1 Great Shepherd of the sheep,
Who all Thy flock doth keep,
Leading by waters calm;
Do Thou my footsteps guide,
To follow by Thy side;
Make me Thy little lamb,
Make me Thy little lamb.
2 I fear I may be torn
By many a sharp-set thorn,
As far from Thee I stray;
My weary feet may bleed,
For rough are paths which lead
Out of Thy pleasant way.
3 But when the road is long,
Thy tender arm, and strong,
The weary one will bear;
And Thou wilt wash me clean,
And lead to pastures green,
Where all the flowers are fair.
4 Till, from the soil of sin
Cleansed and made pure within,
Dear Savior, Who hast died,
Thou bringest me in love,
Save to Thy fold above,
Forever to abide.
The Hymnal: revised and enlarged as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892
Great Shepherd of the sheep, Who all Thy flock dost keep. [The Good Shepherd.] This is given in the Scottish Hymnal, 1884, as from an "American" source.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
