Highways to Zion

How truly God his goodness shows, bestowing favour on all those
who are in Israel pure-hearted, and have not from his ways departed.
But as for me, I slipped almost, for when the arrogant would boast
of earthly wealth and luxury, I envied their prosperity.
No suffering lies in store for them; they all are sleek and sound of limb.
They do not share our pain and anguish; no troubles ever make them languish.
Pride is their necklace, and they dare make violence the robe they wear.
Their hearts with follies overflow, and in their minds illusions grow.
They speak with scorn and haughtiness; they scoff, and threaten to oppress.
Their mouth lays claim to heaven’s regions; their tongue demands the earth’s allegiance.
So people turn to praise these men, and they can find no fault with them.
“God does not see it,” they declare. “The Most High does not know or care.”

Such are the wicked – they’re secure; their wealth increases evermore.
Surely in vain I’ve been purehearted and have not from God’s laws departed,
and I in vain have washed my hands in purity and innocence.
For all day long I suffer here, and with new grief each dawn draws near.
If I had spoken this way too, I surely would have been untrue
to all the present generation, the children of your holy nation.
I tried to probe the mystery but found it was too much for me;
till, entering God’s holy place, I saw the destiny they face.
O Lord, you surely set them all on slippery ground to make them fall.
You cause the arrogant to stumble; they headlong to their ruin tumble.
How suddenly destroyed are they, by terrors wholly swept away!
As one who wakes from dreams, you rise, and them as fantasies despise.

When envy caused me great distress and filled my heart with bitterness,
I in my folly would ignore you; I was a brutish beast before You.
Yet you will hold me by my hand and keep me with you to the end.
Your counsel guides me in my ways, and you will me to glory raise.
Whom do I have in heaven but you? You, God of grace, my faith renew:
I seek no earthly wealth or splendour; to envy I will not surrender.
Although my flesh and heart may fail, God is my strength:
I shall prevail, for he whose steadfast love is sure will be my portion evermore.
Those who from you have gone astray shall perish in their evil way.
You will destroy all who, false-hearted, from your commandments have departed.
But as for me, in God I trust, for with his presence I am blest.
My refuge is the LORD alone; I will proclaim all he has done.

O God, why have you cast us all away?
O why have we forever been rejected?
Why do you leave your sheep all unprotected
and let your anger smoke from day to day?
Remember your own people, those you love,
your heritage, your chosen congregation,
by you redeemed and saved from condemnation
in your good pleasure, shown from heaven above.
Do not forget Mount Zion, where you dwelt;
draw near to its perpetual desolations.
See the destruction which the hostile nations
brought on the place where once your people knelt
brought on the place where once your people knelt.

O God, your foes with loud and angry roars
right in your temple raised their heathen banners,
destroyed your house with hatchets and with hammers,
and smashed the carvings that were there before.
They boldly set your holy house ablaze,
defiled the dwelling of your name so glorious.
They boasted that their might would be victorious
and burned each place where you received our praise.
We see no signs; we have no prophets left
not even one by whom your word is spoken.
Is then the bond with you forever broken?
How long shall we of comfort be bereft?
How long shall we of comfort be bereft?

How long, O God, will enemies yet scoff?
Will the reviling of your name cease never?
Will you hold back your strong right hand forever?
Withdraw it from your bosom. Cut them off!
Yet you, O God, my King from days of old,
throughout the earth worked wonders of salvation.
The sea you split wide open for your nation
and broke the heads of dragons fierce and bold.
The heads of proud Leviathan you crushed,
its flesh as food on desert beasts bestowing.
You, LORD, broke open fountains ever-flowing
and dried up streams where mighty waters rushed
and dried up streams where mighty waters rushed.

Yours is the day, yours also is the night;
sun, moon, and stars have you set in the heavens.
To all the earth you boundaries have given;
the seasons you established by your might.
Remember, LORD, the scoffing of your foes;
hear how your name is taunted by the wicked!
Yield not your dove to beast of field and thicket;
do not forget your children in their woes.
Look to the covenant! Hold it in regard,
for terror reigns in all the land’s dark places.
Let the downtrodden not endure disgraces,
and may the needy praise your name, O LORD.

Rise up, O God, rise and defend your cause.
Ignore the taunting of your foes no longer;
do not forget their shouts of raging anger,
the uproar which continues without pause
the uproar which continues without pause.

We, O God, will sing your praise and our thankfulness proclaim.
Near us is your holy name; just and glorious are your ways.
People praise you everywhere and your wondrous works declare.

“When the proper time draws near, I my judgment will reveal.
Then the earth may shake and reel and all people quake with fear,
but its pillars I uphold, I who fashioned it of old.

“To those filled with pride I say,‘Let me no more hear your boast.’
I tell them and all their host to forsake their wicked way:
‘Do not proudly lift your horn; neither speak with haughty scorn.’”

Helpers will not from the east and not from the west appear
to exalt and to revere him whom God makes last and least.
He, the Judge of great renown, will lift up and will bring down.

From the chalice in his hand God himself pours out his wrath
heady wine that foams with froth. All the wicked in the land
this most bitter cup of pain to the very dregs must drain.

As for me, my praise I shout; I give thanks to Jacob’s God.
Him I will forever laud; I will let my joy ring out.
All the wicked I will scorn, but God will exalt our horn.

God has in Judah spread his fame; great is in Israel his name.
In Salem stands his tent of praise; in Zion is his dwelling place.
There shield and sword no longer rattle: he broke the weapons used in battle.
O God, more glorious is your might than awe-inspiring mountain heights.
Men bold and warlike, stripped of spoil, sank into sleep and ceased their toil.
None of the valiant and stouthearted could lift a hand; their plans were thwarted.

O Jacob’s God, at your rebuke / our enemies were terror-struck;
stunned lay both horse and charioteer. / You, you alone, evoke such fear.
Who does not stand in trepidation / before your wrath and indignation?

In fearful silence, all the earth heard how your verdict thundered forth
when you, O God, in judgment rose to save the humble from their foes.
All merely human wrath and fury will but increase your praise and glory.
Come, honour and revere the LORD; make vows to God and keep your word.
Let all the nations tribute bring and fear him as almighty King,
for he cuts off the breath of princes and sweeps away their proud pretenses.

O Jacob’s God, at your rebuke / our enemies were terror-struck;
stunned lay both horse and charioteer / You, you alone, evoke such fear.
Who does not stand in trepidation / before your wrath and indignation?

I cry out, that God may hear me and with help be ever near me.
To the Lord I cry aloud, by a weight of troubles bowed.
I stretch out my hand to reach him; day and night my prayers beseech him.
To my God my grief I told; I refuse to be consoled.

I remember God with weeping. He has kept my eyes from sleeping,
and my spirit is so weak that I’m too distraught to speak.
Through the night my thoughts in sadness turn to former days of gladness,
to my songs of years gone by, and I in my sorrow sigh:

“Will the Lord spurn us forever and withhold from us his favour?
Will his love and mercy fail? Will his promise not prevail?
Will he not forgive transgression but, forgetting his compassion,
let his burning wrath replace His unfailing love and grace?”

Then I said, “This is what hurts me: that the Most High God deserts me,
that I am from him estranged now that his right hand has changed.”
Yet I will recall and ponder all his awesome works of wonder,
meditating with delight on his deeds so great in might.

All your ways, O strong Defender, are most holy, great in splendour.
What god is there anywhere who can with our God compare?
You worked wonders of salvation, showed your power among the nations.
Your strong arm redeemed and freed Jacob’s sons and Joseph’s seed.

Mighty waters writhed and trembled, for they saw you and were humbled;
fear convulsed the hidden deep, made the roaring billows leap.
Clouds poured rain, with thunder crashing, and your arrows kept on fl ashing.
With the lightning bolts you hurled, you lit up and shook the world.

Through the sea, where waves were tossing, you laid bare a path for crossing.
Mighty waters fled in awe, yet your footprints no man saw.
Your own people you there guided, shepherds for your flock provided.
Moses, Aaron, by their hand led them to the promised land.

Give ear, O my people to my teaching
Incline your ear to the words of my mouth
I will open my mouth in a parable
I will utter dark sayings from of old

Things that we have heard and known
That our fathers have told us
We will not hide them from their children
But tell to the coming generation
The glorious deeds of the Lord and His might
And the wonders He has done

He established a testimony in Jacob
And appointed a law in Israel
Which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children
That the next generation might know them

The children yet unborn, and arise
And tell them to their children yet unborn
And arise and tell them to their children yet unborn
And arise and tell them to their children
So that they should set their hope in God
And not forget the works of God
But keep His commandments

Things that we have heard and known
That our fathers have told us
We will not hide them from their children
But tell to the coming generation
The glorious deeds of the Lord and His might
And the wonders He has done

The Ephraimites with bows for war assembled,
yet they in battle all turned back and trembled.
They did not keep God’s covenant but denied him,
despised his law and shamelessly defied him,
forgot what he had done for them alone,
the miracles that he to them had shown.

God worked great marvels, and their fathers saw them;
in Egypt’s land, in Zoän, wonders awed them.
There he the waves for Israel divided
and through the sea his chosen people guided.
He made the water stand up like a heap;
his mighty hand restrained the roaring deep.

By day he gave a cloud to lead and guide them;
with fiery light did he all night provide them.
Drink as abundant as the seas he gave them;
he split the rocks, and springs welled up to save them.
From barren crags he made fresh fountains burst,
and rivers fl owed to quench his people’s thirst.

God in the desert gave them his protection,
yet they rebelled; his mercy met rejection.
In sin and disobedience they persisted,
and God Most High they boldly tried and tested.
In stubborn pride, defiantly they raved,
demanding from his hand the food they craved.

They slighted God and said,“Will he be able
to spread us in the wilderness a table?
He struck the rock, we saw the fountains gushing
and streams of water through the desert rushing,
but can he also give his people bread
and bring us meat so that we will be fed?”

Therefore the LORD, who heard their provocation,
was full of wrath against his chosen nation.
His fiery rage against all Israel mounted;
his anger rose, for never they recounted
what he had done to help them in their plight;
they did not trust his saving power and might.

Yet to the skies God’s orders then were given;
he opened wide the very doors of heaven.
God showed his mercy, Israel sustaining
with plenteous manna down upon them raining.
The food of angels gave he them for bread,
and with the grain of heaven they were fed.

The east wind he called up from heaven’s borders,
led forth the south wind to obey his orders,
and on their wings they brought what God had given,
for quails, like dust that by a storm is driven,
rained down upon them from the darkened sky;
then they had meat in plentiful supply.

They ate and were well filled with what they wanted;
what they had craved, that he had freely granted.
They gorged themselves, and while they celebrated,
with food still in their mouth and greed unsated,
God’s anger rose against them, and they died;
he slew their strongest men, their flower and pride.

But still they sinned and did not cease to grieve him;
despite his wonders they would not believe him.
Their days he ended, and like fog they vanished;
with sudden death and terror they were punished.
But when he slew them, they would once again
return to him, repenting of their sin.

Then they remembered God, their Rock and Saviour,
the Most High God who with redeeming favour
had brought them from the land that had enslaved them.
They flattered him, yet thought that he would save them.
Though with their lips they might fine words express,
they scorned his covenant in their faithlessness.

Yet he in pity and in lovingkindness
forgave them their iniquity and blindness,
did not destroy them when his wrath was burning,
but he restrained the anger they kept earning,
remembering that they were but mortal men,
a passing breeze that will not come again.

How often they would all rebel and leave him!
How often they would in the desert grieve him!
They kept on testing him, his love denying,
the Holy One of Israel defying,
and they forgot the glorious day when he
redeemed his people from their enemy.

Through wondrous deeds he Israel delivered;
he turned to blood all Egypt’s mighty rivers.
By swarms of fl ies its people were tormented,
and with a plague of frogs they were confronted.
Their crops he to the hungry locust gave;
their fields were left with nothing they could save.

With hail and sleet their vines and trees he shattered;
their cattle he with bolts of lightning scattered.
He loosed on them his wrath and indignation,
brought them distress and widespread devastation.
Destroying angels he among them sent,
who brought great ruin everywhere they went.

Free rein he gave to his consuming anger;
from death he did not spare them any longer
but gave them up to plague and devastation.
He in the tents of Ham brought desolation;
their firstborn he struck down, and they all died—
their eldest sons, all Egypt’s joy and pride.

Then like a shepherd he his people guided,
and in the desert they in him confided.
He led his flock, and without fear they followed,
for all their foes the raging sea had swallowed.
Thus to his holy land he brought his own,
to hills and dales which his right hand had won.

Before them he drove out the heathen nations,
apportioned to the tribes their habitations,
and in their tents they safely found a dwelling.
Yet they, against the Most High God rebelling,
cast off his laws and him no longer served,
and, like their fathers, from his ways they swerved.

They like a faulty bow, all warped and twisting,
|provoked God’s anger when, in sin persisting,
they with their heathen worship made him jealous;
in serving worthless idols they were zealous.
Great was God’s wrath when he saw them rebel.
He utterly rejected Israel.

From Shiloh’s tent, his dwelling, he departed,
forsook those who were faithless and false-hearted.
He to the clutches of the foe surrendered
his holy ark, the symbol of his splendour.
In anger that his word had been ignored,
he gave his people over to the sword.

Their young men were consumed as flames drew near them;
their maidens had no wedding songs to cheer them.
Their priests fell by the sword of heathen nations;
their widows could not voice their lamentations.
The land was ravaged by the godless foe,
and all endured great misery and woe.

He then turned back to those he had forsaken;
as from deep slumber did the Lord awaken,
just like a warrior who with wine is heated.
He struck his foes until they all retreated,
and as they fled, he at their backs took aim;
he put them all to everlasting shame.

The tents of Joseph’s offspring he rejected,
nor was his house in Ephraim erected.
But he chose Judah’s tribe in his good pleasure—
Mount Zion, which he loved, his pride and treasure.
He built his temple like the heavenly heights,
firm like the earth, enduring by his might.

He chose his servant David, and he crowned him;
he took him from the sheepfolds where he found him.
From tending ewes and newborn lambs he brought him;
to make him Jacob’s shepherd, God had sought him.
And David led his flock with skillful hand;
with upright heart he governed all the land.

Your land, O God, the nations have invaded;
by heathen hordes your heritage was raided.
Look how they have, without restraint or pity,
defiled your temple and destroyed your city.
To carrion bird and beast they’ve offered
as a feast the saints they led to slaughter;
around Jerusalem, with none to bury them,
their blood was poured like water.

We are a taunt to those around us dwelling.
When will you come, the enemy expelling?
O hear us, LORD! Will you extinguish never
your jealous anger? Will it burn forever?
Your wrath, O LORD, pour out on all who your name flout.
Consume the godless nations,
for greedily have they seized Jacob as their prey
and razed his habitation.

Do not recall the misdeeds of our fathers,
nor hold their guilt against us, LORD, but rather
show your compassion to your humbled nation
and come with haste, O God of our salvation!
O LORD, increase your fame, the glory of your name;
free us from all oppression.
Have mercy on your own; for your name’s sake alone
forgive us our transgression.

Why should the heathen, Israel deriding,
ask in contempt, “Where may their God be hiding?”
Arise, O Lord! Strike in retaliation;
the blood of saints avenge before the nations!
And may you from your throne hear how the prisoners groan.
Your greatness manifesting,
preserve us as of old. Repay them sevenfold
who taunt you with their jesting.

We shall forever joyful praises render
to you, O LORD, our Shepherd and Defender.
We as your flock, your chosen congregation,
shall give you thanks through every generation.
To You, O Three In One, the Father, Spirit, Son,
To you be all the glory
Both now and evermore, may all the world adore,
And pleasure in Your story.

Hear, O hear us, Israel’s Shepherd, who drives forth Joseph like a flock!
From the cherubim, O shine forth!
Rise in valor that we be saved!
So arise in sight of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and Benjamin!
God we pray, O turn us! Bring us back!
Make Your face shine, and we are saved!

O how long, Lord God of Armies, burns Your wrath at your people’s prayer!
With the bread of tears You feed them,
and full measure of tears they drink!
Strife You make us to our neighbors, and our foes laugh at us in scorn!
God of Armies, turn us! Bring us back!
Make Your face shine and we are saved!

You brought forth a vine from Egypt, and to plant it drove nations out.
You made room to root it deeply, and it flourished and filled the land.
Then its shadow wrapped the mountains, and its boughs hid the cedars tall!
To the sea it thrust great branches forth, and young shoots to the mighty stream.

Why have You torn down its fences? It is plucked by each passing hand!
Forest boars have gnawed upon it, and wild creatures have pastured there.
Turn again, O God of Armies! Look from heav’n!
Visit this Your vine!
So uphold what Your right hand did plant, and the son
You raised up in strength!

It is burned and hewn in pieces—by Your frown will they be destroyed.
Lay Your hand on him you favored, son of man that You raised in strength!
Then from You we will not wander; make us live!
We will call Your name!
O Lord God of Armies, turn us back!
Make Your face shine and we are saved!

Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
Raise a song, sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon,
On our feast day, on our feast day.

For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob.
He made it a decree in Joseph when He went out over Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known;
I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
Your hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
Raise a song, sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon,
On our feast day, on our feast day.

Hear, O My people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to Me!
There shall be no strange god among you;
You shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
Raise a song, sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon,
On our feast day, on our feast day.

But My people did not listen to My voice,
Israel would not submit to Me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
To follow their own counsels.
O, that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
I would soon subdue their enemies
And turn My hand against their foes.
Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward Him,
And their fate would last forever.
But He would feed you with the finest of the wheat
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
Raise a song, sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon,
On our feast day, on our feast day. On our feast day.

God has taken His place in the divine council;
In the midst of the gods He holds judgment:
How long (will you judge unjustly?)
How long (will you show partiality?)
How long will you show partiality to the wicked?

Give justice (to the weak and fatherless)
Give justice (maintain the right of the afflicted)
Give justice (maintain the right of the destitute)
Give justice (rescue the weak)
Give justice, rescue the needy,
And deliver them from the hand of the wicked
From the hand of the wicked

They have neither knowledge nor understanding
They walk about in darkness
All the foundations of the earth are shaken

I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
Nevertheless, you shall die like men,
And fall like any prince.

Arise, O God, judge the earth
For You shall inherit all the nations
Arise, O God, judge the earth
For You shall inherit all the nations
Inherit all the nations

Do not be silent, God, or unresponding!
Do not remain at rest, O mighty One!
For now Your foes arouse and make a clamor;
Your bitter enemies lift up the head.
Against Your people now they plot in secret;
They seek to work against Your hidden ones.
They say “Let us go up and end their nation.
The name of Israel shall be no more!”

Together they conspire in deadly earnest;
Against You they have made a covenant.
The Ishmaelites are there, the tents of Edom,
the men of Moab with the Hagarenes.
See Gebal, Amalek, with men of Ammon;
Behold Philistia, and them of Tyre.
For Asshur too has come and joins their forces;
They are the power of the sons of Lot.

Treat them like Midian, like Jabin’s army.
Treat them like Sisera at Kishon’s brook.
At Endor they were all annihilated,
and they became as dung upon the ground.
Like Oreb make their chiefs, their lords like Zebah!
Who thought they would possess the land of God.
My God, O make them be like whirling dust clouds;
Make them like bits of chaff before the wind.

Like fire that burns the woods, like flames of lightning,
Pursue them with Your storms and strike with fear.
Fill up their faces with humiliation,
And let them seek Your name, Jehovah, then.
Let them be terrified and shamed forever,
And let them be dismayed and be destroyed.
Let them know You alone, You are Jehovah;
You are the One Most High o’er all the earth.
Let them be terrified and shamed forever,
And let them be dismayed and be destroyed.
Let them know You alone, You are Jehovah;
You are the One Most High o’er all the earth.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
They sing for joy… to the living God.

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.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!
My King and my God… ever singing your praise!

Blessed are those whose strength is in you
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the Valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs;
The early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
From strength to strength… every one of them!

Blessed are those whose strength is in you
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.

O Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
Look on the face of your anointed! Look on Jesus!

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 dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives favour and honor.
No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of Hosts… blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Blessed are those whose strength is in you
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.

Lord, you were favourable to your land;
You restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin
You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
And toward us put away your indignation!
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
For he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
But let them not turn back to folly
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
That glory may dwell in our land, that glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.
Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.

Turn to me, O LORD, and heed me; see how poor I am, how needy.
I who serve you constantly trust in you to rescue me.
Guard my life, show me your favour, for you are my God and Saviour.
Lord, your servant’s joy renew, for I lift my soul to you.

You forgive us our transgressions in your mercy and compassion;
you abound in love and grace. In my woes I seek your face.
You, O LORD, will hear my pleading. There’s no powèr yours exceeding.
You, O God, how great you are, great your deeds beyond compare!

All the nations will adore you; they will come and bow before you,
bringing glory to your name, for none equals you in fame.
Lord supreme in might and splendour, glorious are your works of wonder;
glorious is your heavenly throne. You are God—yes, you alone.

Teach me, in your ways direct me; in your truth, O LORD, instruct me.
Let it be my heart’s one aim to revere your holy name.
Thankful for your grace and favour, I will praise your name forever.
In your love you came to save me, your servant, from the grave.

See the proud pursue and hound me; those who seek my life surround me.
They for you have no regard. But in you I trust, O Lord.
You are rich in love and favour, slow to anger, patient ever;
boundless is your faithfulness. Pity me in my distress.

Strengthen me in my affliction; grant your servant your protection.
You whom I rely upon, rescue me, your handmaid’s son.
Give me proof of your great favour; show my foes you are my Saviour.
Shame them all and let them see how you help and comfort me.

On the holy mount stands the city He founded
The Lord loves the gates of Zion
More than all the dwelling places of Jacob

Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God!
Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God!

Among those who know Me
I mention Rahab, and Babylon,
Behold, Philistia and Tyre, Philistia and Tyre with Cush…

This one was born there
This one was born there, they say
This one was born there
This one was born there, they say

And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her.”
For the Most High Himself will establish her.
The Lord records as He registers the peoples,

This one was born there
This one was born there, they say
This one was born there
This one was born there, they say

Singers and dancers alike all say
“All my springs are in You.”
Singers and dancers alike all say
“All my springs are in You.”

On the holy mount stands the city He founded.
This one was born there
This one was born there
This one was born there, they say

Oh Lord God who saves, I have cried out night and day.
Let my prayer come to You, hear my cry.
For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave,
I am counted as a man fi t to die.
Like the weak, like the slain,
left to drift among the tombstones of the ones that You remember no more;
You have laid me in the pit, in the darkness,
in the depths, with Your heavy hand of wrath keeping score.

Oh Lord God who saves, I have cried out night and day.
Let my prayer come to You, hear my cry.
You have taken my friends and have put them far away,
and have made of me a sign to despise.
Now my eye wastes away because of my affliction;
I’m shut up and I cannot get out.
I have stretched out my hands, I have called You every day.
Will the dead rise to praise You? Will You heal when I’m no longer alive?

Will Your mercy be told in the grave where I go?
Will Your faithfulness shine in the city of destruction?
Shall Your wonders be known where they cannot be shown?
Can Your righteousness reach to the land where men forget You?

Oh Lord God who saves, in the morning I have prayed.
Why do You keep Your face turned away?
From the time that I was young, I’ve been affl icted and afraid,
and Your wrath overwhelms me like a wave.
For Your terrors cut me off, they’ve surrounded me like water,
rising up, going over my head.
All my loved ones and friends You have taken far away
and even those I barely know have disappeared into the darkness.

Will Your mercy be told in the grave where I go?
Will Your faithfulness shine in the city of destruction?
Shall Your wonders be known where they cannot be shown?
Can Your righteousness reach to the land where men forget You?
Will Your mercy be told in the grave where I go?
Will Your faithfulness shine in the city of destruction?
Shall Your wonders be known where they cannot be shown?
Can Your righteousness reach to the land where men forget You?

Oh Lord God who saves, I have cried out night and day.
Oh Lord God who saves, I have cried out night and day.