Deuteronomy 33:12b
“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”

Luke 15:4-6
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.  Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’”

Isaiah 63:9
“In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them.  In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”

Great Shepherd, you save completely and honour undeservedly.

You shield your beloved close to your heart, held firm on the right and the left.  We rest surrounded by your strength,  joy-filled in our rescue.

Seek us when we have forgotten the broad safety of your shoulders and no longer feel the Spirit’s rise and fall.  Keep us centred upon you in the privileged place of a child.

We pray in the name of Christ, who carried the weight of the cross so that he might exchange it for our prodigal souls.

Listen to ‘Leaning on the Everlasting Arms’ by Folk Angel