To thy pastures fair and large
To thy pastures fair and large. James Merrick* (1720-1769).
This is from Merrick’s The Psalms, translated or paraphrased in English Verse (Reading, 1765). It is based on his version of Psalm 23, which in the last two lines, has a distinct echo of ‘The Lord my pasture shall prepare’* by Joseph Addison*:
Lo, my Shepherd’s hand divine!Want shall never more be mine.In a pasture fair and largeHe shall feed his happy Charge,And my couch with tend’rest care’Midst the springing grass prepare.When I faint with summer’s heat,He shall lead my weary feetTo the streams that still and slowThrough the verdant meadow flow.
Divided into four-line stanzas, this was very popular, especially in the USA:...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "To thy pastures fair and large."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 29 May. 2025.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/t/to-thy-pastures-fair-and-large>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "To thy pastures fair and large."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed May 29, 2025,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/t/to-thy-pastures-fair-and-large.