THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Harold and Margaret were looking at a picture of an Eastern shepherd with his flocks.
"Mamma," said Harold, "is this our country? This man is not dressed as men are here."
"No," said mamma, "it is a picture of a shepherd and his sheep in the country of the Bible."
"What makes the shepherd go before the sheep, mamma?" asked Harold.
"In that country," said mamma, "the sheep are not driven, but led."
"Were sheep more plenty in the Bible land than in ours? I have never seen many sheep," said Harold.
"Yes," answered mamma, "most of the children in the Bible land knew all about sheep. Many of the hillsides had little white flocks of sheep on them. They were not kept in fields with fences. They wandered about over the open pasture lands; and so a man or a boy must be with them to watch over them. He was called the shepherd. He took them to the best pastures. At some seasons of the year he had to lead them a long way to find water. He kept the bears and the wolves and the lions away. He kept away the thieves who might come to steal the sheep. At night he drove the sheep to a fold, or shed, or sometimes he slept with them all night in the open air, beneath the stars.
AN EASTERN SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP
From a photograph taken by W. J. Aitchison, Esq., of Hamilton, Canada, and used by his kind permission.
These sheep are feeding just outside Jerusalem. "All the plateaus east of the Jordan, and the mountains of Palestine and Syria, are pasture grounds for innumerable flocks and herds. In the spring there is plenty of grass. Later, when the rain has ceased, the sheep still nibble the dry herbage and stubble and flourish where, to a western eye, all is barren desert. They require water but once a day. The descendants of the same shepherds who tended the flocks in Bible days still occupy the great sheep walks of Palestine"
The shepherd named the sheep, and the sheep all knew him and loved him. They would follow him, but they would not follow a stranger. Because the people of the Bible land knew so much about the sheep and the shepherds, the writers of the Bible said a good deal about them. Now get the Bible and I will read you some of the things which it says about sheep."
Margaret brought the Bible, and mamma read first what Jesus said about himself as the good shepherd:--
"'Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.'
"'Jesus said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall go in and out, and shall find pasture. The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, [{286}] and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth them: he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.'"
"This means, my dears," said mamma, "that Jesus cares for you and for all his children, just as a good and faithful shepherd cares for his sheep. The good shepherd brings his sheep safely home at night, and the porter, or keeper of the fold, opens the door and lets them in. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls each one by name and they follow him, but they will not follow a stranger."
"What does 'hireling' mean?" said Margaret.
"It means, dear," replied mamma, "one who is hired to care for the sheep, but who does not know them or love them as the good shepherd does."
"I know," said Harold; "it means that Jesus can take care of us better than anyone else."
"Yes," said mamma, "that is just what it means. And here is another story from the Bible, which Jesus told to show how very tenderly he loves and cares for his little ones":--
"'Jesus said, See that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. How think ye? If any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains and seek that which goeth astray?
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
By W. C. T. Dobson
"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth them: he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for his sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd."--The Words of Jesus
And if so be that he find it, verily, I say unto you, he rejoiceth over it more than over the ninety and nine which have not gone astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones shall perish.'"
"In the book of the Bible called the Psalms," continued mamma, "the twenty-third is often called the Shepherd Psalm."
"Oh, we know that psalm," said Margaret.
"Suppose," said mamma, "that one of the sheep in our picture could talk and think like you. Would he not wish to say something about his shepherd, very much like this psalm? The sheep would tell you how the shepherd led him to the green pastures, and let him rest by the brooks that flow gently through the meadows, and kept him safe in the valleys where no wild beasts were hiding to kill him, and put out his long staff to guide him and to help him up the steep paths of the hills. Now let us say the psalm together."
"'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
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.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [{290}] Thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
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.'"
"Mamma," said Harold, "sheep don't eat at tables, or have cups."
"No," said mamma, smiling, "that shows us that, after all, this psalm is about a man, and not about a sheep. It means that when troubles and dangers are all about us God still gives all that we need. Sometime that will mean a great deal more to you than it does now."
"I don't understand," said Margaret, "about anointing the head with oil, and dwelling in the house of the Lord."
"In the Bible land," said mamma, "when a man wished to honor a guest whom he had invited to a feast, he poured out a little sweet-smelling oil upon his head. The psalm means that God makes his people, even when they are in the midst of danger, feel as happy as though they were honored guests at a feast. To dwell in the house of the Lord forever means that we are to feel always perfectly secure, as though we were living in God's own house, where nothing could ever harm us."
Harold thought a moment, and then he said, "I think that I know what all the stories about sheep in the Bible mean. They mean that people are like sheep, and they can't take care of themselves, but that God loves them very much, and that he will always take care of them."
"Yes, that is just it," said mamma, "and now! as it is [{291}] growing dark, let us sing that song which is the twenty-third psalm put into different words."
"The Lord is my shepherd; no want shall I know;
I feed in green pastures, safe-folded I rest;
He leadeth my soul where the still waters flow,
Restores me when wandering, redeems when oppressed.
"Through the valley and shadow of death though I stray,
Since Thou art my guardian, no evil I fear;
Thy rod shall defend me, Thy staff be my stay;
No harm can befall, with my Comforter near.
"In the midst of affliction my table is spread;
With blessings unmeasured my cup runneth o'er;
With perfume and oil Thou anointest my head;
O what shall I ask of Thy providence more?
"Let goodness and mercy, my bountiful God,
Still follow my steps till I meet Thee above;
I seek, by the path which my forefathers trod
Through the land of their sojourn, Thy kingdom of love."