just standing at the door of my God’s house
than living in the tents of the wicked.

12 (11) For Adonai, God, is a sun and a shield;
Adonai bestows favor and honor;
he will not withhold anything good
from those whose lives are pure.

13 (12) Adonai-Tzva’ot,
how happy is anyone who trusts in you!

84 1-2 What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
    I’ve always longed to live in a place like this,
Always dreamed of a room in your house,
    where I could sing for joy to God-alive!

3-4 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,
    sparrows and swallows make nests there.
They lay their eggs and raise their young,
    singing their songs in the place where we worship.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!
    How blessed they are to live and sing there!

5-7 And how blessed all those in whom you live,
    whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
    discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
    at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!

8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen:
    O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying!
Look at our shields, glistening in the sun,
    our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.

10-12 One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
    beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
    than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.
All sunshine and sovereign is God,
    generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions.
    It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.