I Was A Wandering Sheep

Representative Text

1 I was a wand'ring sheep,
I did not love the fold;
I did not love my Shepherd's voice,
I would not be controlled.
I was a wayward child,
I did not love my home;
I did not love my Father's voice,
I loved afar to roam.

2 The Shepherd sought his sheep,
the Father sought his child;
they followed me o'er vale and hill,
o'er deserts waste and wild:
they found me nigh to death,
famished and faint and lone;
they bound me with the bands of love,
they saved the wand'ring one.

3 Jesus my Shepherd is;
'twas he that loved my soul,
'twas he that washed me in his blood,
'twas he that made me whole;
'twas he that sought the lost,
that found the wand'ring sheep,
'twas he that brought me to the fold,
'tis he that still doth keep.

4 I was a wand'ring sheep,
I would not be controlled;
but now I love my Shepherd's voice,
I love, I love the fold.
I was a wayward child,
I once preferred to roam;
but now I love my Father's voice,
I love, I love his home.


Source: Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #464

Author: Horatius Bonar

Horatius Bonar was born at Edinburgh, in 1808. His education was obtained at the High School, and the University of his native city. He was ordained to the ministry, in 1837, and since then has been pastor at Kelso. In 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland. His reputation as a religious writer was first gained on the publication of the "Kelso Tracts," of which he was the author. He has also written many other prose works, some of which have had a very large circulation. Nor is he less favorably known as a religious poet and hymn-writer. The three series of "Hymns of Faith and Hope," have passed through several editions. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872… Go to person page >

Notes

I was a wandering sheep. H. Bonar. [The Lost Sheep.] Published in the first series of his Songs in the Wilderness, 1843, No. 1, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines, and headed, "Lost but Found, ‘Ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls, 1 Pet. ii. 25.'" It was repeated in his Bible Hymn Book, 1845, No. 264, and in his Hymns of Faith and Hope, 1857. It ranks with the most popular of Dr. Bonar's hymns, and is in common use (usually in an unaltered form), in all English-speaking countries.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Instances

Instances (301 - 400 of 497)

The Chord #d52

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The Church and Home Hymnal #200

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The Church and Home Hymnal #201

The Church Hymn Book #d237

The Church Hymnal #d178

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The Church Hymnary #513

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The Church Porch #68

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The Church Porch #68

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The Clariona #d87

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The Clifton Chapel Collection of "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" #234

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The Congregational Mission Hymnal #194a

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The Congregational Mission Hymnal #194b

The Corona #d52

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The Crowning Day #49

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The Cyber Hymnal #3167

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The Devotional Chimes #198a

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The Devotional Hymn Book #d220

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The Durham Mission Tune Book #42

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The Epworth Hymnal #170

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The Evangelical Hymnal. Text edition #203

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The Fellowship Hymn Book #170

The Friends' Hymnal #d262

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The Friends' Hymnal, a Collection of Hymns and Tunes for the Public Worship of the Society #a269

The Golden Promise #d45

The Good Old Songs #d252

The Good Old Songs #d252

The Gospel Hymnal #d283

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The Gospel Temperance Hymnal and Coronation Songs #147

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The Greatest Hymns #146

The Haverford School Hymnal #d129

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The Haverford School Hymnal #230

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The Helping Hand #120

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The Hymn Book of the Free Methodist Church #398

The Hymnal for Schools #d74

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The Hymnal for Schools #105

The Hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod. Text ed. #d227

The Hymnal of the Reformed Church in the United States #d285

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The Hymnal #465

The Hymns of "Happy Voices" (without music) #d88

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The Jewel #127

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The Junior Hymnal #17

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The Little Seraph #37

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The Liturgy and Hymns of the American Province of the Unitas Fratrum #344

The Luther League Hymn Book #d74

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The Manual of Praise for Sabbath and Social Worship #308

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The Methodist Hymnal (Text only edition) #300

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The Methodist Hymnal #300

The Methodist Protestant Church Hymnal #d206

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The Methodist Sunday School Hymnal #143

The Mission Hymnal #d54

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The Mission Hymnal #113

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The Mission Hymnal. (Enlarged Edition) #113

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The Most Popular Hymns #42

The National Baptist Hymn Book #d253

The National Baptist Hymn Book #ad253

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The National Baptist Hymnal #357

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The New Alleluia #120

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The New Baptist Praise Book #199a

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The New Baptist Praise Book #199b

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The New Baptist Praise Book #199a

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The New Baptist Praise Book #199b

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The New Baptist Psalmist and Tune Book #T37

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The New Baptist Psalmist and Tune Book #430

The New Christian Harp. 10th ed. #d109

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The New Cokesbury Hymnal #264

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The New Jubilee Harp #611

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The New Jubilee Harp #611

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The New Living Hymns (Living Hymns No. 2) #417

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The New Sabbath School Hosanna #145

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The New Shining Star #54

The Old School Hymnal No. 7. Rev. #d128

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The Plymouth Hymnal #d209

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The Plymouth Sabbath School Collection of Hymns and Tunes #19

The Praise Hymnal #131

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The Presbyterian Hymnal #179

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The Primitive Methodist Church Hymnal #299

The Revival Music Book #d29

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The Revivalist #229

The Sabbath Chimes #d125

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The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book #194a

The Sabbath Hymn Book. Baptist ed. #d455

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The Sabbath School Bell #85a

The Sabbath School Gem #d36

The Sabbath School Hosanna #d72

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The Sabbath School Hymn and Tune Book #119

The Sabbath School Hymn Book #d126

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The Sacred Lyre #261

Pages

Exclude 491 pre-1979 instances
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