Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1865-12-24
SUNDAY READING.
Sermon by the Rev. Henry w. bellows
The shepherd and the sheepfoid.

shall he saved. and shall go in and out and
find pasture. John K, ..
This is the only PAROLE recorded in John,
and contains two in one-Christ as the door
and Christ as the Shepherd Of the Sheep.
The Sanhedrim had declared Jesus an i'm
poster. Our Lord here answers them and
presents his claim as the true Shepherd.
Many claimants had previously appeared,
but their claims resting upon deceit had
been repudiated They came either through
a hole in the wall, or over the wall, and the
sheep not knowing their voice fled. Jesus
showed himself the true Shepherd by enter
ing in at the door Of the sheepfold. He
came not TO destroy but TO fulfill the law of
Moses. His birth, baptism and early his
tory, his genealogical and ecclesiastical re-
lations, his death and resurrection were all
anticipated by it. Considering the cruel
fate which overlook our Lord it may seem
strange that he should appeal to the recog-
milton which they gave him as an answer TO
the wolves Christ was never rejected by
the Jewish people, only by the rulers and
ecclesiastical dignitaries. There was no
public opinion. The rulers did as they
pleased. In our own day the heart and
mind Of the people do not indorse, approve,
and support the unprincipled persons who
WELD our municipal civil powers and reap
spoils Of Office. theoretically we elect our
own rulers, but having a vast machinery of
plant instruments already in possession,
they carry the elections, and by the perpet-
uation Of their authority, make the whole
people seem like aiders and abettors of their
forgeries and thefts. The multitudes Of the
Jewish people did follow Christ When the
wolves appeared they fed. Conquerors
sweeping through hemispheres have nodded
continents to their will, philosophers have
turned the currents Of thought into new
channels, poets have won the eye and heart
ofnations for all time, but more maj velous
in their fame are those who have founded
the various religions Of the world.
In the Orient the swarms which followed
in the footsteps OF Mahammed and Brahma
were facinated by fdtdlism and force, the gods
Of India and Arabia, and the people with
cred in their blighting breath. Christ en-
tiers through the door through which all hui
mainly must pass. Commerce, science and
civilization develop under his care. The
religion Of the Church Of Christ is the fold,
intended as place refuge for the exposed
heart of man. Ii has often been holy pri-
son, a moping monastery, sad retreat, in
stead of q fpleasan. sheep-foid opening in
and out. Christ is no dairyman to keep his
sheep in a dark, unwholesome stable, feed
ing on swill. The view of the Church which
excludes eworld as the school, playground,
arena, and workshop of life. which pro-
nounces life profane and nature a ruin, is
one against which the intellect and heart Of
man will sooner or later rebel. The world
is the pasture and when storms gather on
the mountains, the shades of night fall upon
the valleys and the chilling dews and damp
descend; the Church OF God is the safe fold
in which they may gather. The Church Of
God is the refuge for the soul in all times of
danger, and the voice of the Shepherd is
always heard above winds and snow, saying,
i am the door; If any man enter in he
shall be saved" The way into the church
is not by signing creeds and making promi-
SEES by men, but by taking Jesus as a master,
guide, friend and shepherd. Ask yourself
this one questions Christ the master of
my heart and will. You may stumble in
the asking No man dare answer that he is.
We can only strive for it. All that we must
have 10 entitle us to the privileges of the
Christian Church is this desire. Make Christ
then your friend and companion; frame
your thoughts and feelings after his spirit
accept his promises, and you will discover
the truth of His words: am the door; by
me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall 90 i'm and ont and find pasturev