There Were Ninety And Nine

I remember this old hymn from my childhood. I’ve heard it presented in many ways; to me it’s not a carefully crafted choir piece – it’s a powerful story that must be told simply…

There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare;
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.

“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?”
But the Shepherd made answer: “This of Mine
Has wandered away from Me.
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My 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.
Far out in the desert He heard its cry;
’Twas sick and helpless and ready to die.

“Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way,
That mark out the mountain’s track?”
“They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.”
“Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?”
“They’re pierced tonight by many a thorn.”

And all through the mountains, thunder-riv’n,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heav’n,
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!”

Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey were conducting evangelistic campaigns across America and Europe. Moody preached, Sankey sang. In 1874 when they were in Scotland Sankey read this poem in a newspaper; it had been written by a Scottish woman, Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane in 1868. He thought that it would make a great hymn so he cut the poem out and put it in a note-book.

Two days later, Moody preached on ‘The Good Shepherd’. When Moody had finished he asked Sankey to sing. Sankey heard a voice saying: ‘Sing the hymn you found’. That was impossible – it didn’t have a tune! He placed the newspaper poem on the organ in front of him and prayed that God would help him.

He played and sang; he says that God gave him the tune. The song reached the hearts of the large audience, and the tune has endured to this day.

The lyrics tell the story of the lost sheep beautifully. The Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine safe in the fold, relentlessly searching for the one lost sheep. Despite great personal cost, the Shepherd finds the sheep – help-less and hope-less. Everyone rejoices when it’s found.

I’m musing on times that I’m so grateful that the kind, gentle, Shepherd has carefully searched for me and found me… I think of some friends who are still lost and pray that they might be found by their compassionate searching Shepherd.