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In the Bosom of the Shepherd, February 16
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with
his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those
that are with young.
Isaiah 40:11
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A true shepherd knows and pities and helps the sheep that most need
his help—those that are bruised and lame and feeble. “He shall feed his
flock like a shepherd.”
Far more intimately than the patriarch Jacob knew the weak, the suf-
fering, and the lame among his sheep, does the Chief Shepherd know His
flock. He knows what no one else knows. He has Himself weighed every
burden. No one knows the weight like Himself, for He has borne all our
griefs, and carried all our sorrows. It was this that made Him a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief....
If there is not another soul in the universe that regards you, the Lord
God of Israel is looking upon you with thoughts of compassion, tenderness,
and sympathy. He sees you with your strong impulses when fainthearted
and discouraged.... You have the deepest, the richest, the most refreshing
sympathy in the bosom of the great Shepherd. We have not an high priest
who cannot sympathize with us, but One who was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin....
Not only has every provision been made that when tried and tempted
you should find help and strength and grace, but also that your influence
upon other minds should be fragrant. Not only does Christ know every
soul, and the temptations and trials of that soul, but He knows all the
circumstances that irritate and chafe the spirit. Your great danger is in
being self-sufficient. This will not do for a Christian. Christ will give you
His patience if you ask for it....
God’s abounding love and presence will give you the power of self-
control. He will mold and fashion your mind and character. He will direct
your aims and purposes and capabilities in a channel that will give you
moral and spiritual power which you will not have to leave here in this
world but can carry with you and retain through eternal ages
[54]
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Letter 46,1898
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