Wedding reading

The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)

Scottish Psalter, 1650

“The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)” (Scottish Psalter, 1650) is a hymn read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 4 minutes read aloud, usually by everyone together. It is in the public domain, but we do not set the words here — the note below says what to bring instead, and why.

Why the words are not printed here

Public domain. Confirm the tune as well as the words — Crimond is the one most people know, and a different tune will silence a congregation that was ready to sing.

Where it comes from

The Lord’s My Shepherd is a metrical setting of Psalm 23 that first appeared in the Scots Metrical Psalter of 1650, and it is commonly sung to the tune Crimond, generally credited to Jessie Seymour Irvine. Sung to Crimond, it was part of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten in 1947 and of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.

What it says

Psalm 23 put into rhyming verse so a congregation can sing it: the shepherd who leads to green pastures and quiet waters, restores the soul, walks with the singer through death’s dark vale, sets a table in the presence of enemies, and brings them at last to live in God’s house for ever. It keeps the psalm’s journey from rest, through danger, to home, in words people can sing without a hymnbook after the first verse.

Psalm 23 to a tune. Confirm the tune, not just the hymn. Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: Psalm 23 sung · Crimond · Scottish · well known · a wedding or a funeral.

Who it suits

Funerals of almost any Protestant or Catholic family, especially Scottish, Presbyterian and Church of Scotland families. It also works at a wedding, as its royal history shows. It suits services where the family want Psalm 23 but would rather sing it than hear it read, and rooms where many people will know the tune.

Where it goes in the ceremony

At a funeral, often the first or last hymn, or sung at the graveside if there is a musician. At a wedding, as the opening hymn or during the signing. The congregation sings it.

Reading it aloud

Sung through by the room, allow about 4 minutes, depending on how many verses the venue’s book carries and how slowly the organist takes it.

Confirm the tune as well as the words. Crimond is the one most people know; a different tune can leave a ready congregation silent.
If Psalm 23 is also being read, choose one or the other, or place them far apart in the service.
The fourth verse, about the vale of death, is the emotional center at a funeral. Make sure it is among the verses chosen.
At a graveside with no instrument, the first verse can be spoken, or someone can start the singing unaccompanied.

Questions about reading it aloud

How long does “The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)” take to read aloud?

“The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)” takes about 4 minutes read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.

Who usually reads “The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)”?

Everyone together, rather than one reader. “The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)” runs about 4 minutes and needs the words in front of the room — in an order of service, on a screen, or led line by line by the officiant.

Can “The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)” be printed in a ceremony script?

Not by us. Public domain. Confirm the tune as well as the words — Crimond is the one most people know, and a different tune will silence a congregation that was ready to sing.

A reading is two minutes of the hour.

The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.

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