Warning for the Sheep

‘Twas a Sheep, Not A Lamb

‘Twas a sheep, not a lamb, that strayed away,
In the parable Jesus told---
A grown-up sheep that had gone astray
From the ninety and nine in the fold.

Out in the meadows, out in the cold,
‘Twas a sheep the good shepherd sought,
And back in the flock, safe into the fold,
‘Twas a sheep the good shepherd brought.

And why for the sheep should we earnestly long,
And as earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger, if they go wrong,
They will lead the young lambs astray.

For the lambs will follow the sheep, you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray:
If the sheep go wrong, it will not be long
‘Til the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead,
For the sake of the lambs today:
If the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost
The sheep will have to pay!

- Minnie Lee Bovender