The King of Love My Shepherd Is

Lyrics

The King of love my shepherd is,
whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his
and he is mine for ever.

Where streams of living water flow
my ransomed soul he leadeth,
and where the verdant pastures grow
with food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
but yet in love he sought me,
and on his shoulder gently laid,
and home rejoicing brought me

In death's dark vale I fear no ill
with thee, dear Lord, beside me;
thy rod and staff my comfort still,
thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread'st a table in my sight;
thy unction grace bestoweth;
and O what transport of delight
from thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
thy goodness faileth never:
good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
within thy house for ever.

History

"The King of Love My Shepherd Is" is a paraphrase of Psalm 23 by the Revd Sir Henry Williams Baker. Baker was born in London on 27 May 1821, took holy orders in 1844 and from 1851 was vicar of Monkland, near Leominster in Herefordshire. He succeeded his father as third baronet in 1859. He is chiefly remembered as the promoter and editor of Hymns Ancient and Modern, first published in 1861, to which he contributed original hymns and translations of Latin hymns; an appendix followed in 1868 and a thorough revision in 1875.

The hymn was first published in 1868, in the appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern. It is a paraphrase rather than a literal rendering of the psalm: it follows the psalm's progression from the shepherd's care, through green pastures and living water and the valley of the shadow of death, to the house of the Lord, while adding New Testament imagery such as the Good Shepherd and the lost sheep. The metre is 8.7.8.7, although one source lists it differently, as C.M.

The words are sung to several tunes. DOMINUS REGIT ME was composed by John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876), a friend and contemporary of Baker, and is dated to 1868. It was sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. ST COLUMBA is a traditional Irish melody, first transcribed by George Petrie in the mid-nineteenth century; Ralph Vaughan Williams paired it with these words in The English Hymnal (1906). Two further tunes are REMSEN and a Praetorius melody used in the Lutheran tradition.

Baker died at Monkland vicarage on 12 February 1877, aged 55.

Performance

The page's video is the St Martin's Voices recording (titled "The King of Love My Shepherd Is - St. Martin's Voices, Worship video with lyrics", published 24 March 2023), which runs about 3 minutes. A second video of the hymn, titled "The King of Love My Shepherd Is | Hymn with Lyrics" (published 13 July 2022), runs about 3 minutes 8 seconds; its title names no performer.

Sources: hymnary.org · en.wikipedia.org · St Martin's Voices recording and Words book