Classic Poem

O, Thou Good Shepherd! who in days of old
Didst break the cords that bound Thy bleeding sheep,
And from Egyptian wolves didst guard thy fold
With watchful eyes of love that never sleep:

Thy high, uplifted staff of cloud and fire,
As on it led toward pastures fair and free,
With courage did Thy timid flock inspire,
And blanched with fear their ravening enemy.

When in the wilderness they went astray,
Thy gentle voice recalled their wandering feet;
When shivering in the wintry tempest, they
Within thine arms found life-reviving heat.

On barren sands they ate delicious food,
The rock became a fount at Thy command,
Till they had passed the desert through, and stood
Within the enclosures of the Promised Land.

Still, gentle Shepherd! still Thou hast a fold
That needs Thy loving care by night and day;
Behold Thy feeble flock! and oh, behold
The hungry wolves that raven for the prey!

The little lambs have thy baptismal mark,
But many dangers hedge their way along;
And cold the storm is, and the night is dark,
And they that seek their hurt are fierce and strong.

Almighty Shepherd! strong as Thou art good,
Thou wilt not leave Thy lambs to be the prey
Of prowling wolves that scent their youthful blood,
And track their steps and howl upon their way.

For Thou didst bear for them the fearful shock
Of that great storm which hung the heavens with wrath,
And shook the earth, and would have crushed thy flock
With lightning-bolts that crashed upon their path,

Hadst Thou not stood between them and the storm —
When Heaven was angry — all that dreadful day:
Hadst Thou not interposed Thy bleeding form
In their defence, and led them safe away.

Such matchless love we know Thy flock will keep;
Thy rod, Thy staff, Thy word of kind caress
Will shield Thy lambs, and guide Thy trusting sheep,
Till they have safely passed the wilderness.

Then, washed from earthly stains in that pure fount
Which flows through Paradise in ceaseless rills,
They shall find pastures on the Sacred Mount,
And follow Thee on all the heavenly hills.