The Song of our Syrian Guest | Page 6

the
refreshing olive-oil and he takes the large two-handled cup and dips it
brimming full from the vessel of water provided for that purpose, and
he lets the weary sheep drink.
"There is nothing finer in the psalm than this. God's care is not for the
wounded only, but for the worn and weary also. '_Thou anointest my
head with oil; my cup runneth over_.'
"And then, when the day is done and the sheep are snug within the fold,
what contentment, what rest under the starry sky! Then comes the
thought of deepest repose and comfort: 'Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life,' as they have through all the
wanderings of the day now ended.
"The song dies away as the heart that God has watched and tended
breathes this grateful vow before the roaming of the day is forgotten in
sleep: '_I will_--not shall, but will; for it is a decision, a settled purpose,
a holy vow--'I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever_.' And the
song ends, and the sheep are at rest, safe in the good shepherd's fold."
Do you wonder that ever since that night we have called this psalm The
Song of Our Syrian Guest?

Sidelights
Shepherd Life in Bible Lands
PROFESSOR GEORGE E. POST
The American College, Bayrout, Syria
"The same regions which furnished the vast flocks in ancient times are
still noted for their sheep. All the plateaus east of the Jordan and the
mountains of Palestine and Syria are pasture-grounds for innumerable
flocks and herds. They require water but once a day, and, where they
cannot get it from perennial streams, they find it in the innumerable
wells, fountains and cisterns. The descendants of the same shepherds
who tended flocks in Bible days still occupy the great sheepwalks of
Palestine.
"The care of sheep is the subject of frequent allusion in Scripture. The
shepherd leads (not drives) them to pasture and water (Ps. 23; 77:20;
78:52; 80:1); protects them at the risk of his life (John 10:15). To keep
them from the cold and rain and beasts, he collects them in caves (1
Sam. 24:3) or enclosures built of rough stones (Num. 32:16; Judg. 5:16;

Zeph. 2:6; John 10:1). The sheep know their shepherd, and heed his
voice (John 10:4). It is one of the most interesting spectacles to see a
number of flocks of thirsty sheep brought by their several shepherds to
be watered at a fountain. Each flock, in obedience to the call of its own
shepherd, lies down, awaiting its turn. The shepherd of one flock calls
his sheep in squads, draws water for them, pours it into the troughs, and,
when the squad has done, orders it away by sounds which the sheep
perfectly understand, and calls up another squad. When the whole of
one flock is watered, its shepherd signals to it, and the sheep rise and
move leisurely away, while another flock comes in a similar manner to
the troughs, and so on, until all the flocks are watered. The sheep never
make any mistake as to who whistles to them or calls to them. 'They
know not the voice of strangers' (John 10:5). Sometimes they are called
by names (John 10:3). Syrian sheep are usually white (Ps. 147:16; Isa.
1:18; Dan. 7:9), but some are brown (Gen. 30:32-42; Revised Version
'black'). No animal mentioned in Scripture compares in symbolical
interest and importance with the sheep. It is alluded to about five
hundred times."

The Singing Pilgrim
A CHARACTERIZATION OF THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM
HENRY WARD BEECHER
"The Twenty-third Psalm is the nightingale of the psalms. It is small, of
a homely feather, singing shyly out of obscurity; but, oh, it has filled
the air of the whole world with melodious joy, greater than the heart
can conceive! Blessed be the day on which that psalm was born!
"What would you say of a pilgrim commissioned of God to travel up
and down the earth singing a strange melody, which, when once heard,
caused him to forget whatever sorrow he had? And so the singing angel
goes on his way through all lands, singing in the language of every
nation, driving away trouble by the pulses of the air which his tongue
moves with divine power. Behold just such an one! This pilgrim God
has sent to speak in every language on the globe. It has charmed more
griefs to rest than all the philosophy of the world. It has remanded to
their dungeon more felon thoughts, more black doubts, more thieving
sorrows, than there are sands on the seashore. It has comforted the
noble host of the poor. It has sung courage to the army of the

disappointed. It has poured balm and consolation into the