You, O Lord, have searched and known me

It is no surprise to find that one of the greatest of biblical poems, ‘the crown of all Psalms’, ‘the theological peak of the Psalter’ and perhaps one of the great religious lyrics of the world, has evoked some fine English versions. Among them must be counted John Denham’s LORD, thou my ways hast searcht and known (1668), Brian Foley’s There is no moment of my life (c1970), and Ian Pitt-Watson’s You are before me, LORD (c1972), while 829 uses the Psalm’s final two prayers and 957 reflects its opening lines. Most of the recent approaches, however, as well as some older ones, fight shy of tackling the whole Psalm, or fail to see the integrity of its thought through 24 vv. Martin Leckebusch’s My Lord, you have examined me (his first-ever text, 1987) goes some way towards this, as does June Chantry’s Gracious Lord, you’ve searched out my heart (c2004); but David Preston’s version is preferred here. Like ML’s, it sees the matter through without losing us by undue length; published in BP, it remains unchanged here. The children of Adam and Eve have persistently desired to escape from God, even into their own ‘heaven’ or ‘hades’; ultimately, to recognise him as the Lord is the beginning of the way back to our true security. One of the tunes originally recommended is the ever-popular BLAENWERN, also set to 714, Love divine; extrovert, according to Alan Luff, though not ‘vintage Welsh’. But while now popular worldwide, it originated in the 1904 Welsh revival. Composed by William P Rowlands, it was published in the 1915/16 Can a Moliant, and by the mid-century was becoming widely known beyond Wales. ‘Blaenwern’ is a small farm in the hills near Tufton in Dyfed (N Pembrokeshire), where the composer’s 12-year old son spent some time fighting tuberculosis. He recovered fully, and in appreciation of the care received the tune was dedicated to the farming household. The author suggests ARWELFA (488) as an alternative.

b London 1939. d 2020. Archbishop Tenison’s Grammar School, Kennington, London; Keble College Oxford (MA Mod Langs.) He worked as a French Teacher, including 11 years at Ahmadu Bello Univ, Nigeria, and gained a PhD on the French Christian poet Pierre Emmanuel (1916 84). A member of Carey Baptist Ch, Reading, for many years, he later moved to Alweston, nr Sherborne, Dorset. He compiled The Book of Praises (Carey Publications, Liverpool) in 1987, with versions of 71 Psalms; these include modified texts of Watts and a few other classic paraphrasers, but most are by contemporary writers including himself. 60 of his metrical Psalm versions are so far published, including one each in Sing Glory (2000), the Scottish Church Hymnary 4th Edn (2005) and Sing Praise (2010), and 3 in the 2004 edn of CH; also 10 tunes. His writing and composing has taken place in Leicester, Reading, Nigeria and his present home; he was a member of the editorial board throughout the preparation of Praise! and had a major share in the choice of music for the Psalm texts (1-150). His convictions about the Psalms, as expressed in the Introduction to BP, are that ‘There is nothing to compare with their blend of the subjective and the objective, the inner life and practical goodness, the knowledge of one’s own rebellious heart and the knowledge of God…Today’s general neglect of congregational Psalm singing is a symptom of the spiritual malaise of our churches. When the preaching of the Gospel has prospered, bringing into being churches vibrant with spiritual life, men and women have taken great delight in praising their Maker and Redeemer through these scriptural hymns’. 15 of his own, self-selected, feature as his share of ‘contemporary hymns’ in the 2009 Come Celebrate; he has also served as a meticulous proof-reader. Nos.1, 2A, 5*, 6, 7, 11, 15, 16, 17, 19A, 24A, 27A, 30B, 32*, 33*, 38, 40, 42, 43, 47, 51*, 52, 55, 57*, 64, 66, 74, 76, 77, 84, 90, 91A, 96*, 97, 99, 100B, 101, 114*, 120, 126, 132, 139, 142*, 143, 145A, 147*, 824*, 830*, 963*.