This favorite psalm, one of Isaac Watts' more literal psalm versions, set to music on the American frontier, remains a choice favorite as a hymn, and an example of careful attention to the congregation's musical requirements and limitations. This setting provides musical and poetic variety for this most popular psalm.
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My shepherd will supply my need,
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Isaac Watts provided versions of Psalm 231 for each of the three most common meters. All are in current hymnals, but this is the most widely used.
Watts explicitly declared2 that he did not intend to preserve the exact words of the original; he intended to create a version that could be honestly sung by eighteenth-century Englishmen. To that end, he freely selected, adapted, arranged, and elaborated the original psalms, wherever he thought necessary. Watts didn't need to make drastic adaptations to this psalm, and in several ways his version is actually more faithful to the original than is the Scottish Psalter. A comparision of the first verse of these two versions is instructive, especially in view of the very different intentions of the authors.
The Hebrew text contains the name of God, "Yahweh3" as preserved by Watts. The Scottish Psalter, following the Septuigint and many translations, replaces God's name with a generic title "The Lord".
Watts avoids the intransitive verb "want," which was already obsolete in the early eighteenth century, and will be misunderstood4 by nearly all English-speaking people today.
Watts emphasizes the spiritual application of the "water" by using the word "living" rather than "still": which carries a similar connotation ("fresh, flowing") but also reminds Christians of Jesus and the "living water". This is an addition to the Hebrew text, but obviously represents the thinking of the original author. Similarly, the last verse is recognized by most scholars to refer to life "unto God" after death. Watts makes that reference more explicit, and expands the thought.
When psalms were lined out5, it would be very important that the lines of the English poetry match the phrases of the Hebrew text. Although Watts deplored the practice,6 one of his expressed goals was to provide texts that could be effectively used with it. The Scottish Psalter, by that criterion, fails spectacularly on this stanza: two phrases cross line boundaries. Watts more accurately represents the Hebrew poetic form: all the Hebrew line endings are matched by corresponding pauses in the English poetry. And throughout the psalm, each new figure of speech in the original begins a new stanza7:
| Stanza | Theme |
|---|---|
| 1 | Shepherd/Guide |
| 2 | Shepherd/Rescuer |
| 3 | Shepherd/Defender |
| 4 | Host/Feast |
| 5,6 | Home with God |
This illustrates a universal principle: each translation may emphasize and clarify some aspects of the original, but inevitably overlooks or obfuscates other aspects. We are enlightened by multiple translations of any important text. This psalm is so popular and so often useful, that hymnals should contain several versions just for the sake of variety. And each version makes a unique contribution to our understanding.
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In late eighteenth-century America, the traditional way of singing the traditional hymn tunes had degraded from the practices of the Reformation period. A musical beat originally approximating an adult heartbeat had degenerated into a drawn-out note taking multiple breaths to expire. Any coherence the syllables might have had, were surely lost in the interminable drone.
A modern scholarly reaction might be to study and rereate the original lively practice.8 That approach was not practical on the frontier, and tunebook editors took a different approach: they wrote (or adapted) tunes in the current "folk" style, which encouraged people to sing naturally in a familiar idiom.
They also tried various schemes9 to make music easier to read. They revived the idea of four-part vocal harmony10 Their style was "uncultured" and the harmony "unscientific"11 (which made a musical counter-reaction12 inevitable). but at its best they provided music firmly rooted in the diatonic or pentatonic scale, easy for all parts to learn and sing, and possessing an abiding charm.13 But in the late nineteenth century, many of the "western" tunes fell out of use, displaced by the tent-meeting evangelist "gospel songs" or by more "cultured tunes."14 More recently, Roy Copland and other twentieth-century American composers have brought about a more favorable assessment of this style.
"Resignation" was first published anonymously15. By 1830 it was associated with this text, and has since been used for it in many hymnals, including the widely used Southern Harmony.16 Virgil Thomson used it in an anthem, triggering a return to wider use; it has even been featured in movie soundtracks.
This is deservedly one of the most popular17 settings of Psalm 23: perhaps ranking second after the Scottish Psalter version. It deserves consideration as an alternative for that version, which might otherwise be outworn because of the justifiable popularity of the psalm.
DRAFT COPY: CIRCULATED FOR REVIEW
Copyright © 2002,2003,2004, Stephen Hutcheson
Please circulate copies to elicit comments, but do not broadcast or publish.
Feedback would be received with gratitude.
| These studies are created by members of the West Allen Church of Christ in Allen, Texas |