The Ninety and Nine, sung here by Tennessee Ernie Ford, refers to Our Lord Jesus Christ’s parable of the Good Shepherd, who leaves his 99 sheep in the fold while he goes out to find the one lost sheep that has gone astray. But of course, as Isaiah points out, we are all as sheep that have gone astray. We all need rescuing.
Thank you for this wonderful old hymn. I had not heard this in a long time.
I remember seeing Tennessee Ernie Ford singing on TV as a kid. I really enjoyed his rendition of “16 Tons”.
I somehow missed that. Hope I can find it on youtube.