1 JESUS, great Shepherd of the sheep,
To thee for help we fly:
Thy little flock in safety keep;
For O! the wolf is nigh.
2 He comes, of hellish malice full,
To scatter, tear, and slay;
He seizes every straggling soul,
As his own lawful prey.
3 Us into thy protection take,
And gather with thy arm;
Unless the fold we first forsake,
The wolf can never harm.
4 We laugh to scorn his cruel power,
While by our Shepherd's side;
The sheep he never can devour,
Unless he first divide.
5 O do not suffer him to part
The souls that here agree;
But make us of one mind and heart,
And keep us one in thee!
6 Together let us sweetly live,
Together let us die;
And each a starry crown receive,
And reign above the sky.