As the sheep go out to the pasture in the morning and come back into the fold at night, they also find both, grass in the field and fodder in the fold. Relatively, to the provisions of the good Shepherd, whether in public, or in private, by which they receive support, protection, and nourishment, their desires are both graciously refilled and completely satisfied by the goodness and mercy of the good Shepherd.
Christ Jesus is the good Shepherd prophesied of in the Old Testament as a Shepherd: 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 (Isaiah 40:11). The New Testament states that he is spoken of as the great Shepherd: 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, (Hebrews 13:20). He is our Great Shepherd, our Chief Shepherd, and the Shepherd of our souls.
Christ Jesus is the Shepherd and through his goodness he is come: to give life to the sheep, that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. He came to put life into the flock; the church in general, which resembled a valley of dry bones rather than a pasture covered with green grass. He came to vindicate divine truths, to redress the grievances of his sheep, to revive the dying zeal of his flock, to seek that which was lost, to bind up that which was broken, to strengthen that which was sick, (Ezekiel 34:16), and much, much more. Let us live as the sheep of His pasture!
sablack
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