I didn’t believe in Christ even yet. I thought I’d go right straight to the Father Himself. But the more I prayed I only became the more miserable; my burden grew heavier. The next morning I did not wish to see my wife, so I said ‘I was not well, and wouldn’t wait for breakfast.’ I went to the office, and when the boy came I sent him home for a holiday. When the clerks came I told them they might go for the day. I closed the office doors: I wanted to be alone with God. I was almost frantic in my agony of heart. I cried to God to take away this load of sin. At last I fell on my knees, and cried, ‘For Jesus Christ’s sake take away this load of sin.’ At length I went to my wife’s pastor, who had been praying with her for my conversion for years, and the same minister who had prayed with my mother before she died. As I walked down the street the verse that my mother had taught me came into my mind, ‘Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ Well, I thought, I have asked God, and here I am going to ask a man. I won’t go. I believe I am a Christian. I turned and went home. I met my wife in the hall as I entered. I caught her hand, and said, ‘I am a Christian now.’ She turned quite pale; she had been praying for twenty-one years for me, and yet she could not believe the answer had come. We went into our room, and knelt down by the very bedside where she had so often knelt to pray for her husband. There we erected our family altar; and for the first time our voices mingled in prayer. And I can only say that the last three months have been the happiest months ever I spent in my life.”
Since then that judge has lived a consistent Christian life; and all because he came to God, asking for guidance.
If there is one here to-day whose mind is filled with such infidel thoughts, go honestly to God, and He will teach you the right way through the dark wilderness of infidelity. He won’t leave you in darkness or doubt. It is the devil’s own work to lead men into such doubts; well he knows if he once gets them there he has them pretty safe.
It is Satan’s work to keep you in ignorance or doubt. It is God’s work to teach you. The teacher is Christ; He is appointed by God for this work. God help us all to accept Him as our teacher.
8. Now we have seen Christ as our Saviour, Redeemer, Deliverer, Leader, Light, and Teacher. But He is still more; He is also
OUR SHEPHERD.
A very sweet thought it is to me, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”
There is not one here, except the very babes, who does not understand the work of a shepherd. He watches over his flock, protects them from danger, feeds them, leads them into the best pastures. In fact, the 23rd Psalm is just a statement of the duties of a good shepherd: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want,” etc.
You want to be fed; are you going to wander about seeking something to satisfy the cravings of your soul? Then, I tell you, you never will find anything to satisfy the longings of your heart. The world cannot, and never could, satisfy a hungry soul. The Lord Jesus can—He is the true Shepherd. He is seeking to restore your soul, to lead you back to the paths of righteousness. Even to death will He lead you, and safely through its shadow guide you to a better land. Mother, father, will you claim Him as your Shepherd?
Young man, young woman, will you have Him as your Shepherd?