July
6, 2003
THE
JOY OF THE LORD
"Rejoice
with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!" (Luke
15:6, NKJV).
There
were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the
fold,
But one was out on the hills away, far, far from the gates
of gold--
Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherd's care.
"Lord,
Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine; are they not enough for
Thee?"
But the Shepherd made answer; "One of Mine Has wandered
away from Me,
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep."
But
none of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed,
Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through ere
He found His sheep that was lost,
Far out in the desert He heard its cry--
Fainting and helpless, and ready to die.
"Lord,
whence are these blood drops all the way that mark out the
mountain's track?"
"They were shed for one who had gone astray, ere the
Shepherd could bring him back."
"Lord, why are Thy hands so rent and torn?"
"They were pierced tonight by many a thorn."
But
all through the mountains, thunder-riven, and up from the
rocky steep,
There rose a cry to the gate of heaven, "Rejoice, I have
found My sheep!"
And the angels sang around the throne,
"Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!"
--Elizabeth
C. Clephane
"There
will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than
over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance"
(Luke 15:7).
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