Spurgeon: October PM
* 10/17/PM
"He shall gather the lambs with His arm."
--Isaiah 40:11
Our good Shepherd has in His flock a variety of experiences,
some are strong in the Lord, and others are weak in faith, but
He is impartial in His care for all His sheep, and the weakest
lamb is as dear to Him as the most advanced of the flock. Lambs
are wont to lag behind, prone to wander, and apt to grow weary,
but from all the danger of these infirmities the Shepherd
protects them with His arm of power. He finds new-born souls,
like young lambs, ready to perish--He nourishes them till life
becomes vigorous; He finds weak minds ready to faint and die--He
consoles them and renews their strength. All the little ones He
gathers, for it is not the will of our heavenly Father that one
of them should perish. What a quick eye He must have to see them
all! What a tender heart to care for them all! What a far-
reaching and potent arm, to gather them all! In His lifetime on
earth He was a great gatherer of the weaker sort, and now that
He dwells in heaven, His loving heart yearns towards the meek
and contrite, the timid and feeble, the fearful and fainting
here below. How gently did He gather me to Himself, to His
truth, to His blood, to His love, to His church! With what
effectual grace did He compel me to come to Himself! Since my
first conversion, how frequently has He restored me from my
wanderings, and once again folded me within the circle of His
everlasting arm! The best of all is, that He does it all Himself
personally, not delegating the task of love, but condescending
Himself to rescue and preserve His most unworthy servant. How
shall I love Him enough or serve Him worthily? I would fain make
His name great unto the ends of the earth, but what can my
feebleness do for Him? Great Shepherd, add to Thy mercies this
one other, a heart to love Thee more truly as I ought.