PSALM 83

How beloved are Thy dwellings, O Lord of hosts; my soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God.

For the sparrow has found herself a house, and the turtledove a nest for herself where she may lay her young - even Thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house; unto ages of ages shall they praise Thee.

Blessed is the man whose help is from Thee; he has made ascents in his heart, in the vale of weeping, in the place which he has appointed. Yea, for the lawgiver will give blessings; they shall go from strength to strength, the God of gods shall be seen in Zion. O Lord of hosts, hearken unto my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob.

O God, our defender, behold, and look upon the face of Thine anointed one. For better is one day in Thy courts than thousands elsewhere. I have chosen rather to be an outcast in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of sinners. For the Lord loves mercy and truth, God will give grace and glory; the Lord will not withhold good things from them that walk in innocence.

O Lord God of hosts, blessed is the man that hopes in Thee.

ALLELUIA