Tenderly the shepherd
O’er the mountains roam,
Goes to bring His lost one
Back to His home.
In our picture we have some Brittany sheep. Brittany is a province of France in the north-western part. The shepherd has left the sheep in care of the dog. His shepherd’s crook is lying there. See how watchful and on the alert the faithful dog is. The shepherd can trust the sheep with this wise animal till his return. Maybe one little lamb has strayed away and the shepherd has gone to bring it back. The sheep are gentle creatures but very foolish. For when once they begin to go astray they never turn in the right direction. They are always going farther and farther away.
God has likened poor sinful man to sheep. Isaiah says in the 53rd chapter and 6th verse, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way.”
The following lines show us the love the Good Shepherd has for his wayward sheep:
“But none of the ransomed ever knew,
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night that the
Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost;
Out in the desert He heard its cry—
Sick and helpless and ready to die.
But all through the mountains thunder-riven,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a 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!”
ML 08/08/1909