by the still waters - forgotten books
TRANSCRIPT
WVH O E V E R l ets loos e a sunbeam in this world
starts a bened ict ion among men . W'
lioever sets
a litt l e lamp where i ts beam may shine on even
a fe w feet of some one ’s path has done that
which i s worth whil e . God made the sunbeam,
and the candl e w as l i ghted a great whi l e ago ;
but if in my l itt le book I can bring the l ight
nearer to some w ho wil l be bles sed and cheered
by i t,that wil l be enough .
'H I LAD E L'H IA .
The Lord ismy shepherd ; I sha l l no t w ant.I I e maketh me to lie dow n in g reen pastu resH e leadeth me beside the st i l l w a ters .
I I e restoreth my sou lH e guideth me in the paths of righ teousness for his
name’ s sake.
Yea,though I w a lk th rough the va l l ey of the shadow of
dea th ,I w il l fear no evil ; for thou art w i th meThy rod and thy staff, they comfor t me.
Thou p reparest a tab le before me in the p resence ofmineenem iesThou hast ano in ted my head w ith oil ; my cup runneth
over .
Su re ly goodness and mercy sha l l fo l l ow me a l l the days
And I w i l l dw e l l in the house of the L ord for ever .
W i th staff and shoon I jou rney,And st i l l before m ine eyes
Th e Lord wh o goes before meH olds up a rad iant pri'e .
And though I fa in t and fa l ter,
I yet sha l l overcome ,And w in w i th sa ints and angel sTh e end less rest at home .
M ARG ARE T E . SAN GSTE R .
I T i s worthy of our thought how much poorer
the world would be i f the l ittl e Tw en ty- th i rd
Psalm had never been written . Think w hat a
mini s try this psalm has had thes e three thousand
years,as it has gone up and down the w orld
,
s inging itse lf into men ’s hearts,and breathing
its quiet peace into the ir spi ri ts . How many
sorrows has i t comforted ' H ow many tears has
i t dried ' H ow many pi lgr ims has i t l ighted
through l ife ’s dark val leys ' 'e rhaps no other
s ingle portion of the B ibl e — not even the four
teenth of St . John ’s Gospe l — i s read so often or
has so w rought it sel f i nto rel igiou s experience .
I t i s the chi ldren ’s psalm,to many the first
6 B Y TH E STILL WATE R3.
words of Holy Scripture l earned at a mother ’s
knee . Then,i t i s the old people ’s psa lm ; oft
times , with qui ve ring voice, i t i s repeated by
aged saints as the n ight comes on . Then,al l the
years between youth and old age . thi s psalm i s
read . It i s the psalm of the s ick- room ; how
many sufferers have been quieted and comforted
by i ts word s of as su rance and peace ' It i s the
psalm for the death-bed ; scarce ly ever does a
Chris tian d ie,but the se sweet word s are sai d or
sung Thousands of times i t has been repeated
by dy ing Chris tians themse l ve s,espec ial ly the
word s about the val l ey of the shadow of death,
as they passed into the val ley . It i s the psalm
for the funeral serv ice,read countle s s times
bes ide the coffin where a Chri st ian s leeps in
peace .
I cannot think of anything in al l the l i s t of
the world ’s ach ievements that I would rather
have done than write the Twenty - thi rd Psalm .
To compose any sweet hymn that l ive s,and
s ings i tse lf into peopl e ’s hearts,giving cheer
,com
fort,or h Ope , making men and w omen stronger
,
true r,and brave r
,i s a nobl e privi lege . It i s a
great th ing to have written “ Rock of Ages,c l eft
for me,” “ Jesus
,Lover of my soul
,
” or “ Nearer,
my God,to thee ,
” but,of al l hymns which have
been born into th i s world,I th ink I w ould rather
B Y TH E STILL WATE RS. 7
have written Dav id ’s Shepherd ’s Psalm . I would
rather be the author of this l i ttl e song than be
the bui lder of the pyramids . Earth ’s nobles t,divines t ach ie vement i s to start songs in the
world ’s win try air,to s ing into i ts w eary hearts
something of heaven ’s music . Not many of us
wi l l be perm itted to write a twenty- th ird psalm
to ble ss men w i th i ts s train s of sweet peace ; but
we may at l east make our l i fe a song, a sweet
hymn of peace,whose mus ic shal l gladden
,com
fort, and cheer weary p i lgrims as they pass along
l ife’s rough w ays .
It i s interesting to think of the origin of thi s
psalm . At fi rst thought,
w e might say i t was
written in David ’s youth,when he w as a shepherd
at Bethl ehem . It i s ful l of images and pictures
of shepherd l i fe,which might seem to fi x its date
i n the author ’ s earl y years . But further thought
wi ll show that the psalm does not belong to thi s
period . I t could not have been wri tten by a
young man . It tel l s of struggl es and toil s,of
pain and sorrow endured,of dark val leys passed
through . It i s a psalm of exper ienc e,— an old
man ’s experience,after bein g led through many
a trying way and tast ing many a bitter cup . It
must have been wri tten i n David ’ s old age,but
in i t he en shrines the memories of hi s youth .
We get a p ractical suggestion : the exper iences
8 B Y TH E STILL WATE RS.
of the early years make the remembrances of
l i fe ’s late r years . The v is ions of youth become
the faiths and the songs of ripened manhood . If
you would have an old age made sweet by mem
ory, fi l l your youth- time with deeds of v i rtue,
bravery,and beauty
,and with d reams of purity
and peace . Old age i s the harvest of al l the
years gone before .“ The Lord is my shepherd .
” Homely name
for God,you would say Shepherd . There i s
a story of a great arti st who had been entertain ed
in some old castle,where he rece i ved much kind
ness . As he w as about to go away, he wished
to l eave beh ind him some token of hi s grati tude .
He could find no canvas on which to put a pic
ture ; but taking a common bed- sheet,the only
avai labl e thing,he . painted on i t an exqui s ite
picture,which he left i n hi s room . So on this
homely,commonplace word
,shepherd
,did David
paint a matchl es s picture of God,putting into
i t al l that he had learned of God during hi s l i fe
time,and leaving i t as a memorial i n the world .
No more unpoeti c name could have been chosen ;and yet a thousand years later, Jesus Chri st,when he would l eave wi th h i s d isc ipl es a revela
tion of h is l ove and care for h i s ow n, cal led him
sel f by the same homely name, Shepherd — the
Good Shepherd ; and we al l remember what pre'
10 B Y TH E STILL WATE RS .
them,guard ing them agains t prowl ing wi ld beasts
and again st robbers . Oftt imes he i s wounded in
defending them . VVhen one sheep wanders,he
l eave s the flock,and seeks the los t one unti l h e
finds it . When one faints by the way,he gathers
i t in his arms,and carr ies i t i n hi s bosom . As we
study the ways of the Easte rn shepherd,we begin
to see the beauty of the picture which the homely
name gives to God who i s our Shepherd .
“ The Lord i s my shepherd .
” L ittl e words are
sometimes very important . Suppose you read it
thus,
“ The Lord i s a shepherd ; would i t mean
j ust the same to you ' The name shepherd car
r ie s i n i tself al l i t s wondrous reveal in g of love,
tendernes s,care
,safety
,providence
,as a picture
of God ; but what comfort i s al l th i s to you , so
long as you cannot say,“ The Lord i s my shep
herd ” ' Some poor chi ldren,pass ing a beautiful
home,with its w ealth and luxury
,may admi re i t
,
and say,What a lovely home '” But how much
more i t means to the ch i ld ren who dwel l i n s ide,
who say,as they enj oy the good things in the
house,
“ Thi s i s our home '” It makes a great
d ifference to me whether a good man i s a worthy
fri end,or i s my fri end ; whether God i s a 'ather,
or i s my 'ather ; whether Jesus i s a wonderful
Saviour,or i s my Saviour ; whether the Lord i s
a Shepherd,or i s my Shepherd .
B Y TH E STILL WATE RS . 1 1
The l i ttl e pronoun “ my i s the golden l ink
which bind s al l th is blessed reveal ing to me and
makes it al l m ine own . The old preachers talked
much about appropriating faith— that i s,the fai th
which makes Chri s t and al l the bl ess ings of re
demption our own . Jesus would be the Shepherd
of every man . He invites al l in to h i s fold . He
opens the gates to al l . He gave h is l i fe for the
world,and made redemption for al l men . Appro
priating fai th c laims the bles s ing for i tsel f, ac cepts
it,and
.
makes i t i ts own . I t i s a j oyous moment
when we can say,“ Chris t i s mine
,and I am his ;
“ The Lord i s my shepherd .
”
I t was not the exclus ive priv i l ege of David to
say,The Lord i s my shepherd .
” It i s our priv i
l ege too . Re l igion i s an i nd i vidual matter . Each
one comes to Christ for h imsel f,and i t i s a per
sonal relation which i s establ i shed between Chri st
and each be l ieving soul . Every one has al l of
Chri st for hi s own,j ust as truly as i f he were the
on ly bel iever . Each one can say,“ The Lord i s my
shepherd . He maketh me to l ie down i n green pas
tures . He leade th me bes id e the sti l l waters . He
restoreth my soul .” If we can say th is l ittl e word
my with our heart,as we go over th i s psalm
,
cl aim ing al l of God for our own , then have we
l earned the great le sson which binds u s to God
and God to us . This i s the faith that saves . I t
1 2 B Y TH E S TILL WATE RS.
i s not only tak ing Chr is t and al l the bless ings of
h is redemption for our own ; it i s al so the sur
render of ou r l ife,with al l i ts powers and affec
t ions,to h im . It mean s infini te bl ess ing from God ;
but i t means al so unquestion ing obed ience,impl i cit
fol lowing,the los ing of our l ife in Christ .
\Vonderfu l i s the fi rst as surance of this psalm
I shal l not want .” W'
e need not t ry to define or
l imit thi s word . “T
e need not say that i t in cludes
on ly spi ritual wants . Do you th ink our Shepherd
w ould prov ide for the wants of our soul,and then
pay no heed to our common,dai ly phys ical ne eds
The assurance mean s that al l ou r wants wi l l be
supp l ied,— the wants of our body and the w ants
of our sou l . St . Paul puts the same assurance
into very strong word s in on e of h i s epi s tl e s“ M y God shal l fulfi l e ve ry need of yours accord
ing to his riches in glory in Chri s t Je sus .
” The
same prom ise i s w r itten over and over again in
the B ible . have it in one glorious s entence
of the M aste r’s,
“ Seek ye fi r st the k ingdom of
God,and hi s righteousness ; and al l these things
shal l be added unto you .
”“
T
e need have only
one care,that w e put the fi rst thing first
,— faith'
fulne ss to God . Then al l e l se we need for both
worlds wi l l be suppl ied .
Yet we must make sure that w e do not fai l in
our part. God w i l l never fai l u s ; but w e fo rget,
14 B Y TH E S TILL W ATE RS.
un iverse for ours ; for “ the earth i s the Lord ’s,
and the fuln es s the reof,
” and what i s God’ s i s ours .“ Al l things are yours
,and ye are Christ ’s .”
Blessed are al l who can say,
“ The Lord i s my
shepherc .
” They can s ing then with confidence,
“ Therefore I shal l not want .“ He maketh me to l ie down in green pastures
he leadeth me bes ide the sti l l waters .” This i s
a pictu re of peace . The flock has been fed ; and
now in the heat of the day the shepherd lead s his
sheep into the shel te r,and makes them lie down
in the soft,lush grass
,by the edge of the rippl ing
streams,to rest awhi le .
This suggests the res t into which our Good
Shepherd l eads h is flock . L i fe i s not al l toi l .
God give s us many quiet resting -places in our pi l
grim way . Night i s one of these,when
,afte r the
day ’s toi l,struggle , and exhaust ion , w e are l ed
as ide,and the curtain s are draw n to shut out the
noise,and he giveth his be loved s leep , in s l eep
giving the wonderful ble s sings of renewal . The
Sabbath i s another of these quiet resting- places .
God would have u s d rop our worldly task s,and
have a day for the ref resh ing of both body and
soul . It i s a sore lo s s w hen for any reason one
has to mis s h is Sabbath rest . 'ew th ings in th e
l i fe of to-day are sadder than the enc roachments of
the world ’s bus tle,s trife
,and care upon Sabbath
B Y TH E S TILL WATE RS . 15
quiet and peace . 'riend shi p’s trys ts are al so quiet
res ting- places,where heart may commune w i th
heart,where Jesus comes
,too
,unseen , and gives
hi s bless ing. Al l ord inances of Christian worship
seasons of prayer and devotion,hours of com
munion with God — are quiet resting- places .
'ar more than we are apt to real i'e do we need
these s i lent t imes in ou r busy l i fe, needing them
al l the more the bus i er the l i fe may be . M ary sat
at Jesu s ’ feet,and found green pastures and st il l
waters there,and grew into marvel lous sweetnes s
of l ife and spi ri t . John l ived near the heart of
the M aste r and abid ing in that quiet resting-place,
he went out wi th sh in ing face,and became a trans
figured disci pl e . We al l need more quiet rest i n
God ’s green pastures . We would be better Chri s
t ian s if we had more such rest as thes e words sug
gest .
“ l e may notice the form of the words : “ He
maketh me to l ie down in green pastures .” Some
times we are unwil l ing to res t . The world d raws
on our hearts,and we would go on in its ambition s
without re sting at God ’s feet. Even some Chris
ti an people are so busy with their work or with
the i r pleasure,that they do not get time to pray
,
or even to s i t down for a quiet half-hour with
the B ible . They do not real i'e,in thus depriv
ing themsel ves of the priv i l ege of communion with
16 B Y TH E STILL W ATE RS .
God,that they are starv ing thei r soul s
,labor
in g on ly for the meat that peri sheth . Then some
times God makes them l i e down to rest a whi le,
that they may be renewed in spi ri t . Lov ing them
too much to encourage the ir worldly absorption,
he compel s them to go as id e to get the quiet that
they so mu ch need . I t may be in a s ick- room .
It i s not pl easant,not agreeable
,and sometimes
they chafe and repine . But they would bette r ac
cept th e Shepherd’s guidance,even when i t l eads
them into the darkened chambe r of pain,for there
they w i l l find green pastures . l Ve always may
be sure of thi s . “ Th enever the Good Shepherd
makes us l i e do w n,there i s ble ss ing for us ; and
i f w e subm it and trust,w e shal l be enriched in
our Spi ritual l ife,and prepared for be tter service
afterward .
A young Chri stian who had been for many
weeks in a hospital,undergoing a painful opera
tion and then s lowly recovering, wrote me in the
days of her convalescence, “ I have found my l it
tl e wh ite bed here in the hospita l a bit of God ’s
green pasture .
” Not only had i t proved a place
of res t and peace to her,but al so a place of spi r
it ual refreshment.
He restoreth my soul .” In s everal ways does
the shepherd restore hi s sheep . If one wanders
away,he goes out after i t , and seeks it ti l l he finds
18 B Y TH E S TILL W ATE RS.
most sk i l ful physic ian . He binds up the broken
spi ri t . S in ’s wounds he heal s . \Ve remember
how David ’s own sou l w as restored after h e h ad
fal len . The terribl e hurts w ere so healed that he
w as a bette r man afte rward than he had been
before . S in i s a fearful thing . It w ounds the
sou l,and no hand but Christ ’s can restore it .
But i f we put our hurt l i fe into hi s hand,he w i l l
gi ve heal ing . \Vhat mil l ion s of s in ’s w oundings
our Good Shepherd has cured '
Then,when sorrow has l eft the heart broken
,
i t i s on ly the Good Shepherd who can res tore i t .
“ re may put al l sorrow ’s w ound s into h is hand .
He is most gentle,and hi s hand i s infin ite ly sk i l
ful . He is a w onderful c omforter . No human
hand can heal a heart that i s b ruised,but the
and of Jesus has infin ite del icacy and ski l l .
Th e brok en w i ng of the sw a l l owH e b i nd s i n the m idd l e air.
”
He restoreth my soul .” The end of al l Chri st’s
restorings wi l l be the putt ing back of the defaced
div ine image on the l ife of every one w ho t rusts
in h im and fol low s him .
“ I t doth not yet ap
pear what we shal l be .
” God’ s work in us i s
not yet fin ished w hi le we stay i n th is world .
“ But we know that,when he shal l appear, we
shal l be l ike him .
”
B Y TH E STILL WATE RS. 19
“ He leadeth me i n the paths of r ighteousne ss
for h i s name ’s sake .
” The Easte rn shepherd does
not d rive hi s sheep — h e l ead s them ; he goes
before them,and they fol low him . He always
has a pu rpose i n h i s l ead ing . He knows w here
the bits of green pasture are,and he would l ead
his flock to these . The way may be rough,but
it i s the right way to the pasture . “ Path s of
righteousness ” may not be straight paths ; but
they are paths that lead somewhere - to the r ight
place . M any dese rt paths are i l lus ive . They
start out c lear and plain,but soon they are lost
in the sands . They go nowhe re . But the paths
of r ighteousnes s have a goal to which they un
erri ngly lead .
It i s one of th e sweetest reveal ings of Chri s
t ian l i fe that the Good Shepherd always lead s
hi s own . He does not dr ive them . We are not
hi s sheep i f w e do not fol low him . He putteth
forth the sheep,and goeth before them . He
cal leth h i s own sheep by name,and leadeth them
out. I n many ways does h e l ead . The mother
gi ves the firs t d i vin e guidance to the l ittl e ch i ld
that looks up into he r face with love and trust .
Then,along the years
,other hands are reached
out to guide . We do not know how much of
God ’s goodness come s to us in human hearts and
l i ves . Sometimes i t i s a friend ’s w ise counsel
20 B Y TH E S TILL WATE RS.
that you find j ust the word which makes the way
plain for you . Sometimes the guidance comes in
a sermon or in a book . Or it may be in some
s imple experience of every-day l i fe . A young
man in great perp lex i ty p icked up a sc rap of
an old newspape r which he found on the street,
and on i t read words that made hi s way clear
to him . Or the lead ing comes in a gentle friend
shi p,with its quiet influence
,or in a providence
which makes duty very plain . In some way,at
l east,our Shepherd wil l alw ays lead us i f we
are w i l l i ng to be l ed . The t roubl e too often is,no t i n try ing to learn the way w e should take,but in unw i l l ingness to go as our Good Shepherd
would l ead us . We chafe and resi st,and re
fuse to fo l low. we must be w il l ing and obe
dient if we w ould have the div ine guidance . I Ve
must trust God ’s w isdom rathe r than our own .
YVe mus t commit our way to him w ith absolute
confidence and unquestioning faith,fol low ing h i s
guidance cheerful ly, sweetly , wherever he maytake us .
H e ch ose th i s path for thee ,Th ough w e l l he knew sharp thorns w oul d pi e rce th y fee t,'new h ow th e b ramb l e s w oul d obst r uct the w ay,
'new a l l th e h idden dangers thou w oul dst mee t ,'new h ow thy fa i th w oul d fa l te r day by dayAnd st i l l the w h i spe r echoed , Yes, I seeTh is path i s be st for th ee .
’
22 B Y TH E S TILL WATE RS.
gorges fit l y represent eve ry dreary and peri lous
way through which God ’s chi ld ren may have to
pas s - most fit l y of al l , the way of death , through
which every bel i eve r must go to reach heaven’s
bl ess ed pasture land s w hich l ie beyond .
The presence of the shepherd took away al l fear
from the sheep . I I e carr ied both rod and staff,
the rod,a heavy club to defend the sheep again st
enemies ; and the staff, a stick to l ean upon, and
to use al so i n l ift in g up any of h i s sh eep or lambs
w hich might fal l in to peri l . These instruments of
defence and hel p comforted the sheep by assuring
them that thei r shepherd would fight thei r battl es,
and bring them safely through .
Sometimes God ’ s sheep,i n thei r experi ence in
thi s world,must pass through j ust such deep
,dark
val l eys ; and yet they need not be afraid, the Shep
herd i s with them . N ot on ly i s he wi th them,
but he i s able and wi l l ing to defend them again s t
al l enemies,as w el l as to guide and help them
throu gh . Thi s as surance comforts them The
presence of the Shepherd takes away al l fear .
L i fe i s ful l of i l lus trations . A chi ld cri e s ou t
in the n ight in terror . It i s afraid i n the dark
ness . The mother speaks,thus reveal ing her pres
en ce ; and the ch i ld is comforted , and in a moment
Sl eeps in peace . A timid one i s afraid to go
through some gloomy way . One brave and st rong
B Y TH E S TILL W ATE RS. 23
and u nafraid,say s
,“ I w i l l go w ith you ; and al l
fear van i shes,and the tim id heart becomes bo l d .
A poor woman in a London hospital was told that
she must undergo a painful operation . She w as
asked i f she w as wi l l ing to submit to i t. After a
moment ’s hesi tation,she said
,
“ Yes, I can endure
i t i f Lady Augusta Stan l ey wi l l sit by me and
hold my hand .
” “ I w il l fear no evi l : fo r thou
art with me .
”
We know how the presence of a s trong,tri ed
,
trusted fri end comforts us in any place of l oneli
ness or danger. Were you eve r in a st range city,
where,amid al l the throngs on the streets you saw
no face you had eve r seen before,none in which
you percei ved any tok en of recogn ition ' You
were Oppressed by a dreadful sen se of lonel in es s .
Then suddenly you met a friend,one you had
known long,and i n w hom y ou had confidence .
What a sense of comfort th i s friend’s p resence
gave you ' Instantly your fee l ing of lonel ines s
vani shed . You were no longer afraid . Thi s i s
the comfort which i s described in the wonderful
word s of thi s psalm : I wi l l fear no ev i l : for
thou art with me .
”
An old Scotch shepherd found much comfort,
when dy ing,i n th e words of hi s pasto r
,who
said,“ Don ’t you know that sometimes
,when you
were driving the sheep through the val leys,the re
24 B Y TH E S TILL W A TE RS.
would be shadows al l about you,w hi le there was
bright sunshine on the h il l s above You are i n
the shadow s now,but there ’s sunsh ine on beyond .
”
Oh ' that i s good,
” said the shepherd I never
saw it that w ay before . Though I w alk throu gh
the val ley of the shadow of death,I wil l fear no
evi l : for thou art w i th me .
’ Ove r yonder on the
heaven ly h i l l tops the sun is shin ing.
Shadow s h e re,but sunshine beyond . That i s
the mean ing of the val l ey . Only for a moment
shadow,myste ry
,strangenes s
,and w e are w alk ing
th rough i t, and then l ight,glory
,home
,Christ’s
face,forever with the Lord . Let no be l ie ver
ever be afraid . Even in the darknes s,or what
seems from thi s s ide,as we enter
,to be darkness
,
we shal l find our great Companion .
“ Thou art w i th me,w i th rod and stafi
’
,and I
shal l be comforted .
”“ T
e need not be afraid in th e
val l ey ; for Jesus wil l be w i th us, and he has al l
powe r and al l grace . He has overcome the w orld ;and in his hands are the nai l -prints
,reminding us
both of hi s v ictory in fighting our battles,and h is
love in giv ing himse lf for u s .
“i
ben Dr. Charles Hodge w as on h is deathbed,
he repeated over and over again a hymn which
M rs. Weiss,daughte r of Archbi shop W'hately,
wrote during her last s icknes s . Two stan'as of
the hymn run thus :
B Y TH E S TILL WATE RS. 25
“ D earest Sav i our,go no t from me ;
Le t th y presen ce st i l l ab ideLook i n tenderest l ove upon meI am she l te ri ng at thy s id e ,
D earest Sav i our,
Wh o fo r suffer i ng s i nne rs d i ed .
B oth m ine arms are c l asped abou t th ee,
And my h ead i s on th y breast :
'or my w eary soul h as found theeSuch a perfect , perfec t rest .
D earest Sav i ‘our,
N ow I know tha t I am b l est
“ Thou prepares t a tabl e before me in the pres
ence of mine enem ies .” We are usual ly told that
the shepherd figu re i s dropped,and another scene
introduced,at this point in the psalm . But Dr .
George Adam Smith tel l s us that there i s no need
to cut the psalm in two in th i s way . The las t two
verses,he says
,are as pasto ral as the firs t four .
“ If these show us the shephe rd w i th his sheep
u pon the pastures,thos e fol l ow him
,shepherd
sti l l,to w he re in hi s tent he d ispenses the desert ’s
hospi tal i ty to some poor fugiti ve from blood .
”
The shephe rd ’s tent in the wi ldern ess was a l ittl e
sanctuary,where the hunted man was sure of shel
ter,w here “ eve ry wanderer
,whatever h i s charac'
ter or hi s past might be,w as rece ived as a guest
of God,
’ — such i s the beaut iful name which they
st i l l give h im,— furn ished with food
,and kept in
B Y TH E STILL l l'
ATE RS.
v iolable, his host becoming respons ibl e fo r hi s
safety .
”
It was thi s custom,Dr. Smith th inks , which
was in the writer ’s m ind when he composed the
las t two verses of the psalm .
“ Thou spreadest
befo re me a tabl e in the very midst of my ene
mies .” l Ve need more than shephe rd care ; we
need also mercy and grace . Sin and its curse
d rive us into the wi ldernes s . Our past i s ful l of
enemies who haunt u s— the s ins we have com
mitted. Our o w n heart contains re lent les s foe s of
God,w ho give us no rest . Satan watches ever to
destroy us .
But there i s a place of refuge from al l these pur
suing foes . According to the above interpreta
t ion,the shepherd ’s tent i s a picture of the c ross
,a
place of she lter for the s inner hunted by hi s s ins .
I Ve mus t not forget that i t was the Shepherd him
se lf w ho d ied on the c ros s for us . “ The good
shepherd layeth dow n hi s l i fe for the sheep .
”I Ve
have in the c ros s not only a place of re fuge w ithin
which no enemie s can pursue us,but under its
shadow we have al so d iv ine hospital ity .
“ Thou
preparest a tabl e before me i n the presence of
mine enemies .” A man fl ee ing from a storm ran
under a great tree . There he found shel te r. But
he found also frui ts w hich the storm had brought
down from the tree,—food for hi s hunger, and a
28 B Y TH E STILL W ATE RS.
guest : “ M y head with oi l thou didst not anoint.”
Such anointing was the h ighes t mark of respect
that could be paid . Only the most d i stinguished
guests were thu s honored . When David use s
these words here he means that he had been
treated by the Lord as a most h ighly honored
guest .
I t seems s trange to human reason that the God
of heaven should so l av ish h i s love and kindnes s
upon s inners of a mortal race . We are apt to
regard such words as exaggeration s . But the
B ibl e abounds i n expres s ions of the same charac
te r. When the prodigal was about to return to
h i s father,he said that he would ask for a ser
vant’s p lace because he was not worthy to be
cal led a son . Yet when he reached home he was
rece ived,not as a se rvant
,but as a son . Jesus
said,“ I call you not servants, I h ave cal led
you friends .” The beloved di sci pl e exclaimed ,“ Behold w hat manner of love the 'ather hath
bestowed upon u s,that we should be cal led ch i l
d ren of God : and such w e are .
” No words can
describe the honor and the blessedness of h im
who has become God ’s chi ld by rece i ving Jesus
Chri st . The best thin gs of d ivine grace and glory
are hi s . Being a chi ld of God , he i s al so an heir,
an hei r of G od, a j oint hei r w ith Chri st . It i s
past comprehens ion,thi s wonderful loving-kind
B Y TH E STILL WATE RS . 29
ness of God that takes u s i n al l our unworthine ss ,brings us into close st d iv ine fel lowship
,and puts
upon u s the h ighest honors of the universe .
N o t w orthy,Lord , to gath e r up th e c rumbs
W i th tremb l i ng hand tha t from th y tabl e fa l l ,A w eary, heavy- l aden s inner comesTo p l ead thy prom i se , and obey th y cal l .
I am not w orthy to be th ough t th y ch i l d ,N or s i t th e l ast and l ow est at th y board
Too l ong a w ande re r and too oft begu i l ed ,I on l y ask one reconc i l i ng w ord .
I h ear th y vo i ce th ou bid’
st me come and restI come
,I k nee l
,I c l asp th y pi e rced feet
Thou bid’st me tak e my pl ace , a w e l come guest,
Among th y sa i n ts , and of thy banquet eat .
M y pra i se can on l y brea the i tse l f i n p raye r,M y praye r can on l y l ose i t se l f i n thee
D w e l l thou fo reve r i n my heart,and there ,
Lord,l e t me sup w i th thee sup thou w i th me .
“ re may think of anointing al so as an emblem
of spiri tual ble ss ing . Oi l was a symbol of the
grac e of God . Jesus w as anointed at his bapti sm ,
and wen t forth ful l of grace and truth . If we
y ield ourse l ves to God,w e
,too
,shal l rec e ive a
heavenly anoin ting. Then w e shal l be fi l l ed w ith
God . The beauty of the Lord our God shal l be
upon u s. Our faces shal l shine with the shin ing
of holy peace . Our word s shal l have in them
30 B Y TH E STILL WATE RS .
div ine sweetn es s and grace . Anointed for God,
our l ife shal l be a benediction to every one it
touches . Our shadow,as w e pas s along the
streets,shal l bles s those on w hom it fal l s . We
shal l be God'
s saving health in thi s w orld,diffus
ing the influence s of heaven amid human sorrow
and sin .
Surely goodness and mercy shal l fol l ow me
al l-
the days of my l i fe : and I w i l l dwel l i n the
house of the Lord forever .” This reads l ik e a
l ine out of an angel ’s l i fe in heaven .
“ Goodnes s
and mercy al l the days . ” Can that mean
here,in thi s world ' What ' i n the l i fe of toi l
,
d i sappoin tment,l oss
,sor row
,and tears
,which we
must al l l i ve on earth Surely thi s must be onl y
a poet ’s dream of l ife . No ; i t i s the l i fe of faith
and trust in thi s world . Toi l,t rouble
,t rial
,be
long to l ife as men see i t,but in fai th
'
s realm thi s
i s the picture always “ Goodne ss and mercy al l
the days . ” Even in so rrow and los s there i s good
ness,— alw ays there i s mercy . Thus it i s un to
the end,and then — “ I w i l l dw el l i n the house
of the Lord forever .
There come new cares and sorrow sE ve ry year.
Th e ghost s of dead l oves h aun t u s,
Th e ghosts of ch anged fr i end s taun t us.And d i sappo i n tments daun t us
E very year.
B Y TH E S TILL WATE RS. 31
Too true 'L i fe ’s sh ores are sh ift ingE ve ry year ;
And w e are seaw ard dr i ft ingE very year ;
O l d p l aces changing fret usTh e l iving more forget us,There are few er to regret us
E very year.
B u t the true r l i fe d raw s n igh e rE ve ry year ;
And i ts morn ing star c l imbs h igherE very year
E arth ’ s ho l d on u s grow s s l ighte r,And the h eavy burthen l i gh te r ,And th e daw n immorta l br ighter,
E ve ry year .
”
The end ing of the sto ry of thi s l ife of bles sed
ness i s not i n thi s w orld i t i s in heaven . “Thether
David ’s thought reached over into the eternal
home,we cannot surely te l l . The truth of im
mortal ity was not unders tood then as i t i s now .
We have ful l er revelation,and w e know that the
be l ie ve r shal l i ndeed dwel l in the house of the
Lord fore ver. “ re have the fin i sh ing of the pic
ture in the book of The Revelation .
“ Therefore
are they before the throne of God ; and they serve
h im day and n i ght in h i s temple : and he that
si tteth on the throne shal l Spread hi s tabe rnacl e
over them . They shal l hunger no more,ne ither
thi rst any more nei the r shal l the sun strik e upon
B Y TH E STILL l l’
ATE RS.
them,nor any heat : for the Lamb whi ch i s i n the
midst of the thron e shal l be the ir shepherd,and
shal l guide them unto fountain s of w ate rs of l i fe
and God shal l wipe away every tear from thei r
eye s .