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Hymn History: Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us · Traveler’s Tales

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  A moonlit battlefield. A soldier with his finger
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  on the trigger. A familiar hymn drifting through the darkness.
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  One man was preparing to take another man's life.
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  But what happened next would bring those 2 men together
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  14 years later in a way neither could have imagined.
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  It is a remarkable reminder that God can use something as
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  familiar as a childhood hymn to accomplish something
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  extraordinary. Welcome to Traveler's Tales,
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  produced by Enjoying the Journey. I'm Greg Dowdy.
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  Sometimes the most familiar songs carry the most incredible
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  stories. Today, we are traveling back to the 19th century
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  to discover how a beloved hymn about the Good Shepherd
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  became part of an unforgettable encounter between 2 Civil
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  War soldiers. A special thanks to Jerry Vargo
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  for his research and contributions to today's journey.
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  The hymn Savior, Like a Shepherd, Lead Us is
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  commonly attributed to Dorothy Ann Thrupp, an English
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  hymn writer born in 1779. Though her name may
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  be unfamiliar to many Christians today, her words have been sung
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  by generations of believers, The opening verse is a
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  beautiful expression of dependence upon the Lord: Savior,
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  like a shepherd lead us; much we need Thy tender
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  care. In Thy pleasant pastures feed us; for
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  our use Thy folds prepare. But one
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  of the most remarkable stories associated with this hymn involves the
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  famous gospel singer Ira Sankey.
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  It was Christmas Eve, 1876, Sankey was
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  traveling aboard a steamboat on the Delaware River. As passengers
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  gathered around him, someone recognized the well-known singer and
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  asked him to sing. Sankey agreed. He began
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  singing Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us. As his
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  voice filled the evening air, the passengers listened quietly.
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  When the hymn ended, a man approached Sankey with an unusual
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  question. Had Sankey served in the Union Army during the Civil
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  War? He had. Had he ever been stationed
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  as a picket guard? Again, the answer was yes.
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  The stranger then began telling a story that Sankey would never
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  forget. According to an account attributed to Sankey,
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  the man had served in the Confederate Army.
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  One night in 1862, he was concealed
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  in the darkness when he spotted a Union soldier standing guard.
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  The moonlight made the soldier an easy target. The Confederate
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  raised his musket, took aim, and prepared
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  to fire. But just before he pulled the trigger,
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  something unexpected happened. The Union soldier
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  began to sing, and the hymn he sang was Savior,
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  Like a Shepherd, Lead Us. The Confederate lowered his weapon.
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  He knew that hymn. His mother had sung it to him when he was a
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  boy. She had taught him about God, prayed for
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  him, and attempted to point his heart toward the Savior.
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  And now, in the middle of a terrible war, the familiar words
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  brought those childhood memories rushing back, and he could not bring
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  himself to fire. The Union soldier finished his song
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  and continued his watch, never knowing how close he had
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  come to death. 14 years later, aboard a steamboat
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  on Christmas Eve, the Confederate soldier heard that same hymn
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  again, and standing before him was the
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  very man whose life he had spared.
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  That man was Ira Sankey. Imagine the
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  emotion of that moment. 2 men who had once stood on opposite sides
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  of a battlefield were now standing face to face.
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  Brought together by the words of a hymn.
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  But the most important part of the story was still to come. The former
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  Confederate explained that he had never forgotten the song or the faith of his mother.
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  He had carried those memories for years, but he still did
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  not know the Savior of whom the hymn spoke. Now he wanted
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  to know him. And that Christmas Eve,
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  Sankey had the privilege of pointing the man to Jesus Christ.
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  What a beautiful picture of the patient pursuing love of God.
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  Jesus said in John 10:3, he calleth his own sheep by name
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  and leadeth them out. Think about the lessons contained
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  in this incredible encounter. First, never underestimate
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  the lasting influence of a godly life. That mother could not have
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  imagined where her son would go or what he would face.
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  She couldn't accompany him on the battlefield. But the truth she
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  had planted in his heart traveled with him. Parents,
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  grandparents, Sunday school teachers, faithful Christians— we
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  may never see all that God accomplishes through their influence.
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  A scripture verse taught to a child, a prayer offered in love,
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  or a hymn sung in the home may be remembered long
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  after the moment has passed. Second, never underestimate
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  what God can accomplish through an ordinary act of faithfulness.
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  Sankey had no idea that someone was listening from the darkness that night.
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  He was singing a hymn unaware that his life was in danger.
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  And years later, when he sang that same hymn aboard a steamboat,
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  he could not have known that one of his listeners was carrying the memory of
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  that battlefield. We rarely know the full reach of our words,
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  our testimony, or our obedience to God,
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  but God does. And finally,
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  never forget the heart of the Good Shepherd.
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  Jesus said in John 10:11, I am the Good Shepherd.
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  The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
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  That is what makes this hymn so precious. We need
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  a Savior because we cannot save ourselves. Our sin
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  has separated us from God, and no amount of human
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  goodness can remove that sin. But Jesus
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  Christ, the Good Shepherd, gave his life on the cross for us.
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  He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again
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  so that all who place their faith in him can
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  receive eternal life. Perhaps you have
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  known the words of this hymn for years. You may have sung about the
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  Shepherd without ever personally trusting him as your Savior.
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  You can know him today. The same Lord who patiently worked
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  in the heart of that soldier is still calling sinners to himself.
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  And what a comfort it is to know that the shepherd who saves us
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  is also the shepherd who leads us. Life will
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  take us through unexpected places. There will be valleys we would
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  never choose and circumstances we cannot understand.
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  But the greatest comfort of the Christian life is not that we know
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  where the journey will lead; it is that we know the One
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  who is leading us. Thank you for joining us on Traveler's
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  Tales. I hope today's story reminds you that God is
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  always at work, often in ways we cannot see,
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  and that His Word can bear fruit long after it has been planted
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  in a heart. As you continue your journey through Scripture,
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  I encourage you to visit our website, etj.bible.org,
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  where you'll find Bible teaching, devotional resources, and many other
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  practical helps to strengthen your walk with the Lord.
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  Until next time, keep following the Good Shepherd and enjoying the journey.