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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd Psalm, by William Evans
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Shepherd Psalm
+       A Meditation
+
+Author: William Evans
+
+Release Date: August 4, 2010 [EBook #33349]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD PSALM ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Rose Mawhorter and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber's Notes:
+
+  The word 'Lord' in small-caps has been rendered as +LORD+ to
+  differentiate it from the word 'LORD' in regular all-caps.
+
+  Obvious missing punctuation was added.
+
+  p 83. hill-crest was changed to hillcrest
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+  The Shepherd Psalm
+
+  A Meditation
+
+  By WILLIAM EVANS, Ph.D., D.D.
+  Bible Teacher and Author of
+
+  "The Book of Books," "How to Memorize," "Outline Study of
+  the Bible," "How to Prepare Sermons and Gospel Addresses,"
+  "The Book-Method of Bible Study,"
+  "Epochs in the Life of Christ," "Through
+  the Bible, Book by Book," etc.
+
+  CHICAGO
+  THE BIBLE INSTITUTE COLPORTAGE ASS'N
+  826 North La Salle Street
+
+
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
+  THE BIBLE INSTITUTE COLPORTAGE
+  ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO
+
+
+  Printed in the United States of America
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+  FOREWORD                                        5
+
+  INTRODUCTION                                    7
+
+  CHAPTER ONE: "The +LORD+ is my shepherd;
+    I shall not want"                            17
+
+  CHAPTER TWO: "He maketh me to lie
+    down in green pastures; He leadeth me
+    beside still waters"                         26
+
+  CHAPTER THREE: "He restoreth my soul;
+    He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
+    for His name's sake"                         36
+
+  CHAPTER FOUR: "Yea, though I walk
+    through the valley of the shadow of
+    death, I will fear no evil; for thou art
+    with me; thy rod and thy staff they
+    comfort me"                                  58
+
+  CHAPTER FIVE: "Thou preparest a table
+    before me in the presence of mine enemies;
+    thou anointest my head with oil;
+    my cup runneth over"                         73
+
+  CHAPTER SIX: "Surely goodness and
+    mercy shall follow me all the days of
+    my life; and I will dwell in the house
+    of the +LORD+ forever"                       79
+
+
+[The illustration on the cover is from an actual photograph by
+the Author, when he was in Palestine.]
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+
+THIS production of the Shepherd Psalm is sent forth at the request of
+many hundreds of kind persons who have listened to the writer preach on
+it and who desire to see it in print, that it may be a blessing to many
+who cannot hear it.
+
+It is a well known Psalm. Untold numbers of sermons have been preached
+on it. Books without number have been printed in attempts to set forth
+its life, depth, richness, and beauty. Doubtless much more will be
+written and spoken concerning this charming pastoral symphony--and,
+after that, much more will remain yet to be said, so full is the
+inspiration of the divine Word. May God make this Psalm to the reader
+all that it has been--yea, and more,--to the writer!
+
+WILLIAM EVANS.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+The Twenty-third Psalm
+
+
+The world could afford to spare many a magnificent library better than
+it could dispense with this little Psalm of six verses. If the verses of
+this Psalm had tongues and could repeat the tale of their ministry down
+throughout the generations of the faithful, what marvels of experience
+they would reveal! Their biographies would be gathered from the four
+winds of heaven and from the uttermost parts of the sea; from lonely
+chambers, from suffering sick beds, from the banks of the valley of the
+shadow of death, from scaffolds and fiery piles; witnessing in sunlight
+from moors and mountains, beneath the stars and in high places of the
+field. What hosts of armies of aliens it has put to flight! If by some
+magic or divine touch, yea, some miraculous power, the saints'
+experience of this Psalm could shine out between its lines, what an
+illumination of the text there would be!
+
+Luther was fond of comparing this Psalm to the nightingale, which is
+small among the birds and of homely plumage, but with what thrilling
+melody it pours out its beautiful notes! Into how many dungeons filled
+with gloom and doubt has this little Psalm sung its message of hope and
+faith! Into how many hearts, bruised and broken by grief, has it brought
+its hymn of comfort and healing How many darkened prison cells it has
+lightened and cheered! Into what thousands of sick rooms has it brought
+its ministry of comfort and support! How many a time, in the hour of
+pain, has it brought sustaining faith and sung its song of eternal bliss
+in the valley of the shadow of death! It has charmed more griefs to rest
+than all the philosophies of the world. And I am persuaded that this
+little Psalm-bird will continue to sing its song of comfort and cheer to
+your children, to my children, and to our children's children, and will
+not cease its psalmody of love until the last weary pilgrim has placed
+his last climbing footstep upon the threshold of the Father's house to
+go out no more. Then, I think, this little bird will fold its golden
+pinions and fall back on the bosom of God, from whence it came.
+
+It has been well said that this Psalm is the most perfect picture of
+happiness that ever was or ever can be drawn to represent that state of
+mind for which all alike sigh, and the want of which makes life a
+failure to most. It represents that heaven which is everywhere, if we
+could but interpret it, and yet almost nowhere because not many of us
+do.
+
+
+=_Unusual Application_=
+
+How familiar this Psalm is the world over! Go where you will; inquire in
+every nation, tongue and tribe under heaven where the Bible is known,
+you will find this Psalm among the first scriptures learned and lisped
+by the little child at its mother's knee, and the last bit of inspired
+writ uttered in dying breath by the saintly patriarch.
+
+This Psalm is so universal, says one, because it is so individual; it is
+so individual because it is so universal. As we read it, we are aware
+not only of the fact that we are listening to the experience of an Old
+Testament saint, but also that a voice comes speaking to us through the
+long centuries past--speaking to us in our own language, recounting our
+own experience, breathing out our own hopes.
+
+The Davidic authorship of this Psalm has been questioned. We believe
+firmly that David is the writer; and yet a man feels as he reads the
+Psalm that it is so personal, so true to his own individual experience,
+that he could fain claim to have written it himself. It might seem as
+though the promises and precious things set forth in this Psalm lie
+beyond our reach; we have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep,
+but "one of like passions with ourselves has passed that way before and
+has left a cup to be let down, with His name and story written on the
+rim, and we may let that cup down into the well and draw a draught of
+the deep, refreshing water."
+
+
+=_The Location of the Psalm_=
+
+Have you ever noticed just where this Psalm is located? It lies between
+the Twenty-second and the Twenty-fourth Psalms. A very simple statement
+that--but how deep and wondrous a lesson lies hidden therein!
+
+The Twenty-second Psalm. What is it? It is "The Psalm of the Cross." It
+begins with the words uttered by Christ on the cross: "My God, my God,
+why hast thou forsaken me?" It ends with the exclamation of the cross:
+"He hath done it," or, as it may be translated, "It is finished." The
+Twenty-second Psalm, then, is the Psalm of Mount Calvary--The Psalm of
+the Cross.
+
+What is the Twenty-fourth Psalm? It is the Psalm of Mount Zion--a
+picture of the King entering into His own. How beautifully it reads:
+"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting
+doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory?
+The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory." The Twenty-fourth Psalm,
+then, is the Psalm of the coming Kingdom of Glory.
+
+There you have the two mountains; Mount Calvary and Mount Zion. What is
+it that lies between two mountains? A valley with its green grass, its
+quiet waters, its springing flowers, with shepherd and grazing sheep.
+Here, then, is the lesson we learn from the _location_ of the Psalm: it
+is given to comfort, help, inspire and encourage God's people during
+this probationary period of our life, between the Cross and the Crown.
+
+Is not this the reason why the tenses of this Psalm are _present_
+tenses? "The +LORD+ _is_ my shepherd"; "He _maketh_ me to lie down"; "He
+_leadeth_ me." Even the last verse, "_I will_ (not I shall) dwell in the
+house of the Lord for ever," describes the _present_ attitude of the
+soul of the Psalmist, who determines by no means to miss participation
+in the fellowship of the saints in heaven.
+
+We love _the Christ of the Cross_. We may not yet fully understand that
+cross; may not yet have found any particular theory of the atonement
+which completely satisfies our intellect. But we have learned to say
+that we believe in the atonement and in the vicarious death of our
+Redeemer. Somehow or other we have come, by faith, to throw our
+trembling arms around that bleeding body and cry out in the desperate
+determination of our sin-stricken souls to Him who hangs on that cross
+to save us by His death. We have come to express our faith in that
+divine sacrifice in the words of the hymn:
+
+    Other refuge have I none,
+    Hangs my helpless soul on Thee.
+
+Let us never forget that we reach the Twenty-third Psalm by the way of
+the Twenty-second Psalm--the Psalm of the Cross. "The way of the cross
+leads home." We love the Christ of the Twenty-second Psalm, the Christ
+of Calvary, the Christ of the Cross.
+
+We also love _the Christ of the Throne and the Glory_. It may be, that,
+at times, we have trembled and feared as we have thought of the coming
+judgment, but when we have remembered that He who sits upon the throne
+is our Elder Brother, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; that He
+left His throne in the glory and took on Him the form of a servant,
+dying the ignominious death of the cross that He might redeem us and
+save us from the just wrath of God against sin; that some day, He who
+loved us and gave Himself for us, will say: "Come, ye blessed of my
+Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
+world," then we take courage and look forward with joy to the time when,
+having washed the last sleep from our eyes in the river of Life, we
+shall gaze with undimmed vision upon Him, whom having not seen, we have
+yet loved.
+
+We love the Christ of the cross, the Christ of the past, the Christ of
+Mount Calvary. We love the Christ of the future, the Christ of the
+throne, the Christ of Mount Zion. But more precious to us, and we say it
+reverently, than the Christ of the past, or the Christ of the future, is
+the Christ of the present, He who lives with us now, dwells within us,
+walks by our side every moment and every hour of the day. We used to
+sing in our childhood days that beautiful hymn,
+
+    I think, when I read that sweet story of old,
+    When Jesus was here among men,
+    How He called little children as lambs to His fold,
+    I should like to have been with Him then.
+
+    I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,
+    That His arms had been thrown around me;
+    And that I might have seen His kind look when he said,
+    "Let the little ones come unto me."
+
+                                      --_Mrs. Jemima Luke_
+
+Many of us feel that we would have given anything to have walked by the
+side of the Christ in the days of His earthly pilgrimage, and we almost
+envy those who saw His face in the flesh. Some of us know the thrill of
+joy that came to our hearts when we trod the sands of Galilee that once
+were fresh with His footprints, trod the Temple's marble pavements that
+once echoed with His tread, and sailed the blue waters of Galilee that
+once were stilled by His wonderful word.
+
+And yet, we should not forget that the enjoyment of the real presence of
+Christ is just as truly ours today as it was the possession of the
+disciples in the days of His flesh. As the old hymn so beautifully says,
+
+    We may not climb the heavenly steeps
+      To bring the Lord Christ down;
+    In vain we search the lowest deeps,
+      For Him no depths can drown.
+
+    But warm, sweet, tender, even yet
+      A present help is He;
+    And faith has still its Olivet,
+      And love its Galilee.
+
+    The healing of His seamless dress
+      Is by our beds of pain;
+    We touch Him in life's throng and press,
+      And we are whole again.
+
+                        --_John G. Whittier_
+
+The name given to our Lord in connection with His birth was Immanuel,
+which being interpreted is, "God with us." One of the most beautiful
+doctrines of the Christian faith is the divine immanence, the continued
+presence of the ever-living Christ with His people; for
+
+    For God is never so far off as even to be near, He is within.
+
+                                                  --_F. W. Faber_
+
+    Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands or feet.
+
+                                            --_Alfred Tennyson_
+
+    I know not where His islands lift
+      Their fronded palms in air;
+    I only know I cannot drift
+      Beyond His love and care.
+
+                 --_John G. Whittier_
+
+
+
+
+THE SHEPHERD PSALM
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER ONE
+
+"=The +LORD+ is my shepherd; I shall not want.="
+
+
+"The +LORD+ is my shepherd." Have you ever noted how the word "Lord" is
+printed in the Bible? Sometimes all the letters are large capitals
+(LORD); or the first letter is a large capital and the other letters
+smaller capitals (+LORD+); then, again, the first letter is a large
+capital and the remaining letters ordinary (Lord). Each method of
+spelling the divine name indicates a different phase of the character of
+God. "LORD" refers to Jehovah as the covenant-keeping God, the One who
+never fails to fulfill all His promises. "+LORD+" points to our Lord
+Jesus Christ as the second Person in the Trinity, He who became
+incarnate. "Lord" signifies also God in Christ, the Jehovah of the Old
+Testament, God of power, the One who is able to do all things and with
+whom nothing is impossible, manifesting Himself in Jesus Christ.
+
+What a world of meaning, then, lies wrapped up in the word "+LORD+" in
+the first verse of this Psalm! Jehovah who is all-faithful, never
+failing in His promises, almighty, all-powerful, who is able to supply
+all of our needs, who created the heavens and the earth, who upholds all
+things by the word of His power, who spake and it was done, who
+commanded and it stood fast; the +LORD+ of whom Job said: "I know that
+thou canst do anything, and no purpose of thine can be hindered"; the
+"+LORD+" who never fails in the keeping of His promises, however
+seemingly impossible of fulfillment, from a natural viewpoint, those
+promises may be; the "+LORD+" of whom it is said, "God is not a man that
+he should lie, nor the Son of man that he should repent." "Hath he said
+and shall He not do it; hath He promised and shall he not bring it to
+pass?" the "Lord," the incarnate One, who for our sakes took on Himself
+our nature with all its sinless infirmities, who was tempted in all
+points like as we are, yet without sin, and who is thus able to feel our
+needs and sympathize with us in all our trials and temptations; the
+"+LORD+" who, speaking to the multitudes, said, "I am the good shepherd;
+the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep"--such a Shepherd,
+faithful, powerful, sympathetic, is our "+LORD+." What a wealth of
+meaning, then, lies in the first clause, "The +LORD+" (who is LORD, and
+Lord) such a "+LORD+" is "my Shepherd."
+
+We can then well say, "I shall not want." With such a Shepherd, how
+could we want for anything for time or eternity? All that we need for
+body, mind and soul shall be supplied. The God who provided the table in
+the wilderness, who fed Elijah by the brook, who struck the rock in the
+wilderness that the thirst of His people might be quenched, will provide
+for His children according to His riches in glory.
+
+Reviewing Israel's history in the wilderness it could be recorded,
+"These forty years Jehovah, thy God, hath been with thee; thou hast
+lacked nothing." How wonderfully God supplied the needs of His people
+when they were traveling through that long, weary wilderness! "For the
++LORD+ thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand; he
+knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness; these forty years the
++LORD+ thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing"
+(Deuteronomy 2:7). "Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them,
+and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water
+for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the
+wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old,
+and their feet swelled not" (Nehemiah 9:20, 21).
+
+Let us, then, as the children of God, take all the comfort possible out
+of these words. Let us not go about mourning, grumbling, and borrowing
+trouble, thereby proclaiming to the world that our great Banker is on
+the verge of bankruptcy. The "+LORD+" is our shepherd; we shall not want
+for nourishment (verse 1), refreshment (verse 2), rest (verse 3),
+protection (verse 4), guidance (verse 5), home (verse 6). Here is a Bank
+the child of God can draw on at any time without fear of its being
+broken. Millions have been supplied and there's room for millions more.
+No want shall turn me back from following the Shepherd.
+
+How encouraging to recall the words of Jesus uttered to the disciples
+when they had returned from their itinerary of missionary activity:
+"When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any
+thing? And they said, Nothing" (Luke 22:35).
+
+    The Lord my Shepherd is,
+      I shall be well supplied,
+    Since He is mine and I am His,
+      What can I want beside?
+
+                   --_Isaac Watts_
+
+When the writer was a lad he secured a position for which he was
+promised so much a week in money and "everything found," by which was
+meant board, room, and clothing. So this verse may read, "The +LORD+ is
+my Shepherd," and "everything found."
+
+In a park one day two women were overheard talking. One of them, who by
+her appearance showed that she was in very straitened circumstances,
+said to the other, "I am at my wit's end; I know not what to do. My
+husband has been sick and unable to work for almost a year. What little
+money we had saved is all spent. We have not a penny with which to buy
+food or clothing for ourselves or the children. This morning we received
+notice from the landlord to vacate." And then, in words that were full
+of suggestive meaning, she added, "If John D. Rockefeller were my
+father, I would not want, would I?"
+
+Oh, what a world of comfort lies in the thought, "The +LORD+ is my
+Shepherd," and, therefore, "I shall not want"! I shall want for nothing
+in time or eternity. Every need of body, mind, and soul shall be
+supplied. In the great Shepherd lies strength for my weakness, hope for
+my despair, food for my hunger, satisfaction for my need, wisdom for my
+ignorance, healing for my wounds, power for my temptation--the
+complement of all my lack.
+
+    Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
+    More than all in thee I find.
+
+                 --_Charles Wesley_
+
+
+=_Religion Is a Personal Thing_=
+
+"The +LORD+ is my shepherd." _My_ Shepherd. Religion is a _personal_
+thing. Really speaking, your religion consists in your personal
+relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Not mere profession, but actual
+possession is what counts. Christianity emphasizes the worth of the
+individual and his personal relation to God. Sin degrades men into mere
+numbers.
+
+A photograph was placed on my desk. It had inscribed on it a number, but
+no name. It was the likeness of a convict. It was a number I went to
+jail to see; a number I spoke with by the cell door; a number I stood by
+and saw handcuffed; a number with whom I walked down the steps of the
+jail; a number with whom I walked up the stairs to the scaffold; a
+number around whose neck I saw the rope placed; a number I saw drop to
+his death. Sin degrades personality, but the religion of Christ exalts
+its adherents to a place in that innumerable company which cannot be
+numbered, but every one of whom bears upon his forehead the name of his
+Redeemer and King. Jesus calleth HIS sheep by name, not by number.
+
+At the close of a sermon in a church in the Highlands of Scotland the
+preacher, who was supplying the pulpit for a few Sundays, was asked to
+call upon a shepherd boy who was very sick. Arm in arm with one of the
+elders of the church the minister crossed the moor, climbed the
+hillside, and came to the cottage where the boy and his widowed mother
+lived. After knocking at the door the visitors were admitted by the
+mother. Her face showed the marks of long vigil. The boy was her only
+child. The minister and elder went into the room where the sick boy lay
+on his cot. The minister, looking upon the pale, haggard face of the
+sick shepherd boy, asked him tenderly, "Laddie, do you know the
+Twenty-third Psalm?"
+
+Every Scotch boy knows the Twenty-third Psalm, and so the little fellow
+replied, "Yes, sir, I ken (know) the Psalm well."
+
+"Will you repeat it to me?" said the minister to the boy.
+
+Slowly and tenderly the lad quoted the words, "The +LORD+ is my
+shepherd, I shall not want," unto the end of the Psalm.
+
+"Do you see," said the minister to the boy, "that in the first clause of
+the first verse there is just one word for each finger. Hold up your
+hand, laddie; take the second finger of your right hand, put it on the
+fourth finger of your left, hold it over your heart and say with me,
+'The +LORD+ is _my_ Shepherd.'"
+
+The fourth finger of the left hand! Why that finger? Every woman knows.
+It is the ring finger. Who placed that ring on your finger? My friend,
+my lover, my husband; the man who is more to me and different to me
+than any other and all other men in this world; the man without whom
+life would not be worth living; _my_ friend, _my_ lover, _my_ husband.
+
+The following Sunday the elder and the minister again crossed the moor
+and came to the cottage on the hillside. As the mother opened the door
+to admit them they saw by the expression on her face that a deeper
+sorrow had fallen on her heart since they last saw her. She took them,
+silently and solemnly, into a little room, and there, covered with a
+snow-white sheet, lay the lifeless form of the shepherd laddie, her only
+child. As the minister took the white sheet and passed it from forehead
+to chin, from chin to breast, and from breast to waist, he saw, frozen
+stiff in death, the second finger of the right hand on the fourth of the
+left hand, which was fastened in death over his heart. The mother
+exclaimed amid her tears, "He died saying, 'The +LORD+ is _my_
+Shepherd.'"
+
+What a world of difference that little word _my_ makes, does it not? As
+a pastor I have often stood by the open grave that was to receive the
+body of someone's beloved daughter, the light and joy of some heart. I
+sought to be deeply sympathetic with those who were suffering
+bereavement. I tried to mourn with those who mourned, and weep with
+those who wept, and I think I did, so far as it is possible for a
+friend to sympathize. But one day I stood by an open grave when _my_
+daughter, _my_ child, _my own_ darling girl, _my_ Dorothy, was placed
+beneath the sod. Ah! then I knew what grief was. Ah, what a world of
+difference that little word _my_ makes!
+
+It will not profit you much, my friend, to be able to say, "The +LORD+
+is _a_ Shepherd"; you must be more personal; you must say, "The +LORD+
+is _my_ Shepherd."
+
+    A Shepherd who giveth His life for the sheep,
+    A Shepherd both mighty to save and to keep--
+    Yes, this is the Shepherd, the Shepherd we need,
+    And He is a Shepherd indeed!
+
+    Is He yours? Is He yours?
+    Is this Shepherd, who loves you, _yours_?
+
+                                --_Ada R. Habershon_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO
+
+[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_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE
+
+[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 Cæsarea.
+
+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_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR
+
+[Illustration]
+
+="Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
+shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for
+thou art with me; thy rod and
+thy staff they comfort me."=
+
+
+It was necessary for shepherds in Palestine, when leading their flocks
+from one pasture to another, to lead them, at times, through dark
+ravines, on either side of which were caves and holes wherein dwelt
+ravenous beasts. From the attack of these beasts the shepherd must
+protect his flock. For this purpose he used the staff which he carried
+with him. The staff was a great stick with a large knob at the end of it
+pierced through with sharp nails and spikes. This weapon was used to
+beat off the attacks of the wild beasts. The shepherd must be bold and
+courageous. We recall how David referred to his encounters with wild
+beasts which attacked his flock. "And David said unto Saul, Thy servant
+kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a
+lamb out of the flock; and I went out after him, and smote him, and
+delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught
+him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the
+lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of
+them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said
+moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out
+of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of the
+Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the +LORD+ be with thee"
+(I Samuel 17:34-37).
+
+
+=_The Valley of the Shadow_=
+
+"The valley of the shadow of death" may refer to any dark, dread or
+awful experience through which the child of God is called to pass. In
+this sense it is used in many places in the Scriptures. The Christian's
+path is not always beside still waters and in green pastures.
+
+    In pastures green? Not always; sometimes He
+    Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me
+    In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.
+
+    And by still waters? No not always so,
+    Ofttimes the heavy tempests round me blow,
+    And o'er my soul the waves and billows go.
+
+    But when the storm beats loudest, and I cry
+    Aloud for help, the Master standeth by,
+    And whispers to my soul, "Lo, it is I!"
+
+    Above the tempest wild I hear Him say,
+    "Beyond the darkness lies the perfect day,
+    In every path of thine I lead the way."
+
+                             --_Henry H. Barry_
+
+But is it not kind of our Father that He puts the valley in the middle
+of the Psalm--not at the beginning of our Christian journey, lest we
+should be unduly discouraged, but in the middle--after we have been
+strengthened with food and drink and have been assured of the tender
+care and guidance of the Great Shepherd. Oh! wondrous thought and care!
+
+Of course, "the valley of the shadow of death" refers also, and probably
+more particularly, to the experience of death itself. At least we have
+come to look upon it in such light, and doubtless thousands of God's
+people have found the comforting truth of this verse a safe pillow in
+the dying hour. It has lightened the valley, removed the fear of death,
+and illumined immortality.
+
+
+=_The Fear of Death_=
+
+When a robber would scatter a flock of sheep and cause fear and
+consternation he throws a dead carcass in the midst of the flock. Sheep
+fear nothing as much as the sight of death. Is this not true of man
+also? About the last fear taken from the human heart is "the fear of
+death." "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Even though
+the believer knows that the sting of death has been removed,
+nevertheless there is usually an attendant fear connected with the
+passing out of this life.
+
+I have read that a famous scientist was in the habit of visiting a
+zoological garden in London. Among the many things that always
+interested him was a large snake--a boa constrictor. It was kept in a
+large glass case so that inspection of the reptile was perfectly safe
+from the outside. The scientist, we are told, was in the habit of
+knocking on the glass in order to awaken the snake. Instantly, when the
+knock was heard, the snake would raise its head and strike at the glass
+with its fangs. The scientist, instinctively shrank back, fearful of
+being struck, though he knew there was absolutely no danger. So
+sometimes is it with the believer's relationship to death. Even though
+he knows the sting is removed, nevertheless the experience of death is
+somewhat of a dread. The soul naturally recoils at the thought of death.
+
+No really thoughtful man will speak lightly of death. He may, as some
+men may, in the fullness of health and vigor, laugh at the idea of
+dying; but when he comes face to face with the real experience, there
+is, as any minister or physician will tell you, quite a different story
+to tell.
+
+It reminds me of an experience in our own family life. Behind a former
+residence of ours was a stretch of woods where, after school, our boys
+would go to play their outdoor games. It was the understanding in the
+home that when the whistle was blown or some other signal given the boys
+should come home for their meals. At times the boys would come home in
+response to the signal in a somewhat murmuring spirit. They have said
+something like this to their mother: "Mother, what did you call us home
+for anyway? Didn't you know that we were just in the midst of a great
+game and our side was about to win? We wish you wouldn't call us." I
+have felt as I have listened to them speaking thus to their mother that,
+just at that particular time and in the middle of the day, they could,
+apparently, get along very well without their mother. But I have noticed
+this also, that at night time, after their mother had prayed with them
+and the lights were turned out, there was another story to tell. It
+seems to me that I can still hear one of the boys calling out in the
+dark to his mother, "Mamma, are you there?"
+
+"Yes, son."
+
+"Mamma."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Is your face turned towards me?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Mamma, will you hold my hand? It's dark, isn't it, Mamma? Good night,
+Mamma."
+
+Ah, yes, in the day-time they might think they could get along very well
+without their mother, but when the night comes, and the lights are all
+out, and it's dark, then nobody on earth but mother will do.
+
+So it is with you, my friend. In your bravado of health and strength you
+may say that you are not afraid of death, but you wait until your feet
+come down to the brink of the river; then there will be a different
+story to tell. Some men haven't much use for God in life, but nobody
+else but God will do in the hour of death.
+
+
+=_The Valley Is Certain and Narrow_=
+
+Death is certain. It is appointed unto men once to die. While the Lord
+tarries, every child of Adam will have to pass through the experience of
+death.
+
+    There is no flock, however watched and tended,
+    But one dead lamb is there!
+    There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended,
+    But has one vacant chair!
+
+                           --_Henry W. Longfellow_
+
+We cannot bribe death. We cannot avoid or evade passing through the
+valley of the shadow. We cannot dig under it, nor tunnel around it, nor
+fly over it. Face it we must. It behooves us, therefore, to make sure
+that we have the light and the life which alone will secure for us a
+happy exit from this valley and a glorious entrance into the unfading
+light of a new day.
+
+The valley of the shadow of death is narrow, very narrow--so narrow
+indeed that even a mother cannot take her one-hour-old babe with her. It
+is so narrow. She must go through the valley alone. Single file, if you
+please, is the order of march through this valley of the shadow. An aged
+woman lay dying. By her bedside, with his hand in hers, sat the man who
+for over fifty years had been her husband. The light was failing fast,
+and eternity drawing near to the aged woman. Grasping the hand of her
+husband tightly, she said, "John, it's getting dark. Take my hand. For
+over fifty years we have traveled together, and you have led me. Now
+it's getting dark, and I cannot see the way. John, come with me, won't
+you?"
+
+But John could not go, and with tear-filled eyes and trembling voice, he
+said, "Anna, I cannot, cannot go. Only Jesus can go with you."
+
+She was a little girl of ten years. The angel of death was hovering over
+her bed. The end was drawing near. She said to her father, who was
+standing by the mother's side at the bed, "Papa, it's getting dark and I
+cannot see. Will you please go with me?"
+
+With heart breaking, the father had to say, "Child, I cannot, I cannot
+go with you."
+
+The girl turned to her mother and said, "Mamma, then you will, won't
+you?"
+
+But the mother, in turn, amid her tears, replied, "Child, I would, but I
+cannot. Only Jesus can go with you."
+
+
+=_The Personal Pronouns Change_=
+
+It is interesting to note the change in the personal pronoun in this
+verse. Up to this point the Psalmist has been speaking in the third
+person and using the personal pronoun "He"--"_He_ leadeth me." "_He_
+maketh me." "He restoreth;" _he, he, he_. When he comes to speak of the
+valley of the shadow of death, however, the third personal pronoun is
+changed to that of the second person, "Yea, though I walk through the
+valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for _thou_,
+(_thou_--not _he_, is with me, but _thou_) art with me." There is no
+room for a third person in this valley. If one does not have Christ as
+Saviour and Guide in the dark hour of death, he goes through the valley
+of the shadow all alone. Surely, without Christ with him man will
+stumble and fall in this valley.
+
+Poor indeed is that soul who, when his feet are about to enter the
+valley, has no Guide, or, when he comes to the brink of death's river,
+has no Pilot.
+
+    Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,
+      How lonely life must be!
+    Like a sailor lost and driven
+      On a wide and shoreless sea.
+
+    Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,
+      No hand to clasp thine own!
+    Through the dark, dark vale of shadows
+      Thou must press thy way alone.
+
+                         --_W. O. Cushing_
+
+But what a blessing and comfort it is for those who know Christ as
+Saviour and Comforter, to have the assurance that in that last hour of
+life He is by their side to guide them. It was doubtless this thought of
+the presence of Christ that comforted Tennyson when he wrote the words
+of that beautiful poem:
+
+        Sunset and evening star,
+        And one clear call for me!
+        And, may there be no moaning of the bar,
+        When I put out to sea.
+
+          *   *   *   *   *
+
+        Twilight and evening bell,
+        And after that the dark!
+        And, may there be no sadness of farewell,
+        When I embark;
+
+        For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
+        The flood may bear me far,
+        I hope to see my Pilot face to face
+        When I have crossed the bar.
+
+                                   --_Alfred Tennyson_
+
+Some one has called the fourth verse of the Psalm a song of the waters.
+Did you ever hear singing on the water? There is something wonderful
+about it. The water seems to take all harshness out of the music, and
+puts something exquisitely beautiful into it. Here then is "a psalm of
+the waters," a song for the believer to sing when his feet are touching
+the margin of the river: "When thou passest through the waters, I will
+be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee....
+For I am the +LORD+ thy God."
+
+Here, too, is "a song in the night." Sing it, Christian pilgrim, when
+earth's last hour is at hand. Sing it as you enter the valley. Sing it
+as the darkness deepens. Sing it when the light of earth's day begins to
+fade. Sing it when the earth is receding, heaven is opening and God is
+calling you. Sing it until the glory of the eternal morn breaks upon
+thine enraptured vision. Sing it until your feet stand upon that golden
+shore against which death's chilly wave never again shall dash, and
+where death is no more. Sing it, sing this song of the waters--"Yea,
+though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
+evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
+
+    Why be afraid of Death as though your life were breath!
+    Death but anoints your eyes with clay. Oh glad surprise!
+
+    Why should you be forlorn? Death only husks the corn.
+    Why should you fear to meet the thresher of the wheat?
+
+    Is sleep a thing to dread? Yet sleeping, you are dead
+    Till you awake and rise, here, or beyond the skies.
+
+    Why should it be a wrench, to leave your wooden bench?
+    Why not with happy shout run home when school is out?
+
+    The dear ones left behind? O foolish one and blind.
+    A day--and you will meet--a night--and you will greet!
+
+    This is the death of Death, to breathe away a breath,
+    And know the end of strife and taste the deathless life.
+
+    And joy without a fear and smile without a tear,
+    And work, nor care, nor rest, and find the last the best.
+
+                                       --_Maltbie D. Babcock_
+
+
+"=_Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me_="
+
+The rod is a protection from all the adversaries of the night. No enemy,
+not even the last enemy, death, can affright the soul in the care of the
+tender Shepherd, for He has extracted the sting from death. The staff is
+used for counting the sheep as they pass one by one into the fold. This
+action is sometimes called "passing under the rod." The language used
+here indicates safety and security.
+
+    I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
+    Ills have no weight and tears on bitterness.
+    Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?
+    I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
+
+                                     --_Henry F. Lyte_
+
+Christ hath _abolished_ death and brought life and immortality to light.
+The word "abolished" is a very strong one in the Greek. It has three
+root letters, a, r and g. Then the preposition _kata_ is added to it,
+thus making our English word "energy" which means "a working force."
+Then, in a way known to Greek students, the preposition gives the word,
+as it were, the force of a double negative. So the Apostle teaches us
+that Christ, when He came into the world and died on the cross, did
+something with death. He double-twisted it, He de-vitalized it,
+double-negatived it, made it inoperative, rendered it powerless, so that
+ever afterwards it would be unable to hurt the children of God.
+
+I do not know very much about bees except, of course, that they sting. I
+am told, however, that when a bee stings you it leaves its sting in the
+wound and goes away to die. A little child may play with the bee after
+it has stung a person without any harm coming to the child. The bee has
+lost its power to hurt. So we are told that the sting of death is sin.
+Death stung Christ on the cross and left its sting in Him, so that ever
+after it could not hurt the children of God. He is "Death of death and
+hell's destruction."
+
+Christ, the Great Shepherd, will be there at the entrance of the valley
+to meet you and lead you through. He will beat off all the powers of
+death. He will destroy all the enemies of darkness and convey you safely
+through the valley into the Homeland. He holds the keys of death and the
+grave. How helpless a thing a sheep is! How much in need of a defender
+it is! It seems as though almost any other animal can defend itself. A
+dog will fight when attacked. A sheep stands helpless in the presence
+of its opponent. Christ, the Good Shepherd, will protect to the last.
+
+The comforting thoughts of this verse must certainly take the sting out
+of death to those who grasp the great truths taught here. It surely
+abolishes death and illumines immortality.
+
+No one need fear death with such thoughts as these before him. The
+Apostle Paul asserts that every believer in Christ has "a cheerful view
+of death," and desires rather "to be absent from the body and at home
+with the Lord" than to remain here upon the earth.
+
+Go to thy grave, not as the slave scourged to his dungeon, or the dog
+whipped to his kennel, but as the prince wraps around him the drapery of
+his couch and lies down to pleasant dreams. The conscious companionship
+of the Christ will remove thy fears. With what alacrity, courage and
+fearlessness doth he walk the highway whose heart is honest and whose
+conscience doth not convict him of the violation of his country's laws!
+How different with the criminal! How full of fear and apprehension!
+
+    Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;
+    The darkness deepens--Lord, with me abide!
+    When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
+    Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
+
+    Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
+    Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
+    Change and decay in all around I see;
+    O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
+
+    I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
+    Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
+    Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?
+    I triumph still, if Thou abide with me!
+
+    Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
+    Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
+    Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
+    In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
+
+                                          --_Henry F. Lyte_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE
+
+[Illustration]
+
+="Thou preparest a table before me in the
+presence of mine enemies; thou
+anointest my head with oil;
+my cup runneth over."=
+
+
+There is a variety of senses in which the truth of this verse may be
+understood.
+
+It is said that in the ancient days a shepherd's tent was a kind of city
+of refuge. The man who had unwittingly slain another could find refuge
+in a shepherd's tent from the avenger of blood. The fugitive was
+permitted to stay a given length of time within the shepherd's care,
+during which time he was as safe from the pursuer as though he were in
+the actual city of refuge. The pursuer might be raging with fury outside
+of the door of the tent, but the fugitive could eat with perfect safety
+and peace in the presence of his enemy. How like Christ in His relation
+to the believer!
+
+One day Charles Wesley stood looking out of a partly open window at the
+fierce storm howling without, when a young robin, quickly passing some
+other birds, flew to his breast, seeking shelter from its foes. It was
+then he wrote that wonderful hymn, the opening words of which are:
+
+    Jesus, Lover of my soul,
+    Let me to Thy bosom fly!
+
+Is not this a picture of this verse of the Psalm? "And a man (Jesus
+Christ) shall be for a hiding place and a refuge from the storm." Are we
+not safe in Him from all our foes? "There is therefore now no
+condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus."
+
+We are told that in David's day it was the custom of conquering kings
+and princes to bring the royal captives of the contending defeated army
+into a large banqueting house. To each pillar in the house a prisoner of
+royal blood or a commanding officer was chained. The banquet tables were
+heavily laden with good things of which the victors partook. Feasting
+and jollification were indulged in, and joy and gladness were manifest
+in the presence of defeated and chained enemies. Are we not made "always
+to triumph" over all our foes in Christ? Are we not made "more than
+conquerors" in Him who hath "led captivity captive"? "Ye shall eat your
+meat in quietness, and nothing shall make you afraid."
+
+Or, again, it may be that reference is made in this verse to the grazing
+of sheep in fields full of snakeholes or of poisonous plants. A sheep
+raiser in Texas once told the writer that he lost a great many sheep
+because snakes would come up through holes in the ground and bite the
+sheep as they grazed, poisoning them. After losing many of the flock he
+finally discovered a remedy. A mixture of some kind was poured down the
+holes, which killed the snakes, and after that the sheep were able to
+graze in peace and safety. Hath not Christ abolished death for the
+believer? Has He not deprived death of its sting and stripped the grave
+of its victim? Hath He not overcome that old serpent, the Devil? Do we
+not overcome the dragon, that old serpent, the Devil and Satan, the
+accuser of the brethren day and night--do we not overcome him by the
+blood of the Lamb?
+
+Whichever of these meanings may be adopted as indicating the teaching of
+this verse, we may be certain that the truth the Psalmist desires to
+express is this: That God gives His children victory over all their
+foes, and makes them more than conquerors over all their enemies. Thus
+shall we "eat our meat in peace and quietness, and nothing shall make us
+afraid." "Why do the heathen rage?... He that sitteth in the heavens
+shall laugh"--and so shall we.
+
+    On the Rock of Ages founded,
+      Who can shake thy sure repose?
+    With salvation's walls surrounded,
+      Thou mayes't smile at all thy foes.
+
+                     --_Rev. John Newton_
+
+
+"=_Thou Anointest My Head with Oil: My Cup Runneth Over_="
+
+A shepherd must needs be a physician also. In the belt of the shepherd
+medicines are always carried. Sheep are very susceptible to sicknesses
+of many kinds, particularly fevers. Ofttimes at night as the sheep
+passed into the fold the shepherd's knowing eye would detect that one or
+another of them was sick and feverish. Perhaps it had been bitten by a
+serpent or torn by some wild animal. He would take the feverish sheep
+and plunge its head into clear, cold water, plunging the head so far
+into the pail that the water would run over, or anoint the bruise with
+mollifying ointment. Doubtless David is thinking of this experience of
+his shepherd life.
+
+Or, again, David may be referring to the bountiful water supply provided
+for the sheep and applying it to the rich provision God has made for the
+believer. Not only is there grace enough for oneself, but with the
+believer as a channel, an abundance for others.
+
+    Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
+    More than all in Thee I find!
+
+                 --_Charles Wesley_
+
+This is the wonderful truth taught by Jesus in the Temple: "Now on the
+last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If
+any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me,
+as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living
+water." Here we see how the believer may come to Christ for the
+quenching of his own thirst, and then draw on, or drink more deeply of,
+Christ for the quenching of the thirst of others. "Thou, O Christ, art
+all I want, more than all in Thee I find." Here we have the personal and
+relative side of a consecrated life of service.
+
+My cup is to "run over." No selfish religion must I claim. I am to be
+satisfied with Christ first myself, then I am to take from Him so large
+a supply that others with whom I come into contact may also partake of
+His fullness. No hermit, no ascetic, monk, or recluse would the Master
+have me be.
+
+    There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
+    In the peace of their self-content;
+    There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart
+    In a fellowless firmament.
+    There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
+    Where highways never ran--
+    But let me live by the side of the road
+    And be a friend to man.
+
+    Let me live in my house by the side of the road
+    Where the race of men go by--
+    The men who are good and the men who are bad,
+    As good and as bad as I,
+    I would not sit in the scorner's seat,
+    Or hurl the cynic's ban--
+    Let me live in the house by the side of the road
+    And be a friend to man.
+
+    I see from my house by the side of the road,
+    By the side of the highway of life,
+    The men who press with the ardor of hope,
+    The men who are faint with the strife;
+    But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears--
+    Both parts of an infinite plan--
+    Let me live in a house by the side of the road
+    And be a friend to man.
+
+                                        --_Sam Walter Foss_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX
+
+[Illustration]
+
+="Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
+all the days of my life; and I will dwell
+in the house of the +LORD+ for ever."=
+
+
+The writer was once called to speak with a Scotch Presbyterian elder who
+was rapidly passing from this life. I had read to him this last verse of
+the Psalm, when, turning in his bed, he said to me in words that were
+almost his last, "Take my Bible and read that verse to me from 'The
+Psalms in Metre' in the back of my Bible." I took his Scotch Bible from
+a table close by and read:
+
+    Goodness and mercy all my life
+    Shall surely follow me,
+    And in God's house for evermore
+    My dwelling place shall be.
+
+            --_William Whittingham_
+
+Some one has well said that "goodness and mercy" are God's two collie
+dogs to preserve the Christian from all danger. Others have likened
+"goodness and mercy" to the Christian's footmen to wait upon him daily.
+"The house of the +LORD+" is doubtless here contrasted with the tent of
+the shepherd, just as the words "dwell for ever" are contrasted with
+the fact that the fugitive was allowed to stay in the shepherd's tent
+only a limited time.
+
+This verse expresses the confidence of the Christian with regard to the
+future. It is the Christian's confidence that in the Father's house a
+mansion is prepared for him, and that when the earthly house of this
+tabernacle is taken down and dissolved by death he has a house not made
+with hands, eternal in the heavens. This is surely a grand provision for
+old age, a life insurance worthy of the name, a home for the winter of
+life, and a blessed assurance with regard to one's eternity. How poor
+indeed is that soul that cannot say, "Yea, though I walk through the
+valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil," for the grave is
+not the terminus but the passageway that leads to endless light and
+life, into the glory and beauty of the house of the Lord in which the
+believer shall "dwell for ever." Beyond the night of death lies the
+perfect day; beyond the valley of the shadow lie the plains of peace.
+
+One cannot help but wonder if you, reader, have such a confident hope
+with regard to your future life. Only those who are able to say "The
++LORD+ is my shepherd" are able to say "I will dwell in the house of the
++LORD+ for ever."
+
+A famous Scotch preacher tells us that a demented boy, who was in the
+habit of attending one of the classes in his Sunday school, was sick
+unto death. The minister was asked to go to see the boy. He went to the
+house, and in speaking with the lad and after reading the Scriptures he
+was about to leave, when this boy, with only half his reasoning power,
+demented and partly idiotic, asked the great preacher if he wouldn't
+kneel down and recite for him the Twenty-third Psalm. In obedience to
+the boy's request he knelt and repeated the Twenty-third Psalm, until he
+came to the last verse which, as you know, reads "Surely goodness and
+mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
+house of the +LORD+ for ever." But the preacher did not repeat this last
+verse, for he was saying to himself while on his knees, "this verse can
+hardly be true of this boy, surely goodness and mercy has not followed
+him all the days of his life, and further, what does he know about the
+determination of this verse--to dwell in the house of the +LORD+ for
+ever?" And so the great preacher was rising from his knees, having
+omitted the last verse, when the boy reached out his hand and, placing
+it on the shoulder of the minister, pressed him again to his knees and
+repeated the last verse of the Psalm--the verse the preacher had
+omitted, as it is written in the Scotch hymn book:
+
+    Goodness and mercy all my life
+      Shall surely follow me;
+    And in God's house for evermore
+      My dwelling place shall be.
+
+            --_William Whittingham_
+
+This was a lesson the preacher never forgot. Can you, my reader, you,
+with all your senses, your keenness of brain and intellect--can you say
+what this idiotic boy could say: "I will dwell in the house of the
++LORD+ for ever"?
+
+I am reminded in this connection of one of Bunyan's characters in the
+"Pilgrim's Progress." He is referred to as "Mr. Feeble Mind." This
+character in speaking of his immortal hope--that hope which lies beyond
+the valley of the shadow and the grave--expresses it in this way: "But
+this I am resolved on: to run when I can, to go when I cannot run, and
+to creep when I cannot go. As to the main, I thank Him that loved me. I
+am fixed. My way is before me. My mind is beyond the river that hath no
+bridge, though I am, as you see, but of a feeble mind." Mark that
+wonderful expression, will you?--
+
+    "My mind is beyond the river that hath no bridge."
+
+Is yours? You--man, woman, with all your senses, of strong and sound
+mind, can you give expression to an exclamation of faith like that?
+
+There are some of my readers on whose head time has laid its hand and
+whitened their hair to the whiteness of that winter in which all their
+glory must fade. Their sun of life is going down beyond the hill of
+life. The young may die; the old must die. Oh, the pity of it, to see
+the old and gray with no eternal life insurance for the winter of life!
+The gray head is indeed a crown of glory if it be found in the way of
+life; otherwise it is a fool's cap. Reader, may your eventide be light,
+and may your path be as the path of the just that shineth brighter and
+brighter unto the perfect day!
+
+Thus we see that the grave is not the end. We pass through the grave
+only in order that we may place our last climbing footstep upon the
+threshold of our Father's house, to go out no more. Then we shall dwell
+for ever there. Beyond the grave lie the Plains of Peace, the
+Homeland--with all the loved who have gone before--those whom we "have
+loved long since and lost awhile."
+
+    Is the way so dark, O wanderer,
+    Is the hillcrest wild and steep,
+    Far, so far, the vale beyond thee,
+    Where the homelights vigil keep?
+    Still the goal lies far before thee,
+    Soon will fall on thee the night;
+    Breast the path that takes thee onward,
+    Fight the storm with all thy might.
+
+    Tho' thy heart be faint and weary,
+    Tho' thy footsteps fain would cease,
+    Journey onward--past the hillcrest
+    Lie for thee the Plains of Peace!
+
+    Is thy path so rough, O pilgrim,
+    Passing on thy way through life;
+    Deep the sorrows that beset thee,
+    Great the burden, wild the strife?
+    Tho' the hill of life be weary,
+    Tho' the goal of rest be far,
+    Set thy whole heart to endeavor,
+    Turn thy soul to yon bright star.
+
+    From the toiling, from the striving
+    There at last shall come release;
+    One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,
+    Home unto his Plains of Peace;
+    One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,
+    Home, Home, Home unto His Plains of Peace!
+
+                           --_Clifton Bingham_
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd Psalm, by William Evans
+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd Psalm, by William Evans
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Shepherd Psalm
+       A Meditation
+
+Author: William Evans
+
+Release Date: August 4, 2010 [EBook #33349]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD PSALM ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Rose Mawhorter and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="center">Transcribers Notes:<br />
+Obvious missing punctuation was added.<br />
+p 83. hill-crest was changed to hillcrest</div>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 419px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="419" height="700" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[<i>Page</i> 1]</a></span></div>
+
+
+<h1>The Shepherd Psalm</h1>
+
+<p class="center">A Meditation</p>
+
+<h4>By WILLIAM EVANS, Ph.D., D.D.</h4>
+<p class="center">Bible Teacher and Author of</p>
+
+<p class="center">"The Book of Books," "How to Memorize," "Outline Study of
+the Bible," "How to Prepare Sermons and Gospel Addresses,"
+"The Book-Method of Bible Study,"
+"Epochs in the Life of Christ," "Through
+the Bible, Book by Book," etc.</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Chicago</span><br />
+THE BIBLE INSTITUTE COLPORTAGE ASS'N<br />
+826 North La Salle Street<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[<i>Page</i> 2]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="center">COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
+<span class="smcap">The Bible Institute Colportage</span>
+<span class="smcap">Association of Chicago</span></p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="center">Printed in the United States of America
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[<i>Page</i> 3]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Foreword</span></td><td class="contentsnum"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td><td class="contentsnum"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Chapter One</span>: "The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my shepherd;<br />I shall not want"</td><td class="contentsnum"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Chapter Two</span>: "He maketh me to lie <br />down in green pastures; He leadeth me <br />beside still waters"</td><td class="contentsnum"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Chapter Three</span>: "He restoreth my soul; <br />He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness <br />for His name's sake"</td><td class="contentsnum"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Chapter Four</span>: "Yea, though I walk <br />through the valley of the shadow of <br />death, I will fear no evil; for thou art <br />with me; thy rod and thy staff they <br />comfort me"</td><td class="contentsnum"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Chapter Five</span>: "Thou preparest a table <br />before me in the presence of mine enemies; <br />thou anointest my head with oil; <br />my cup runneth over"</td><td class="contentsnum"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Chapter Six</span>: "Surely goodness and <br />mercy shall follow me all the days of <br />my life; and I will dwell in the house <br />of the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> forever"</td><td class="contentsnum"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>[The illustration on the cover is from an actual
+photograph by the Author, when he was in Palestine.]</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[<i>Page</i> 5]</a></span></p>
+
+<div><br /></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/banner.jpg" width="600" height="37" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<div><br /></div>
+
+<h2>FOREWORD</h2>
+
+
+<p class="dropcap">This production of the Shepherd Psalm is sent forth at the request of
+many hundreds of kind persons who have listened to the writer preach on
+it and who desire to see it in print, that it may be a blessing to many
+who cannot hear it.</p>
+
+<p>It is a well known Psalm. Untold numbers of sermons have been preached
+on it. Books without number have been printed in attempts to set forth
+its life, depth, richness, and beauty. Doubtless much more will be
+written and spoken concerning this charming pastoral symphony&mdash;and,
+after that, much more will remain yet to be said, so full is the
+inspiration of the divine Word. May God make this Psalm to the reader
+all that it has been&mdash;yea, and more,&mdash;to the writer!</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">WILLIAM EVANS.</span> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[<i>Page</i> 7]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div><br /></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/banner.jpg" width="600" height="37" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<div><br /></div>
+
+<h2>INTRODUCTION</h2>
+
+<h3>The Twenty-third Psalm</h3>
+
+
+<p class="dropcap">The world could afford to spare many a
+magnificent library better than it could
+dispense with this little Psalm of six
+verses. If the verses of this Psalm had tongues
+and could repeat the tale of their ministry
+down throughout the generations of the faithful,
+what marvels of experience they would
+reveal! Their biographies would be gathered
+from the four winds of heaven and from the
+uttermost parts of the sea; from lonely chambers,
+from suffering sick beds, from the banks
+of the valley of the shadow of death, from scaffolds
+and fiery piles; witnessing in sunlight
+from moors and mountains, beneath the stars
+and in high places of the field. What hosts of
+armies of aliens it has put to flight! If by
+some magic or divine touch, yea, some miraculous
+power, the saints' experience of this
+Psalm could shine out between its lines, what
+an illumination of the text there would be!</p>
+
+<p>Luther was fond of comparing this Psalm to
+the nightingale, which is small among the
+birds and of homely plumage, but with what
+thrilling melody it pours out its beautiful
+notes! Into how many dungeons filled with
+gloom and doubt has this little Psalm sung its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[<i>Page</i> 8]</a></span>
+message of hope and faith! Into how many
+hearts, bruised and broken by grief, has it
+brought its hymn of comfort and healing
+How many darkened prison cells it has lightened
+and cheered! Into what thousands of
+sick rooms has it brought its ministry of comfort
+and support! How many a time, in the
+hour of pain, has it brought sustaining faith
+and sung its song of eternal bliss in the valley
+of the shadow of death! It has charmed more
+griefs to rest than all the philosophies of the
+world. And I am persuaded that this little
+Psalm-bird will continue to sing its song of
+comfort and cheer to your children, to my children,
+and to our children's children, and will
+not cease its psalmody of love until the last
+weary pilgrim has placed his last climbing
+footstep upon the threshold of the Father's
+house to go out no more. Then, I think, this
+little bird will fold its golden pinions and fall
+back on the bosom of God, from whence it
+came.</p>
+
+<p>It has been well said that this Psalm is the
+most perfect picture of happiness that ever was
+or ever can be drawn to represent that state of
+mind for which all alike sigh, and the want of
+which makes life a failure to most. It represents
+that heaven which is everywhere, if we
+could but interpret it, and yet almost nowhere
+because not many of us do.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[<i>Page</i> 9]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>Unusual Application</i></b></div>
+
+<p>How familiar this Psalm is the
+world over! Go where you
+will; inquire in every nation,
+tongue and tribe under heaven where the Bible
+is known, you will find this Psalm among the
+first scriptures learned and lisped by the little
+child at its mother's knee, and the last bit of
+inspired writ uttered in dying breath by the
+saintly patriarch.</p>
+
+<p>This Psalm is so universal, says one, because
+it is so individual; it is so individual because
+it is so universal. As we read it, we are aware
+not only of the fact that we are listening to the
+experience of an Old Testament saint, but also
+that a voice comes speaking to us through the
+long centuries past&mdash;speaking to us in our own
+language, recounting our own experience,
+breathing out our own hopes.</p>
+
+<p>The Davidic authorship of this Psalm has
+been questioned. We believe firmly that
+David is the writer; and yet a man feels as he
+reads the Psalm that it is so personal, so true
+to his own individual experience, that he could
+fain claim to have written it himself. It might
+seem as though the promises and precious
+things set forth in this Psalm lie beyond our
+reach; we have nothing to draw with, and the
+well is deep, but "one of like passions with
+ourselves has passed that way before and has
+left a cup to be let down, with His name and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[<i>Page</i> 10]</a></span>
+story written on the rim, and we may let that
+cup down into the well and draw a draught of
+the deep, refreshing water."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>The Location
+of the
+Psalm</i></b></div>
+
+<p>Have you ever noticed just
+where this Psalm is located?
+It lies between the Twenty-second
+and the Twenty-fourth
+Psalms. A very simple statement that&mdash;but
+how deep and wondrous a lesson lies hidden
+therein!</p>
+
+<p>The Twenty-second Psalm. What is it? It
+is "The Psalm of the Cross." It begins with
+the words uttered by Christ on the cross: "My
+God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
+It ends with the exclamation of the cross: "He
+hath done it," or, as it may be translated, "It is
+finished." The Twenty-second Psalm, then, is
+the Psalm of Mount Calvary&mdash;The Psalm of
+the Cross.</p>
+
+<p>What is the Twenty-fourth Psalm? It is
+the Psalm of Mount Zion&mdash;a picture of the
+King entering into His own. How beautifully
+it reads: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
+and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and
+the King of glory shall come in. Who is this
+King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the
+King of glory." The Twenty-fourth Psalm,
+then, is the Psalm of the coming Kingdom of
+Glory.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[<i>Page</i> 11]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There you have the two mountains; Mount
+Calvary and Mount Zion. What is it that lies
+between two mountains? A valley with its
+green grass, its quiet waters, its springing flowers,
+with shepherd and grazing sheep. Here,
+then, is the lesson we learn from the <i>location</i> of
+the Psalm: it is given to comfort, help, inspire
+and encourage God's people during this probationary
+period of our life, between the Cross
+and the Crown.</p>
+
+<p>Is not this the reason why the tenses of this
+Psalm are <i>present</i> tenses? "The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> <i>is</i> my
+shepherd"; "He <i>maketh</i> me to lie down"; "He
+<i>leadeth</i> me." Even the last verse, "<i>I will</i> (not
+I shall) dwell in the house of the Lord for
+ever," describes the <i>present</i> attitude of the soul
+of the Psalmist, who determines by no means
+to miss participation in the fellowship of the
+saints in heaven.</p>
+
+<p>We love <i>the Christ of the Cross</i>. We may
+not yet fully understand that cross; may not
+yet have found any particular theory of the
+atonement which completely satisfies our intellect.
+But we have learned to say that we believe
+in the atonement and in the vicarious
+death of our Redeemer. Somehow or other we
+have come, by faith, to throw our trembling
+arms around that bleeding body and cry out in
+the desperate determination of our sin-stricken
+souls to Him who hangs on that cross to save<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[<i>Page</i> 12]</a></span>
+us by His death. We have come to express
+our faith in that divine sacrifice in the words
+of the hymn:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Other refuge have I none,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hangs my helpless soul on Thee.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Let us never forget that we reach the
+Twenty-third Psalm by the way of the
+Twenty-second Psalm&mdash;the Psalm of the
+Cross. "The way of the cross leads home."
+We love the Christ of the Twenty-second
+Psalm, the Christ of Calvary, the Christ of the
+Cross.</p>
+
+<p>We also love <i>the Christ of the Throne and
+the Glory</i>. It may be, that, at times, we have
+trembled and feared as we have thought of the
+coming judgment, but when we have remembered
+that He who sits upon the throne is our
+Elder Brother, bone of our bone, and flesh of
+our flesh; that He left His throne in the glory
+and took on Him the form of a servant, dying
+the ignominious death of the cross that He
+might redeem us and save us from the just
+wrath of God against sin; that some day, He
+who loved us and gave Himself for us, will
+say: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
+the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
+of the world," then we take courage and
+look forward with joy to the time when, having
+washed the last sleep from our eyes in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[<i>Page</i> 13]</a></span>
+river of Life, we shall gaze with undimmed
+vision upon Him, whom having not seen, we
+have yet loved.</p>
+
+<p>We love the Christ of the cross, the Christ
+of the past, the Christ of Mount Calvary. We
+love the Christ of the future, the Christ of the
+throne, the Christ of Mount Zion. But more
+precious to us, and we say it reverently, than
+the Christ of the past, or the Christ of the
+future, is the Christ of the present, He who
+lives with us now, dwells within us, walks by
+our side every moment and every hour of the
+day. We used to sing in our childhood days
+that beautiful hymn,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I think, when I read that sweet story of old,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When Jesus was here among men,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How He called little children as lambs to His fold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I should like to have been with Him then.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That His arms had been thrown around me;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And that I might have seen His kind look when he said,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Let the little ones come unto me."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Mrs. Jemima Luke</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Many of us feel that we would have given
+anything to have walked by the side of the
+Christ in the days of His earthly pilgrimage,
+and we almost envy those who saw His face in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[<i>Page</i> 14]</a></span>
+the flesh. Some of us know the thrill of joy
+that came to our hearts when we trod the
+sands of Galilee that once were fresh with His
+footprints, trod the Temple's marble pavements
+that once echoed with His tread, and
+sailed the blue waters of Galilee that once
+were stilled by His wonderful word.</p>
+
+<p>And yet, we should not forget that the enjoyment
+of the real presence of Christ is just as
+truly ours today as it was the possession of
+the disciples in the days of His flesh. As the
+old hymn so beautifully says,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">We may not climb the heavenly steeps<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To bring the Lord Christ down;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In vain we search the lowest deeps,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For Him no depths can drown.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But warm, sweet, tender, even yet<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A present help is He;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And faith has still its Olivet,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And love its Galilee.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The healing of His seamless dress<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is by our beds of pain;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We touch Him in life's throng and press,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And we are whole again.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>John G. Whittier</i><br /></div></div>
+
+<p>The name given to our Lord in connection
+with His birth was Immanuel, which being interpreted
+is, "God with us." One of the most
+beautiful doctrines of the Christian faith is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[<i>Page</i> 15]</a></span>
+divine immanence, the continued presence of
+the ever-living Christ with His people; for</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">For God is never so far off as even to be near, He is within.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>F. W. Faber</i><br /></div></div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands or feet.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">
+&mdash;<i>Alfred Tennyson</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I know not where His islands lift<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Their fronded palms in air;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I only know I cannot drift<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Beyond His love and care.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>John G. Whittier</i><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[<i>Page</i> 17]</a></span></div></div>
+
+
+
+<div><br /></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/banner.jpg" width="600" height="37" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<div><br /></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/illus017.jpg" width="400" height="156" alt="Shepherd with flock" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>THE SHEPHERD PSALM</h2>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER ONE</h2>
+
+
+<h3><b>"The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my shepherd; I shall not want."</b></h3>
+
+
+
+<p class="dropcap">"The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my shepherd." Have you
+ever noted how the word "Lord" is
+printed in the Bible? Sometimes all
+the letters are large capitals (LORD); or the
+first letter is a large capital and the other letters
+smaller capitals (<span class="smcap">Lord</span>); then, again, the
+first letter is a large capital and the remaining
+letters ordinary (Lord). Each method of spelling
+the divine name indicates a different phase
+of the character of God. "LORD" refers to
+Jehovah as the covenant-keeping God, the One
+who never fails to fulfill all His promises.
+"<span class="smcap">Lord</span>" points to our Lord Jesus Christ as the
+second Person in the Trinity, He who became
+incarnate. "Lord" signifies also God in Christ,
+the Jehovah of the Old Testament, God of
+power, the One who is able to do all things
+and with whom nothing is impossible, manifesting
+Himself in Jesus Christ.</p>
+
+<p>What a world of meaning, then, lies wrapped
+up in the word "<span class="smcap">Lord</span>" in the first verse of this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[<i>Page</i> 18]</a></span>
+Psalm! Jehovah who is all-faithful, never failing
+in His promises, almighty, all-powerful,
+who is able to supply all of our needs, who created
+the heavens and the earth, who upholds
+all things by the word of His power, who spake
+and it was done, who commanded and it stood
+fast; the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> of whom Job said: "I know
+that thou canst do anything, and no purpose
+of thine can be hindered"; the "<span class="smcap">Lord</span>" who
+never fails in the keeping of His promises,
+however seemingly impossible of fulfillment,
+from a natural viewpoint, those promises may
+be; the "<span class="smcap">Lord</span>" of whom it is said, "God is not
+a man that he should lie, nor the Son of man
+that he should repent." "Hath he said and
+shall He not do it; hath He promised and shall
+he not bring it to pass?" the "Lord," the incarnate
+One, who for our sakes took on Himself
+our nature with all its sinless infirmities, who
+was tempted in all points like as we are, yet
+without sin, and who is thus able to feel our
+needs and sympathize with us in all our trials
+and temptations; the "<span class="smcap">Lord</span>" who, speaking to
+the multitudes, said, "I am the good shepherd;
+the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep"&mdash;such
+a Shepherd, faithful, powerful, sympathetic,
+is our "<span class="smcap">Lord</span>." What a wealth of
+meaning, then, lies in the first clause, "The
+<span class="smcap">Lord</span>" (who is LORD, and Lord) such a
+"<span class="smcap">Lord</span>" is "my Shepherd."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[<i>Page</i> 19]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We can then well say, "I shall not want."
+With such a Shepherd, how could we want for
+anything for time or eternity? All that we
+need for body, mind and soul shall be supplied.
+The God who provided the table in the wilderness,
+who fed Elijah by the brook, who struck
+the rock in the wilderness that the thirst of
+His people might be quenched, will provide for
+His children according to His riches in glory.</p>
+
+<p>Reviewing Israel's history in the wilderness
+it could be recorded, "These forty years Jehovah,
+thy God, hath been with thee; thou hast
+lacked nothing." How wonderfully God supplied
+the needs of His people when they were
+traveling through that long, weary wilderness!
+"For the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> thy God hath blessed thee in all
+the works of thy hand; he knoweth thy walking
+through this great wilderness; these forty
+years the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> thy God hath been with thee;
+thou hast lacked nothing" (Deuteronomy 2:7).
+"Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct
+them, and withheldest not thy manna from
+their mouth, and gavest them water for their
+thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain
+them in the wilderness, so that they lacked
+nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their
+feet swelled not" (Nehemiah 9:20, 21).</p>
+
+<p>Let us, then, as the children of God, take all
+the comfort possible out of these words. Let
+us not go about mourning, grumbling, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[<i>Page</i> 20]</a></span>
+borrowing trouble, thereby proclaiming to the
+world that our great Banker is on the verge of
+bankruptcy. The "<span class="smcap">Lord</span>" is our shepherd; we
+shall not want for nourishment (verse 1), refreshment
+(verse 2), rest (verse 3), protection
+(verse 4), guidance (verse 5), home (verse 6).
+Here is a Bank the child of God can draw on
+at any time without fear of its being broken.
+Millions have been supplied and there's room
+for millions more. No want shall turn me
+back from following the Shepherd.</p>
+
+<p>How encouraging to recall the words of
+Jesus uttered to the disciples when they had
+returned from their itinerary of missionary
+activity: "When I sent you without purse, and
+scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And
+they said, Nothing" (Luke 22:35).</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The Lord my Shepherd is,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I shall be well supplied,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Since He is mine and I am His,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What can I want beside?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Isaac Watts</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>When the writer was a lad he secured a position
+for which he was promised so much a
+week in money and "everything found," by
+which was meant board, room, and clothing.
+So this verse may read, "The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my Shepherd,"
+and "everything found."</p>
+
+<p>In a park one day two women were overheard
+talking. One of them, who by her ap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[<i>Page</i> 21]</a></span>pearance
+showed that she was in very straitened
+circumstances, said to the other, "I am
+at my wit's end; I know not what to do. My
+husband has been sick and unable to work for
+almost a year. What little money we had
+saved is all spent. We have not a penny with
+which to buy food or clothing for ourselves or
+the children. This morning we received notice
+from the landlord to vacate." And then, in
+words that were full of suggestive meaning,
+she added, "If John D. Rockefeller were my
+father, I would not want, would I?"</p>
+
+<p>Oh, what a world of comfort lies in the
+thought, "The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my Shepherd," and,
+therefore, "I shall not want"! I shall want for
+nothing in time or eternity. Every need of
+body, mind, and soul shall be supplied. In the
+great Shepherd lies strength for my weakness,
+hope for my despair, food for my hunger, satisfaction
+for my need, wisdom for my ignorance,
+healing for my wounds, power for my temptation&mdash;the
+complement of all my lack.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Thou, O Christ, art all I want;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">More than all in thee I find.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Charles Wesley</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>Religion Is
+a Personal
+Thing</i></b></div>
+
+<p>"The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my shepherd."
+<i>My</i> Shepherd. Religion is a
+<i>personal</i> thing. Really speaking,
+your religion consists in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[<i>Page</i> 22]</a></span>
+your personal relationship to God in Jesus
+Christ. Not mere profession, but actual possession
+is what counts. Christianity emphasizes
+the worth of the individual and his personal
+relation to God. Sin degrades men into
+mere numbers.</p>
+
+<p>A photograph was placed on my desk. It
+had inscribed on it a number, but no name.
+It was the likeness of a convict. It was a number
+I went to jail to see; a number I spoke
+with by the cell door; a number I stood by
+and saw handcuffed; a number with whom I
+walked down the steps of the jail; a number
+with whom I walked up the stairs to the scaffold;
+a number around whose neck I saw the
+rope placed; a number I saw drop to his death.
+Sin degrades personality, but the religion of
+Christ exalts its adherents to a place in that
+innumerable company which cannot be numbered,
+but every one of whom bears upon his
+forehead the name of his Redeemer and King.
+Jesus calleth <span class="smcap">His</span> sheep by name, not by
+number.</p>
+
+<p>At the close of a sermon in a church in the
+Highlands of Scotland the preacher, who was
+supplying the pulpit for a few Sundays, was
+asked to call upon a shepherd boy who was
+very sick. Arm in arm with one of the elders
+of the church the minister crossed the moor,
+climbed the hillside, and came to the cottage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[<i>Page</i> 23]</a></span>
+where the boy and his widowed mother lived.
+After knocking at the door the visitors were
+admitted by the mother. Her face showed the
+marks of long vigil. The boy was her only
+child. The minister and elder went into the
+room where the sick boy lay on his cot. The
+minister, looking upon the pale, haggard face
+of the sick shepherd boy, asked him tenderly,
+"Laddie, do you know the Twenty-third
+Psalm?"</p>
+
+<p>Every Scotch boy knows the Twenty-third
+Psalm, and so the little fellow replied, "Yes,
+sir, I ken (know) the Psalm well."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you repeat it to me?" said the minister
+to the boy.</p>
+
+<p>Slowly and tenderly the lad quoted the
+words, "The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my shepherd, I shall not
+want," unto the end of the Psalm.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you see," said the minister to the boy,
+"that in the first clause of the first verse there
+is just one word for each finger. Hold up your
+hand, laddie; take the second finger of your
+right hand, put it on the fourth finger of your
+left, hold it over your heart and say with me,
+'The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is <i>my</i> Shepherd.'"</p>
+
+<p>The fourth finger of the left hand! Why
+that finger? Every woman knows. It is the
+ring finger. Who placed that ring on your
+finger? My friend, my lover, my husband;
+the man who is more to me and different to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[<i>Page</i> 24]</a></span>
+me than any other and all other men in this
+world; the man without whom life would not
+be worth living; <i>my</i> friend, <i>my</i> lover, <i>my</i> husband.</p>
+
+<p>The following Sunday the elder and the minister
+again crossed the moor and came to the
+cottage on the hillside. As the mother opened
+the door to admit them they saw by the expression
+on her face that a deeper sorrow had fallen
+on her heart since they last saw her. She took
+them, silently and solemnly, into a little room,
+and there, covered with a snow-white sheet,
+lay the lifeless form of the shepherd laddie,
+her only child. As the minister took the white
+sheet and passed it from forehead to chin, from
+chin to breast, and from breast to waist, he
+saw, frozen stiff in death, the second finger of
+the right hand on the fourth of the left hand,
+which was fastened in death over his heart.
+The mother exclaimed amid her tears, "He died
+saying, 'The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is <i>my</i> Shepherd.'"</p>
+
+<p>What a world of difference that little word
+<i>my</i> makes, does it not? As a pastor I have
+often stood by the open grave that was to receive
+the body of someone's beloved daughter,
+the light and joy of some heart. I sought to
+be deeply sympathetic with those who were
+suffering bereavement. I tried to mourn with
+those who mourned, and weep with those who
+wept, and I think I did, so far as it is possible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[<i>Page</i> 25]</a></span>
+for a friend to sympathize. But one day I
+stood by an open grave when <i>my</i> daughter, <i>my</i>
+child, <i>my own</i> darling girl, <i>my</i> Dorothy, was
+placed beneath the sod. Ah! then I knew what
+grief was. Ah, what a world of difference that
+little word <i>my</i> makes!</p>
+
+<p>It will not profit you much, my friend, to be
+able to say, "The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is <i>a</i> Shepherd"; you
+must be more personal; you must say, "The
+<span class="smcap">Lord</span> is <i>my</i> Shepherd."</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">A Shepherd who giveth His life for the sheep,<br /><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A Shepherd both mighty to save and to keep&mdash;<br /><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yes, this is the Shepherd, the Shepherd we need,<br /><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And He is a Shepherd indeed!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Is He yours? Is He yours?<br /><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is this Shepherd, who loves you, <i>yours</i>?<br /></span>
+
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="signature">&mdash;<i>Ada R. Habershon</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<div><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[<i>Page</i> 26]</a></span></div>
+
+
+
+<div><br /></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/banner.jpg" width="600" height="37" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<div><br /></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/illus026.jpg" width="400" height="134" alt="Shepherd playing a flute for his flock" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER TWO</h2>
+
+<h3>
+<b>"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;<br />
+he leadeth me beside still waters."</b>
+</h3>
+
+
+<p class="dropcap">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.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[<i>Page</i> 27]</a></span>
+be a walk of obedience "in the paths of righteousness."</p>
+
+<p>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."</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>Most of our favorite hymns indicate this
+attitude. They are militant, working, active<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[<i>Page</i> 28]</a></span>
+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?</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Jesus calls us, o'er the tumult<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of our life's wild restless sea;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Saying, "Christian, follow me!"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Jesus calls us&mdash;from the worship<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of the vain world's golden store;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From each idol that would keep us&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Saying, "Christian, love me more!"</span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[<i>Page</i> 29]</a><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">In our joys and in our sorrows,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Days of toil and hours of ease,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Still He calls in cares and pleasures&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Christian, love me more than these!"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Jesus calls us! by Thy mercies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Saviour, may we hear Thy call;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Give our hearts to Thy obedience,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Serve and love Thee best of all.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Alexander</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Lie down we <i>must</i>. The text says, "He
+<i>maketh</i> 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 <i>make</i> you lie down. The overworked
+watchspring snaps. There must be pauses and
+parentheses in all our lives.</p>
+
+<p>We make much today of <i>active</i> Christianity.
+We lay emphasis on the <i>activities</i> 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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[<i>Page</i> 30]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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."</p>
+
+<p>In amazement the friend replied, "What, you
+broke it! Why did you do that?"</p>
+
+<p>The shepherd then told him how wayward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[<i>Page</i> 31]</a></span>
+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 <i>lying
+down</i> 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.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that when a sheep will not follow
+the shepherd he takes up the lamb in his
+arms&mdash;and then the mother follows.</p>
+
+<p>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 <i>making</i> this man to "lie down," do you
+see?</p>
+
+<p>A deacon in a Baptist church told me this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[<i>Page</i> 32]</a></span>
+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 <i>making</i> 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."</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>Fathers and mothers, are we taking time to
+"lie down," to be alone with God in prayer and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[<i>Page</i> 33]</a></span>
+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"?</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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&mdash;do anything
+but "lie down." Let us not forget that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[<i>Page</i> 34]</a></span>
+secret of power lies in being alone with God.
+Christ <i>drew</i> the multitudes to Him because
+He <i>withdrew</i> from them at times. The drawing
+preacher is the withdrawing man. Significant
+are the words of Jesus to His <i>active</i> disciples:
+"Come ye yourselves apart into a
+desert place, and rest a while."</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Resting in the pastures and beneath the Rock,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Resting by the waters where He leads His flock,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Resting, while we listen, at His glorious feet,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Resting in His very arms! O rest complete!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Frances Ridley Havergal</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[<i>Page</i> 35]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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!</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Lord, what a change within us one short hour<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Spent in Thy presence will prevail to make;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What heavy burdens from our bosoms take;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What parched grounds refresh as with a shower!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We kneel, and all around us seem to lower;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We rise, and all the distant and the near<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We kneel, how weak! We rise, how full of power!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or others&mdash;that we are not always strong;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That we are ever overborne with care;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That we should ever weak or heartless be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Anxious or troubled, then with us in prayer,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And joy and strength and courage are with Thee!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature"><span>&mdash;<i>Richard Chenevix Trench</i><br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[<i>Page</i> 36]</a></span></div></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div><br /></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/banner.jpg" width="600" height="37" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<div><br /></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/illus036.jpg" width="400" height="167" alt="One man consoling his friend" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER THREE</h2>
+
+<h3>
+<b>"He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the<br />
+paths of righteousness for his<br />
+name's sake."</b>
+</h3>
+
+
+<p class="dropcap">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 <span class="smcap">Lord</span> 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).</p>
+
+<p>But the Psalmist is referring more particularly,
+perhaps, to the restoration of the soul
+from a spiritual lapse or backsliding, resulting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[<i>Page</i> 37]</a></span>
+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&mdash;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.</p>
+
+<p>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."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>Traps for Falling</i></b></div>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[<i>Page</i> 38]</a></span>
+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&mdash;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.</p>
+
+<p>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&mdash;it was "restored."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>The Wandering Sheep</i></b></div>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[<i>Page</i> 39]</a></span>
+the ways of death." No man is clever enough
+to guide himself through the devious ways of
+life. He needs God as a guide.</p>
+
+<p>David recalls how tenderly God had dealt
+with him after his backslidings and how graciously
+and completely He had restored him
+to fellowship.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[<i>Page</i> 40]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>The Gentleness of the Shepherd</i></b></div>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[<i>Page</i> 41]</a></span>
+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 <i>blessed</i> is he that shall not be offended in
+me." Not a curse, but a blessing will He send.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[<i>Page</i> 42]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">With all the shame, with all the keen distress,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Quick, "waiting not," I flee to Thee again;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Close to the wound, beloved Lord, I press,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That Thine own precious blood may overflow the stain.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">O precious blood, Lord, let it rest on me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I ask not only pardon from my King,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But cleansing from my Priest, I come to Thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Just as I came at first&mdash;a sinful, helpless thing.</span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[<i>Page</i> 43]</a><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Oh cleanse me now, my Lord, I cannot stay<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For evening shadows and a silent hour:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now I have sinned, and now with no delay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I claim Thy promise and its total power.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">O Saviour, bid me go and sin no more,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And keep me always 'neath the mighty flow<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of Thy perpetual fountain, I implore<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That Thy perpetual cleansing I may fully know.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Frances Ridley Havergal</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Callest Thou thus, O Master, callest Thou thus to me?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I am weary and heavy laden, and longing to come to Thee;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And out in the distant darkness Thy dear voice sounds so sweet,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But I am not worthy, not worthy, O Master, to kiss Thy feet.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Child!" said the gracious Master, "why turnest thou thus away,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When I came through the darkness seeking my sheep that have gone astray?</span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[<i>Page</i> 44]</a><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I know thou art heavy laden, I know thou hast need of me<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the feet of thy loving Master are weary with seeking thee."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Callest Thou thus, O Master, callest Thou thus to me?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When my untrimmed lamp is dying and my heart is not meet for Thee;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For Thou art so great and holy, and mine is so poor a home,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And I am not worthy, not worthy, O Master, that Thou shouldst come.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Child," said the tender Shepherd&mdash;and His voice was very sweet&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"I only ask for a welcome, and rest for my weary feet."<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then over my lonely threshold, though weak and defiled by sin,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Though I am not worthy, O Master, I pray Thee enter in.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Helen Marion Burnsides</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>Christ the Restorer</i></b></div>
+
+<p>Do I not speak to a soul who once
+has known Christ as the Good
+Shepherd, but has now wandered
+away from the fold?</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But yet in love He sought me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And on His shoulders gently laid,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He home rejoicing brought me.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Sir Henry W. Baker</i><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[<i>Page</i> 45]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>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
+<i>until he find it</i>? 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 <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my Shepherd, I shall not
+be <i>missing</i>." "O love that will not let me go."</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">There were ninety and nine that safely lay<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In the shelter of the fold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But one was out on the hills away,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Far off from the gates of gold&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Away on the mountains wild and bare,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Away from the tender Shepherd's care.</span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[<i>Page</i> 46]</a><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Are they not enough for Thee?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But the Shepherd made answer, "This of mine<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Has wandered away from me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And although the road be rough and steep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I go to the desert to find my sheep."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But none of the ransomed ever knew<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How deep were the waters crossed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ere He found His sheep that was lost.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Out in the desert He heard its cry&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sick and helpless, and ready to die.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That mark out the mountain's track?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They were shed for one who had gone astray<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They are pierced tonight by many a thorn.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But all through the mountains, thunder-riven,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And up from the rocky steep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There arose a glad cry to the gates of heaven,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rejoice! I have found my sheep!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the angels echoed around the throne,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rejoice, for the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> brings back His own!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Elizabeth C. Clephane</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">"<b><i>The Paths of Righteousness</i></b>"</div>
+
+<p>"He leadeth me in the paths
+of righteousness for his
+name's sake."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[<i>Page</i> 47]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>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."</p>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[<i>Page</i> 48]</a></span>
+made clear to us, and we will gladly go with
+Him all the way.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I said, "Let me walk in the fields,"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He said, "No, walk in the town,"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I said, "There are no flowers there,"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He said, "No flowers, but a crown."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I said, "But the skies are black;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There is nothing but noise and din,"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But He wept as He sent me back&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"There is more," He said, "there is sin."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I said, "But the air is thick,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And fogs are veiling the sun,"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He answered, "Yet souls are sick,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And souls in the dark, undone."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I said, "I shall miss the light,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And friends will miss me, they say."<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He answered: "Choose tonight<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If I am to miss you or they."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I pleaded for time to be given.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He said, "It is hard to decide?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It will not seem hard in heaven,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To have followed the steps of your guide."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I cast one look at the fields,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then set my face to the town.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He said, "My child, do you yield?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Will you leave the flowers for the crown?"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Then into His hand went mine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And into my heart came He;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And I walk in a light divine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The paths I had feared to see.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>George MacDonald</i><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[<i>Page</i> 49]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">"<b><i>His Name's Sake</i></b>"</div>
+
+<p>All this He does for His name's
+sake. How beautiful those words
+are, "<i>for His name's sake</i>." 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.</p>
+
+<p>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."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[<i>Page</i> 50]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>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. <i>For His name's sake</i>, 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?"</p>
+
+<p>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 <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my Shepherd,
+I shall not be missing."</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Christ Jesus hath the power,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The power to renew,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The power to cleanse your heart from sin,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And make you wholly true.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Christ Jesus hath the power<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For evermore to keep;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh, none can pluck you from His hand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or rob Him of His sheep!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Dr. James M. Gray</i><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[<i>Page</i> 51]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>God as a Guide</i></b></div>
+
+<p>What a wonderful truth is asserted in
+this verse&mdash;"<i>He</i> leadeth <i>me</i>." Meditate
+just a moment on these words&mdash;"<i>He</i>,"
+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&mdash;"<i>He</i> leadeth
+me"&mdash;<i>me</i>, 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 "<i>me</i>,"
+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 <i>leads</i>, not drives,
+His sheep. "He goeth <i>before</i> 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.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">He leadeth me! Oh! blessed thought,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh, words with heav'nly comfort fraught!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whate'er I do, where'er I be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Sometimes 'mid scenes of deepest gloom,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By waters calm, o'er troubled sea&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Still 'tis His hand that leadeth me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[<i>Page</i> 52]</a></span><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor ever murmur nor repine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Content, whatever lot I see,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Since 'tis my God that leadeth me.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And when my task on earth is done,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When, by Thy grace, the victory's won,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">E'en death's cold wave I will not flee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Since God through Jordan leadeth me.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">He leadeth me! He leadeth me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By His own hand He leadeth me;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His faithful follower I would be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For by His hand He leadeth me.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Joseph H. Gilmore</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>Knowing God's Will</i></b></div>
+
+<p>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 <i>character</i> 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 <i>general</i>
+will of God regarding our <i>character</i> may
+be.</p>
+
+<p>There is another will of God, however, which
+affects not our character but our <i>career</i>. This
+<i>particular</i> will of God is not as easy to dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[<i>Page</i> 53]</a></span>cern
+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.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>Three Things About Guidance</i></b></div>
+
+<p>Three things may be said to indicate
+clearly the <i>particular</i> will
+of God which concerns my
+<i>career</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The first comes from a constant and prayerful
+reading of the <i>Word of God</i>, 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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[<i>Page</i> 54]</a></span>
+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 <i>this</i> time. To <i>him</i> at <i>that particular
+time</i> 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 <i>you</i> at
+<i>that time</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The second element in discerning the will of
+God is what may be called <i>the inward impression</i>,
+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 con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[<i>Page</i> 55]</a></span>stant,
+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.</p>
+
+<p>The third feature in discerning the will of
+God is what may be called <i>the favorable circumstance</i>,
+or <i>the open door</i>. 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.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Will lead me on<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">The night is gone;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with the morn those angel faces smile<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which I have loved long since and lost awhile.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>John H. Newman</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[<i>Page</i> 56]</a></span>
+things in the call of Peter to admit Cornelius
+into the Church (Acts 10 and 11). First, Peter
+had the <i>Word of God</i>&mdash;nothing should be regarded
+common or unclean; second, he had
+<i>the inward impression</i>&mdash;he was meditating on
+what the vision he had seen should mean; and
+third, there was <i>the open door</i>&mdash;three men
+were already waiting for him to convey him
+to Cæsarea.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Pilgrim through this barren land;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I am weak, but Thou art mighty,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hold me with Thy powerful hand;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[<i>Page</i> 57]</a></span><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Open now the crystal fountain<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whence the healing stream doth flow;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let the fiery, cloudy pillar<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lead me all my journey through;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Strong Deliverer, be Thou still my Strength and Shield.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">When I tread the verge of Jordan,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bid my anxious fears subside,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Death of deaths and hell's destruction,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Land me safe on Canaan's side:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Songs of praises I will ever give to Thee.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>William Williams</i><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[<i>Page</i> 58]</a></span></div></div>
+
+
+
+<div><br /></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/banner.jpg" width="600" height="37" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<div><br /></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/illus058.jpg" width="400" height="161" alt="Two men looking forward together" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER FOUR</h2>
+
+<h3>
+<b>"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the<br />
+shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for<br />
+thou art with me; thy rod and<br />
+thy staff they comfort me."</b>
+</h3>
+
+
+<p class="dropcap">It was necessary for shepherds in Palestine,
+when leading their flocks from one
+pasture to another, to lead them, at times,
+through dark ravines, on either side of which
+were caves and holes wherein dwelt ravenous
+beasts. From the attack of these beasts the
+shepherd must protect his flock. For this purpose
+he used the staff which he carried with
+him. The staff was a great stick with a large
+knob at the end of it pierced through with
+sharp nails and spikes. This weapon was used
+to beat off the attacks of the wild beasts. The
+shepherd must be bold and courageous. We
+recall how David referred to his encounters
+with wild beasts which attacked his flock. "And
+David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his
+father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a
+bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[<i>Page</i> 59]</a></span>
+I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered
+it out of his mouth; and when he arose
+against me, I caught him by his beard, and
+smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew
+both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised
+Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing
+he hath defied the armies of the living God.
+David said moreover, The Lord that delivered
+me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the
+paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the
+hand of the Philistine. And Saul said unto
+David, Go, and the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> be with thee" (I
+Samuel 17:34-37).</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>The Valley of the Shadow</i></b></div>
+
+<p>"The valley of the shadow of
+death" may refer to any dark,
+dread or awful experience
+through which the child of God
+is called to pass. In this sense it is used in
+many places in the Scriptures. The Christian's
+path is not always beside still waters and in
+green pastures.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">In pastures green? Not always; sometimes He<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And by still waters? No not always so,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ofttimes the heavy tempests round me blow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And o'er my soul the waves and billows go.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[<i>Page</i> 60]</a></span><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But when the storm beats loudest, and I cry<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Aloud for help, the Master standeth by,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And whispers to my soul, "Lo, it is I!"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Above the tempest wild I hear Him say,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Beyond the darkness lies the perfect day,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In every path of thine I lead the way."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Henry H. Barry</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But is it not kind of our Father that He
+puts the valley in the middle of the Psalm&mdash;not
+at the beginning of our Christian journey,
+lest we should be unduly discouraged, but in
+the middle&mdash;after we have been strengthened
+with food and drink and have been assured of
+the tender care and guidance of the Great
+Shepherd. Oh! wondrous thought and care!</p>
+
+<p>Of course, "the valley of the shadow of
+death" refers also, and probably more particularly,
+to the experience of death itself. At
+least we have come to look upon it in such
+light, and doubtless thousands of God's people
+have found the comforting truth of this verse
+a safe pillow in the dying hour. It has lightened
+the valley, removed the fear of death,
+and illumined immortality.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>The Fear of Death</i></b></div>
+
+<p>When a robber would scatter
+a flock of sheep and cause fear
+and consternation he throws a
+dead carcass in the midst of
+the flock. Sheep fear nothing as much as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[<i>Page</i> 61]</a></span>
+sight of death. Is this not true of man also?
+About the last fear taken from the human
+heart is "the fear of death." "The last enemy
+that shall be destroyed is death." Even though
+the believer knows that the sting of death has
+been removed, nevertheless there is usually
+an attendant fear connected with the passing
+out of this life.</p>
+
+<p>I have read that a famous scientist was in
+the habit of visiting a zoological garden in
+London. Among the many things that always
+interested him was a large snake&mdash;a boa constrictor.
+It was kept in a large glass case so
+that inspection of the reptile was perfectly safe
+from the outside. The scientist, we are told,
+was in the habit of knocking on the glass in
+order to awaken the snake. Instantly, when
+the knock was heard, the snake would raise
+its head and strike at the glass with its fangs.
+The scientist, instinctively shrank back, fearful
+of being struck, though he knew there was
+absolutely no danger. So sometimes is it with
+the believer's relationship to death. Even
+though he knows the sting is removed, nevertheless
+the experience of death is somewhat
+of a dread. The soul naturally recoils at the
+thought of death.</p>
+
+<p>No really thoughtful man will speak lightly
+of death. He may, as some men may, in the
+fullness of health and vigor, laugh at the idea<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[<i>Page</i> 62]</a></span>
+of dying; but when he comes face to face with
+the real experience, there is, as any minister or
+physician will tell you, quite a different story
+to tell.</p>
+
+<p>It reminds me of an experience in our own
+family life. Behind a former residence of ours
+was a stretch of woods where, after school, our
+boys would go to play their outdoor games.
+It was the understanding in the home that
+when the whistle was blown or some other
+signal given the boys should come home for
+their meals. At times the boys would come
+home in response to the signal in a somewhat
+murmuring spirit. They have said something
+like this to their mother: "Mother, what did
+you call us home for anyway? Didn't you
+know that we were just in the midst of a great
+game and our side was about to win? We wish
+you wouldn't call us." I have felt as I have
+listened to them speaking thus to their mother
+that, just at that particular time and in the
+middle of the day, they could, apparently, get
+along very well without their mother. But I
+have noticed this also, that at night time, after
+their mother had prayed with them and the
+lights were turned out, there was another
+story to tell. It seems to me that I can still
+hear one of the boys calling out in the dark to
+his mother, "Mamma, are you there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, son."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[<i>Page</i> 63]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Mamma."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Is your face turned towards me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Mamma, will you hold my hand? It's dark,
+isn't it, Mamma? Good night, Mamma."</p>
+
+<p>Ah, yes, in the day-time they might think
+they could get along very well without their
+mother, but when the night comes, and the
+lights are all out, and it's dark, then nobody
+on earth but mother will do.</p>
+
+<p>So it is with you, my friend. In your bravado
+of health and strength you may say that
+you are not afraid of death, but you wait until
+your feet come down to the brink of the river;
+then there will be a different story to tell.
+Some men haven't much use for God in life,
+but nobody else but God will do in the hour
+of death.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>The Valley Is Certain and Narrow</i></b></div>
+
+<p>Death is certain. It is appointed
+unto men once to die. While
+the Lord tarries, every child of
+Adam will have to pass through
+the experience of death.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">There is no flock, however watched and tended,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But one dead lamb is there!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But has one vacant chair!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Henry W. Longfellow</i><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[<i>Page</i> 64]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>We cannot bribe death. We cannot avoid
+or evade passing through the valley of the
+shadow. We cannot dig under it, nor tunnel
+around it, nor fly over it. Face it we must.
+It behooves us, therefore, to make sure that we
+have the light and the life which alone will
+secure for us a happy exit from this valley
+and a glorious entrance into the unfading light
+of a new day.</p>
+
+<p>The valley of the shadow of death is narrow,
+very narrow&mdash;so narrow indeed that even a
+mother cannot take her one-hour-old babe
+with her. It is so narrow. She must go through
+the valley alone. Single file, if you please, is
+the order of march through this valley of the
+shadow. An aged woman lay dying. By her
+bedside, with his hand in hers, sat the man
+who for over fifty years had been her husband.
+The light was failing fast, and eternity drawing
+near to the aged woman. Grasping the
+hand of her husband tightly, she said, "John,
+it's getting dark. Take my hand. For over
+fifty years we have traveled together, and you
+have led me. Now it's getting dark, and I
+cannot see the way. John, come with me, won't
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>But John could not go, and with tear-filled
+eyes and trembling voice, he said, "Anna, I
+cannot, cannot go. Only Jesus can go with
+you."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[<i>Page</i> 65]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She was a little girl of ten years. The angel
+of death was hovering over her bed. The end
+was drawing near. She said to her father, who
+was standing by the mother's side at the bed,
+"Papa, it's getting dark and I cannot see. Will
+you please go with me?"</p>
+
+<p>With heart breaking, the father had to say,
+"Child, I cannot, I cannot go with you."</p>
+
+<p>The girl turned to her mother and said,
+"Mamma, then you will, won't you?"</p>
+
+<p>But the mother, in turn, amid her tears, replied,
+"Child, I would, but I cannot. Only
+Jesus can go with you."</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><b><i>The Personal Pronouns Change</i></b></div>
+
+<p>It is interesting to note the
+change in the personal pronoun
+in this verse. Up to this point
+the Psalmist has been speaking
+in the third person and using the personal pronoun
+"He"&mdash;"<i>He</i> leadeth me." "<i>He</i> maketh
+me." "He restoreth;" <i>he, he, he</i>. When he
+comes to speak of the valley of the shadow
+of death, however, the third personal pronoun
+is changed to that of the second person, "Yea,
+though I walk through the valley of the
+shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for <i>thou</i>,
+(<i>thou</i>&mdash;not <i>he</i>, is with me, but <i>thou</i>) art with
+me." There is no room for a third person in
+this valley. If one does not have Christ as
+Saviour and Guide in the dark hour of death,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[<i>Page</i> 66]</a></span>
+he goes through the valley of the shadow all
+alone. Surely, without Christ with him man
+will stumble and fall in this valley.</p>
+
+<p>Poor indeed is that soul who, when his feet
+are about to enter the valley, has no Guide, or,
+when he comes to the brink of death's river,
+has no Pilot.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How lonely life must be!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like a sailor lost and driven<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On a wide and shoreless sea.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No hand to clasp thine own!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Through the dark, dark vale of shadows<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou must press thy way alone.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>W. O. Cushing</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But what a blessing and comfort it is for
+those who know Christ as Saviour and Comforter,
+to have the assurance that in that last
+hour of life He is by their side to guide them.
+It was doubtless this thought of the presence
+of Christ that comforted Tennyson when he
+wrote the words of that beautiful poem:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Sunset and evening star,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And one clear call for me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And, may there be no moaning of the bar,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When I put out to sea.<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[<i>Page</i> 67]</a></span></div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Twilight and evening bell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And after that the dark!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And, may there be no sadness of farewell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When I embark;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The flood may bear me far,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I hope to see my Pilot face to face<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When I have crossed the bar.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Alfred Tennyson</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Some one has called the fourth verse of the
+Psalm a song of the waters. Did you ever hear
+singing on the water? There is something wonderful
+about it. The water seems to take all
+harshness out of the music, and puts something
+exquisitely beautiful into it. Here then
+is "a psalm of the waters," a song for the believer
+to sing when his feet are touching the
+margin of the river: "When thou passest
+through the waters, I will be with thee; and
+through the rivers, they shall not overflow
+thee.... For I am the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> thy God."</p>
+
+<p>Here, too, is "a song in the night." Sing it,
+Christian pilgrim, when earth's last hour is at
+hand. Sing it as you enter the valley. Sing
+it as the darkness deepens. Sing it when the
+light of earth's day begins to fade. Sing it
+when the earth is receding, heaven is opening
+and God is calling you. Sing it until the glory
+of the eternal morn breaks upon thine enraptured
+vision. Sing it until your feet stand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[<i>Page</i> 68]</a></span>
+upon that golden shore against which death's
+chilly wave never again shall dash, and where
+death is no more. Sing it, sing this song of the
+waters&mdash;"Yea, though I walk through the
+valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
+evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
+staff they comfort me."</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Why be afraid of Death as though your life were breath!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Death but anoints your eyes with clay. Oh glad surprise!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Why should you be forlorn? Death only husks the corn.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Why should you fear to meet the thresher of the wheat?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Is sleep a thing to dread? Yet sleeping, you are dead<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Till you awake and rise, here, or beyond the skies.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Why should it be a wrench, to leave your wooden bench?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Why not with happy shout run home when school is out?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The dear ones left behind? O foolish one and blind.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A day&mdash;and you will meet&mdash;a night&mdash;and you will greet!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">This is the death of Death, to breathe away a breath,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And know the end of strife and taste the deathless life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[<i>Page</i> 69]</a></span><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And joy without a fear and smile without a tear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And work, nor care, nor rest, and find the last the best.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Maltbie D. Babcock</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">"<b><i>Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me</i></b>"</div>
+
+<p>The rod is a protection from all
+the adversaries of the night.
+No enemy, not even the last
+enemy, death, can affright the
+soul in the care of the tender
+Shepherd, for He has extracted the sting from
+death. The staff is used for counting the sheep
+as they pass one by one into the fold. This
+action is sometimes called "passing under the
+rod." The language used here indicates safety
+and security.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ills have no weight and tears on bitterness.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Henry F. Lyte</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Christ hath <i>abolished</i> death and brought life
+and immortality to light. The word "abolished"
+is a very strong one in the Greek. It
+has three root letters, a, r and g. Then the
+preposition <i>kata</i> is added to it, thus making our
+English word "energy" which means "a working
+force." Then, in a way known to Greek
+students, the preposition gives the word, as it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[<i>Page</i> 70]</a></span>
+were, the force of a double negative. So the
+Apostle teaches us that Christ, when He came
+into the world and died on the cross, did something
+with death. He double-twisted it, He
+de-vitalized it, double-negatived it, made it
+inoperative, rendered it powerless, so that ever
+afterwards it would be unable to hurt the children
+of God.</p>
+
+<p>I do not know very much about bees except,
+of course, that they sting. I am told, however,
+that when a bee stings you it leaves its sting
+in the wound and goes away to die. A little
+child may play with the bee after it has stung
+a person without any harm coming to the
+child. The bee has lost its power to hurt. So
+we are told that the sting of death is sin. Death
+stung Christ on the cross and left its sting in
+Him, so that ever after it could not hurt the
+children of God. He is "Death of death and
+hell's destruction."</p>
+
+<p>Christ, the Great Shepherd, will be there at
+the entrance of the valley to meet you and
+lead you through. He will beat off all the
+powers of death. He will destroy all the enemies
+of darkness and convey you safely
+through the valley into the Homeland. He
+holds the keys of death and the grave. How
+helpless a thing a sheep is! How much in need
+of a defender it is! It seems as though almost
+any other animal can defend itself. A dog will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[<i>Page</i> 71]</a></span>
+fight when attacked. A sheep stands helpless
+in the presence of its opponent. Christ, the
+Good Shepherd, will protect to the last.</p>
+
+<p>The comforting thoughts of this verse must
+certainly take the sting out of death to those
+who grasp the great truths taught here. It
+surely abolishes death and illumines immortality.</p>
+
+<p>No one need fear death with such thoughts
+as these before him. The Apostle Paul asserts
+that every believer in Christ has "a cheerful
+view of death," and desires rather "to be absent
+from the body and at home with the
+Lord" than to remain here upon the earth.</p>
+
+<p>Go to thy grave, not as the slave scourged
+to his dungeon, or the dog whipped to his kennel,
+but as the prince wraps around him the
+drapery of his couch and lies down to pleasant
+dreams. The conscious companionship of the
+Christ will remove thy fears. With what
+alacrity, courage and fearlessness doth he walk
+the highway whose heart is honest and whose
+conscience doth not convict him of the violation
+of his country's laws! How different with
+the criminal! How full of fear and apprehension!</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The darkness deepens&mdash;Lord, with me abide!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[<i>Page</i> 72]</a></span><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Change and decay in all around I see;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O Thou who changest not, abide with me!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I triumph still, if Thou abide with me!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Henry F. Lyte</i><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[<i>Page</i> 73]</a></span></div></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div><br /></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/banner.jpg" width="600" height="37" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<div><br /></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/illus073.jpg" width="400" height="147" alt="One man anointing the head of another" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER FIVE</h2>
+
+<h3>
+<b>"Thou preparest a table before me in the<br />
+presence of mine enemies; thou<br />
+anointest my head with oil;<br />
+my cup runneth over."</b>
+</h3>
+
+
+<p class="dropcap">There is a variety of senses in which
+the truth of this verse may be understood.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that in the ancient days a shepherd's
+tent was a kind of city of refuge. The
+man who had unwittingly slain another could
+find refuge in a shepherd's tent from the
+avenger of blood. The fugitive was permitted
+to stay a given length of time within the shepherd's
+care, during which time he was as safe
+from the pursuer as though he were in the
+actual city of refuge. The pursuer might be
+raging with fury outside of the door of the tent,
+but the fugitive could eat with perfect safety
+and peace in the presence of his enemy. How
+like Christ in His relation to the believer!</p>
+
+<p>One day Charles Wesley stood looking out
+of a partly open window at the fierce storm
+howling without, when a young robin, quickly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[<i>Page</i> 74]</a></span>
+passing some other birds, flew to his breast,
+seeking shelter from its foes. It was then he
+wrote that wonderful hymn, the opening words
+of which are:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Jesus, Lover of my soul,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let me to Thy bosom fly!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Is not this a picture of this verse of the
+Psalm? "And a man (Jesus Christ) shall be
+for a hiding place and a refuge from the storm."
+Are we not safe in Him from all our foes?
+"There is therefore now no condemnation to
+them that are in Christ Jesus."</p>
+
+<p>We are told that in David's day it was the
+custom of conquering kings and princes to
+bring the royal captives of the contending defeated
+army into a large banqueting house.
+To each pillar in the house a prisoner of royal
+blood or a commanding officer was chained.
+The banquet tables were heavily laden with
+good things of which the victors partook.
+Feasting and jollification were indulged in,
+and joy and gladness were manifest in the
+presence of defeated and chained enemies. Are
+we not made "always to triumph" over all our
+foes in Christ? Are we not made "more than
+conquerors" in Him who hath "led captivity
+captive"? "Ye shall eat your meat in quietness,
+and nothing shall make you afraid."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[<i>Page</i> 75]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Or, again, it may be that reference is made
+in this verse to the grazing of sheep in fields
+full of snakeholes or of poisonous plants. A
+sheep raiser in Texas once told the writer that
+he lost a great many sheep because snakes
+would come up through holes in the ground
+and bite the sheep as they grazed, poisoning
+them. After losing many of the flock he finally
+discovered a remedy. A mixture of some kind
+was poured down the holes, which killed the
+snakes, and after that the sheep were able to
+graze in peace and safety. Hath not Christ
+abolished death for the believer? Has He not
+deprived death of its sting and stripped the
+grave of its victim? Hath He not overcome
+that old serpent, the Devil? Do we not overcome
+the dragon, that old serpent, the Devil
+and Satan, the accuser of the brethren day and
+night&mdash;do we not overcome him by the blood
+of the Lamb?</p>
+
+<p>Whichever of these meanings may be
+adopted as indicating the teaching of this verse,
+we may be certain that the truth the Psalmist
+desires to express is this: That God gives His
+children victory over all their foes, and makes
+them more than conquerors over all their
+enemies. Thus shall we "eat our meat in peace
+and quietness, and nothing shall make us
+afraid." "Why do the heathen rage?...<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[<i>Page</i> 76]</a></span>
+He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh"&mdash;and
+so shall we.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">On the Rock of Ages founded,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who can shake thy sure repose?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With salvation's walls surrounded,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou mayes't smile at all thy foes.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Rev. John Newton</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="sidenote">"<b><i>Thou Anointest My Head with Oil: My Cup Runneth Over</i></b>"</div>
+
+<p>A shepherd must needs be a
+physician also. In the belt
+of the shepherd medicines
+are always carried. Sheep
+are very susceptible to sicknesses
+of many kinds, particularly fevers. Ofttimes
+at night as the sheep passed into the fold
+the shepherd's knowing eye would detect that
+one or another of them was sick and feverish.
+Perhaps it had been bitten by a serpent or torn
+by some wild animal. He would take the feverish
+sheep and plunge its head into clear, cold
+water, plunging the head so far into the pail
+that the water would run over, or anoint the
+bruise with mollifying ointment. Doubtless
+David is thinking of this experience of his
+shepherd life.</p>
+
+<p>Or, again, David may be referring to the
+bountiful water supply provided for the sheep
+and applying it to the rich provision God has
+made for the believer. Not only is there grace
+enough for oneself, but with the believer as a
+channel, an abundance for others.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[<i>Page</i> 77]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Thou, O Christ, art all I want;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">More than all in Thee I find!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Charles Wesley</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>This is the wonderful truth taught by Jesus
+in the Temple: "Now on the last day, the great
+day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,
+If any man thirst, let him come unto me and
+drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture
+hath said, from within him shall flow
+rivers of living water." Here we see how the
+believer may come to Christ for the quenching
+of his own thirst, and then draw on, or
+drink more deeply of, Christ for the quenching
+of the thirst of others. "Thou, O Christ,
+art all I want, more than all in Thee I find."
+Here we have the personal and relative side
+of a consecrated life of service.</p>
+
+<p>My cup is to "run over." No selfish religion
+must I claim. I am to be satisfied with Christ
+first myself, then I am to take from Him so
+large a supply that others with whom I come
+into contact may also partake of His fullness.
+No hermit, no ascetic, monk, or recluse would
+the Master have me be.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">There are hermit souls that live withdrawn<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In the peace of their self-content;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In a fellowless firmament.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where highways never ran<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[<i>Page</i> 78]</a></span>&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But let me live by the side of the road<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And be a friend to man.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Let me live in my house by the side of the road<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where the race of men go by&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The men who are good and the men who are bad,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As good and as bad as I,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I would not sit in the scorner's seat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or hurl the cynic's ban&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let me live in the house by the side of the road<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And be a friend to man.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I see from my house by the side of the road,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By the side of the highway of life,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The men who press with the ardor of hope,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The men who are faint with the strife;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Both parts of an infinite plan&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let me live in a house by the side of the road<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And be a friend to man.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Sam Walter Foss</i><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[<i>Page</i> 79]</a></span></div></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div><br /></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/banner.jpg" width="600" height="37" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<div><br /></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/illus079.jpg" width="400" height="128" alt="A Happy Man" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER SIX</h2>
+
+<h3>
+<b>"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me<br />
+all the days of my life; and I will dwell<br />
+in the house of the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> for ever."</b>
+</h3>
+
+
+<p class="dropcap">The writer was once called to speak
+with a Scotch Presbyterian elder who
+was rapidly passing from this life. I
+had read to him this last verse of the Psalm,
+when, turning in his bed, he said to me in words
+that were almost his last, "Take my Bible and
+read that verse to me from 'The Psalms in
+Metre' in the back of my Bible." I took his
+Scotch Bible from a table close by and read:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Goodness and mercy all my life<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Shall surely follow me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And in God's house for evermore<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My dwelling place shall be.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>William Whittingham</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Some one has well said that "goodness and
+mercy" are God's two collie dogs to preserve
+the Christian from all danger. Others have
+likened "goodness and mercy" to the Christian's
+footmen to wait upon him daily. "The
+house of the <span class="smcap">Lord</span>" is doubtless here contrasted
+with the tent of the shepherd, just as the words<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[<i>Page</i> 80]</a></span>
+"dwell for ever" are contrasted with the fact
+that the fugitive was allowed to stay in the
+shepherd's tent only a limited time.</p>
+
+<p>This verse expresses the confidence of the
+Christian with regard to the future. It is the
+Christian's confidence that in the Father's
+house a mansion is prepared for him, and that
+when the earthly house of this tabernacle is
+taken down and dissolved by death he has a
+house not made with hands, eternal in the
+heavens. This is surely a grand provision for
+old age, a life insurance worthy of the name,
+a home for the winter of life, and a blessed assurance
+with regard to one's eternity. How
+poor indeed is that soul that cannot say, "Yea,
+though I walk through the valley of the
+shadow of death, I will fear no evil," for the
+grave is not the terminus but the passageway
+that leads to endless light and life, into the
+glory and beauty of the house of the Lord in
+which the believer shall "dwell for ever." Beyond
+the night of death lies the perfect day;
+beyond the valley of the shadow lie the plains
+of peace.</p>
+
+<p>One cannot help but wonder if you, reader,
+have such a confident hope with regard to
+your future life. Only those who are able to
+say "The <span class="smcap">Lord</span> is my shepherd" are able to
+say "I will dwell in the house of the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> for
+ever."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[<i>Page</i> 81]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A famous Scotch preacher tells us that a
+demented boy, who was in the habit of attending
+one of the classes in his Sunday school, was
+sick unto death. The minister was asked to go
+to see the boy. He went to the house, and in
+speaking with the lad and after reading the
+Scriptures he was about to leave, when this
+boy, with only half his reasoning power, demented
+and partly idiotic, asked the great
+preacher if he wouldn't kneel down and recite
+for him the Twenty-third Psalm. In
+obedience to the boy's request he knelt and
+repeated the Twenty-third Psalm, until he
+came to the last verse which, as you know,
+reads "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
+me all the days of my life, and I will
+dwell in the house of the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> for ever." But
+the preacher did not repeat this last verse, for
+he was saying to himself while on his knees,
+"this verse can hardly be true of this boy,
+surely goodness and mercy has not followed
+him all the days of his life, and further, what
+does he know about the determination of this
+verse&mdash;to dwell in the house of the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> for
+ever?" And so the great preacher was rising
+from his knees, having omitted the last verse,
+when the boy reached out his hand and, placing
+it on the shoulder of the minister, pressed
+him again to his knees and repeated the last
+verse of the Psalm&mdash;the verse the preacher<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[<i>Page</i> 82]</a></span>
+had omitted, as it is written in the Scotch
+hymn book:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Goodness and mercy all my life<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Shall surely follow me;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And in God's house for evermore<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My dwelling place shall be.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>William Whittingham</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>This was a lesson the preacher never forgot.
+Can you, my reader, you, with all your senses,
+your keenness of brain and intellect&mdash;can you
+say what this idiotic boy could say: "I will
+dwell in the house of the <span class="smcap">Lord</span> for ever"?</p>
+
+<p>I am reminded in this connection of one of
+Bunyan's characters in the "Pilgrim's Progress."
+He is referred to as "Mr. Feeble Mind."
+This character in speaking of his immortal
+hope&mdash;that hope which lies beyond the valley
+of the shadow and the grave&mdash;expresses
+it in this way: "But this I am resolved on: to
+run when I can, to go when I cannot run, and
+to creep when I cannot go. As to the main, I
+thank Him that loved me. I am fixed. My
+way is before me. My mind is beyond the
+river that hath no bridge, though I am, as you
+see, but of a feeble mind." Mark that wonderful
+expression, will you?&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"My mind is beyond the river that hath no bridge."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Is yours? You&mdash;man, woman, with all your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[<i>Page</i> 83]</a></span>
+senses, of strong and sound mind, can you give
+expression to an exclamation of faith like that?</p>
+
+<p>There are some of my readers on whose head
+time has laid its hand and whitened their hair
+to the whiteness of that winter in which all
+their glory must fade. Their sun of life is
+going down beyond the hill of life. The young
+may die; the old must die. Oh, the pity of it,
+to see the old and gray with no eternal life
+insurance for the winter of life! The gray head
+is indeed a crown of glory if it be found in the
+way of life; otherwise it is a fool's cap. Reader,
+may your eventide be light, and may your path
+be as the path of the just that shineth brighter
+and brighter unto the perfect day!</p>
+
+<p>Thus we see that the grave is not the end.
+We pass through the grave only in order that
+we may place our last climbing footstep upon
+the threshold of our Father's house, to go out
+no more. Then we shall dwell for ever there.
+Beyond the grave lie the Plains of Peace, the
+Homeland&mdash;with all the loved who have gone
+before&mdash;those whom we "have loved long since
+and lost awhile."</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Is the way so dark, O wanderer,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is the hillcrest wild and steep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Far, so far, the vale beyond thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where the homelights vigil keep?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Still the goal lies far before thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Soon will fall on thee the night;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[<i>Page</i> 84]</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Breast the path that takes thee onward,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fight the storm with all thy might.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Tho' thy heart be faint and weary,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tho' thy footsteps fain would cease,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Journey onward&mdash;past the hillcrest<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lie for thee the Plains of Peace!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Is thy path so rough, O pilgrim,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Passing on thy way through life;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Deep the sorrows that beset thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Great the burden, wild the strife?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tho' the hill of life be weary,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tho' the goal of rest be far,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Set thy whole heart to endeavor,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Turn thy soul to yon bright star.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">From the toiling, from the striving<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There at last shall come release;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Home unto his Plains of Peace;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Home, Home, Home unto His Plains of Peace!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="signature">&mdash;<i>Clifton Bingham</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd Psalm, by William Evans
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+</pre>
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd Psalm, by William Evans
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Shepherd Psalm
+       A Meditation
+
+Author: William Evans
+
+Release Date: August 4, 2010 [EBook #33349]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SHEPHERD PSALM ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Rose Mawhorter and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber's Notes:
+
+  The word 'Lord' in small-caps has been rendered as +LORD+ to
+  differentiate it from the word 'LORD' in regular all-caps.
+
+  Obvious missing punctuation was added.
+
+  p 83. hill-crest was changed to hillcrest
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+  The Shepherd Psalm
+
+  A Meditation
+
+  By WILLIAM EVANS, Ph.D., D.D.
+  Bible Teacher and Author of
+
+  "The Book of Books," "How to Memorize," "Outline Study of
+  the Bible," "How to Prepare Sermons and Gospel Addresses,"
+  "The Book-Method of Bible Study,"
+  "Epochs in the Life of Christ," "Through
+  the Bible, Book by Book," etc.
+
+  CHICAGO
+  THE BIBLE INSTITUTE COLPORTAGE ASS'N
+  826 North La Salle Street
+
+
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
+  THE BIBLE INSTITUTE COLPORTAGE
+  ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO
+
+
+  Printed in the United States of America
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+  FOREWORD                                        5
+
+  INTRODUCTION                                    7
+
+  CHAPTER ONE: "The +LORD+ is my shepherd;
+    I shall not want"                            17
+
+  CHAPTER TWO: "He maketh me to lie
+    down in green pastures; He leadeth me
+    beside still waters"                         26
+
+  CHAPTER THREE: "He restoreth my soul;
+    He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
+    for His name's sake"                         36
+
+  CHAPTER FOUR: "Yea, though I walk
+    through the valley of the shadow of
+    death, I will fear no evil; for thou art
+    with me; thy rod and thy staff they
+    comfort me"                                  58
+
+  CHAPTER FIVE: "Thou preparest a table
+    before me in the presence of mine enemies;
+    thou anointest my head with oil;
+    my cup runneth over"                         73
+
+  CHAPTER SIX: "Surely goodness and
+    mercy shall follow me all the days of
+    my life; and I will dwell in the house
+    of the +LORD+ forever"                       79
+
+
+[The illustration on the cover is from an actual photograph by
+the Author, when he was in Palestine.]
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+
+THIS production of the Shepherd Psalm is sent forth at the request of
+many hundreds of kind persons who have listened to the writer preach on
+it and who desire to see it in print, that it may be a blessing to many
+who cannot hear it.
+
+It is a well known Psalm. Untold numbers of sermons have been preached
+on it. Books without number have been printed in attempts to set forth
+its life, depth, richness, and beauty. Doubtless much more will be
+written and spoken concerning this charming pastoral symphony--and,
+after that, much more will remain yet to be said, so full is the
+inspiration of the divine Word. May God make this Psalm to the reader
+all that it has been--yea, and more,--to the writer!
+
+WILLIAM EVANS.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+The Twenty-third Psalm
+
+
+The world could afford to spare many a magnificent library better than
+it could dispense with this little Psalm of six verses. If the verses of
+this Psalm had tongues and could repeat the tale of their ministry down
+throughout the generations of the faithful, what marvels of experience
+they would reveal! Their biographies would be gathered from the four
+winds of heaven and from the uttermost parts of the sea; from lonely
+chambers, from suffering sick beds, from the banks of the valley of the
+shadow of death, from scaffolds and fiery piles; witnessing in sunlight
+from moors and mountains, beneath the stars and in high places of the
+field. What hosts of armies of aliens it has put to flight! If by some
+magic or divine touch, yea, some miraculous power, the saints'
+experience of this Psalm could shine out between its lines, what an
+illumination of the text there would be!
+
+Luther was fond of comparing this Psalm to the nightingale, which is
+small among the birds and of homely plumage, but with what thrilling
+melody it pours out its beautiful notes! Into how many dungeons filled
+with gloom and doubt has this little Psalm sung its message of hope and
+faith! Into how many hearts, bruised and broken by grief, has it brought
+its hymn of comfort and healing How many darkened prison cells it has
+lightened and cheered! Into what thousands of sick rooms has it brought
+its ministry of comfort and support! How many a time, in the hour of
+pain, has it brought sustaining faith and sung its song of eternal bliss
+in the valley of the shadow of death! It has charmed more griefs to rest
+than all the philosophies of the world. And I am persuaded that this
+little Psalm-bird will continue to sing its song of comfort and cheer to
+your children, to my children, and to our children's children, and will
+not cease its psalmody of love until the last weary pilgrim has placed
+his last climbing footstep upon the threshold of the Father's house to
+go out no more. Then, I think, this little bird will fold its golden
+pinions and fall back on the bosom of God, from whence it came.
+
+It has been well said that this Psalm is the most perfect picture of
+happiness that ever was or ever can be drawn to represent that state of
+mind for which all alike sigh, and the want of which makes life a
+failure to most. It represents that heaven which is everywhere, if we
+could but interpret it, and yet almost nowhere because not many of us
+do.
+
+
+=_Unusual Application_=
+
+How familiar this Psalm is the world over! Go where you will; inquire in
+every nation, tongue and tribe under heaven where the Bible is known,
+you will find this Psalm among the first scriptures learned and lisped
+by the little child at its mother's knee, and the last bit of inspired
+writ uttered in dying breath by the saintly patriarch.
+
+This Psalm is so universal, says one, because it is so individual; it is
+so individual because it is so universal. As we read it, we are aware
+not only of the fact that we are listening to the experience of an Old
+Testament saint, but also that a voice comes speaking to us through the
+long centuries past--speaking to us in our own language, recounting our
+own experience, breathing out our own hopes.
+
+The Davidic authorship of this Psalm has been questioned. We believe
+firmly that David is the writer; and yet a man feels as he reads the
+Psalm that it is so personal, so true to his own individual experience,
+that he could fain claim to have written it himself. It might seem as
+though the promises and precious things set forth in this Psalm lie
+beyond our reach; we have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep,
+but "one of like passions with ourselves has passed that way before and
+has left a cup to be let down, with His name and story written on the
+rim, and we may let that cup down into the well and draw a draught of
+the deep, refreshing water."
+
+
+=_The Location of the Psalm_=
+
+Have you ever noticed just where this Psalm is located? It lies between
+the Twenty-second and the Twenty-fourth Psalms. A very simple statement
+that--but how deep and wondrous a lesson lies hidden therein!
+
+The Twenty-second Psalm. What is it? It is "The Psalm of the Cross." It
+begins with the words uttered by Christ on the cross: "My God, my God,
+why hast thou forsaken me?" It ends with the exclamation of the cross:
+"He hath done it," or, as it may be translated, "It is finished." The
+Twenty-second Psalm, then, is the Psalm of Mount Calvary--The Psalm of
+the Cross.
+
+What is the Twenty-fourth Psalm? It is the Psalm of Mount Zion--a
+picture of the King entering into His own. How beautifully it reads:
+"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting
+doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory?
+The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory." The Twenty-fourth Psalm,
+then, is the Psalm of the coming Kingdom of Glory.
+
+There you have the two mountains; Mount Calvary and Mount Zion. What is
+it that lies between two mountains? A valley with its green grass, its
+quiet waters, its springing flowers, with shepherd and grazing sheep.
+Here, then, is the lesson we learn from the _location_ of the Psalm: it
+is given to comfort, help, inspire and encourage God's people during
+this probationary period of our life, between the Cross and the Crown.
+
+Is not this the reason why the tenses of this Psalm are _present_
+tenses? "The +LORD+ _is_ my shepherd"; "He _maketh_ me to lie down"; "He
+_leadeth_ me." Even the last verse, "_I will_ (not I shall) dwell in the
+house of the Lord for ever," describes the _present_ attitude of the
+soul of the Psalmist, who determines by no means to miss participation
+in the fellowship of the saints in heaven.
+
+We love _the Christ of the Cross_. We may not yet fully understand that
+cross; may not yet have found any particular theory of the atonement
+which completely satisfies our intellect. But we have learned to say
+that we believe in the atonement and in the vicarious death of our
+Redeemer. Somehow or other we have come, by faith, to throw our
+trembling arms around that bleeding body and cry out in the desperate
+determination of our sin-stricken souls to Him who hangs on that cross
+to save us by His death. We have come to express our faith in that
+divine sacrifice in the words of the hymn:
+
+    Other refuge have I none,
+    Hangs my helpless soul on Thee.
+
+Let us never forget that we reach the Twenty-third Psalm by the way of
+the Twenty-second Psalm--the Psalm of the Cross. "The way of the cross
+leads home." We love the Christ of the Twenty-second Psalm, the Christ
+of Calvary, the Christ of the Cross.
+
+We also love _the Christ of the Throne and the Glory_. It may be, that,
+at times, we have trembled and feared as we have thought of the coming
+judgment, but when we have remembered that He who sits upon the throne
+is our Elder Brother, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; that He
+left His throne in the glory and took on Him the form of a servant,
+dying the ignominious death of the cross that He might redeem us and
+save us from the just wrath of God against sin; that some day, He who
+loved us and gave Himself for us, will say: "Come, ye blessed of my
+Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
+world," then we take courage and look forward with joy to the time when,
+having washed the last sleep from our eyes in the river of Life, we
+shall gaze with undimmed vision upon Him, whom having not seen, we have
+yet loved.
+
+We love the Christ of the cross, the Christ of the past, the Christ of
+Mount Calvary. We love the Christ of the future, the Christ of the
+throne, the Christ of Mount Zion. But more precious to us, and we say it
+reverently, than the Christ of the past, or the Christ of the future, is
+the Christ of the present, He who lives with us now, dwells within us,
+walks by our side every moment and every hour of the day. We used to
+sing in our childhood days that beautiful hymn,
+
+    I think, when I read that sweet story of old,
+    When Jesus was here among men,
+    How He called little children as lambs to His fold,
+    I should like to have been with Him then.
+
+    I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,
+    That His arms had been thrown around me;
+    And that I might have seen His kind look when he said,
+    "Let the little ones come unto me."
+
+                                      --_Mrs. Jemima Luke_
+
+Many of us feel that we would have given anything to have walked by the
+side of the Christ in the days of His earthly pilgrimage, and we almost
+envy those who saw His face in the flesh. Some of us know the thrill of
+joy that came to our hearts when we trod the sands of Galilee that once
+were fresh with His footprints, trod the Temple's marble pavements that
+once echoed with His tread, and sailed the blue waters of Galilee that
+once were stilled by His wonderful word.
+
+And yet, we should not forget that the enjoyment of the real presence of
+Christ is just as truly ours today as it was the possession of the
+disciples in the days of His flesh. As the old hymn so beautifully says,
+
+    We may not climb the heavenly steeps
+      To bring the Lord Christ down;
+    In vain we search the lowest deeps,
+      For Him no depths can drown.
+
+    But warm, sweet, tender, even yet
+      A present help is He;
+    And faith has still its Olivet,
+      And love its Galilee.
+
+    The healing of His seamless dress
+      Is by our beds of pain;
+    We touch Him in life's throng and press,
+      And we are whole again.
+
+                        --_John G. Whittier_
+
+The name given to our Lord in connection with His birth was Immanuel,
+which being interpreted is, "God with us." One of the most beautiful
+doctrines of the Christian faith is the divine immanence, the continued
+presence of the ever-living Christ with His people; for
+
+    For God is never so far off as even to be near, He is within.
+
+                                                  --_F. W. Faber_
+
+    Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands or feet.
+
+                                            --_Alfred Tennyson_
+
+    I know not where His islands lift
+      Their fronded palms in air;
+    I only know I cannot drift
+      Beyond His love and care.
+
+                 --_John G. Whittier_
+
+
+
+
+THE SHEPHERD PSALM
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER ONE
+
+"=The +LORD+ is my shepherd; I shall not want.="
+
+
+"The +LORD+ is my shepherd." Have you ever noted how the word "Lord" is
+printed in the Bible? Sometimes all the letters are large capitals
+(LORD); or the first letter is a large capital and the other letters
+smaller capitals (+LORD+); then, again, the first letter is a large
+capital and the remaining letters ordinary (Lord). Each method of
+spelling the divine name indicates a different phase of the character of
+God. "LORD" refers to Jehovah as the covenant-keeping God, the One who
+never fails to fulfill all His promises. "+LORD+" points to our Lord
+Jesus Christ as the second Person in the Trinity, He who became
+incarnate. "Lord" signifies also God in Christ, the Jehovah of the Old
+Testament, God of power, the One who is able to do all things and with
+whom nothing is impossible, manifesting Himself in Jesus Christ.
+
+What a world of meaning, then, lies wrapped up in the word "+LORD+" in
+the first verse of this Psalm! Jehovah who is all-faithful, never
+failing in His promises, almighty, all-powerful, who is able to supply
+all of our needs, who created the heavens and the earth, who upholds all
+things by the word of His power, who spake and it was done, who
+commanded and it stood fast; the +LORD+ of whom Job said: "I know that
+thou canst do anything, and no purpose of thine can be hindered"; the
+"+LORD+" who never fails in the keeping of His promises, however
+seemingly impossible of fulfillment, from a natural viewpoint, those
+promises may be; the "+LORD+" of whom it is said, "God is not a man that
+he should lie, nor the Son of man that he should repent." "Hath he said
+and shall He not do it; hath He promised and shall he not bring it to
+pass?" the "Lord," the incarnate One, who for our sakes took on Himself
+our nature with all its sinless infirmities, who was tempted in all
+points like as we are, yet without sin, and who is thus able to feel our
+needs and sympathize with us in all our trials and temptations; the
+"+LORD+" who, speaking to the multitudes, said, "I am the good shepherd;
+the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep"--such a Shepherd,
+faithful, powerful, sympathetic, is our "+LORD+." What a wealth of
+meaning, then, lies in the first clause, "The +LORD+" (who is LORD, and
+Lord) such a "+LORD+" is "my Shepherd."
+
+We can then well say, "I shall not want." With such a Shepherd, how
+could we want for anything for time or eternity? All that we need for
+body, mind and soul shall be supplied. The God who provided the table in
+the wilderness, who fed Elijah by the brook, who struck the rock in the
+wilderness that the thirst of His people might be quenched, will provide
+for His children according to His riches in glory.
+
+Reviewing Israel's history in the wilderness it could be recorded,
+"These forty years Jehovah, thy God, hath been with thee; thou hast
+lacked nothing." How wonderfully God supplied the needs of His people
+when they were traveling through that long, weary wilderness! "For the
++LORD+ thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand; he
+knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness; these forty years the
++LORD+ thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing"
+(Deuteronomy 2:7). "Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them,
+and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water
+for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the
+wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old,
+and their feet swelled not" (Nehemiah 9:20, 21).
+
+Let us, then, as the children of God, take all the comfort possible out
+of these words. Let us not go about mourning, grumbling, and borrowing
+trouble, thereby proclaiming to the world that our great Banker is on
+the verge of bankruptcy. The "+LORD+" is our shepherd; we shall not want
+for nourishment (verse 1), refreshment (verse 2), rest (verse 3),
+protection (verse 4), guidance (verse 5), home (verse 6). Here is a Bank
+the child of God can draw on at any time without fear of its being
+broken. Millions have been supplied and there's room for millions more.
+No want shall turn me back from following the Shepherd.
+
+How encouraging to recall the words of Jesus uttered to the disciples
+when they had returned from their itinerary of missionary activity:
+"When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any
+thing? And they said, Nothing" (Luke 22:35).
+
+    The Lord my Shepherd is,
+      I shall be well supplied,
+    Since He is mine and I am His,
+      What can I want beside?
+
+                   --_Isaac Watts_
+
+When the writer was a lad he secured a position for which he was
+promised so much a week in money and "everything found," by which was
+meant board, room, and clothing. So this verse may read, "The +LORD+ is
+my Shepherd," and "everything found."
+
+In a park one day two women were overheard talking. One of them, who by
+her appearance showed that she was in very straitened circumstances,
+said to the other, "I am at my wit's end; I know not what to do. My
+husband has been sick and unable to work for almost a year. What little
+money we had saved is all spent. We have not a penny with which to buy
+food or clothing for ourselves or the children. This morning we received
+notice from the landlord to vacate." And then, in words that were full
+of suggestive meaning, she added, "If John D. Rockefeller were my
+father, I would not want, would I?"
+
+Oh, what a world of comfort lies in the thought, "The +LORD+ is my
+Shepherd," and, therefore, "I shall not want"! I shall want for nothing
+in time or eternity. Every need of body, mind, and soul shall be
+supplied. In the great Shepherd lies strength for my weakness, hope for
+my despair, food for my hunger, satisfaction for my need, wisdom for my
+ignorance, healing for my wounds, power for my temptation--the
+complement of all my lack.
+
+    Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
+    More than all in thee I find.
+
+                 --_Charles Wesley_
+
+
+=_Religion Is a Personal Thing_=
+
+"The +LORD+ is my shepherd." _My_ Shepherd. Religion is a _personal_
+thing. Really speaking, your religion consists in your personal
+relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Not mere profession, but actual
+possession is what counts. Christianity emphasizes the worth of the
+individual and his personal relation to God. Sin degrades men into mere
+numbers.
+
+A photograph was placed on my desk. It had inscribed on it a number, but
+no name. It was the likeness of a convict. It was a number I went to
+jail to see; a number I spoke with by the cell door; a number I stood by
+and saw handcuffed; a number with whom I walked down the steps of the
+jail; a number with whom I walked up the stairs to the scaffold; a
+number around whose neck I saw the rope placed; a number I saw drop to
+his death. Sin degrades personality, but the religion of Christ exalts
+its adherents to a place in that innumerable company which cannot be
+numbered, but every one of whom bears upon his forehead the name of his
+Redeemer and King. Jesus calleth HIS sheep by name, not by number.
+
+At the close of a sermon in a church in the Highlands of Scotland the
+preacher, who was supplying the pulpit for a few Sundays, was asked to
+call upon a shepherd boy who was very sick. Arm in arm with one of the
+elders of the church the minister crossed the moor, climbed the
+hillside, and came to the cottage where the boy and his widowed mother
+lived. After knocking at the door the visitors were admitted by the
+mother. Her face showed the marks of long vigil. The boy was her only
+child. The minister and elder went into the room where the sick boy lay
+on his cot. The minister, looking upon the pale, haggard face of the
+sick shepherd boy, asked him tenderly, "Laddie, do you know the
+Twenty-third Psalm?"
+
+Every Scotch boy knows the Twenty-third Psalm, and so the little fellow
+replied, "Yes, sir, I ken (know) the Psalm well."
+
+"Will you repeat it to me?" said the minister to the boy.
+
+Slowly and tenderly the lad quoted the words, "The +LORD+ is my
+shepherd, I shall not want," unto the end of the Psalm.
+
+"Do you see," said the minister to the boy, "that in the first clause of
+the first verse there is just one word for each finger. Hold up your
+hand, laddie; take the second finger of your right hand, put it on the
+fourth finger of your left, hold it over your heart and say with me,
+'The +LORD+ is _my_ Shepherd.'"
+
+The fourth finger of the left hand! Why that finger? Every woman knows.
+It is the ring finger. Who placed that ring on your finger? My friend,
+my lover, my husband; the man who is more to me and different to me
+than any other and all other men in this world; the man without whom
+life would not be worth living; _my_ friend, _my_ lover, _my_ husband.
+
+The following Sunday the elder and the minister again crossed the moor
+and came to the cottage on the hillside. As the mother opened the door
+to admit them they saw by the expression on her face that a deeper
+sorrow had fallen on her heart since they last saw her. She took them,
+silently and solemnly, into a little room, and there, covered with a
+snow-white sheet, lay the lifeless form of the shepherd laddie, her only
+child. As the minister took the white sheet and passed it from forehead
+to chin, from chin to breast, and from breast to waist, he saw, frozen
+stiff in death, the second finger of the right hand on the fourth of the
+left hand, which was fastened in death over his heart. The mother
+exclaimed amid her tears, "He died saying, 'The +LORD+ is _my_
+Shepherd.'"
+
+What a world of difference that little word _my_ makes, does it not? As
+a pastor I have often stood by the open grave that was to receive the
+body of someone's beloved daughter, the light and joy of some heart. I
+sought to be deeply sympathetic with those who were suffering
+bereavement. I tried to mourn with those who mourned, and weep with
+those who wept, and I think I did, so far as it is possible for a
+friend to sympathize. But one day I stood by an open grave when _my_
+daughter, _my_ child, _my own_ darling girl, _my_ Dorothy, was placed
+beneath the sod. Ah! then I knew what grief was. Ah, what a world of
+difference that little word _my_ makes!
+
+It will not profit you much, my friend, to be able to say, "The +LORD+
+is _a_ Shepherd"; you must be more personal; you must say, "The +LORD+
+is _my_ Shepherd."
+
+    A Shepherd who giveth His life for the sheep,
+    A Shepherd both mighty to save and to keep--
+    Yes, this is the Shepherd, the Shepherd we need,
+    And He is a Shepherd indeed!
+
+    Is He yours? Is He yours?
+    Is this Shepherd, who loves you, _yours_?
+
+                                --_Ada R. Habershon_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO
+
+[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_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE
+
+[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_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR
+
+[Illustration]
+
+="Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
+shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for
+thou art with me; thy rod and
+thy staff they comfort me."=
+
+
+It was necessary for shepherds in Palestine, when leading their flocks
+from one pasture to another, to lead them, at times, through dark
+ravines, on either side of which were caves and holes wherein dwelt
+ravenous beasts. From the attack of these beasts the shepherd must
+protect his flock. For this purpose he used the staff which he carried
+with him. The staff was a great stick with a large knob at the end of it
+pierced through with sharp nails and spikes. This weapon was used to
+beat off the attacks of the wild beasts. The shepherd must be bold and
+courageous. We recall how David referred to his encounters with wild
+beasts which attacked his flock. "And David said unto Saul, Thy servant
+kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a
+lamb out of the flock; and I went out after him, and smote him, and
+delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught
+him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the
+lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of
+them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said
+moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out
+of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of the
+Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the +LORD+ be with thee"
+(I Samuel 17:34-37).
+
+
+=_The Valley of the Shadow_=
+
+"The valley of the shadow of death" may refer to any dark, dread or
+awful experience through which the child of God is called to pass. In
+this sense it is used in many places in the Scriptures. The Christian's
+path is not always beside still waters and in green pastures.
+
+    In pastures green? Not always; sometimes He
+    Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me
+    In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.
+
+    And by still waters? No not always so,
+    Ofttimes the heavy tempests round me blow,
+    And o'er my soul the waves and billows go.
+
+    But when the storm beats loudest, and I cry
+    Aloud for help, the Master standeth by,
+    And whispers to my soul, "Lo, it is I!"
+
+    Above the tempest wild I hear Him say,
+    "Beyond the darkness lies the perfect day,
+    In every path of thine I lead the way."
+
+                             --_Henry H. Barry_
+
+But is it not kind of our Father that He puts the valley in the middle
+of the Psalm--not at the beginning of our Christian journey, lest we
+should be unduly discouraged, but in the middle--after we have been
+strengthened with food and drink and have been assured of the tender
+care and guidance of the Great Shepherd. Oh! wondrous thought and care!
+
+Of course, "the valley of the shadow of death" refers also, and probably
+more particularly, to the experience of death itself. At least we have
+come to look upon it in such light, and doubtless thousands of God's
+people have found the comforting truth of this verse a safe pillow in
+the dying hour. It has lightened the valley, removed the fear of death,
+and illumined immortality.
+
+
+=_The Fear of Death_=
+
+When a robber would scatter a flock of sheep and cause fear and
+consternation he throws a dead carcass in the midst of the flock. Sheep
+fear nothing as much as the sight of death. Is this not true of man
+also? About the last fear taken from the human heart is "the fear of
+death." "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Even though
+the believer knows that the sting of death has been removed,
+nevertheless there is usually an attendant fear connected with the
+passing out of this life.
+
+I have read that a famous scientist was in the habit of visiting a
+zoological garden in London. Among the many things that always
+interested him was a large snake--a boa constrictor. It was kept in a
+large glass case so that inspection of the reptile was perfectly safe
+from the outside. The scientist, we are told, was in the habit of
+knocking on the glass in order to awaken the snake. Instantly, when the
+knock was heard, the snake would raise its head and strike at the glass
+with its fangs. The scientist, instinctively shrank back, fearful of
+being struck, though he knew there was absolutely no danger. So
+sometimes is it with the believer's relationship to death. Even though
+he knows the sting is removed, nevertheless the experience of death is
+somewhat of a dread. The soul naturally recoils at the thought of death.
+
+No really thoughtful man will speak lightly of death. He may, as some
+men may, in the fullness of health and vigor, laugh at the idea of
+dying; but when he comes face to face with the real experience, there
+is, as any minister or physician will tell you, quite a different story
+to tell.
+
+It reminds me of an experience in our own family life. Behind a former
+residence of ours was a stretch of woods where, after school, our boys
+would go to play their outdoor games. It was the understanding in the
+home that when the whistle was blown or some other signal given the boys
+should come home for their meals. At times the boys would come home in
+response to the signal in a somewhat murmuring spirit. They have said
+something like this to their mother: "Mother, what did you call us home
+for anyway? Didn't you know that we were just in the midst of a great
+game and our side was about to win? We wish you wouldn't call us." I
+have felt as I have listened to them speaking thus to their mother that,
+just at that particular time and in the middle of the day, they could,
+apparently, get along very well without their mother. But I have noticed
+this also, that at night time, after their mother had prayed with them
+and the lights were turned out, there was another story to tell. It
+seems to me that I can still hear one of the boys calling out in the
+dark to his mother, "Mamma, are you there?"
+
+"Yes, son."
+
+"Mamma."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Is your face turned towards me?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Mamma, will you hold my hand? It's dark, isn't it, Mamma? Good night,
+Mamma."
+
+Ah, yes, in the day-time they might think they could get along very well
+without their mother, but when the night comes, and the lights are all
+out, and it's dark, then nobody on earth but mother will do.
+
+So it is with you, my friend. In your bravado of health and strength you
+may say that you are not afraid of death, but you wait until your feet
+come down to the brink of the river; then there will be a different
+story to tell. Some men haven't much use for God in life, but nobody
+else but God will do in the hour of death.
+
+
+=_The Valley Is Certain and Narrow_=
+
+Death is certain. It is appointed unto men once to die. While the Lord
+tarries, every child of Adam will have to pass through the experience of
+death.
+
+    There is no flock, however watched and tended,
+    But one dead lamb is there!
+    There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended,
+    But has one vacant chair!
+
+                           --_Henry W. Longfellow_
+
+We cannot bribe death. We cannot avoid or evade passing through the
+valley of the shadow. We cannot dig under it, nor tunnel around it, nor
+fly over it. Face it we must. It behooves us, therefore, to make sure
+that we have the light and the life which alone will secure for us a
+happy exit from this valley and a glorious entrance into the unfading
+light of a new day.
+
+The valley of the shadow of death is narrow, very narrow--so narrow
+indeed that even a mother cannot take her one-hour-old babe with her. It
+is so narrow. She must go through the valley alone. Single file, if you
+please, is the order of march through this valley of the shadow. An aged
+woman lay dying. By her bedside, with his hand in hers, sat the man who
+for over fifty years had been her husband. The light was failing fast,
+and eternity drawing near to the aged woman. Grasping the hand of her
+husband tightly, she said, "John, it's getting dark. Take my hand. For
+over fifty years we have traveled together, and you have led me. Now
+it's getting dark, and I cannot see the way. John, come with me, won't
+you?"
+
+But John could not go, and with tear-filled eyes and trembling voice, he
+said, "Anna, I cannot, cannot go. Only Jesus can go with you."
+
+She was a little girl of ten years. The angel of death was hovering over
+her bed. The end was drawing near. She said to her father, who was
+standing by the mother's side at the bed, "Papa, it's getting dark and I
+cannot see. Will you please go with me?"
+
+With heart breaking, the father had to say, "Child, I cannot, I cannot
+go with you."
+
+The girl turned to her mother and said, "Mamma, then you will, won't
+you?"
+
+But the mother, in turn, amid her tears, replied, "Child, I would, but I
+cannot. Only Jesus can go with you."
+
+
+=_The Personal Pronouns Change_=
+
+It is interesting to note the change in the personal pronoun in this
+verse. Up to this point the Psalmist has been speaking in the third
+person and using the personal pronoun "He"--"_He_ leadeth me." "_He_
+maketh me." "He restoreth;" _he, he, he_. When he comes to speak of the
+valley of the shadow of death, however, the third personal pronoun is
+changed to that of the second person, "Yea, though I walk through the
+valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for _thou_,
+(_thou_--not _he_, is with me, but _thou_) art with me." There is no
+room for a third person in this valley. If one does not have Christ as
+Saviour and Guide in the dark hour of death, he goes through the valley
+of the shadow all alone. Surely, without Christ with him man will
+stumble and fall in this valley.
+
+Poor indeed is that soul who, when his feet are about to enter the
+valley, has no Guide, or, when he comes to the brink of death's river,
+has no Pilot.
+
+    Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,
+      How lonely life must be!
+    Like a sailor lost and driven
+      On a wide and shoreless sea.
+
+    Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,
+      No hand to clasp thine own!
+    Through the dark, dark vale of shadows
+      Thou must press thy way alone.
+
+                         --_W. O. Cushing_
+
+But what a blessing and comfort it is for those who know Christ as
+Saviour and Comforter, to have the assurance that in that last hour of
+life He is by their side to guide them. It was doubtless this thought of
+the presence of Christ that comforted Tennyson when he wrote the words
+of that beautiful poem:
+
+        Sunset and evening star,
+        And one clear call for me!
+        And, may there be no moaning of the bar,
+        When I put out to sea.
+
+          *   *   *   *   *
+
+        Twilight and evening bell,
+        And after that the dark!
+        And, may there be no sadness of farewell,
+        When I embark;
+
+        For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
+        The flood may bear me far,
+        I hope to see my Pilot face to face
+        When I have crossed the bar.
+
+                                   --_Alfred Tennyson_
+
+Some one has called the fourth verse of the Psalm a song of the waters.
+Did you ever hear singing on the water? There is something wonderful
+about it. The water seems to take all harshness out of the music, and
+puts something exquisitely beautiful into it. Here then is "a psalm of
+the waters," a song for the believer to sing when his feet are touching
+the margin of the river: "When thou passest through the waters, I will
+be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee....
+For I am the +LORD+ thy God."
+
+Here, too, is "a song in the night." Sing it, Christian pilgrim, when
+earth's last hour is at hand. Sing it as you enter the valley. Sing it
+as the darkness deepens. Sing it when the light of earth's day begins to
+fade. Sing it when the earth is receding, heaven is opening and God is
+calling you. Sing it until the glory of the eternal morn breaks upon
+thine enraptured vision. Sing it until your feet stand upon that golden
+shore against which death's chilly wave never again shall dash, and
+where death is no more. Sing it, sing this song of the waters--"Yea,
+though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
+evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
+
+    Why be afraid of Death as though your life were breath!
+    Death but anoints your eyes with clay. Oh glad surprise!
+
+    Why should you be forlorn? Death only husks the corn.
+    Why should you fear to meet the thresher of the wheat?
+
+    Is sleep a thing to dread? Yet sleeping, you are dead
+    Till you awake and rise, here, or beyond the skies.
+
+    Why should it be a wrench, to leave your wooden bench?
+    Why not with happy shout run home when school is out?
+
+    The dear ones left behind? O foolish one and blind.
+    A day--and you will meet--a night--and you will greet!
+
+    This is the death of Death, to breathe away a breath,
+    And know the end of strife and taste the deathless life.
+
+    And joy without a fear and smile without a tear,
+    And work, nor care, nor rest, and find the last the best.
+
+                                       --_Maltbie D. Babcock_
+
+
+"=_Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me_="
+
+The rod is a protection from all the adversaries of the night. No enemy,
+not even the last enemy, death, can affright the soul in the care of the
+tender Shepherd, for He has extracted the sting from death. The staff is
+used for counting the sheep as they pass one by one into the fold. This
+action is sometimes called "passing under the rod." The language used
+here indicates safety and security.
+
+    I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
+    Ills have no weight and tears on bitterness.
+    Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?
+    I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
+
+                                     --_Henry F. Lyte_
+
+Christ hath _abolished_ death and brought life and immortality to light.
+The word "abolished" is a very strong one in the Greek. It has three
+root letters, a, r and g. Then the preposition _kata_ is added to it,
+thus making our English word "energy" which means "a working force."
+Then, in a way known to Greek students, the preposition gives the word,
+as it were, the force of a double negative. So the Apostle teaches us
+that Christ, when He came into the world and died on the cross, did
+something with death. He double-twisted it, He de-vitalized it,
+double-negatived it, made it inoperative, rendered it powerless, so that
+ever afterwards it would be unable to hurt the children of God.
+
+I do not know very much about bees except, of course, that they sting. I
+am told, however, that when a bee stings you it leaves its sting in the
+wound and goes away to die. A little child may play with the bee after
+it has stung a person without any harm coming to the child. The bee has
+lost its power to hurt. So we are told that the sting of death is sin.
+Death stung Christ on the cross and left its sting in Him, so that ever
+after it could not hurt the children of God. He is "Death of death and
+hell's destruction."
+
+Christ, the Great Shepherd, will be there at the entrance of the valley
+to meet you and lead you through. He will beat off all the powers of
+death. He will destroy all the enemies of darkness and convey you safely
+through the valley into the Homeland. He holds the keys of death and the
+grave. How helpless a thing a sheep is! How much in need of a defender
+it is! It seems as though almost any other animal can defend itself. A
+dog will fight when attacked. A sheep stands helpless in the presence
+of its opponent. Christ, the Good Shepherd, will protect to the last.
+
+The comforting thoughts of this verse must certainly take the sting out
+of death to those who grasp the great truths taught here. It surely
+abolishes death and illumines immortality.
+
+No one need fear death with such thoughts as these before him. The
+Apostle Paul asserts that every believer in Christ has "a cheerful view
+of death," and desires rather "to be absent from the body and at home
+with the Lord" than to remain here upon the earth.
+
+Go to thy grave, not as the slave scourged to his dungeon, or the dog
+whipped to his kennel, but as the prince wraps around him the drapery of
+his couch and lies down to pleasant dreams. The conscious companionship
+of the Christ will remove thy fears. With what alacrity, courage and
+fearlessness doth he walk the highway whose heart is honest and whose
+conscience doth not convict him of the violation of his country's laws!
+How different with the criminal! How full of fear and apprehension!
+
+    Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;
+    The darkness deepens--Lord, with me abide!
+    When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
+    Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
+
+    Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
+    Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
+    Change and decay in all around I see;
+    O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
+
+    I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
+    Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
+    Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?
+    I triumph still, if Thou abide with me!
+
+    Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
+    Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
+    Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
+    In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
+
+                                          --_Henry F. Lyte_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE
+
+[Illustration]
+
+="Thou preparest a table before me in the
+presence of mine enemies; thou
+anointest my head with oil;
+my cup runneth over."=
+
+
+There is a variety of senses in which the truth of this verse may be
+understood.
+
+It is said that in the ancient days a shepherd's tent was a kind of city
+of refuge. The man who had unwittingly slain another could find refuge
+in a shepherd's tent from the avenger of blood. The fugitive was
+permitted to stay a given length of time within the shepherd's care,
+during which time he was as safe from the pursuer as though he were in
+the actual city of refuge. The pursuer might be raging with fury outside
+of the door of the tent, but the fugitive could eat with perfect safety
+and peace in the presence of his enemy. How like Christ in His relation
+to the believer!
+
+One day Charles Wesley stood looking out of a partly open window at the
+fierce storm howling without, when a young robin, quickly passing some
+other birds, flew to his breast, seeking shelter from its foes. It was
+then he wrote that wonderful hymn, the opening words of which are:
+
+    Jesus, Lover of my soul,
+    Let me to Thy bosom fly!
+
+Is not this a picture of this verse of the Psalm? "And a man (Jesus
+Christ) shall be for a hiding place and a refuge from the storm." Are we
+not safe in Him from all our foes? "There is therefore now no
+condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus."
+
+We are told that in David's day it was the custom of conquering kings
+and princes to bring the royal captives of the contending defeated army
+into a large banqueting house. To each pillar in the house a prisoner of
+royal blood or a commanding officer was chained. The banquet tables were
+heavily laden with good things of which the victors partook. Feasting
+and jollification were indulged in, and joy and gladness were manifest
+in the presence of defeated and chained enemies. Are we not made "always
+to triumph" over all our foes in Christ? Are we not made "more than
+conquerors" in Him who hath "led captivity captive"? "Ye shall eat your
+meat in quietness, and nothing shall make you afraid."
+
+Or, again, it may be that reference is made in this verse to the grazing
+of sheep in fields full of snakeholes or of poisonous plants. A sheep
+raiser in Texas once told the writer that he lost a great many sheep
+because snakes would come up through holes in the ground and bite the
+sheep as they grazed, poisoning them. After losing many of the flock he
+finally discovered a remedy. A mixture of some kind was poured down the
+holes, which killed the snakes, and after that the sheep were able to
+graze in peace and safety. Hath not Christ abolished death for the
+believer? Has He not deprived death of its sting and stripped the grave
+of its victim? Hath He not overcome that old serpent, the Devil? Do we
+not overcome the dragon, that old serpent, the Devil and Satan, the
+accuser of the brethren day and night--do we not overcome him by the
+blood of the Lamb?
+
+Whichever of these meanings may be adopted as indicating the teaching of
+this verse, we may be certain that the truth the Psalmist desires to
+express is this: That God gives His children victory over all their
+foes, and makes them more than conquerors over all their enemies. Thus
+shall we "eat our meat in peace and quietness, and nothing shall make us
+afraid." "Why do the heathen rage?... He that sitteth in the heavens
+shall laugh"--and so shall we.
+
+    On the Rock of Ages founded,
+      Who can shake thy sure repose?
+    With salvation's walls surrounded,
+      Thou mayes't smile at all thy foes.
+
+                     --_Rev. John Newton_
+
+
+"=_Thou Anointest My Head with Oil: My Cup Runneth Over_="
+
+A shepherd must needs be a physician also. In the belt of the shepherd
+medicines are always carried. Sheep are very susceptible to sicknesses
+of many kinds, particularly fevers. Ofttimes at night as the sheep
+passed into the fold the shepherd's knowing eye would detect that one or
+another of them was sick and feverish. Perhaps it had been bitten by a
+serpent or torn by some wild animal. He would take the feverish sheep
+and plunge its head into clear, cold water, plunging the head so far
+into the pail that the water would run over, or anoint the bruise with
+mollifying ointment. Doubtless David is thinking of this experience of
+his shepherd life.
+
+Or, again, David may be referring to the bountiful water supply provided
+for the sheep and applying it to the rich provision God has made for the
+believer. Not only is there grace enough for oneself, but with the
+believer as a channel, an abundance for others.
+
+    Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
+    More than all in Thee I find!
+
+                 --_Charles Wesley_
+
+This is the wonderful truth taught by Jesus in the Temple: "Now on the
+last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If
+any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me,
+as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living
+water." Here we see how the believer may come to Christ for the
+quenching of his own thirst, and then draw on, or drink more deeply of,
+Christ for the quenching of the thirst of others. "Thou, O Christ, art
+all I want, more than all in Thee I find." Here we have the personal and
+relative side of a consecrated life of service.
+
+My cup is to "run over." No selfish religion must I claim. I am to be
+satisfied with Christ first myself, then I am to take from Him so large
+a supply that others with whom I come into contact may also partake of
+His fullness. No hermit, no ascetic, monk, or recluse would the Master
+have me be.
+
+    There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
+    In the peace of their self-content;
+    There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart
+    In a fellowless firmament.
+    There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
+    Where highways never ran--
+    But let me live by the side of the road
+    And be a friend to man.
+
+    Let me live in my house by the side of the road
+    Where the race of men go by--
+    The men who are good and the men who are bad,
+    As good and as bad as I,
+    I would not sit in the scorner's seat,
+    Or hurl the cynic's ban--
+    Let me live in the house by the side of the road
+    And be a friend to man.
+
+    I see from my house by the side of the road,
+    By the side of the highway of life,
+    The men who press with the ardor of hope,
+    The men who are faint with the strife;
+    But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears--
+    Both parts of an infinite plan--
+    Let me live in a house by the side of the road
+    And be a friend to man.
+
+                                        --_Sam Walter Foss_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX
+
+[Illustration]
+
+="Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
+all the days of my life; and I will dwell
+in the house of the +LORD+ for ever."=
+
+
+The writer was once called to speak with a Scotch Presbyterian elder who
+was rapidly passing from this life. I had read to him this last verse of
+the Psalm, when, turning in his bed, he said to me in words that were
+almost his last, "Take my Bible and read that verse to me from 'The
+Psalms in Metre' in the back of my Bible." I took his Scotch Bible from
+a table close by and read:
+
+    Goodness and mercy all my life
+    Shall surely follow me,
+    And in God's house for evermore
+    My dwelling place shall be.
+
+            --_William Whittingham_
+
+Some one has well said that "goodness and mercy" are God's two collie
+dogs to preserve the Christian from all danger. Others have likened
+"goodness and mercy" to the Christian's footmen to wait upon him daily.
+"The house of the +LORD+" is doubtless here contrasted with the tent of
+the shepherd, just as the words "dwell for ever" are contrasted with
+the fact that the fugitive was allowed to stay in the shepherd's tent
+only a limited time.
+
+This verse expresses the confidence of the Christian with regard to the
+future. It is the Christian's confidence that in the Father's house a
+mansion is prepared for him, and that when the earthly house of this
+tabernacle is taken down and dissolved by death he has a house not made
+with hands, eternal in the heavens. This is surely a grand provision for
+old age, a life insurance worthy of the name, a home for the winter of
+life, and a blessed assurance with regard to one's eternity. How poor
+indeed is that soul that cannot say, "Yea, though I walk through the
+valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil," for the grave is
+not the terminus but the passageway that leads to endless light and
+life, into the glory and beauty of the house of the Lord in which the
+believer shall "dwell for ever." Beyond the night of death lies the
+perfect day; beyond the valley of the shadow lie the plains of peace.
+
+One cannot help but wonder if you, reader, have such a confident hope
+with regard to your future life. Only those who are able to say "The
++LORD+ is my shepherd" are able to say "I will dwell in the house of the
++LORD+ for ever."
+
+A famous Scotch preacher tells us that a demented boy, who was in the
+habit of attending one of the classes in his Sunday school, was sick
+unto death. The minister was asked to go to see the boy. He went to the
+house, and in speaking with the lad and after reading the Scriptures he
+was about to leave, when this boy, with only half his reasoning power,
+demented and partly idiotic, asked the great preacher if he wouldn't
+kneel down and recite for him the Twenty-third Psalm. In obedience to
+the boy's request he knelt and repeated the Twenty-third Psalm, until he
+came to the last verse which, as you know, reads "Surely goodness and
+mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
+house of the +LORD+ for ever." But the preacher did not repeat this last
+verse, for he was saying to himself while on his knees, "this verse can
+hardly be true of this boy, surely goodness and mercy has not followed
+him all the days of his life, and further, what does he know about the
+determination of this verse--to dwell in the house of the +LORD+ for
+ever?" And so the great preacher was rising from his knees, having
+omitted the last verse, when the boy reached out his hand and, placing
+it on the shoulder of the minister, pressed him again to his knees and
+repeated the last verse of the Psalm--the verse the preacher had
+omitted, as it is written in the Scotch hymn book:
+
+    Goodness and mercy all my life
+      Shall surely follow me;
+    And in God's house for evermore
+      My dwelling place shall be.
+
+            --_William Whittingham_
+
+This was a lesson the preacher never forgot. Can you, my reader, you,
+with all your senses, your keenness of brain and intellect--can you say
+what this idiotic boy could say: "I will dwell in the house of the
++LORD+ for ever"?
+
+I am reminded in this connection of one of Bunyan's characters in the
+"Pilgrim's Progress." He is referred to as "Mr. Feeble Mind." This
+character in speaking of his immortal hope--that hope which lies beyond
+the valley of the shadow and the grave--expresses it in this way: "But
+this I am resolved on: to run when I can, to go when I cannot run, and
+to creep when I cannot go. As to the main, I thank Him that loved me. I
+am fixed. My way is before me. My mind is beyond the river that hath no
+bridge, though I am, as you see, but of a feeble mind." Mark that
+wonderful expression, will you?--
+
+    "My mind is beyond the river that hath no bridge."
+
+Is yours? You--man, woman, with all your senses, of strong and sound
+mind, can you give expression to an exclamation of faith like that?
+
+There are some of my readers on whose head time has laid its hand and
+whitened their hair to the whiteness of that winter in which all their
+glory must fade. Their sun of life is going down beyond the hill of
+life. The young may die; the old must die. Oh, the pity of it, to see
+the old and gray with no eternal life insurance for the winter of life!
+The gray head is indeed a crown of glory if it be found in the way of
+life; otherwise it is a fool's cap. Reader, may your eventide be light,
+and may your path be as the path of the just that shineth brighter and
+brighter unto the perfect day!
+
+Thus we see that the grave is not the end. We pass through the grave
+only in order that we may place our last climbing footstep upon the
+threshold of our Father's house, to go out no more. Then we shall dwell
+for ever there. Beyond the grave lie the Plains of Peace, the
+Homeland--with all the loved who have gone before--those whom we "have
+loved long since and lost awhile."
+
+    Is the way so dark, O wanderer,
+    Is the hillcrest wild and steep,
+    Far, so far, the vale beyond thee,
+    Where the homelights vigil keep?
+    Still the goal lies far before thee,
+    Soon will fall on thee the night;
+    Breast the path that takes thee onward,
+    Fight the storm with all thy might.
+
+    Tho' thy heart be faint and weary,
+    Tho' thy footsteps fain would cease,
+    Journey onward--past the hillcrest
+    Lie for thee the Plains of Peace!
+
+    Is thy path so rough, O pilgrim,
+    Passing on thy way through life;
+    Deep the sorrows that beset thee,
+    Great the burden, wild the strife?
+    Tho' the hill of life be weary,
+    Tho' the goal of rest be far,
+    Set thy whole heart to endeavor,
+    Turn thy soul to yon bright star.
+
+    From the toiling, from the striving
+    There at last shall come release;
+    One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,
+    Home unto his Plains of Peace;
+    One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,
+    Home, Home, Home unto His Plains of Peace!
+
+                           --_Clifton Bingham_
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd Psalm, by William Evans
+
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