THE LORD’S MY LOVING SHEPHERD
The Lord’s my loving Shepherd:
No good thing does He spare,
And I am never lacking
When I am in His care.
For where the pleasant pastures grow,
Beside the peaceful river flow,
My loving Shepherd placed me,
And I’m contented there.
The Lord’s my guiding Shepherd:
He finds me when I stray.
So gently He restores me
Unto His living Way.
The path He beckons me to take
Is righteous, and for His Name’s sake,
He leads me and I follow,
And will this pathway stay.
The Lord’s my mighty Shepherd:
His shelter brings me cheer.
What harm could e’er befall me,
When He is always near?
Though I may through death’s valley go
My steps are sure, for this I know:
My Shepherd walks beside me—
No evil shall I fear.
The Lord’s my gracious Shepherd:
The bounty He bestows
Ensures that I am feasting
E’en when beset by foes.
With heav’nly love my head is crowned—
It is too much; yet this I’ve found:
He still pours out more blessings,
And my cup overflows.
The Lord’s my faithful Shepherd:
His love will never end.
The care that now I cherish
Will evermore extend.
His mercy and His grace will be
Pursuing always after me
And I’ll dwell with my Shepherd
Forever and Amen.
REFLECTION
There is no shortage of settings on the 23rd Psalm, but that simply speaks to the fact that the themes of this psalm must be sung. David has powerfully pictured God as the present Shepherd and the gracious Host, and these rich realities overflow from the soul requiring our song. A unique contribution of this setting is that I have sought to aid the singer’s comprehension of Psalm 23’s sub-themes and structure by introducing each stanza with a characteristic of the Lord to whom we are singing. It is the “mighty Shepherd” who protects us with his rod and staff, the “gracious Shepherd” who fills our cup to overflowing, and so on. Like the original psalm, this text is written in the first person. The tune NEW TWENTY-THIRD derives its character from the serenity of the psalm, unfolding at a calm tempo in gentle melodic phrases marked by the occasional leap of a sixth. The descending 8th notes at the end of line 3, while contributing to the overall peaceful quality of the music, also helpfully capture the scene of a flowing river in stanza 1 and the pursuing mercy and grace of God in stanza 5.
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