Chapter 89 of 460

Chapter 11: THE GREAT SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP.

“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”-- Heb 13:20-21.

THIS TEXT REMINDS us of those many stars which are twin suns in the firmament of heaven, revolving around each other, but which, observed from our planet, seem to be one. It is composed of two distinct thoughts, which are entwined one around the other, increasing the common light, and circling around a common center. The one magnifies the great Shepherd of the sheep, and recounts God’s work in resurrection, in virtue of which He was brought again from the agony and darkness of death to the right hand of God and the pasture-lands of eternity; the other concerns God’s work within the soul, in virtue of which He works in us what is well-pleasing in His sight. First the objective fact, then the subjective counterpart, and each attributable to the work of God.

But Why is it necessary that these .two truths, apparently so remote from each other, should be brought into such close contact? And why is it necessary to emphasize them in this, the concluding passage of this Epistle, where we expect to find the most cogent and practical application of the great truths on which the writer has been expatiating?

The former of these questions will be answered as we proceed; the latter may best be met by an illustration.

It is reported that travelers in Japan, during the severe winter which casts its mantle of snow and grasp of frost on the country, are startled to find a rich, luxuriant, sub-tropical growth, so that the bamboo, the orange, and the palm flourish in vigorous beauty, whilst the biting blasts tear madly across the plains. The explanation is probably to be found in the evidences of comparatively recent volcanic action; it is therefore probable that fire is still burning below the surface; and these trees, though they stand amid arctic cold, nevertheless strike their roots into-tropical heat. Arctic winter above; tropical heat beneath. Thus, amid the pitiless storms of daily life, it becomes us to strike our roots down into the deep philosophy of redemption, and find our quickening and help in considering the blessed work of the God of Peace in our hearts.

I. THE OBJECT ON WHICH GOD HAS SET HIS HEART.

Stated briefly, it is that He may accomplish in us His perfect will, and realize a life which will please Him, so that He may look down upon us in complacency and say, “This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.”

This twofold object is clearly stated, “perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight.”

For this, God has taught us to hunger.

Deep down in the heart of man He has set eternity; that is, yearnings and desires which cannot be satisfied with mere immortality, or immunity from pain and sorrow. We might have these, but if we were not righteous, if we did not do God’s will, if we were not pleasing Him and fulfilling His ideal, we should be always conscious of a secret infinite regret.

Such hunger is prophetic of its satisfaction. The sea-birds do not roam the acres of sparkling wavelets in vain; nor in vain do the young lions roar after their food. The babe does not cry for sustenance which is not stored for it, or the youth demand the love which the maiden cannot give. It were rather a devil who should make the appetite without providing means for its satisfaction. But our God creates the desire, that He may give it realization. The very desire is blessed. As we desire, we possess. “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

And God wants us to realize His ideal perfectly. If we take that word as meaning fully, completely, we shall obtain a true and helpful meaning. A lily, it has been truly said, is a very beautiful object, though in England it does not attain to the full beauty of the Victoria Regia of Australia. A voice may be very sweet for the drawing-room, which would be altogether deficient in compass for the concert-room. We may be easily able to fulfil the measure of a comparatively small and limited sphere, when we would altogether fail in the greater one. A linnet sings very sweetly, though she cannot vie with the nightingale. It is extremely delightful to see the swallows as they dart to and fro perfected in flight up to the measure of their requirement, though unable to attain the majestic flight of the eagle. So God wants us to be perfect up to the measure of our capacity and sphere, “perfect in every good work to do His will.”

God seems to say, “I want you to be full-orbed, to fill up the circumference of your disc with light, to be as strong and sweet and gentle as-possible, to please Me in all directions, to attain to a perfect balance of character, to add in your faith virtue, and in your virtue knowledge, self-control, godliness, love of the brethren, love.”

This, moreover, is what tie is prepared to realize. Inasmuch as He has justified us and brought us to this point, it is evident that He is confident of being able, under certain conditions, to realize in us His perfect ideal. The only point at which He can fail is in our not being willing to give Him a free hand. But if you are prepared, with all the passion and weakness of your nature, to let God Almighty mould your life in His workshop and come with all His power into your heart, He will realize His object. Though you have failed a thousand times in your efforts, yet from today, if you will learn God’s secret, the Eternal God who “raised from the dead Jesus Christ by the mighty lift of His Omnipotence, is prepared to come into the sepulchre of your life, and thence lift you up by His Eternal Spirit, into the perfect ideal and pattern of His Son.

II. THE DIRECTION IN WHICH GOD WORKS WITHIN A MAN.

First, He adjusts him.

That word perfect in the Greek is the word articulate. It is a surgeon’s word for setting a dislocated limb. The Eternal God is prepared to bring our will, which is our deepest self, into exact and living union with His own, so that it may work there as a bone in the socket of the joint.

The mill of the friend of a friend of mine in Yorkshire was one day stopped because something had gone wrong with the engine that drove the machines through the entire factory. Those on the spot did all they could to re-adjust and start it, but in vain. Finally, in their extremity, they bethought themselves of an old man, who lived in the village, and sent for him. He came, looked at the engine, and did something that seemed as slight as the inserting of a pin or the turning of a screw. Immediately the pistons began to oscillate, and the huge fly-wheel to revolve.

Some days afterward he sent in his bill of charges, which amounted to twenty-six dollars. He was summoned by the manager to account for what seemed an altogether exorbitant and excessive charge. But the man justified it thus: “I charged one dollar for doing the work, and twenty-five for knowing how to do it.”

Now it may be that your life has been full of failure lately, which you cannot understand, and you are at a loss to account for it. Ah! soul, it is probably a very small thing which is wrong, but it has been sufficient to break your union with God, and it must be dealt with by Him, who alone knows how. “The God of peace, who brought again from the dead the Lord Jesus,” alone knows how to do it, and alone possesses the requisite dexterity and power of hand and wrist to do it.

Stand at that empty grave, and behold how He brought again from the dead the precious body which weeping disciples had borne thither! Are you in the grave, not for doing the will of God as He did, but for failing to do it? Have you been restrained too long, as in the impotence and silence of death? Do you long to come forth into the heavenly places where Jesus reigns? Then, let God, by one strong, skilful wrench, in which love and power combine, put you in joint with His will, and then you, too, shall step up from the grave in the steps of the Good and Great Shepherd, and enter into all the fulness and blessedness of His victorious life.

Second, When we are adjusted, God will work through us.

The branch cannot do anything. The clusters that redden in the autumn sunshine are the direct product of the root. We have acted and spoken as though God needed apologists and defenders. Nay; souls, stand out of the way! Ye might as well prove the existence of the sun! Stand out of the way; let the sun shine! But God needs hands, feet, lips, hearts, brains, that through these He may elaborate His ideals.

You say that you will never be able to do His will, or to perform what pleases Him. Aye, but you will, if only you will yield yourself to Him, first, that He may adjust, and secondly, that He may work in and through you that which is well pleasing in His sight.

III. HIS MODEL.

God’s model is the resurrection of the Shepherd. “He brought again from the dead the Shepherd.”

Death is want of motion, vitality and power. A corpse lies placid and helpless. Nature appeals to it from without in vain, and it can exert no influence on the outer world; and yet, though Christ the Shepherd was held by the grave, by hades, and by the devil, .God raised Him. And if your soul is in the grave of habit, paralyzed and powerless, God who raised the Shepherd can raise the sheep; He who raised the Head can raise the member; He who lifted Jesus to the heavenlies can lift you.

He will do it as the God of Peace.

How peaceful was the .resurrection! I know there was the earthquake and the rolling away of the stone, but the resurrection of Christ itself was a very mysterious, noiseless act. He quietly arose, wrapped together the cerements of the grave, and put on the vesture of light as a garment. He came forth with footsteps so gentle that the flowerets and blades of grass did not bend beneath His tread, and He passed out with no noise or footfall ringing in the dawn. Thus He began His beneficent ministry among men like the gentlest and therefore the strongest forces of nature. At last He glided upwards from the Ascension Mount without blare of trumpet or sound of opening heavens.

So our buried life and power shall rise to-day at the call of the God of peace. Do not be afraid. God will not hurt you. He does not work in paroxysms, but gradually and quietly. He raised Christ in spite of all the devil could do to keep Him back; He will raise you in spite of all the devil can do to keep you down. Rise, soul, rise, and live in resurrection, glory and power!

And He will do it through the Shepherd.

We have been thinking much of the great God, and it is all true; but when you are nearest God, and most conscious of His power, when you look into His face, you will see it is your Shepherd’s. God works through Jesus. He deals with the flock and each member of it through the Shepherd. Occupy yourself, then, with the Shepherd, keep Him in view, follow Him closely, dwell on His words, follow His steps, absorb yourself with Him. It is in connection with Him, and through His mediation, that the energy of the Divine might shall reach you.

Do you doubt this, it all seems too wonderful? Take heart! You are one with Jesus in the eternal covenant that He ratified with His blood. God has entered into covenant relations that He cannot break with your soul. Be of good cheer. What He has done for the Great Shepherd He will do for all who are included in His flock.

THE END

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