THE FAMILY ALTAR
"I have been young and now am old; yet have I not seen
the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Thus David
declares in Ps. 37. From these words we see that the Good Shep-
herd provides also for the bodily wants of His sheep. In the days
of His flesh, a few barley loaves and fishes under His blessed
hands sufficed to feed thousands in the wilderness. So He to-day
can multiply and increase the small income, the meager provisions
of His followers, that they have bread enough and to spare. Who-
ever puts his trust in Him and walks obediently in His paths
shall not want any good thing. (Ps. 34:10.) But greater than
the wants of our body are the wants of our immortal soul. Our
Good Shepherd gave His life for His sheep, and we now have
the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of all our sin.
Yet does sin still cling to us and often wound us on our way to
our heavenly home. And, oh ! how it hurts our souls to know
that we have again broken our pledge of love to our dear Savior
by reason of the weakness of our flesh or the temptations of the
wicked world. But in His unwearying grace and mercy our blessed
Savior "restores our souls" by the sweet assurances of His pardon-
ing love in His holy Gospel and Sacraments, and so instils into
us new courage and new strength to follow after holiness,
without which no man shall see the Lord. He leads us in the
paths of righteousness through His good Spirit. But will He
not at last grow weary of pardoning and helping us if we fall
and stumble so often ? Never ! For He leads us in the paths
of righteousness for His name's sake ! Not for any goodness or
worthiness in us does He deal so mercifully with us and finally
save us, but for His great mercy's sake. His name is Jesus, that
is, Savior; and as such He will glorify Himself also in us. Then
let us give ourselves entirely into His saving hands and obediently
follow His guiding Shepherd-voice, and we can trustfully pray
and say THE PRAYER OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
