Where briars grow, unwary sheep,
Befogged by hungry need,
Entangle fleece in thickets where
We only thought to feed.
The Shepherd comes to set us free
From snares of piercing thorn.
Released, we are made whole, but look,
The Shepherd’s hands are torn.
On every bare and rocky height,
The sheep in safety graze.
God shelters us from wind and rain
And from the sun’s bright blaze.
The Shepherd pastures us in peace,
To living waters leads.
All hurts now healed, we are at rest,
But see! The Shepherd bleeds.
These two stanzas of an old hymn make me ever more aware that every time I am focused only on myself and my particular interests, another wound is inflicted onto my Lord.
Every time I speak unkind words, or think unkind thoughts, another thorn is driven into His temple. And every time I fail to do what I know is right, or fail do to what God has instructed me to do, another lash is laid into his back.
But, when I give Him praise for all He has done for me, I have helped him carry the cross to Golgotha. When I give assistance to those who are in need, I am giving Him a drink of cold water after he has fallen under the weight of the cross. And when I sit quietly in his presence, I am standing vigil with His mother and John as Jesus cries, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
When I read this hymn, I feel sick at heart because of my own sin and the sins of all humanity. God is calling us all to Him, and Jesus must shepherd the children back.
For he has other sheep than these,
Who have not heard his voice,
But when the last are gathered in
The heavens will rejoice:
The saints who crowd the gates of God
Stand waiting to extol
The last sheep found, for then, ah! look
The Shepherd is made whole.
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