Scripture Verse

As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. Ezekiel 34:12

Introduction

Words: H. W. G., in The Gos­pel Choir No. 2, ed­it­ed by Ira D. San­key, James Mc­Gra­na­han & George Steb­bins (To­ron­to, Ca­na­da: Copp, Clark, 1895), num­ber 5, alt. The lyr­ics al­so ap­peared in Sac­red Song and So­los, by Ira D. San­key (Lon­don: Mar­shall, Mor­gan & Scott, un­dat­ed), num­ber 403, with a note that the words were ear­li­er pub­lished in The Chris­tian Choir, num­ber 14, 1889.

Music: George C. Steb­bins (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know H. W. G.’s full name, or where to get a good pho­to of him (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
George Stebbins
(1846–1945)

Lyrics

illustration
The Lost Sheep
Alfred U. Soord (1868–1915)

Over the thorn and this­tle,
Along the sto­ny way,
From the Shep­herd’s care to des­ert bare,
There wan­dered a sheep one day;
And a voice fell sad­ly from far away:
My sheep, how long wilt thou love to stray?
My sheep, how long wilt thou love to stray?

Over the thorn and this­tle,
Along the sto­ny way,
With feet that bled, the Shep­herd sped
To where the wan­der­er lay—
He had heard it cry­ing from far away:
Lord, bring me home to Thy flock, I pray;
Lord, bring me home to Thy flock, I pray.

Over the thorn and this­tle,
Along the sto­ny way,
I have sought for thee, now trust to Me,
I’ll bear thee home to­day;
The wolf and li­on flee far away
When on My shoul­der My sheep I lay,
When on My shoul­der My sheep I lay.

Instead of thorn and this­tle,
See myr­tle deck the way
Where the Shep­herd feeds and gent­ly leads
The sheep He found that day;
And He lead­eth oth­ers from far away
To rest in fields of a cloud­less day,
To rest in fields of a cloud­less day.