The Good Shepherd
October 1898, Vol. 37, No. 10
"The Lord is my Shepherd."To feel as David felt when he wrote these words is the richest blessing a poor, sinful mortal can enjoy. No greater blessing could the Lord bestow upon us than to assure us that he is our Shepherd; no higher station could we occupy than to be numbered among his sheep; and no greater riches could we have than to be cared for by him. More could not be expressed in so short a sentence than is here expressed. In our comments if we can only present some of the beauties and taste with our readers some of the sweets of this grand lesson, we shall be thankful to him who gave David that blessed assurance and still imparts the same to his children.
1. The Lord is my Shepherd. On the very threshold of our theme we pause, for it seems like rash presumption to undertake to write about such a Being, a description of whose character no words can give, however well chosen and arranged. It would well become us to bury our face in the dust at the thought of mentioning the name of such a being. Angelic purity itself might well veil its face in the presence of the penetrating brilliancy of the majestic Creator. What might be said, then, of the proper attitude for a poor, sinful worm, in trying to portray his sublime character to his favored people! After Jehovah had spoken to Job of his own matchless and incomprehensible sovereignty, plying him with questions relating thereto, Job said when pressed to answer, "Behold I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth." After more questioning, he broke forth in pathetic acknowledgment, saying, "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." If Job, who had so patiently suffered, thus admitted his vileness, and repented with such deep humility, what should be the extent of the meekness and humility of one so poor, weak, and sinful as we? May God pardon our presumption and direct our thoughts that we may be able to write to the edification and comfort of his dear people.
In the very first verse of the Bible a mystery confronts us. There creation is mentioned and the CREATOR is introduced. This brings us at once to the contemplation of God's omnipotence. From the cloud, rent by the voice of thunder, and the earth, shaken by the alarming quake, we may well look back to the power which brought creation into being. No instruments, no mechanical aid, no series of contrivances are needed. At his will the work is done, whether it be the formation of an atom or the creation of a world.
The appellation by which the Creator is designated in the Holy Scriptures are significant of his supreme character. The name God is Anglo-Saxon, and in that early dialect was the form of the word good. Many have supposed from this that God was so named from his attribute of goodness. Other learned critics say that it is more reasonably inferred that God is so called from his supremacy or power, since the corresponding words in other languages are not the same. Elohim, the Hebrew word translated God, signifies the Almighty One, the object of our worship who has confirmed his promise with an oath. The plural form of this word suggests the doctrine of the Trinity, or Three in One. In the second chapter of Genesis we find the term Lord God, which is from Jehovah Elohim. This awful name means eternal, self-existent Being: "He that is, and was, and is to come." Rev. i. 8. Such a Being is the Shepherd of his people. In the person of the Son this mighty God, this everlasting Father, took on himself the nature of man, being clothed in mortal flesh. As the true Shepherd he thus came to where his sheep were, that he might rescue them from condemnation, and after giving himself for them he ascended on high where he ever remains, a living, loving, all-wise, and all-powerful Shepherd. As the universe belongs to him there is no limit to his riches. As he upholds all things there is no limit to his power. If we can but be able to say with confidence and truth, "The Lord is my Shepherd," we, like David, can say most assuredly, "I shall not want." "Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." Psa. c. 3. In the immaculate nature of this glorious Shepherd are to be seen the moral perfections of the Deity represented to the highest advantage, as displayed in the charms of his most holy life and excellency of his heavenly tempers. In him justice, rigorous and exact, is satisfied fully in its demands, while mercy, with her charming voice, speaks in all he utters, and benevolence pours her choicest stores in all he does. Compassion, with a look so amiably soft, is seen to glow in the tears that flowed from his pitying eye while here in the flesh. Patience assumed a most lovely form in the conduct of the meek Shepherd as he endured the contradiction of sinners against himself and bore the agonizing sufferings of the cross. God has appeared out of Zion, and in Zion's great Redeemer, in the most perfect beauty. Jehovah's glory beams forth in Christ with the strongest radiance and the most pleasing effulgence. In glory's unapproachable recess resides the great Sovereign over all worlds, superior to all powers. Through mercy's beaming channel he looks upon his sheep as they cry in the desert of sin, and with unerring hand he leads them forth to pastures of living green. How sweet it is "to lie passive in his hand, and know no will but his!"
2. The Lord is my Shepherd. David said the Lord was his Shepherd at the very time he wrote this golden sentence, and for that reason he said, with great confidence, "I shall not want." The present tense of the verb indicates that the Lord is a present help in every time of need. When the dawn of prosperity sheds its peaceful rays across the path of the hopeful child of God, the Lord is then his Shepherd, but not any more so than when the dark shades of adversity hang over his way. In sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, the Lord is the Shepherd, the support, and the defense of all his sheep. He has been during all ages past, is now, and always will be the inexhaustible source of all their supplies.
3. The Lord is my Shepherd. The sheep are those who have been given to him by the Father. He says, "I give unto them eternal life." John x. 28. Again he says, "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." John xvii. 2. His sheep, then, have been given to him, and to them he gives eternal life and declares they shall not perish. At the end, when they are all gathered home, he will say to the Father, "Behold, I and the children which God hath given me." Heb. ii. 13. They will all be there. But is the Lord my Shepherd? This is the question that arises in the mind of each way-faring pilgrim. "O," says the fearful child, "could I but know that he is mine." We were asked the question recently by one of these little children, "Is there such a thing as one merely imagining he loves the brethren?" We had not time to converse at length when the question was asked, but we observed an earnestness in the tone of the voice, and an anxiety in the expression of the face, that gave us great confidence. We said, "No: for an imaginary love, if such a thing could be, could not be caused by the influence of Satan, neither could it be by the influence of the Good Spirit." But can there be such a thing as imaginary love? If we love, it cannot be imaginary but must be real. How can we imagine we love when we know we do not? Without hesitation we say there can be no such thing as imaginary love. "We know we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren." How much comfort there is in that text! If we love the brethren we know we have passed from death unto life, and this proves that we are his sheep. If we are his sheep he is our Shepherd. Though we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil," for he gently leads us through to greener pastures beyond. The lurking wild beasts that hide in the deep jungles can not harm us for the hand of our Shepherd is strong and wards off all dangers. The weak little lambs that can not get along by their own strength he gently and lovingly carries in his own blessed bosom. Not one bleating, fearful, weary lamb will he leave behind to fall a prey to the enemy. What a precious Shepherd we have! Do not fear to approach him, trembling one. If you have been straying from the path and been caught in the briars, your pitiful cry he will hear, and he will come to your relief for you are his. Oh, follow him, trust him and cling to him! Finally the desert will be crossed and he will bring you to the field of never dying verdure.
"Oh the transporting, rapturous scene,
That rises to my sight!
Sweet fields arrayed in living green,
And rivers of delight."
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