HYMN FOR EASTER 4 Savior, Like a Shepherd, lead us
- Gracia Grindal
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Text: Dorothy Thrupp (1779-1847) Tune: William Bradbury (1816-1868)
1. Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.
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2. We are Thine, do Thou befriend us,
Be the guardian of our way;
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us,
Seek us when we go astray:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray.
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3. Thou hast promised to receive us,
Poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us,
Grace to cleanse, and pow'r to free:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee.
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4. Early let us seek Thy favor,
Early let us do Thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Savior,
With Thy love our bosoms fill:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still.
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REFLECTION
Until about a century ago, and maybe not even that long ago, most people had a fairly good idea of what sheep and lambs were like in real life. Today most of us think of nursery rhymes and fairy tales where sheep and Bo Peep are cavorting, the lambs very cute. Jesus as shepherd is a sweet picture in those. But anyone who has spent much time with sheep knows they are rather stupid, difficult and completely at sea without the shepherd’s voice. Scripture uses the shepherd image often to speak of God and Jesus. There is of course Psalm 23, and then John 10. In John 10 Jesus takes the image of shepherd and talks about his role with the sheep—as a shepherd whose job it is to keep his flock of sheep together and safe, he will do what it takes, even lay down his life for the sheep. We see this especially in the parable of the shepherd who leaves the ninety and nine sheep to find the one lost sheep. To be cared for by such a shepherd gives one a feeling of security and peace.
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The earliest images of Jesus in the catacombs are of Jesus as a shepherd. The early Christians who hid there to escape the wolves of Caesar and the powers that stood against them knew that their shepherd would keep them, not just in their dire circumstances at the time, but even in death. The images in the catacombs of Jesus carrying the sheep to safety on his shoulders tells the story about as well as any.
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To think of oneself as a sheep makes the relationship clear. We are helpless and lost without our shepherd. We dare not go out on our own. One of the strangest commands of Jesus to his disciples is that they go out with the good news as sheep among wolves. As Paul tells us, God’s power is always in weakness. Jesus sends us out as the weakest among the fiercest. But we can go knowing that he is our shepherd and has stopped at nothing, not even a cruel death, to show us his eternal power. You can go toward the wolves, he says, because I am with you always. And Lord over death. He is risen!
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HYMN INFO
Dorothy Ann Thrupp, like many women writers of her era, frequently wrote under a pseudonym, Iota. Scholars think she wrote this. Bradbury always looking for Sunday school texts found this in a book of hers. As a young man, Bradbury studied with Lowell Mason in Boston. He traveled to Europe, especially Leipzig, where he studied composition with the great teachers there. When he returned, he moved to Brooklyn where he continued composing and compiling hymnals for Sunday schools. By the end of his life he had edited over fifty such books. Although it was paired with a popular Norwegian tune in the LBW, the Bradbury tune remains popular—one can find grand organ settings, along with jazz and country western on the web. This tune will be sung in many churches this Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday. It really is in the barbership quartet style and well worth a try. Stand around the computer or piano and sing along!
LINKS
Kaoma Chenda Quartet—for some barbershop and by one singer!
Martin Nystrom
The Haven of Rest Quartet
The Discover Singers/kind of Swingle Singers style
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For your devotions
"With these 366 sonnets, remarkable in artistry and number, Gracia Grindal has made literary history. The scriptural and theological knowledge that supports these poems is vast, but it is the imagination infused with the holy in poem after poem that reveals the poet's grace and skill and the astonishing work of the Spirit." --Jill Baumgartner, Poetry Editor, Christian Century, and professor of English emerita, Wheaton College
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