Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church ‎#368

368. How Great the Bliss to Be a Sheep of Jesus

1 How great the bliss to be a sheep of Jesus,
And to be guided by His shepherd-staff!
Earth’s greatest honors, howsoe’er they please us,
Compared to this are vain and empty chaff.
Yea, what this world can never give,
May, through the Shepherd’s grace, each needy sheep receive.

2 Here is a pasture, rich and never failing,
Here living waters in abundance flow;
None can conceive the grace with tem prevailing,
Who Jesus’ shepherd voice obey and know;
He banishes all fear and strife,
And leads them gently on to everlasting life.

3 Whoe’er would spend his days in lasting pleasure
Must come to Christ and join His flock with speed;
Here is a feast prepared, rich beyond measure,
The world meanwhile on empty husks must feed.
Those souls may share in every good
Whose Shepherd doth possess the treasuries of God.

Text Information

• First Line: How great the bliss to be a sheep of Jesus
• Title: How Great the Bliss to Be a Sheep of Jesus
• Translator: Christian Ignatius La Trobe, 1758-1836 (1789)
• Author: Johann Jakob Rambach, 1693-1735 (1727)
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1969
• Topic: The Life in Christ: Joy and Peace in Believing

Tune Information

• Name: AGNUS CHRISTI
• Composer: Johann Gottlieb Wagner (c. 1742, a.)
• Meter: 11.10.11.10.8.12.
• Key: E♭ Major

Tune Information:

Wie herrlich ist's, ein Schäftlein Jesu werden; (115, B)