The Shepherd (Blake) of The Shepherd as Christ is initially found in another Song, The Little Black Boy. Psalm 23 depicts God as a shepherd of mankind, and the capitalization of the word 'Shepherd' in the first and last lines furthers the idea that the Shepherd is a symbol of God. In the bible, a shepherd's presence is representative of guidance. In this poem, the Shepherd can be viewed as the spiritual guide or a savior of the herd, rejoicing in their numbers. Jesus is also referred to in the bible as the Lamb of God. Since the poem depicts The Shepherd as
The Lord is my Shepherd (Rutter) the beginning, sopranos and now also tenors sing in unison "But thy loving kindness". All four voices begin in unison "And I will dwell" but divide for the climax "in the house of the Lord", reaching "forte" this only time in the piece. The words are repeated a few times, diminishing and slowing down to a soft "for ever". "Psalmfest", including the version with soprano and tenor soloists, was recorded in 2014 by the St Albans Cathedral Choir, the Abbey Girls’ Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Lucas. The Lord is my Shepherd (Rutter) The Lord is