Hymns of the Church – Savior, Lead Me, Lest I Stray – 23 April 2024, Anno Domini

 

T

HE LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.   (23^rd Psalm verses 1-3)

 

            Our Lord has led His people from the very beginning of days. He both led, and followed, the Children of Israel through the Red Sea waters and on through the Wilderness for forty years. His leading did not stop at Jordan Banks, but continued through the inspired text of His Holy Word, by Law and Prophets, until His personal coming as a Babe in Bethlehem. He is our constantly vigilant Shepherd to keep us from the dangers of the mountain trails and valleys of death’s shadow as long as we hear His Voice and follow on. 

 

            The author of this hymn is FM Davis (1839-1896).who is also the composer of the musical score for the hymn. He published the hymn in 1882.   

 

Savior Lead Me, Lest I Stray

 

Savior, lead me lest I stray,

Gently lead me all the way;

I am safe when by Thy side,

I would in Thy love abide.

Refrain:

Lead me, lead me, Savior, 

lead me, lest I stray;

Gently down the stream of time,

Lead me, Savior, all the way.

 

Thou the refuge of my soul,

When life’s stormy billows roll;

I am safe when by Thy side,

All my hopes on Thee rely.

            Refrain

 

Savior, lead me, then at last,

When the storm of life is past;

To the land of endless day,

Where all tears are wiped away.

            Refrain

 

            1 Savior, lead me lest I stray, Gently lead me all the way; I am safe when by Thy side, I would in Thy love abide. The Christian way consist of two components – leading and following. For us to benefit from the leading of the Good Shepherd, we must be good followers. We cannot get lost in the dry gulches of this sorry world if we adhere to His paths. He will ALWAYS lead in the paths of righteousness. If we get on the wrong path, it is because we did not persevere in our following Him. Just as the Pillar of cloud by Day and Fire by Night both led and followed Israel in the Wilderness, so does the Lord both lead in the right way, and He also goes behind to guard against the wolves and predators of the soul. Walking by His side, hand in hand, as our big Brother, no demon or devil will dare approach. Abiding in the love of Christ is the ecstacy of the soul that brings joy and contentment. We cannot abide in the love of Christ without returning that love its Source.

 

2 Thou the refuge of my soul, When life's stormy billows roll; I am safe when by Thy side, All my hopes on Thee rely. [Refrain] The eight souls of the family of old Noah remained safe inside the Ark of God despite the greatest flooding deluge in the history of the world. They trusted in the counsel of God and were secure in that obedience. Remember: God did not tell Noah to go into the Ark, He told him to COME into the Ark. “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” (Genesis 7:1) Why did God same Come into the Ark? Because that is the place of security where God commands. Our Ark of Salvation is Jesus Christ. He invites us to come in. We have every hope fulfilled in Him, but without Him all is hopeless.

 

3 Savior, lead me, then at last, When the storm of life is past; To the land of endless day, Where all tears are wiped away. [Refrain] We may have trod the stony ways of the unrighteous until the grey hairs appear; however, our beginnings and wrong choices of early life can be annulled by our flowing Christ at last instead of traveling the broad and crowded Way that leads to destruction. We truly need not our tears today in this life if we have turned them early to Christ. One of my favorite prayers of the Book of Common Prayer is written thusly in the shorter service for Family Prayer:

 

O

 LORD, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen.

 

            That safe lodging can only be had in the Kingdom of God whose mansions were made possible for our lodging by the redemption of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Refrain 

            Lead me, lead me, Savior,  lead me, lest I stray; Gently down the stream of time, Lead me, Savior, all the way. The stream of time is a relentlessly flowing river. The same water does not pass the same point twice. Life is like that river. Joys, sorrows, opportunities, worries, pains, and comforts are constantly rolling to the sea of eternity. All things earthly pass on to that sea, but the love of God and of others does not pass away. Neither does God’s immutable Word and Promise.