My Soul is Longing

Representative Text

1 O Lord of hosts, how lovely
thy tabernacles are;
for them my heart is yearning
in banishment afar.
My soul is longing, fainting,
thy sacred courts to see;
my heart and flesh are crying,
O living God, for thee.

2 Beneath thy care the sparrow
finds place for peaceful rest;
to keep her young in safety
the swallow finds a nest;
then, Lord, my King Almighty,
thy love will shelter me;
beside thy holy altar
my dwelling place shall be.

3 Blest they who dwell in Zion,
whose joy and strength thou art;
forever they will praise thee,
thy ways are in their heart.
Though tried, their tears like showers
shall fill the springs with peace,
and all the way to Zion
their strength shall still increase.

4 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.

5 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.

6 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 blessed
are they that trust in thee.


Source: Trinity Psalter Hymnal #84C

Text Information

First Line: How lovely is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts to me
Title: My Soul is Longing
Meter: 7.6.7.6 D
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Scripture References:
st.1 = Ps. 84:1-2
st.2 = Ps. 84:3
st.3 = Ps. 84:4-7

Taken form Psalm 84:1-7, “How Lovely Is Your Dwelling” is a prayer of longing for God’s house and for the blessing of serving God there. Stanza 1 describes the beauty of God’s house and the soul’s longing for the joy and comfort of that holy place. Stanza 2 highlights God’s care of his people, combining the images of sparrow and swallow from Psalm 84:3 with the image of God’s sheltering wings found in other psalms (36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 91:4). Stanza 3 extols the blessedness of being God’s people in Zion or the New Jerusalem.

The versification is form the 1912 Psalter, the original first line read “O Lord of hosts, how lovely.” See PHH 84 for other comments on Psalm 84.

Liturgical Use:
Beginning of worship; expressions of longing for the New Jerusalem.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune

ST. HILDA (Knecht)

The original form of ST. EDITH (also known as ST. HILDA) was composed in 1793 by Justin Heinrich Knecht for the text “Der neidern Menschhiet Hülle.” It was published in Vollstandige Sammlung … Choralmelodien (1799), edited by Johann Friedrich Christmann and Knecht, who composed ninety-seven o…

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