Wedding reading
The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)
Scottish Psalter, 1650
“The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)” by 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 too long to print in a ceremony script, so this page points at a full text rather than reproducing one.
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.
Pieces still in copyright are listed by title and author only — we name them and tell you where to get them, but we do not reproduce the words. Public-domain text is printed in your script in full.
What it is about
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.
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 in full 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.
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.
Other readings that suit the same service
- The Old Rugged Cross4 minutesGeorge Bennard, 1913
- Love Divine, All Loves Excelling4 minutesCharles Wesley, 1747
- Amazing Grace4 minutesJohn Newton, 1779
- Abide With Me4 minutesHenry Francis Lyte, 1847
- How Great Thou Art5 minutesStuart K. Hine (English text, 1949)
- It Is Well With My Soul4 minutesHoratio Spafford, 1873