Psalm 132

W. van der Kamp, 1972

1. Remember, LORD, how war and strife
   And hardships burdened David’s life;
   Recall his days with troubles rife;
   How to the LORD He swore aloud,
   To Jacob’s Mighty One he vowed.
   
2. “I will not enter my own house,
   Or get into my bed, or drowse,
   Or sleep till I have paid my vows,
   Till I find for the LORD a place,
   For Jacob’s God a dwelling-place.”
   
3. In Ephratah the news we heard,
   In Jaar’s fields our hearts were stirred:
   We found the ark and spread the word,
   “Let us go to His dwelling-place
   And worship there before His face!”
   
4. O LORD, go to Thy place of rest,
   Thou and the ark, with power blessed,
   And let Thy faithful priests be dressed
   In holiness, and so proclaim
   Thy righteousness and wondrous fame.
   
5. Let shouts of praise the heavens shake,
   Thy saints their joyful anthems make;
   And for Thy servant David’s sake,
   LORD, do not turn away Thy face
   From him, anointed by Thy grace.
   
6. The LORD has once to David sworn
   An oath He never will bemourn:
   “There will to you a child be born,
   A son shall from your body spring
   Whom on your throne I’ll set as king.
   
7. “Your sons, if they My covenant hold
   And hear when I My law unfold
   Which I revealed in days of old,
   They also shall forever own
   Your kingdom and your glorious throne.”
   
8. For Zion, by all men admired,
   The LORD has chosen and acquired
   And for His resting-place desired.
   “Jerusalem is founded well;
   For evermore I here will dwell.
   
9. “On her I will my blessings shed.
   Abundantly will she be fed;
   I’ll satisfy her poor with bread.
   Her priests I’ll with salvation dress;
   Her saints will shout in happiness.
   
10. “There I will cause, in David’s line,
    A horn to sprout, a lamp to shine
    For My anointed as a sign.
    His enemies I’ll clothe with shame,
    But deck his crown with lustrous fame.”