Tag: John 10

Endless Praise

Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
—John 10:27-30

We long to stand where endless praise is sung,
where we are named and counted as the stars,
where each one sings to you in his own tongue—
O Shepherd, speak to each of us in ours!

For we are weary of our Babel here,
the endless bleak confusion of our days.
But if you speak, our senses may yet clear
and let us seek together for your ways.

Bring us where all distress is in the past:
The Lamb is in the center of the throne,
his court a refuge that will ever last.
We'll never be displaced, for we are home.

Oh, see: Our thirst and hunger are no more,
and you will wipe the tears from every eye.
Then speak to us, Good Shepherd!  Speak, O Lord!
That we may find the springs that ne'er run dry!

Speak, then, and let it be as you will say:
Make us your own, as you made sea and land,
that we may stand there in your endless day
where nothing takes us from the Father's hand.

Jesus, der gute Hirte im Tympanon der evangelischen Friedenskirche in Hanau-Kesselstadt, Photo By amras.wi – Own workOriginal text: eigenes Photo, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69223980

Good Shepherd

Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.”
—John 10:11-18

O loving shepherd of the flock,
the storm is rising high
and predators who stalk the dark
are circling nearby.

Your voice still sounds, a constant pulse
that rings out low and clear
amid the howling of the wolves
so swiftly drawing near.

O, let us hear you through the storm
and panic-stricken night,
and keep us safely in your fold
'til morning rises bright.

But if we're scattered to the winds,
still you would find us there.
If we are driven by our sins,
we have not left your care.

For you have climbed the farthest hills
and combed the valleys deep,
that even from the darkest vales
you will bring back your sheep.

Not one is lost forever, then,
though we have left the fold;
not one will slip out of your hand,
but you will bring us home.

James Tissot, The Good Shepherd.