My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year | Page 7

"And one of them
be gone astray!" I thought He might never have missed the one! And
yet the Eastern shepherd says that out of his great flock he can miss the
individual face. A face is missing, as though a child were absent from
the family circle. When a soul is wandering in the far country there is
an awful gap in the Father's house! Is thy place empty? Is mine?
And mark the pangs of the Shepherd's quest. He "goeth into the
mountain and seeketh!" The Eastern shepherd goes out in tempest, and
in rocky ravine, or in thorny scrub that tears the hands and feet, he
seeks and finds his sheep. And my Lord sought me, in stony and thorny
places, in the darkness of Gethsemane, and in the awful desolations of
The Hill.
And the Shepherd found His sheep, and He returns across the hills
singing the song of the triumph of grace--
"And up from the mountains, thunder-riven, And up from the rocky
steep, A cry arose to the gates of heaven, 'Rejoice! I have found My
sheep!' And the angels echo around the throne, 'Rejoice! for the Lord
brings back His own!'"

JANUARY The Twenty-second

MY OWN SHEPHERD
PSALM xxiii.
How shall we touch this lovely psalm and not bruise it? It is exquisite
as "a violet by a mossy stone!" Exposition is almost an impertinence,
its grace is so simple and winsome.
There is the ministry of rest. "He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures." The Good Shepherd knows when my spirit needs relaxation.
He will not have me always "on the stretch." The bow of the best violin
sometimes requires to have its strings "let down." And so my Lord
gives me rest.
And there is the discipline of change. "He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness." Those strange roads in life, unknown roads, by which I
pass into changed circumstances and surroundings! But the discipline
of the change is only to bring me into new pastures, that I may gain
fresh nutriment for my soul. "Because they have no changes they fear
not God."
And there is "the valley of the shadow," cold and bare! What matter?
He is there! "I will fear no evil." What if I see "no pastures green"?
"Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me!" The Lord, who is leading,
will see after my food. "Thou preparest a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies." I have a quiet feast while my foes are
looking on!

JANUARY The Twenty-third
THE GIVER'S HAND
GENESIS iv. 3-15.
Cain and Abel both brought an offering unto the Lord, but one was
accepted and the other rejected. It is the giver who determines the
worth or the worthlessness of the gift. God looks not at the gift, but at

the hand that brings it. "Your hands are full of blood!" "Your hands are
unclean!" The Lord demands "clean hands." He will not have our
compliments if there is defilement behind them. Our courtesies are
rejected if iniquity attends them. The shining gloss on the linen is an
offence if the dirt looks through! Who cares for food if presented by
unclean hands? "Be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of the Lord!"
Every gift is welcome to the Lord if offered with clean hands. A mite,
or a cup of cold water, or our daily labour, or the first-fruits of garden
or field--all receive the blessing of our God if the hands that bring them
are free from defilement. So is it with everything we offer to the Lord.
A song of praise makes sweet music in the hearing of our God if it
come from pure lips! Purity, as Thomas a' Kempis says, gives the
wings which carry everything into the Father's presence.

JANUARY The Twenty-fourth
THE VOICE OF THE DEAD
HEBREWS xi. 1-6.
With what voice shall we speak when we are dead? What will men hear
when they turn their thoughts toward us? What part of us will remain
alive, singing or jarring in men's remembrance? It is the biggest part of
us that retains its voice. In some it is wealth, in others it is goodness;
some go on speaking in their cruelty, others in their gentleness. Cain
still speaks in his jealous passion. Abel speaks in his faith. Dorcas
speaks in her "good works and alms-deeds which she did"; Judas
Iscariot speaks in his betrayal. Yes, something goes on speaking. What
shall it be?
But these biggest things not only continue to speak in the ears of
memory, they persist as actual forces in the common life of men. Our
faith is not buried with our bones, nor is our avarice or pride. Our
characters do not die