He left his ninety-nine in the fold, and hurried away into the wilderness to find the one which was lost.
Through the darkness of night; through the tangles and the briars; through the deep waters of the rushing stream, on he passed; and as he went, he repeated to himself words which seemed to dwell in his very heart—"until I find it"!
On he went, weary and worn, till at last in the silence of the deep night he heard a faint cry!
Then the shepherd called, and stood listening for the answer. And again came that faint cry, and the shepherd knew that somewhere near him, in the darkness, his lost sheep was lonely, helpless, and hopeless.
Then the shepherd's arms were stretched out to reach him, caught in the briars at the edge of an awful precipice. He leaned down over the abyss and stretched out his hands, and, regardless of the tearing thorns, he grasped his sheep, he disentangled the briars, and lifted it into safety.
But the sheep was so weary and faint that he could not walk, so the tender shepherd put him on to his shoulders, and brought him home rejoicing!
And then the shepherd called his friends together, saying:
"Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!"
And Jesus, our Good Shepherd, says: "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth!"