[Illustration]
="He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his
name's sake."=
David, the shepherd Psalmist, is doubtless thinking of the refreshment
that comes to the soul from browsing or meditating in the green pastures
and by the still waters of the Word of God, and of the exhilaration and
inspiration that comes from being alone with God with an open Bible and
on bended knee. Every true child of God knows the strength and blessing
that comes from such fellowship and communion. "Even the youths shall
faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that
wait upon the +LORD+ shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall
walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:30, 31).
But the Psalmist is referring more particularly, perhaps, to the
restoration of the soul from a spiritual lapse or backsliding,
resulting from failure to "lie down." We well know from what we have
read regarding the Oriental shepherd life, that the shepherd must needs
be a physician as well as a guide. A sheep is a most defenceless
creature. A cat, horse, cow or a dog will defend itself--a sheep cannot.
Sheep have a genius for going wrong. A sheep is said to have less brains
than any other animal of its size. If lost, it cannot find its way back
unaided. A dog, a cat, a horse can, but not a sheep. "All we, like
sheep, have gone astray." If the Good Shepherd had not gone after us we
would not have been in the fold today.
Have you ever looked into a sheep's eyes? They look for all the world
like glass eyes. A sheep can see practically nothing beyond ten or
fifteen yards. It recognizes persons by sound and not by sight. Jesus
said, "My sheep hear my voice; a stranger will they not follow, for they
know not the voice of strangers."
=_Traps for Falling_=
Palestinian fields were covered with narrow criss-cross paths over which
the shepherd would have to lead his flock in seeking new pasture. Some
of these paths led to a precipice or deep ravine over which a stupid
sheep might easily fall to its death. From such dangers the shepherd had
to guard his flock. Some sheep, however, being wayward by nature would
take one of these criss-cross paths leading to danger and fall headlong
into thickets or down ravines, where they would lie wounded, bleeding
and dying. What does a stupid sheep know of ravines, precipices or
haunts of wild beasts? That hill or valley seems to offer fair prospects
and good pasture--but death lurks there. The sheep knows not. The
shepherd would have to seek the lost, wounded sheep, and, finding it,
bind up its wounds, reset broken limbs and restore its health.
It is said that if a sheep wandered into a stranger's pasture the finder
could cut its throat and keep the carcass, providing the shepherd did
not come in time to save the sheep. Many times the shepherd arrived just
after the sheep had been mutilated, and by care saved its life and
restored it to health again. The sheep was again his own--it was
"restored."
=_The Wandering Sheep_=
David is spiritually soliloquizing. He thinks of the tendency of human
nature to err and stray like a sheep. "All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way." Man, too, has a genius
for going wrong. "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the
end thereof are the ways of death." No man is clever enough to guide
himself through the devious ways of life. He needs God as a guide.
David recalls how tenderly God had dealt with him after his backslidings
and how graciously and completely He had restored him to fellowship.
How gently Christ deals with the backslider! When John the Baptist
temporarily wavered in his conception of the mission of the Christ, and
sent his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Art thou he that should come, or
look we for another?" how tenderly Christ dealt with His forerunner! The
circumstances in the case might have led us to expect harsh treatment.
John had seen the open heavens and heard the voice of God saying, "This
is my beloved Son." In a special and miraculous way it had been revealed
to John that Jesus was the Messiah, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world!" The people had looked upon John as a prophet. All
that he had said concerning the Christ they had believed, and now from
the forerunner of Christ comes this message of doubt repeated to Jesus
within the hearing of the multitudes. But that child of the desert had
been incarcerated for some time in a narrow prison cell. No wonder the
eyes of the caged eagle began to film, and the faith of the stern
prophet began to waver. Other great men have wavered in their faith
before John. David himself said, even though God had definitely promised
that he should succeed Saul as king, "I shall one day perish by the hand
of Saul." Elijah, after his great triumph over the four hundred prophets
of Baal, sat down under a juniper tree, and full of fear because of
Jezebel's threat asked disconsolately that he might die. No wonder then
that, momentarily, the faith of John the Baptist was in the shadow. You
and I have failed in faith amid circumstances less trying than those
which surrounded John the Baptist in his dungeon.
=_The Gentleness of the Shepherd_=
How does Jesus answer John? Does He curse the doubter? No. That would
not be like Him. He has never been known to do that. Not once, so far as
we know, did he ever send a message of censure to a soul in the dungeon
of darkness, doubt, and despair. We have seen Him blast, with the
lightning of His eloquence, the false pride of scribe and Pharisee who
stood before Him in haughtiness and scorn, but we never knew Him to say
a harsh word to a creature that was sore stricken in soul. No, "He will
not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax." No, He will
not send a curse; He will send a blessing. That will be more like Him.
He will say, "Go tell John again those things that ye do see and hear;
the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
the dead are raised, the poor are evangelized, and _blessed_ is he that
shall not be offended in me." Not a curse, but a blessing will He send.
How much like his treatment of us! Do we not remember when we first came
to Him as our Saviour, how He forgave, freely and gladly, all our sins,
and sent us on our way rejoicing? Do we not recall how shortly after,
when we had sinned and spotted the clean white sheet of paper He had
given us, that when we brought it back to Him all spotted with sin He
freely pardoned, gave us another clean sheet, and, without upbraiding,
sent us away, saying, "Thy sins are forgiven; sin no more"? Yes, we
recall it. We believe in the deity of Christ, not because of the
metaphysical arguments that have been produced to prove it, no matter
how elaborately stated or eloquently discussed; not because our library
shelves are groaning beneath the weight of evidences of His deity; nor
because theologians are said to have forced Him to that high eminence.
We believe Jesus Christ to be God because when we sinned and came asking
pardon He freely forgave, and gave us a clean sheet of acquittal, saying
"Thy sins are forgiven; go and sin no more," and then when we did sin
again and brought back the sheet of paper all blotted over with sin and
said we were sorry and again asked pardon, He freely forgave, and
without chiding sent us on our way rejoicing. That is what makes us
believe in Him as the Son of God and love Him with a love surpassing
expression.
Poor wandering soul, have you fallen by the wayside? Have you become a
wayward sheep? Have you wandered from the fold? Are you tossed about,
wounded, sick and sore? Do you desire to come back again to the
Shepherd's care? Come now, right now, while the throb of passion is
still beating high, while the deed of shame is recent; while the blot of
sin is still wet; come now, say,
With all the shame, with all the keen distress,
Quick, "waiting not," I flee to Thee again;
Close to the wound, beloved Lord, I press,
That Thine own precious blood may overflow the stain.
O precious blood, Lord, let it rest on me!
I ask not only pardon from my King,
But cleansing from my Priest, I come to Thee,
Just as I came at first--a sinful, helpless thing.
Oh cleanse me now, my Lord, I cannot stay
For evening shadows and a silent hour:
Now I have sinned, and now with no delay,
I claim Thy promise and its total power.
O Saviour, bid me go and sin no more,
And keep me always 'neath the mighty flow
Of Thy perpetual fountain, I implore
That Thy perpetual cleansing I may fully know.
--_Frances Ridley Havergal_
O wandering sheep, backslidden soul, may the Saviour find you today, put
His strong arms around about you, bring you back again into the fold,
keep you from wandering, teach you all you need to know, until the
gloaming, until after having washed the last sleep from your eyes in the
river of life, you place your last climbing footstep on the threshold of
our Father's house to go out no more.
Callest Thou thus, O Master, callest Thou thus to me?
I am weary and heavy laden, and longing to come to Thee;
And out in the distant darkness Thy dear voice sounds so sweet,
But I am not worthy, not worthy, O Master, to kiss Thy feet.
"Child!" said the gracious Master, "why turnest thou thus away,
When I came through the darkness seeking my sheep that have gone
astray?
I know thou art heavy laden, I know thou hast need of me
And the feet of thy loving Master are weary with seeking thee."
Callest Thou thus, O Master, callest Thou thus to me?
When my untrimmed lamp is dying and my heart is not meet for Thee;
For Thou art so great and holy, and mine is so poor a home,
And I am not worthy, not worthy, O Master, that Thou shouldst come.
"Child," said the tender Shepherd--and His voice was very sweet--
"I only ask for a welcome, and rest for my weary feet."
Then over my lonely threshold, though weak and defiled by sin,
Though I am not worthy, O Master, I pray Thee enter in.
--_Helen Marion Burnsides_
=_Christ the Restorer_=
Do I not speak to a soul who once has known Christ as the Good Shepherd,
but has now wandered away from the fold?
Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulders gently laid,
He home rejoicing brought me.
--_Sir Henry W. Baker_
May I not remind you of the Master's own parable, "What man of you,
having one hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave ninety
and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which has gone astray,
until he find it?" May I impress upon the words _until he find it_? He
will not cease the search until He has found the sheep. It has been said
that the first verse of this Psalm may be translated, "The +LORD+ is my
Shepherd, I shall not be _missing_." "O love that will not let me go."
The Shepherd stands at the door of the sheepfold and counts the sheep,
his one hundred sheep. He counts to ninety-nine. One is missing. He
cannot rest until that last one is found. The door of the sheepfold is
closed, and out into the darkness and cold and pain of the night the
shepherd goes until he finds his lost sheep, and on his shoulders he
carries it back to the fold, then calls upon his neighbors to rejoice
with him. He has found his lost sheep.
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold,
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold--
Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherd's care.
Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?
But the Shepherd made answer, "This of mine
Has wandered away from me,
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find my sheep."
But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed,
Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry--
Sick and helpless, and ready to die.
Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way
That mark out the mountain's track?
They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.
Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?
They are pierced tonight by many a thorn.
But all through the mountains, thunder-riven,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gates of heaven,
Rejoice! I have found my sheep!
And the angels echoed around the throne,
Rejoice, for the +LORD+ brings back His own!
--_Elizabeth C. Clephane_
"=_The Paths of Righteousness_="
"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
These words are strikingly significant, and show forth the tender aspect
of God's guidance. Ofttimes, after rain, the heavy wagon wheels would
leave deep ruts in the road, which in cold weather would become hardened
and make it difficult for the sheep to walk. Not such roads did the true
shepherd willingly choose for his sheep. If compelled, however, to take
such roads, he would choose those that had been flattened down by wagon
wheels until level. He chose those roads that had been worn smooth, that
the tender feet of the sheep might not be bruised. "He leadeth me in
smooth roads." "Thou didst sustain them in the wilderness; their feet
swelled not."
He who follows the divine leading will always be led aright. His feet
will travel in "right roads." No man will go wrong who follows Christ.
He never leads the soul into questionable places, and no feet guided by
Him will go into any place where He Himself does not go. "Where I am,
there shall my servant be." "He that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness." "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say
that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do
not the truth." Sometimes the road He chooses may not be after our
liking, but it will always be for our best interest, welfare and
usefulness. This fact will eventually be made clear to us, and we will
gladly go with Him all the way.
I said, "Let me walk in the fields,"
He said, "No, walk in the town,"
I said, "There are no flowers there,"
He said, "No flowers, but a crown."
I said, "But the skies are black;
There is nothing but noise and din,"
But He wept as He sent me back--
"There is more," He said, "there is sin."
I said, "But the air is thick,
And fogs are veiling the sun,"
He answered, "Yet souls are sick,
And souls in the dark, undone."
I said, "I shall miss the light,
And friends will miss me, they say."
He answered: "Choose tonight
If I am to miss you or they."
I pleaded for time to be given.
He said, "It is hard to decide?
It will not seem hard in heaven,
To have followed the steps of your guide."
I cast one look at the fields,
Then set my face to the town.
He said, "My child, do you yield?
Will you leave the flowers for the crown?"
Then into His hand went mine,
And into my heart came He;
And I walk in a light divine,
The paths I had feared to see.
--_George MacDonald_
"=_His Name's Sake_="
All this He does for His name's sake. How beautiful those words are,
"_for His name's sake_." Christ's own glory is involved in the security
and care of His children. The physician cares for your child who is sick
unto death, for your sake, it is true, but for "his own name's sake" as
well. To lose your child would hurt his reputation and practice. The
lawyer protects his client for his client's sake, it is true, but also,
and perhaps more so, for "his own name's sake." To lose the case would
be to hurt his standing in the legal profession. The pilot guides the
ship safely into harbor for the passengers' sake, it is true, but more
particularly for "his own name's sake," for to lose the ship would be to
lose his license.
We remember that Jesus said, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou
hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." He
also said, "And of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none."
Christ Himself is the door. His broad figure and bulk fills it. Who
shall strip Him of His power, or rob Him of His sheep? He is the secret
of the security of the believer; yea, He is the security itself. We are
hid in Him. It is rather the perseverance of the Christ than of the
believer. Here, then, is the security of the believer, saved and kept
for "His own name's sake."
How proud we are of someone who is named after us! We have more
solicitude and care for the child that carries our name than for other
children. _For His name's sake_, therefore, is an indication of the
intense, intimate interest and care of the Christ for His people. Do we
not recall what Moses said to Jehovah when He said He thought to destroy
the people of Israel? Did not Moses plead thus with God, "If thou dost
destroy them, what shall we say to the nations, and what wilt thou do
for thine own name's sake?"
Shall it not be that in that great day not one of Christ's sheep will be
missing? "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me;
and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me,
is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's
hand." "The +LORD+ is my Shepherd, I shall not be missing."
Christ Jesus hath the power,
The power to renew,
The power to cleanse your heart from sin,
And make you wholly true.
Christ Jesus hath the power
For evermore to keep;
Oh, none can pluck you from His hand,
Or rob Him of His sheep!
--_Dr. James M. Gray_
=_God as a Guide_=
What a wonderful truth is asserted in this verse--"_He_ leadeth _me_."
Meditate just a moment on these words--"_He_," God, the great and mighty
One, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the One who upholdeth all
things by the word of His power, the unerring, unchangeable, all-seeing,
all-knowing, all-powerful One--"_He_ leadeth me"--_me_, poor, trembling,
wayward, straying, sinning, fallible, erring son of Adam, unworthy,
unfit, not entitled to the least of God's blessings; yet,
incomprehensible as the truth may seem, God in heaven leads "_me_,"
here, on earth. He leadeth me on a journey in which it is so easy of
myself to go astray from the right path. Further, He _leads_, not
drives, His sheep. "He goeth _before_ His own sheep and leadeth them."
The Good Shepherd will not ask you to go anywhere where He Himself has
not gone. He does not drive His children. He leads them.
He leadeth me! Oh! blessed thought,
Oh, words with heav'nly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be,
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.
Sometimes 'mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,
By waters calm, o'er troubled sea--
Still 'tis His hand that leadeth me.
Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since 'tis my God that leadeth me.
And when my task on earth is done,
When, by Thy grace, the victory's won,
E'en death's cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.
He leadeth me! He leadeth me!
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.
--_Joseph H. Gilmore_
=_Knowing God's Will_=
God's way of guidance varies with different individuals. There is
probably no point on which we need more careful instruction than that
which concerns the will of God for us. We may speak of two wills of God.
The first concerns our _character_ and may be known by all, for it is
distinctly declared in the Word of God in such passages, for example,
as, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." There can be no
doubt or hesitancy with regard to knowing what the _general_ will of God
regarding our _character_ may be.
There is another will of God, however, which affects not our character
but our _career_. This _particular_ will of God is not as easy to
discern as that which touches our character. Others may not know this
for me. In the last analysis God and I alone must solve the problem of
my career. It is true I may consult others and get all the light
possible on the question at issue, but ultimately the solution of the
matter is to be found in the quiet with the soul and God Himself.
=_Three Things About Guidance_=
Three things may be said to indicate clearly the _particular_ will of
God which concerns my _career_.
The first comes from a constant and prayerful reading of the _Word of
God_, through which God will in some way make known to me in particular
His will regarding me. The scripture which decides the matter for me may
not have the same meaning to others, but I recognize it to be God's will
for me. A minister received one day two calls to the pastorate of two
churches. One offered a stipend of $3000 a year and manse, and an
established church with 900 members, and located under the shadow of a
great university. A flattering call indeed. The other invitation was
from a struggling suburban church with a membership of 75, and offering
a salary of $1800 a year. What should the minister do? Which call should
he accept? To say there was no struggle in the heart at the time would
be to belie the fact. The man of God took the two invitations, laid them
on the bed, knelt by its side, and put his open Bible in front of him
between the two letters. After prayer for guidance and after reading the
Word for some time his attention was riveted upon this verse: "Set not
your mind on high things, but condescend to them that are lowly" (Romans
12:16, R. V.). He had read that verse before, many times, but somehow he
could not get beyond it at _this_ time. To _him_ at _that particular
time_ it was indicative of God's will. Obediently he chose the smaller
church. After years proved the wisdom of the choice. So God will in some
way indicate to you through the reading of His Word His will for _you_
at _that time_.
The second element in discerning the will of God is what may be called
_the inward impression_, by which we mean the constant, irrepressible,
insistent, persistent conviction in the heart of the child of God that
he ought to do thus and so in a given case. It often happens that a
strong impulse comes to a child of God. In a day or two that impulse has
passed away, and he looks back and sees that he has no assurance that
such was the will of God for him; but to the obedient soul in communion
with the heavenly Father, the constant, irrepressible, insistent and
persistent conviction that a certain thing should or should not be done
is one of the sure indications of God's voice in the soul.
The third feature in discerning the will of God is what may be called
_the favorable circumstance_, or _the open door_. If God wants one to go
to a certain place or do a certain thing, the opportunity to do it will
be present with the call to do it. If it is not, then one should wait
until the door opens. If the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of
fire by night remains stationary, then Israel must remain in the camp.
When these emblems of God's guidance lifted and moved, then Israel knew
that it was time for them to move.
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone;
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since and lost awhile.
--_John H. Newman_
These three things, the Word of God, the inward impression, and the open
door, should be present in every clear indication of the will of God. If
any one of them is missing, it indicates that the will of God is not yet
clear. We have a beautiful illustration of these three things in the
call of Peter to admit Cornelius into the Church (Acts 10 and 11).
First, Peter had the _Word of God_--nothing should be regarded common or
unclean; second, he had _the inward impression_--he was meditating on
what the vision he had seen should mean; and third, there was _the open
door_--three men were already waiting for him to convey him to Caesarea.
Wonderfully instructive is God's guidance of the children of Israel by
the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. In this
connection we should recall the words of Jesus when in the Temple, at
the time they were celebrating God's care for His people in the
wilderness in providing them with the pillar of cloud and the pillar of
fire. He said, "I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Christ is our
Guide; the Word of God is our chart. Having them, we may rest assured
that God who has guided His people in all the ages will guide us safely
to the end.
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty,
Hold me with Thy powerful hand;
Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through;
Strong Deliverer, be Thou still my Strength and Shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside,
Death of deaths and hell's destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan's side:
Songs of praises I will ever give to Thee.
--_William Williams_