Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us, ELW 789
1 Savior, like a shepherd lead us;
Much we need your tender care.
In your pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use your fold prepare.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
You have bought us; we are yours.
2 We are yours; in love befriend us,
Be the guardian of our way;
Keep your flock, from sin defend us,
Seek us when we go astray.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Hear us children when we pray.
3 You have promised to receive us,
Poor and sinful though we be;
You have mercy to relieve us,
Grace to cleanse, and pow'r to free.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Early let us turn to you.
4 Early let us seek your favor,
Early let us do your will;
Blessed Lord and only Savior,
With your love our spirits fill.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
You have loved us, loved us still.
Devotion
As we hear the promises of the Gospel, it is the Spirit who in mysterious and invisible ways bonds us together with Jesus' body and blood, Word and Sacrament, and makes us into the body of Christ, equipped for mission. It is this enabling presence that Paul Gerhardt speaks to in his hymn, "Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us": verse 1, "Savior like a shepherd lead us; much we need your tender care. In your pleasant pastures feed us, for our use your fold prepare. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, you have bought us; we are yours..." Hymn and Psalm describe our Lord as a shepherd who lovingly gives us all that is needed for the well-being of the flock. What a blessing to know that God does provide for our every need and that he will be with us in good times and bad. After all, he is our Good Shepherd who promises that he will be with us forever.
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, into our hearts and lives and lead us on the path our Good Shepherd takes. Amen