Spurgeon: August AM
* 08/19/AM
"He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord."
--Micah 5:4
Christ's reign in His Church is that of a shepherd-king . He
has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender
shepherd over his needy and loving flock; He commands and
receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the
well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved
Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force
of love and the energy of goodness.
His reign is practical in its character . It is said, "He
shall stand and feed ." The great Head of the Church is
actively engaged in providing for His people. He does not sit
down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without
wielding it in government. No, He stands and feeds. The
expression "feed," in the original, is like an analogous one in
the Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything expected
of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to
tend, as well as to feed.
His reign is continual in its duration . It is said, " He
shall stand and feed"; not "He shall feed now and then, and
leave His position"; not, "He shall one day grant a revival, and
then next day leave His Church to barrenness." His eyes never
slumber, and His hands never rest; His heart never ceases to
beat with love, and His shoulders are never weary of carrying
His people's burdens.
His reign is effectually powerful in its action ; "He shall
feed in the strength of Jehovah." Wherever Christ is, there is
God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh!
it is a joyful truth to consider that He who stands to-day
representing the interests of His people is very God of very
God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to
such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us, and whose
divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before Him as
the people of His pasture.