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Dear To The Heart Of The Shepherd

One of my deepest heartfelt prayers is that I may so live to be worthy of the Lord’s love in this life and his presence in the life to come. It is my frequent petition that he will qualify and empower me to bring souls to Christ. Thus, the hymn, “Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd” is a profound declaration of doctrine and a very personal prayer. Hear some of its lyrics,

Dear to the heart of the Shepherd,
Dear are the lambs of his fold;
Some from the pastures are straying,
Hungry and helpless and cold.
See, the Good Shepherd is seeking,
Seeking the lambs that are lost,
Bringing them in with rejoicing,
Saved at such infinite cost.

And from verse four,

Green are the pastures inviting;
Sweet are the waters and still.
Lord, we will answer thee gladly,
“Yes, blessed Master, we will!
Make us thy true under-shepherds;
Give us a love that is deep.
Send us out into the desert,
Seeking thy wandering sheep.”

He is absolutely incomprehensible to us mortals in what He is and how He loves. The more we love Him the more we realize how deep and far-reaching is His love, mercy, and compassion for us and those we love. He forgets no one.

And yet…

The words of this hymn were written by Mary B. Wingate who, until 2005 was largely unknown and forgotten. In some hymnals, this text has no author—Mary is not listed. In others, Mary’s name is listed with only the year the hymn was first published. In searching various websites, such as hymnary.org we read “Hymnary.org does not have biographical information about this person.”

How ironic that the woman who reminds us so powerfully that the Lord does not forget—was forgotten, until some cared enough to find her and tell her story.

Source: Karen Lynn Davidson, Our Latter-Day Hymns Deseret Book, 2009, p. 505

https://hymnary.org/person/Wingate_Mary

https://ldshymnology.wordpress.com/2019/04/28/mary-b-wingate-1845-1933/