The God of love, my Shepherd is

1
The God of love, my Shepherd is,
Grace He doth give, me He doth feed;
O He is mine and I am His,
What else I lack? What else I need?
2
He lays me down in pastures green,
And leads me to waters of rest;
No greater satisfaction seen,
Here I enjoy fellowship blest.
3
He brings me home, though oft I stray,
Restores my soul, His will to take;
I yet may fall, He guides the way,
On righteous path, for His name’s sake.
4
How marvelous, how could it be
To walk without evil to fear;
Your rod and staff, they comfort me:
My boast is in Your presence dear.
5
You’ve spread for me a table feast
To confound my adversaries;
My cup runs o’er; oil has not ceased;
My head anoint; O Lord, increase.
6
Your wondrous love, eternal, sweet,
With me abides till all my days,
And in Your house, with joy replete,
I’ll ever dwell, with endless praise.
2
Yuri Reyes

Oregon, United States

Micah 7:8

Do not rejoice against me, O my enemy;

When I fall, I will rise up;

When I sit in the darkness,

Jehovah will be a light to me.


Jason

I think this hymn was a Chinese rendition of Hymn No. 528 'The King of love my Shepherd is' by H.W. Baker. The poetics in either version are non-translatable, although both are versions of Psalm 23. But I must say, the English version by H.W. Baker covers Psalm 23 more completely. For example, a very important mentioning of God's house in the last stanza was included in Baker's rendition, as well as in the original Psalm, yet neglected in the Chinese rendition. Many older Chinese saints like this hymn because of its Chinese-ish melody, but do you know the Chinese version is singable with the English melody by John B. Dykes as well?

In the Lord's recovery those who serve the Lord must love the Lord and consecrate themselves to the Lord. There is a very good hymn, saying, "The God of love, my Shepherd is" (#444, Chinese Hymns). The last stanza says, "Truly Thy sweet and wondrous love/ Measures my life, and all its days," This word is very good and sweet, but if we sing this hymn without a proper understanding, we may become selfish and pay attention only to the Lord's love for us. The line "Measures my life, and all its days" is very good; I believe that it was written by Brother Nee based on Psalm 23. However, we also need to consider that after all our days, there is still a coming age and eternity. How are we going to render an account to the Lord when He comes? In the days of our life, have we not received His commission? Do we not bear some responsibility? Are there things that we ought to be doing and for which we will render an account to Him? Matthew 25 says that a master was about to go abroad and delivered his possessions to his slaves. One day, however, he came back to settle accounts with his slaves (vv. 14-15, 19). Today we are enjoying the Lord's grace and love, but one day we will need to render an account to Him.