My Shepherd Will Supply My Need (Resignation)

Question: Gloria asks, “Do you have a story for Resignation also known as “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need”? We are using it throughout Lent. Thanks.”

Answer: There is not much information available on the hymn itself. I’ll give you what I know, and also tell you a bit about the author. “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” is a paraphrase of Psalm 23. It was written by Isaac Watts and first published in 1719, when he was 45 years old. “Resignation” is not the name of the hymn, but a name given to the tune frequently used with the song. It is a traditional American melody whose origins are obscure.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was both a pastor and a brilliant scholar, authoring some 60 books. He was also a hymn writer who has given us about 700 hymns. Considering that he died 260 years ago, it is a measure of the quality of his work that many of his hymns (around 25) are still in common use. Watts is called “the Father of English Hymnody,” because it was by his efforts that the church of his time broke away from singing only the words of Scripture (chiefly psalms). It was believed that to sing anything else in the house of God was a heresy tantamount to adding to the Word of God! But young Isaac argued with his father (a deacon in the church) that to focus on the Psalms meant they were missing important New Testament truths, particularly about the saving work of Christ.

Deacon Watts said sternly, “That old hymnal was good enough for your grandfather, and your father, so I reckon it will have to be good enough for you!” But the son was not to be so easily discouraged. He responded, “Father, I have [a hymn] which is better. Will you listen to it?” And his father was willing to hear what his son had composed. The words were indeed prophetic. The hymn begins, “Behold, the glories of the Lamb, / Amidst His Father’s throne; / Prepare new honours for His name, / And songs before unknown.” History records that Deacon Watts rose from his seat, put his arm around Isaac, and apologized for his hasty words. The congregation sang the hymn the next morning. It was such a blessing the people asked for more. The year was 1692–when Isaac Watts was only 18. But he began turning out one new hymn a week for them, a practice he kept up for years.

A compilation of these (including the hymn you ask about) was published in 1719 with the descriptive title, The Psalms of David, Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and Applied to the Christian State and Worship. (They went in for long titles back then!) But the title is helpful, because it clearly explains the purpose behind Watts’s work. He had published Hymns and Spiritual Songs a few years earlier (in 1707, and a re-edited version in 1709). I mention that work because it contained the author’s masterpiece, still considered among the greatest two or three hymns in the English language–“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”

Watts lived to the age of 75, which was exceptional in that day. But in 1712 he had to retire from pastoral ministry, due to failing health. He went to live with the family of Sir Thomas Abney, and became a tutor to his children. Perhaps the hymn in question was written during his time of infirmity and suffering, which would give it particular poignancy. We know the author laboured from 1700 to 1719 on the book which first contained the hymn in question. When the volume was completed he wrote, “May that God, who has favoured me with life and capacity to finish this work for the service of His churches, after so many years of tiresome sickness and confinement, accept this humble offering from a thankful heart.”