Psalm 23 Psalm 23 was not used for funerals until the 1928 revision of the prayer book. The theme of God as a shepherd was common in ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. For example, King Hammurabi, in the conclusion to his famous legal code, wrote: "I am the shepherd who brings well-being and abundant prosperity; my rule is just... so that the strong might not oppress the weak, and that even the orphan and the widow might be treated with justice." This imagery and language was well known to the community that created the Psalm, and was easily imported into its worship. Psalm
Hear my prayer, O Lord (Purcell) Hear my prayer, O Lord (Purcell) Hear my prayer, O Lord, Z. 15, is an eight-part choral anthem by the English composer Henry Purcell (1659–1695). The anthem is a setting of the first verse of Psalm 102 in the version of the Book of Common Prayer. Purcell composed it c. 1682 at the beginning of his tenure as Organist and Master of the Choristers for Westminster Abbey. The composition is thought to have been intended to be part of a longer work, indicated by several blank pages following it in the autograph, which is held by the Fitzwilliam Museum in