The Ninety and Nine

“I am the Good Shepherd…”  (John 10:14)

It seems thee is no end to our thoughts about the Good Shepherd and His sheep.  The old song, “The Ninety and Nine” is appropriate here.

There were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the fold,

     But one was out on the hills away, far off from the gates of gold:

Away on the mountains wild and bare, away from the tender Shepherd’s care,

     Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.

“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine; Are they not enough for thee?”

     But the Shepherd made answer: “This of Mine has wandered away from me;

And although the road be  rough and steep, I go to the desert to find my sheep,

     I go to the desert to find my sheep.”

But all through the mountains, thunder riven, and up from the rocky steep,

     There arose a glad cry to the gate of heaven, “Rejoice! I have found my sheep!”

And the angels echoed around the throne, “Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!

     Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own.”

Public Domain
Words: Elizabeth C. Clephane, 1868

Music: Ira Sankey, 1874