JYou've a Hundred Sheep--a hymn/song on Luke 15:1-10

You've a Hundred Sheep

—a hymn/song on Luke 15:1-10

Text:

"You’ve a hundred sheep,” said Jesus.
“Wait! One’s gone? So, franticly,
you leave ninety-nine out grazing,
find it, then say happily,
‘Be glad with me, neighbors, friends.’”
Christ said, “It’s like that in Heav’n.
Joy rings ‘round the angels when
one lost sinner’s found, repents.

“Coins of silver—ten—a woman had.
What? Just nine? She swept the floors.
With her lamp, she caught a little glint,
found her coin, and called folk o’er.
‘Be glad with me, neighbors, friends.’”
Christ said, “It’s like that in Heav'n,
Joy rings ‘round the angels when
one lost sinner’s found, repents."

Jesus told us these two stories
as some leaders criticized
that he ate with sinful people.
But the stories show besides:
God who works for turn-around;
God who seeks, that lost are found;
God in Heav’n where joy abounds,
and with neighbors, too, resounds.

This hymn or song recounts two parables of Jesus from Luke 15:1-10—
the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. They come up in the Revised Common Lectionary as a Gospel reading in mid-September of Year C.

Sheet MusicAudio Files

WEISSE FLAGGEN accompaniment in A:

HYFRYDOL sample:

Text and melody sheets

WEISSE FLAGGEN (Bb)

WEISSE FLAGGEN (A)

Musical Details:

There's some flexibility in singing this text.

We especially love WEISSE FLAGGEN, a glad tune from 1741 which some congregations already know. Even though we love it, however, its range can be a little wide. So, we're offering two keys for singing. You might also consider having the first four lines of each verse sung by a soloist or choir altos, with the sopranos joining in on line 5 and the men or congregation on line 6. You can adjust this to your resources.

Another tune that works is the lovely and well-known HYFRYDOL. (In the F version of this hymn, though, we'd replace the octave Cs in the bass of the third beat of the 7th measure with a G.)

Finally, remember that even if you program this as a solo, we do allow our text to be printed or displayed for the congregation.