Every thing in rural scenery excites it; the voice of pleasure, from the various tribes of inferior animals, in all their different tones, excites it; the very bustle of business, with the eagerness and emulation arising from some common pursuit, excites it; above all, sympathy with human joy excites it, whether that sympathy is kindled by the smile of pleasure illuminating the countenance of our fellows, or the sprightly conversation of men free from care, or the song bursting from hearts full of gladness. Man is formed to enjoy ; and, even in his journey through this checkered world, a bountiful Providence strews his path with enjoyment.

ELEVENTH WEEK-SUNDAY.

CHRIST, THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

THE life of a shepherd is interesting, and sometimes adventurous. In pastoral countries, where there is frequently a vast extent of wild mountain ranges, his charge is anxious and incessant. He has to lead his sheep to the best pastures; to prevent them from straying beyond their proper bounds; to seek out the weak and diseased, and nurse them with tender care; in the spring, he has to attend to the new-dropped lambs; in summer, his flock yield their fleeces, and the duties attending this operation, which are numerous, require skill and judgement. During winter, he must redouble his care, amidst rains, and frosts, and snows the grass no longer grows on the hills, and he must seek for it in the valleys; the storms come, and he must find the flock shelter; sometimes, the snow falls thick and deep, and buries them beneath its drifted heaps, and the shepherd must seek for them at the risk of his life, wandering over trackless moor and mountain, where all the usual landmarks are covered, and he is in perpetual danger of losing his way, and falling into some treacher

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ous bog, or over some concealed precipice. Still, if he survive these perils, full of affectionate solicitude, he eagerly and anxiously hurries on, accompanied by his faithful dog, till he discovers his lost charge, and extricates them from their fearful situation.

In foreign countries, where beasts of prey abound, the shepherd has additional cares; he must be perpetually on the alert to defend his flock from the attacks of the wolf, the lion, the tiger, and the bear; and his own life, if he be faithful to his charge, is frequently endangered in encounters with these enemies. David, while yet a youthful shepherd, had more than one opportunity of evincing his courage and fidelity in protecting his sheep from such depredators; and when urging on Saul his claim to encounter the Philistine giant, he thus, with a gallant simplicity, describes his own prowess :— Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth and when he rose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God."

The dog, which is of such essential service to the shepherd in our own days, does not appear to have been employed by the Israelites, notwithstanding they were an essentially pastoral people. The reason may probably have been, that this animal was ranked among unclean beasts; and in eastern countries, the habits of the wild race were always ravenous and disgusting. We might be at a loss to conceive how the large flocks reared by that people could have been adequately attended to without the aid of so useful a servant, did we not know, that the Author of Nature has provided, in the instinct of the sheep, the means of obviating the difficulty, and that man, who is fertile in expedients, was not slow in discovering and taking advantage of it. Like various other gregarious animals, the sheep naturally follow a leader, which is capable of being taught to obey the human voice. It is

in this way that the flocks of the Israelites were kept under control, and the labours of the shepherd were abridged and rendered efficient.

Mr. Murray, in his Summer in the Pyrenees,' gives an interesting account of the obedience of the sheep to the call of the shepherd in these pastoral regions, which throws light on the mode of management among the ancient Hebrews. "The celerity," says he, "with which the shepherds of the Pyrenees draw their scattered flocks around them, is not more astonishing, than the process by which they effect it is simple and beautiful. If they are at no great distance from him, he whistles for them, and they leave off feeding, and obey the call; if they are far off and scattered, he utters a shrill cry, and instantly the flock is seen leaping down the rocks, and scampering towards him. Having waited until they have mustered round him, the shepherd then sets off on his return to his cabin or resting-place, his flock following behind him like so many well-trained hounds. Their fine-looking dogs, a couple of which are generally attached to each flock, have nobler duties to perform than that of chasing the flock, and biting the legs of stragglers; they protect it from the attacks of wolves and bears, against whose approach they are continually on the watch, and to whom they at once offer battle. So well aware are the sheep of the fatherly care of these dogs, and that they themselves have nothing to fear from them, that they crowd around them, as if they really sought their protection; and dogs and sheep may be seen resting together, or trotting after the shepherd, in the most perfect harmony. There is no such sight to be witnessed in these mountains as sheep-driving;' no 'knowing little collies,' used in collecting the flocks, or keeping them from wandering. The Pyrenean shepherd, his dog, and his flock, seem to understand each other's duties. Mutual security and affection are the bonds which unite them. The same confidence subsists between the Pyrenean shepherd and his flock, as that between the shepherd of Palestine and his."

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What I have chiefly in view, in this description of a

shepherd's life, is, the illustration of those metaphorical allusions which are made in Scripture to that occupation, in reference to the character and offices of the Saviour. The most remarkable of the passages where such allusions are found, is that in which Christ speaks of Himself, under this image :-"I am the good shepherd," says he; "the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep, are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.' "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them, also, I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." And again, “He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him : for they know his voice."*

There are two views of the Redeemer chiefly alluded to in this beautiful metaphor :-He is represented, first, as our affectionate guide; and, secondly, as the preserver of our lives by the sacrifice of his own. In reference to the first of these views, we find a similar and scarcely less striking allusion in the twenty-third Psalm :-" The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." In the prophecies of Isaiah, too, the same sentiment is gracefully and tenderly expressed. "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."

III.

* John, chap. x.
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† Isaiah, xl. 11.

IX.

The intimate and endearing relation, which subsists between Christ and his church, is elsewhere represented with not less force, sometimes under the figure of a bridegroom and his bride, and, at other times, under that of the head, giving life and intelligence to the various members of the body. There is nothing, indeed, too intimate or too endearing to characterize this union. He is our master, our friend, our elder brother; and in all these capacities, He directs, advises, instructs us; consults our best interests; exercises over us the gentle authority of a parent, with all the tender affection of an equal. His word is a light to our feet and a lamp to our path. His Spirit enlarges, comforts, sanctifies us; cleanses us from the pollutions of earth; prepares us for the enjoyments of heaven.

But Christ, the good Shepherd, is also the preserver of our lives; and at what expense? "The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." This crowns all his labors of love. "Scarcely for a righteous man will one die," says an apostle, "yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus, Himself, represents the sacrifice of one's life as the highest and most generous act of friendship :- -"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." How, then, shall we characterize the love of this most amiable and admirable of Beings, when we remember that He laid down his life for his enemies. In every way, his disinterested affection exceeded that of any mere mortal. To die for

a good man and a friend, is the climax of human love; but Christ died for sinners and enemies! His love was boundless, incomprehensible, Godlike ;-and it is so still. He who died for our sins, rose again for our justification. He is still the Shepherd of our souls. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us.