Lord God of Hosts in Mercy

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.

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.

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 blessèd
Are they that trust in Thee.

Author: Unknown

This is a metrical paraphrase of Psalm 84. The specific wording and phrasing (including archaic terms like "Anointed by Thy grace" and the exact stanza structure) do not match any well-known versification by Watts, Wesley, Tate & Brady, or other major named hymn writers. It appears in various 19th/early-20th-century Psalters and hymnals without a credited author, suggesting it is either traditional, anonymous, or by a minor/local versifier.