Time for another trek through Cyber Hymnal. I’ve begun to dig a little deeper, to go beyond the title and really analyze the song for what it’s worth. I particularly enjoy the songs and poems of Fanny Crosby, but lately I have been studying Isaac Watts’ spectacular hymnody. The old-fashioned flavor only makes the lines more pleasing --- at least in my opinion --- and I was pleased to find Watts’ “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” drawn from Psalm 123. I can imagine my Protestant ancestors taking great comfort in these words. As the hymn was written in 1719 and was already in existence when the majority of my ancestral families arrived in America, it is entirely possible that many of them did so.
My Shepherd Will Supply My Need
Isaac Watts
My shepherd will supply my need:
Jehovah is His name;
Jehovah is His name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy’s sake,
In paths of truth and grace.
When I walk through the shades of death
Thy presence is my stay;
One word of Thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,
Doth still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows,
Thine oil anoints my head.
The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at home.
(c) 2012 Joyously Saved
No comments:
Post a Comment