The Good Shepherd, His Lambs and Sheep.
(Isaiah xl. 11.)
We know that Jesus is the Person of whom our text speaks, because His herald and forerunner is described in the third verse, and John the Baptist applied the prophecy to himself, when the Pharisees wanted to know who he really was—"The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord."
He came to teach the necessity of repentance, to reprove the pride of the Pharisee, bringing low the hills and mountains of their self-esteem; while the despised tax-gatherers and soldiers were taught how to rise, by the grace of God, to the position of honourable and useful members of society, and thus the valleys were exalted (Luke iii. 6-14). God, according to His promise, sent His Prophet to turn the hearts of the people in some measure before Jesus Himself appeared (Mal. iv. 5, 6).
And then, though in a human form, the "Lord God came with strong hand," "mighty to save." His "reward was with Him, and the recompense of His work was before Him," and He did then, and does still, "feed His people like a shepherd." It was the Lord God who came among men; but how did He come? Not with earthly pomp and glory, and His heavenly majesty was but dimly seen.
I thought of this on July 17th last, when the Prince of Wales went with the Princess to open the Great Northern Hospital at Upper Holloway, London. The Royal party were attired in deep mourning, on account of the recent death of the Emperor Frederick of Germany, and so quietly did their carriage pass along that many scarcely recognized them, and nearly all who were looking expectantly for the Prince's coming were greatly disappointed at the absence of a showy retinue. Yet he fulfilled all that he promised, and more, for he, with his wife and daughters, visited all the patients in the hospital, speaking kindly words, and doubtless giving real pleasure to those afflicted ones.
So, when that infinitely greater One, the Prince of Peace, came, He did all that had been predicted of Him; and though even His own disciples expected grandeur which they did not find, and for a while were grieved and perplexed, yet when, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they better understood His mission, they perceived that He had finished His work most gloriously, and had "done all things well."
The Shepherd of Israel, then, is the Lord God, of whom David sang, "The Lord" (Jehovah) "is my Shepherd: I shall not want," which Jesus followed up by saying, "I am the Good Shepherd, and am come that My sheep might have life, and have more abundantly all the blessings My people enjoyed before I came into this world" (see John x.).
"He shall feed His flock like a Shepherd." Jesus here appears as a King as well as a Shepherd, for good kings care for and defend their subjects, but none can do as He does, who is "over all, blessed for evermore." All other shepherds must lead their sheep into green pastures, or procure them food in some other way, but Jesus supplies His people from Himself. All the fulness of love, grace, and blessing are His own, and as the poet sings—
"On a dying Christ I feed;
This is meat and drink indeed."
Christ once crucified for the redemption of His loved ones, but now alive for evermore, is the life and joy of all who believe on His name.
And these sheep are divided into two classes—lambs, and their parents. Those who are young, inexperienced, and weak, like Christ's followers were when He was on earth, how gently He "carried" them, guarding, supporting, and instructing so gradually until they became able to lead others in the ways of God. And still He tends His feeble ones with special care. He is kind and full of compassion, and they who most need His protection are most sure to have it, for He fully knows the need.
But the older sheep need the shepherd's consideration as much as the lambs of the flock. Those who have young ones to nourish and care for must be gently led.
The Apostle Paul said that "the care of all the Churches of Christ pressed daily upon him" (2 Cor. xi. 28), yet he could tell how the Lord comforted both himself and his fellow-workers in all their trials, so that they were enabled to comfort others; and speaking from his own experience, he could encourage his friends to "cast all their care upon Him" who ever cares for all His people.
And it is Jesus only who can really lead and feed His flock. Ministers of the Gospel are called "pastors," "shepherds." As Christ's servants, they may be, and often are, the means of leading their hearers into green pastures, and of restoring the wandering and the weak; yet every true pastor is a sheep after all, and all spiritual, heavenly power and blessing must proceed from Him alone.
I was much interested, some time ago, in a pretty little poem, illustrated by the picture of a splendid ram, standing beside his wounded little one, calling loudly for the help he could not render; and the shepherd, hearing his cries, hastened to the spot, and carried the helpless little thing to the fold. And methought, "Is not this a beautiful parable for us?" If we are longing to help and heal the feeble, the straying, and the sin-sick, and feel how little we can do, let us seek to follow this sheep's example, and call upon our Shepherd—
"Whose ears attend the softest call,
Whose eyes can never sleep."
He is the Good Shepherd, for He gave His life for the sheep; the Chief Shepherd, possessing all the amiable and winning attractions that charm and draw the heart; and the Great Shepherd, almighty and unchanging, "able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him."
Oh, that we all may know His love, which never can be fully known on earth, and enjoy the sweet privilege of commending all our loved ones to His gracious care, assured that He is able to do all that His heart desireth, and that—
"With heaven and earth at His command,
He waits to answer prayer."
Our next subject will be, The Glory of Christ, as described by Himself in John xvii.
Yours affectionately,
H. S. L.