The Cyber Hymnal ‎#12171

12171. The Lambs Of The Upper Fold

1 Many children dear to us while here
Have gone, but we are told
That our absent ones in Heav’n appear,
Among the saints enrolled,
As the lambs of the upper fold.

Refrain:
For Jesus leads the tender lambs,
They are now in the land
Where they ne’er grow old;
How dear to us are the loving lambs,
The lambs of the upper fold.

2 I see the throne, I hear the song,
’Mid the angels on the other shore;
In the pastures green they are ever seen,
On Canaan’s peaceful shore,
In the land where they weep no more. [Refrain]

3 Now let us live—to Jesus give
Our strength while young and old;
So when we are gone we may rest at home,
And walk the streets of gold,
With the lambs of the upper fold. [Refrain]

4 Then let us go to the land above,
And be with the saints enrolled,
To bear the palm, and wear the crown,
And share that bliss untold,
With the lambs of the upper fold. [Refrain]

Text Information

• First Line: Many children dear to us while here
• Title: The Lambs Of The Upper Fold
• Author: Knowles Shaw (1868)
• Refrain First Line: For Jesus leads the tender lambs
• Language: English
• Source: Shining Pearls (Cincinnati: John Church, 1868)
• Notes: A striking instance of [Shaw’s] sympathy and power to adapt himself to circumstances took place in Humboldt, Kansas. A wealthy and prominent Presbyterian family had lost an infant. Brother Shaw went, uninvited, to the funeral; the Presbyterian minister preached a funeral sermon from a text in the Old Testament, and, after the discourse, the little white coffin, covered with flowers, resting on a marble topped table in the parlor, was opened, that the friends and heart-stricken parents might take the last look at the little unconscious sleeper. The scene was painful, the parting severe, when, amid the sobs and weeping, there fell upon their ears, in one of the tenderest, sweetest voices they had ever heard, the following words: Many children, dear to us while here… The hearts of all were hushed, and the thoughts of the stricken ones were lifted from the lifeless clay to the dear lost one, in the arms of the Good Shepherd. Shaw, entering into the spirit of the occasion, had sung one of his own sweet hymns, under circumstances that gave it great effect. It was just what the broken hearts before him needed. He was warmly thanked by the friends. The mother afterward sent her grateful acknowledgments, and a request for a copy of the verses he had sung. And she reckons among her prized treasures the Lambs of the Upper Fold. Life of Knowles Shaw, the Singing Evangelist, by William Baxter (Cincinnati, Ohio & Oskaloosa, Iowa: Central Book Concern, 1879), Chapter V.

Tune Information

• Name: [Many children dear to us while here]
• Composer: Knowles Shaw
• Key: D Major
• Copyright: Public Domain