Psalm 23 - The Lord is my Shepherd

I was recently discussing musical settings of Psalm 23 (The Lord is my Shepherd) with my eldest daughter. She went to a Church of England primary school, and therefore learnt a version of the song at school. But we use a different version at church, so we started trying to remember all the versions we had heard. There are so many, we eventually resorted to YouTube to remind us of the different tunes. There are even more versions there, so here’s my pick of the best and most interesting:

Anyone who was at school in the 1970s, even if they didn’t attend a church school, probably learnt the “Crimond” version:


My own favourite is the version by Howard Goodall. Those who know the BBC series The Vicar of Dibley will know the first and last verses, but may not know the middle bit. Here the Choir Boys sing it:


Here’s a Greek Orthodox version ... in greek:



The version we use at church is composed by Stuart Townend. I couldn't find it sung on YouTube, but here's the tune:


[Update - I did find a version with the words:]


Even a hip hop version (well, kind of):



One by John Rutter




Here’s an odd version composed by Joel Navarro, and performed by Sole Voce of Los Angeles



...and a version composed by an Australian opera singer Jason Barry-Smith and performed by an Australian youth choir:



Here’s Bob Chilcott's setting:



... and Keith Green's song:



Psalm 23 must be the best known psalm in entire psalter, and is probably one of the best know passages of the entire bible. Here are the words from the King James Authorized translation:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou
art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table
before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my
cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of
my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

[Update: thank you to my contributor for pointing out the version known as Brother James' Air, which is in fact, the one we use at church. I didn't know it was called that, which is why I missed it. Here's a youtube example

Christian Aid 2008

Next week is Christian Aid Week – the week when Christians from all the churches in the country will be knocking on doors and asking people to donate to this very worthy charity. I was recently speaking to some people from my church who have been collecting for this cause for many years. I was surprised to find that few of them enjoy the job of walking round the parish, knocking on doors and begging for donations to help the poorest people in the world. Most of them, it seems, do the job because it’s a job worth doing, and not because they enjoy it. One person commented that door-to-door collecting is a very old fashioned way of raising money. Christian Aid is one of very few charities who still fund themselves in this way.

So this year they've decided to use some new technology to support this very worthy cause. If you would like to make a donation to Christian Aid without someone having to come out to knock on your door and ask you to fill an envelope with cash, then use our fund raising page to make a donation with your credit- or debit card. It’s a simple transaction – just click the “Donate” button on the widget above to visit the virtual door-to-door collection page. They don't guarantee that you won’t also get a call from a collector; but if you tell them you’ve already donated on-line I'm sure they’ll be delighted to leave without the traditional envelope full of cash.

Dem Bones

When I got up at 04:00 on Easter Sunday, I did not do so for fame. I simply wanted to be present at the first Eucharist of Easter at my church. A few hardy souls had spent the night in vigil at the church, not sleeping till Easter dawned. But I was driving to Wales on Sunday, so I needed my sleep. I did not voluteer to read the old testament reading because I wanted to be broadcast on the internet - I simply wanted to participate in the service, and Father John asked me if I'd like to read. I was unaware until today that Dr Durrant had brought his video camera along to the service. And so it was that this morning I discovered that my voice, and a dark image of my face, are on YouTube, reading the valley of the bones passage from Ezekiel. It's a bit dark, but this was dawn - about 05:30 on 2008-03-23 (and the temparature was about -3 C). The sound isn't brilliant, but I didn't read it very well, so that's perhaps just as well.

Passion Plays

This Holy Week I've been watching a couple of interesting new dramatisations of the passion story. First the BBC's excellent The Passion, serialised over the week, and last night I saw Redemption Song by the Riding Lights Theatre Company. Both pieces have given me plenty of new angles on this familiar story.
The Passion depicting not only the familiar characters, but attempting to capture the background of the politics of the time. It brings new light to the characters of Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas, also giving some interesting insights into Jesus Barabas and even to Judas Iscariot.
Redemption Song emphasised the Roman occupation of Judea, and used this as a metaphor for the occupation of our souls by sin. It also placed great emphasis on "the tradition" (i.e. Judaism), throwing the Roman occupation into even starker contrast - two peoples living different lives in the same city. Anyone in York or Southampton this week should make an effort to see this play. I left the theatre feeling I needed to go on a retreat to think through all the new ideas.

Christmas Rituals

If you still believe in Father Christmas and you don't want to know the score; look away now.

I returned from midnight mass on Christmas morning at 01:00, and was faced with what has now become an anual ritual - the impersonation of Father Christmas. We follow the tradition of leaving out a drink and a snack for the big man and his reindeer, and it is my duty on returning from church to consume the said items before proceeding to the filling of the stockings. The particular delicacies that Father Christmas enjoys at our house are a glass of port and a mince pie. In the morning the believers in the household (there are 2 true believers and one who knows the truth but perfers the fantasy) will have a little more evidence to support their belief in the magical man who brings them presents each year.

This year it occured to me that I take part in two rituals in the small hours of Christmas day - each involving the consumption of a round piece of food and a drink made from grape juice. First of all I take communion - a circular wafer of what passes for "bread" in the Church of England and a sip of what passes for "wine". I then come home and consume a mince pie and a glass of port. Each of these actions is a ritual which has no real purpose apart from it's meaning. And though the rituals may look very similar, the meanings are quite different.

Communion is the taking of the body and blood of Jesus Christ himself into my own body, so that the one God who created the universe, the world and all that exists is not just a spiritual idea or thought, but is actually, physically experienced.

The second ritual is a game we play for the children. It entertains them and we are delighted by their delight. Some cynics often call it a lie or a deception, but I think that it is no more than a game. They will know the truth about Father Christmas one day, and I doubt they will be sorry that we played this game with them.