The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-06-18

knew what II was to be n shepherd. whose
poet soul had nourished fts music In the
green pastures and beside the still waters.
trumpet notes of the mountain storm,
whose eye had been filled with the radiance
OF the syrian night and w Mh9 se,I NE n ,ha
vastest of all his temples.
1T is natural for us to c'othe our thought
IN IMAGE made famiiar oS our ea myna w.
the sailors a voyage. the merchant a
rrofit-and-lass account. Ana So, as tie
i~rsalnist looked out upon the world, II was
green fields and starry nights. quiet wa
tiers and feeding sheep. winding Woodland
paths. fairylike chasinSs OF nsht anu
shadow. sunrise over the dashtnS torrents,
yelled spleDdor of the gathering evening,
the transformations OF the moonlight along
lhe slades and meaaoWsman tns P'p,p an
pie shepherd life of the olden time. II was
this that rose before his vision and found
beautiful voice across the strings OF that
harp that has thrown its melody all over
the world. And what We learn from inns
vision of life is not 50 much lessons as d
lesson: not so much a didactic statement
Of truth as a moral point of view. 1t Is not
the circumstances Of life only that influence
us IL is the center as Wen, tns spot u"
Some lives seem to lie our under the
smile of the sunshine, others in the face or
the east wind. and in the teeth OF me
sIrrset sky. and his fancy builds up be
tween the bars of crimson light something
ilisit lthhS IKE us Ebt'iSt h'h', 80
faces of wife and children. or the cows
coming back from the pasture. or the old
farm cart jogging along to market.
Another man looks OF to the same sun
set sky. and sees there rampant lions.
raging eonfagrations. flaming gloIies
melting into one another; Gr,eD, OF m ri,iss
The picture depends upon the eye, and the
eye depends upon the man, ana the mar
depends upon a great many thinss, one OF
which Is the point of view OF which we
are speaking. Now, the Psalmists point OF
view. the foundation on which ne buiit
his observatory. and from whiGh nj hin,
and over him. was a great solid rock called
faith in God.
The whole psalm reveals the attitude OF
a child of God in his fathers house: one
of the last things we learn in our Christian
lives is To lay ourselves down fiat on the
promises of God. Almost unconsciousiy, we
ter of our lives. Divine superintendent is
to most of us Il dogma, instead of a NV
ing faith. We know that he shepherds ms
fiocks in the skies. but along The slopes
OF these earthly mountains. and through
their tangled thickets. II is our own feet
\ dence. foresight are canonized as the only
guardian angels. OF course. We must look
TO our own feet. and trade upon the capt.
tai of our own brains and energy. but
when human strength Is all exhausted.
when the last resource has tumbled away,
when the last rushlight has fiickered ana
gone out, the servant of God mas an an
solute right, a right guaranteed to MIN IN
a covenant of justice and mercy. to swing
open the doors for the entrance OF heavenly
helpers.
This is not a pious platitude. 1t is the
backbone of the gospel. Gods people need
a multitude OF home missionaries to point
out to them the very foundations OF their
faith. There is no use in talking about God
as our shepherd. If We refuse 10 incorporate
in our lives the shepherd idea. and turn
our faith away from the shepherd STAFF.
Turning over the same truth We find an
other beautiful idea on the other side of it.
God knows how to take care OF TINS world;
God is Strengthening them out There are
a great many bad things, but God is loosen
ing the foundations under them. In spite
Of all the owls of the night. and all the
prophets Of the night. and all the voices
of the night. and all the shames and sins
pit that pierce the darkness Of the night.
and all the grooming OF a world whose
bosom is rent by the horrors Of the night.
We believe that God Is ushering In his
morning. and that the devil has not the
upperhand in human history.
The meek are bound to inherit the earth.
is leavening the lump. The Spirit of God
Is rolling and smoothing this old world
into diviner form with every revolution OF
when we shall have 10 despair of the Lords
republic, as there came a terrible day, when
tne kpm sssDs sspsto of' tb saiv etssg R In = 1hs,c
on the banks of the Tiber. Men may exalt
on their bucklers one satanic influence after
dliOLueT, anu carry them III tI1uN1Dn InIOugn
the streets. as the Praetorian guards car
ried their Emperors to their thrones. but
above the Pratetorian guard is the angelic
! guard and above Caesar is God. Righteous
ness Is not fighting a losing, battle.
There is also an intensely human side
70 this shepherd idea. Christ tells us that
the sheep hear and know the shepherds
voice and will not listen to the voice of a
stranger. There are many stranger voices,
some OF them soft and musical as the tink-
ling OF bells. some of them harsh and
rancorous with the strident tones of evil
passion. Christ iS our one Savior To hear
the voice of the Son OF Man and turn away
from II is TO write our own doom with
our own hand across our own soul. The
shepherd cannot keep us unless We are
willing TO be kept. Christ cannot save us
unless we are willing 10 be saved. To
hear. obey and follow. Is salvation. The
are the cardinal points Of Christianity.
When he see these three things shining
out in 4 human life. We know that for that
soul there are green pastures and still wa
ow Of death shall be filled with the pres
ence of God and cheered by the chantings
OF angels For this shepherd gave his life
for the sheep. poor. lost sheep. headed
+, children. romping over a lost world toward
a bitter. terrible he'll.
"Gocd-by to the ninety and nine. down
through the cloven night. down to the
manger, down TO Jerusalem, down to the
Sanhedrin. down to Gethsemane. down to
/ Calvary. down to the tomb. and then up
again. up through the morning dawn. up
before the eyes of the wondering apostles.
up through the parted clouds, up from a
redeemed world, up from the thIck-woven
darkness and terror Of death, up to heaven
again. where, under his pierced hands, pass
In through the gates the multitudes whom
no man can number, of those who shall
dwell there forever. in the one fold. and
Il In the love md parn nf the m ShanhprA -