_THE LOST SHEEP_
EZEKIEL xxxiv. 11-19.
And now, again, I am bidden to contemplate the gracious ministries of the
Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd searches the "far country" for His lost sheep. "_I will
bring them ... out of all places where they have been scattered._" He goes
into the hard wilderness of cold indifference, and wasteful pride, and
desolating sin, searching "high and low" for His foolish sheep. And no
place is unvisited by the Great Seeker! Every perilous ravine, where a
sheep can be lost, knows the footprints of the Shepherd. And He knows my
far-country, and He is seeking me!
And the Good Shepherd brings His wandering sheep back home. "_I will bring
them ... to their own land._" We return from the land of pride to the home
of lowliness, from hard indifference to gracious sympathy, from the
barrenness of sin to the beauty of holiness. We come back to God's
beautiful "lily-land" of eternal light and peace.
And what nutriment the Good Shepherd provides for the home-coming sheep!
"_I will feed them in a good pasture._" Our wasted powers shall be renewed
and strengthened by the fattening diet of grace. Love shall be both host
and meat! "He will satisfy thy mouth with good things."