Shepherd of the ransomed flock

Representative Text

1 Shepherd of the ransomed flock,
Lead us to the shadowing rock,
Where the cooling waters flow,
Where the freshening pastures grow.

2 Saviour, when thy loved ones stray
From the new and living way,
Gently call thine own by name,
All our wandering steps reclaim.

3 Through the hours of darksome night,
Keep us in thy watchful sight;
O'er each deadly foe prevail;
Let no harm thy fold assail.

4 Jesus, who thy life didst give,
Dying that thy sheep might live,
Let us in thy presence rest,
With eternal comfort blest.

Source: The Christian hymnary: a selection of hymns & tunes for Christian worship #285

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Author: Thomas Darling

Darling, Thomas, M.A., son of George Darling, M.D., born in London, 1816, educated at the Charterhouse, and St. John's College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. 1838, and M.A. 1841. In 1839 he took Holy Orders, and subsequently became Incumbent of Thanington, near Canterbury, and in 1848 Rector of Sts. Michael Royal with St. Martin-Vintry, City of London. Mr. Darling published in 1855 Hymns for the Church of England (Lond. Longmans), arranged according to the Order of the Book of Common Prayer. The last edition (1887) contains 336 hymns, of which about 20 are by the editor. These hymns, which appeared from time to time in the various editions of his collection, are:— 1. All saints of the Lord. (1855.) Easter. In the 1887 ed. of the Hy… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Shepherd of the ransomed flock
Author:	Thomas Darling
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Notes

Shepherd of the ransomed flock. [The Good Shepherd.] In Miss Dorothy A. Thrupp's Thoughts for the Day, 1837, First series, p. 8, are the following lines, sometimes given as a hymn in 2 stanzas of 4 lines:—

"Shepherd of the little flock,
Lead me by the shadowing rock ;
Where the richest pasture grows;
Where the living water flows;
By that pure and silent stream,
Sheltered from the scorching beam,
Shepherd, Saviour, Guardian, Guide,
Keep me ever near Thy side."

In the Rev. T. Darling's Hymns for the Church of England, 1855, lines 1-4 of the above were given with alterations as the opening of the hymn "Shepherd of the ransomed flock," the remaining four stanzas being by Mr. Darling. This form of the hymn was repeated, with the addition of a doxology, in the 1863 Appendix to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Psalms & Hymns, and again in other collections. In Mr. Darling's Hymns, &c, 1887, it is condensed to 4 stanzas. It is specially adapted to the 2nd Sunday after Easter. [William T. Brooke]

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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