THE FAMILY ALTAR
"I am the Good Shepherd". John 10, 11.
"I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down,
saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring
again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which
was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick. And I will
set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My
servant David; He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shep-
herd." (Ezek. 34, 15. 16. 23.) This glorious promise of the Old
Testament was fulfilled in David's Son and David's Lord, our
dear Savior Jesus Christ, who says of Himself: "I am the Good
Shepherd." King David was a good shepherd when in his youth
he tended the flocks of his father on the hills of Bethlehem and
a lion and a bear fell on the sheep and seized one of the helpless
little lambs. At the risk of his life, David set after the wild
beasts, and slew them, and rescued the lamb out of their deadly
jaws. (1 Sam. 17, 34. 35.) But our Savior has done more, in-
finitely more for us. He laid down His divine life for us, His
wayward and sinful sheep, and at the price of His own precious
blood has rescued our immortal souls from the power of everlasting
death. Verily, He is the Good Shepherd of our souls, and there
is none beside Him. And He is a faithful Shepherd, tenderly
watching over His blood-bought sheep, providing for their daily
wants, healing their wounded souls, defending them by night and
day against all prowling foes, keeping them safe and unharmed
in the fold, His holy Christian Church. Let others refuse to own
Him as the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls, we will own
Him, and follow Him, and gratefully sing His sweet praises here
on earth until He leads us into the fold of His singing saints above.
