[Illustration]
="He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
he leadeth me beside still waters."=
They tell us that it is a very difficult and well-nigh impossible
thing to get a sheep that is hungry to lie down in a pasture, or that
is thirsty to drink by turbulent waters. A hungry dog will, but not a
hungry sheep. The sheep described in this verse, then, are such as
have been fed and satisfied in richest pastures, and whose thirst have
been slaked in quiet waters. Doubtless the mind of the Psalmist is
going back to such scenes in his own shepherd life when he had led his
flock into rich, green pastures, sought out for his sheep some quiet
watering-place, or had so manipulated the flow of turbulent waters as
to make them flow smoothly.
The writer of this Psalm is seeking to illustrate spiritual truths from
his own experience as a shepherd among the hills of Judea. He is
spiritualizing his soliloquy. He thinks of the cry of God's people for
the satisfaction of the soul's hunger and thirst; he sees the necessity
for such feeding and nourishment if there is to be a walk of obedience
"in the paths of righteousness."
Spiritualizing this verse, we may say that the "green pastures" and
"still waters" refer to the spiritual nourishment which the child of God
receives as he waits upon God in the study of His Word and prayer. There
can be no spiritual strength sufficient to walk in "paths of
righteousness" unless time is taken to "lie down" in the "green
pastures" of the divine Word by "the still waters" of prayer. To "lie
down" is the first lesson the Great Shepherd would teach His sheep. Not
lie down after you are tired, but before. "Lie down" that you may have
strength to walk in "the paths of righteousness." One of the hardest
commands for the soldier to obey is to wait in the trenches. He would
sooner "go over the top."
It is generally recognized as being a very difficult thing to get God's
people to thus "lie down." They will do almost anything and everything
else but that. They will run, walk, fight, sing, teach, preach, work, in
a word do almost anything and everything except seek seasons of quiet
and periods of retirement for secret communion with God and quiet soul
nurture.
Most of our favorite hymns indicate this attitude. They are militant,
working, active hymns: "Work, for the night is coming," "The fight is
on," "Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war," "Stand up, stand
up for Jesus," "Steadily marching on, with His banner waving o'er us,"
and many another. Where are such hymns as "Alone with Jesus, O the hush,
the rapture," "In the secret of His presence how my soul delights to
hide," "Take time to be holy"? How few of us are willing to go alone
into the woods whither the Master went, clean forspent, clean forspent?
We do not like pauses in our meetings. If there should be a pause we
seek at once to fill it in with a verse of Scripture, or someone says,
"Let us sing a verse of hymn sixty-six," and so we fill up the pauses
with choruses.
From the rush into the hush Jesus calls us. From the turbulent tumult
into the quiet secret of His presence. Where there is peace, perfect
peace, Jesus calls us.
Jesus calls us, o'er the tumult
Of our life's wild restless sea;
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,
Saying, "Christian, follow me!"
Jesus calls us--from the worship
Of the vain world's golden store;
From each idol that would keep us--
Saying, "Christian, love me more!"
In our joys and in our sorrows,
Days of toil and hours of ease,
Still He calls in cares and pleasures--
"Christian, love me more than these!"
Jesus calls us! by Thy mercies,
Saviour, may we hear Thy call;
Give our hearts to Thy obedience,
Serve and love Thee best of all.
--_Cecil F. Alexander_
Lie down we _must_. The text says, "He _maketh_ me to lie down." The
word "maketh" is the Hebrew causative and indicates forcible, compelling
action. Our Great Shepherd knows that amid the activity, the stress, the
strain and the restlessness of our lives it is absolutely necessary for
us to take periods of quiet and rest, without which it will be
impossible for us to continue in the way of righteousness. Have you so
much to do that you do not have time to "lie down"? Then the gracious
Shepherd will see to it that you have less to do. He would _make_ you
lie down. The overworked watchspring snaps. There must be pauses and
parentheses in all our lives.
We make much today of _active_ Christianity. We lay emphasis on the
_activities_ of Church work. Pragmatism is more than quietism to us. We
must "bring things to pass," and "deliver the goods." This is all very
well in its place, but we fear that the strength of our activities is
not very deeply rooted. We shall be able to bear fruit upward and
outward only as the roots of our spiritual life grow downward and deep.
The secret springs of our lives must be well cared for.
One day we read in the daily newspaper of some leading man in the
community who had fallen and brought discredit on the cause of Christ.
This unfaithful one was described as having been "an active member of
the church." Yes, that was the trouble. He was too active; he was not
passive enough. He had omitted to "lie down" and feed in "green
pastures" and drink by the "still waters" of God's Word and by prayer.
A friend tells us that while in the Orient he visited a Syrian shepherd.
He observed that every morning the shepherd carried food to the
sheepfold. On inquiry he found that he was taking it to a sick sheep.
The next morning the friend accompanied the shepherd and saw in the
sheepfold a sheep with a broken leg. The friend asked the shepherd how
the accident happened. Was it struck by a stone? Did it fall into a
hole? Did a dog bite it? How was the limb injured? The shepherd replied,
"No, I broke it myself."
In amazement the friend replied, "What, you broke it! Why did you do
that?"
The shepherd then told him how wayward this sheep had been, how it had
led others astray, and how difficult it had been to come near it. It was
necessary that something should be done to preserve the life of this
particular member of the flock, and also to prevent it from leading
other sheep astray. The shepherd therefore broke its leg and reset it.
This breakage necessitated the sheep's _lying down_ for a week or more.
During that time it was compelled to take food from the hand of the
shepherd. Thus had the compulsion of lying down cured the wandering and
wayward disposition of the sheep.
It is said that when a sheep will not follow the shepherd he takes up
the lamb in his arms--and then the mother follows.
So it sometimes happens with the children of God. Our Great Shepherd has
to lay us aside, put us on our backs, perhaps, for a while in order that
we may look up into His face and learn needed lessons. A little girl lay
dying. She looked up into the face of her father, who years before had
been a very active church worker, but on account of business prosperity
had drifted away from Christian moorings, and said, "Papa, if you were
as good as you used to be, do you think I would have to die?" God was
_making_ this man to "lie down," do you see?
A deacon in a Baptist church told me this story. When first married, he
and his wife observed family prayers every day. This worshipful spirit
continued for some years after their first child was born; then
gradually the father became so engrossed in business that the family
altar, Bible reading and prayer were gradually neglected and finally
altogether dispensed with. One day, on coming home from the office, the
deacon found his nine-year-old girl very ill with a fever. For weeks
they watched over her, but finally the angel of death took her home. As
the deacon told me this story, the tears filling his eyes, he said,
"Then I knew that my daughter had been taken for my sake and that God
was _making_ me to 'lie down.' From that day until this, which is over a
quarter of a century, the family altar has been maintained in our home."
Mother, in that sweetest of all hours to a mother, the last hour of the
day when the child is being put to sleep, when the last thing its eyes
rest upon is the face of the mother, does its last vision rest on a
mother who has taught it to pray, to love Jesus? It would be infinitely
better that the heavenly Father take that little child to be with
Himself than that it should go out into the world from a godless,
Christless, prayerless home.
Fathers and mothers, are we taking time to "lie down," to be alone with
God in prayer and the reading of His Word? Has the family altar in your
home been neglected? What are you waiting for? Do you want God to come
and lay His hand upon some precious one in your family circle to take to
be with Himself? Would you then take time to "lie down"?
It is said that when a sheep is wayward and will not cross the brook,
the shepherd finds that by taking the little lamb from it and carrying
it across, the mother sheep will at once follow, rushing over the
stream. Fathers and mothers, are you waiting for God to do this? Our
fathers and mothers used to have the family altar. They took time to
read the Bible and pray with their children. What kind of age will the
next be if we neglect these religious privileges? It may be that our
parents were not the scholars that some of their children are, but I
think we may safely say that they were the saints that we never will be
until we "lie down" in the green pastures and quiet waters of God's Word
and prayer as they did.
Christian workers especially need to learn the lesson of "lying down,"
We are restless; we fume and worry and fret because we are tired and
hungry. We do not take time to "lie down." Strange, is it not, that we
will do almost anything but lie down? We will walk, run, climb, sing,
preach, teach--do anything but "lie down." Let us not forget that the
secret of power lies in being alone with God. Christ _drew_ the
multitudes to Him because He _withdrew_ from them at times. The drawing
preacher is the withdrawing man. Significant are the words of Jesus to
His _active_ disciples: "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place,
and rest a while."
Resting in the pastures and beneath the Rock,
Resting by the waters where He leads His flock,
Resting, while we listen, at His glorious feet,
Resting in His very arms! O rest complete!
--_Frances Ridley Havergal_
These seasons of lying down are periods of renewal of strength for duty,
not for indolence or mere ecstasy. By thus feeding in the green pastures
and drinking by the still waters, we are strengthened in order that we
may walk in the paths of righteousness. We eat and drink for strength,
not for drunkenness. One may lie in a bath so long that his strength is
exhausted thereby, or he may take a good plunge in the morning which
will be a source of exhilaration to him throughout the day. These times
of "lying down" may be likened to the plunge. We must not be mere
recluses or visionaries. Our "lying down" must fit us for "walking." If
our private communion with God does not fit us for Christian activity in
our daily avocation, distrust it. We cannot keep the rapture of
devotion if we neglect duty of service. Life must not be all
contemplation any more than it must not be all activity. We will not
need to speak of these times of lying down, nor advertise that we have
seasons of quiet communion, of ecstasy and vision; but the result
thereof will be clearly apparent in our lives as we walk in the path of
righteousness, and in the joyful assurance of soul when we are called
upon to pass through the valley of the shadow.
Would that we knew how much depended, both for ourselves and others, on
these seasons of retirement for meditation and prayer! What a blessing
it would be to us! What a benediction to others!
Lord, what a change within us one short hour
Spent in Thy presence will prevail to make;
What heavy burdens from our bosoms take;
What parched grounds refresh as with a shower!
We kneel, and all around us seem to lower;
We rise, and all the distant and the near
Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear;
We kneel, how weak! We rise, how full of power!
Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong--
Or others--that we are not always strong;
That we are ever overborne with care;
That we should ever weak or heartless be,
Anxious or troubled, then with us in prayer,
And joy and strength and courage are with Thee!
--_Richard Chenevix Trench_