NeuroDivine

Psalm 23 has followed many of us through the twists and turns of life—a psalm whispered at bedsides, sung at funerals, and carried quietly in the heart on days when the road feels long. Its images of green pastures and still waters are timeless, yet they also invite us to recognise God’s presence in the very particular places we walk each day.

Living here in Monasterevin, I often find that sense of calm along the Barrow and the Canal: the steady flow of the river, the long straight towpaths, the bridges that hold their stories in stone. Even the daily realities—the traffic, the roundabouts, the familiar frustrations of modern life—can become places where grace meets us, if we let it.

This hymn grew out of that blend of ancient promise and everyday experience. It’s a contemporary re‑imagining of Psalm 23, shaped by Irish landscape and the rhythms of ordinary days. My hope is that it speaks to anyone who has ever found God’s companionship not only in quiet fields, but also in queues of cars, in the hum of the town, and in the steadying breath we take beside the water.

Suggested tunes: Crimond, Kilmarnock, Bangor,

The Lord is here beside me now,
in every step I take;
He leads me by the Barrow’s edge
as morning starts to break.

Along the quiet canal-side path
He steadies heart and mind;
in all the routes my day unfolds
His faithful care I find.

When traffic slows on crowded roads
and patience wears away,
Your calm returns like river-breath
to hold my thoughts in play.

Your presence in the hum of life
is shelter, sure and near;
You guide me through the rush and noise
and speak beneath the fear.

You set a table in my day
where peace and welcome meet;
Your blessing, like soft Irish rain,
falls warm on every street.

My cup is filled with simple grace,
with mercies new and deep;
and in Your love, both day and night,
my restless soul finds sleep.

So lead me through the roads I know,
the roundabouts and bends;
past riverbank and towpath lane,
stay with me, Lord and friend.

Till journey’s end, when evening comes
and all my striving cease,
I’ll rest within Your faithful care,
at home in perfect peace.

Text copyright (c) Michael McFarland Campbell 2026. All rights reserved.