Hymn to the Good Shepherd
I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost; Lord, seek thy servant.
Psa. cxix. 176.
Wilt Thou not, my Shepherd true,
Spare thy sheep, in mercy spare me?
Wilt Thou not, as shepherds do,
In thine arms rejoicing bear me;
Bear me where all troubles cease,
Home to folds of joy and peace?
See how I have gone astray,
How earth’s labyrinths oft mislead me;
Bring me back into the way,
In thine own green pastures feed me:
Gather me within the fold,
Where thy lambs thy light behold.
With thy flock I long to be,
With the flock to whom ’tis given
Safe to feed, and, praising Thee,
Roam the happy plains of heaven:
Free from fear of sinful stain,
They can never stray again.
Lord! I here am sore beset,
Fears at every step confound me;
Lo! my foes have spread their net,
And with craft and might surround me:
Such their snares on every side,
Safe thy sheep can ne’er abide.
Jesus, Lord! my Shepherd true,
Oh from wolves thy sheep deliver;
Help, as shepherds wont to do,
From their jaws preserve me ever:
Bid thy trembling wanderer come
To his everlasting home.