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a vacillating will and powerless character, are overcome, for continual
devotion and piety bring the man in such close relation to Christ that
he has the mind of Christ. He is one with Christ, having soundness
and strength of principle. His perception is clear, and he manifests
that wisdom which comes from God. Says James, “Who is a wise
man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of
a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom” (
James
3:13
). “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is
sown in peace of them that make peace” (
James 3:17, 18
). This will
be the wisdom manifested by him who takes the cup of salvation and
calls upon the name of the Lord. This salvation, which offers pardon
to the transgressor, presents to him the righteousness that will bear
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the scrutiny of the Omniscient One, gives victory over the powerful
enemy of God and man, provides eternal life and joy for its receiver,
and may well be a theme of rejoicing to the humble, who hear thereof
and are glad.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
The beautiful parable that Christ gave of the one lost sheep, of the
shepherd that left the ninety and nine to go in search of that which
was lost, illustrates the work of Christ, the sinner’s condition, and the
rejoicing of the universe over the salvation of the soul. The shepherd
did not look carelessly over the sheep, and say, “I have ninety and nine,
and it will cost me too much trouble to go in search of the straying
one; let him come back, and I will open the door of the sheepfold that
he may come in; but I cannot go after him.” No; no sooner does the
sheep go astray than the countenance of the shepherd is filled with
grief and anxiety. He counts and recounts the flock, and when he is
certain that one sheep is lost, he slumbers not. He leaves the ninety
and nine within the fold, and, however dark and tempestuous the night,
however perilous and unpleasant the way, however long and tedious
the service, he does not weary, he does not falter, until the lost is
found. And when it is found, he lays the weary, exhausted sheep on
his shoulder, and, with cheerful gratitude that his search has not been
in vain, he bears back the wanderer to the fold. His gratitude finds