Empowered by Grace

¹ In the city belonging to our God, the LORD is great and so worthy of praise! His holy mountain ² is a beautiful summit, the joy of the whole world. Mount Zion, in the far north, is the city of the great king. ³ God is in its fortifications, revealing himself as a place of safety. ⁴ Look: the kings assembled themselves, advancing all together ⁵ when they saw it, they were stunned; they panicked and ran away frightened. ⁶ Trembling took hold of them right there like a woman giving birth, ⁷ or like the east wind when it smashes the ships of Tarshish. ⁸ Just like we had heard, now we’ve seen it for ourselves in the city of the LORD of heavenly forces, in the city of our God. May God make it secure forever! Selah ⁹ We dwell on your faithful love, God, in your temple. ¹⁰ Your praise, God, just like your reputation, extends to the far corners of the earth. Your strong hand is filled with righteousness. ¹¹ Let Mount Zion be glad; let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your acts of justice! ¹² Walk around Zion; go all the way around it; count its towers. ¹³ Examine its defenses closely; tour its fortifications so that you may tell future generations: ¹⁴ “This is God, our God, forever and always! He is the one who will lead us even to the very end.”