AUGUST The Nineteenth

_IN GREEN PASTURES_

PSALM xxiii.

This little psalm has been called the nightingale of the psalms. It sings "in the shade when all things rest." It makes music in the darkness; it gives me "songs in the night." And what does it sing about?

It sings of G.o.d's bounty in food and rest. "_Green pastures_"; "_still waters_." My Lord knows when my heart is faint, when it needs His reviving food. He knows when my heart is tired and needs His sweet rest. "_He restoreth my soul._"

And it sings of the G.o.d-appointed way across the hill. "_He leadeth me in paths of righteousness._" He makes the right way clear. He walks the path of duty with me. "_Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me._"

And it sings of the feast which the Lord serves in the very midst of my foes. "_He spreadeth a table before me in the midst of mine enemies._" He gives me the fat things of grace in the very presence of frowning circ.u.mstances.

And it sings of the providence _which guards the rear_. "Goodness and mercy shall follow me!" G.o.d's grace comes between me and my yesterdays. It cuts off the heredity from the old Adam, and no far-off plague comes nigh my dwelling.

AUGUST The Twentieth

_FEEDING THE FLOCK_

ISAIAH xl. 1-11.

Here is the gracious promise of provision. "_He shall feed His flock like a Shepherd._" He knows the fields where my soul will be best nourished in holiness. I am sometimes amazed at His choice. He takes me into an apparent wilderness, but I find rich herbage on the unpromising plain. And so I would rest in His choice even when it seems adverse to my good.

And here is the gracious promise of gentle discrimination. "_He shall gather the lambs in His arm, and carry them in His bosom._" Says old Trapp, "He hath a great care of His little ones, like as He had of the weaker tribes. In their march through the Wilderness He put a strong tribe to two weak tribes, lest they should faint or fail." Yes, "He knoweth our frame." He will not lay upon us more than we can bear. At the back of every commandment there is a promise of adequate resource. His askings are also His enablings. The big duty means that we shall have a big lift. And when we are tired He will lead on gently. Such is the grace and tenderness of the Lord.

AUGUST The Twenty-first

_SATISFACTION_

"_My people shall be satisfied with My goodness._"

--JEREMIAH x.x.xi. 10-14.

And how unlike is all this to the feasts of the world! There is a great show, but no satisfaction. There is much decorative china, but no nutritious food or drink. "Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again." We rise from the table, and our deepest cravings are unappeased. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" We know. We have had a condiment, but no meat; a showy menu-card, but no reviving feast.

Nothing but the goodness of the Lord can satisfy the soul. Whatever else may be on the table of life, if this be absent we shall go away unfed. We may have money, and pleasure, and success, and fame, but they are all delusive husks if the grace of the Lord be absent.

This is the real furnishing of the feast. There are vast mult.i.tudes of things I can do without if only I have the holy bread of life in the gracious Presence of my Lord. In this sphere it is the Guest who makes the table! "Thou, O Christ, art all I want!" "Having Him we have all things."

A glorious satisfaction possesses the soul, and though we may not increase our worldly possessions, we do something better, we "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

AUGUST The Twenty-second

_THE SICK AND THE LOST_

EZEKIEL x.x.xiv. 11-16.

Surely everybody is included in this redemptive purpose of the Lord! He is looking for everybody, for everybody finds a place in His holy quest.

He is seeking the "_lost_" sheep. The one that has wandered far away, and now no longer hears the sound of the Shepherd's voice! The one that is carelessly nibbling the herbage on the very edge of perdition! He is looking for this one. Is He therefore looking for thee and me?

He is seeking "_that which was driven away_." Some hireling, some enemy of the shepherd, drove it far away from the fold. "A thief and a robber," for his own purposes, hath done this. And the Lord's sheep are driven away by "princ.i.p.alities and powers," and by the violence of wicked men. Some impure and unworthy professor of religion can drive a whole household from the fellowship of the Church. And the Good Shepherd is seeking these. Is He therefore looking for thee or me?

And He is seeking "_that which was sick_." And some of the Lord's sheep are sickly. The chill of disappointment, or failure, or bereavement has blown upon them, and they are "down." Or they have been feeding on illicit pleasure. And the Lord is seeking such. Is He therefore seeking thee or me?

AUGUST The Twenty-third

_NOT LOST IN THE FLOCK_

"_I know My sheep, and am known of mine._"

--JOHN x. 7-16.

There is mutual recognition, and in that recognition there is confidence and peace.

"_I know my sheep._" He knows us one by one. My knowledge of the individual wanes in proportion as the mult.i.tude is increased. The teacher with the smaller cla.s.s has the deepest intimacy with her scholars. The individual is lost in the crowd. But not so with our Lord. There are no "ma.s.ses" in His sight. However big the crowd, even though it be "a mult.i.tude which no man can number," we still remain individuals, known to the Lord by name, and face, and personal need. If thou art away from the fold, thy face is missed, and the Shepherd is away in search of thee!

"_And I am known of mine._" And the knowledge deepens with every day's experience. There are false shepherds who can subtly mimic the Good Shepherd, and in my early discipleship I am liable to be deceived. The devil himself can array himself like a shepherd, and imitate the very tones of the Lord. Therefore must I watch, and ever watch. But here is my hope and inspiration. Every day I spend with my Good Shepherd sharpens my discernments, enables me to see through the outer show of things, and to discriminate between the false and the true.

AUGUST The Twenty-fourth

_THE LORD'S BODY_

"_I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do._"

--JOHN xvii. 1-11.

This quiet confession is in itself a token of our Lord's divinity. The serenity in which He makes His claims is as stupendous as the claims themselves. "Finished," perfected in the utmost refinement, to the last, remotest detail! Nothing scamped, nothing overlooked, nothing forgotten!

Everything which concerns thy redemption and my redemption has been accomplished. "It is finished!"

"_And now ... I come to Thee._" The visible Presence is withdrawn. There is no longer in our midst a Jesus whose body we can bruise and crucify.