Christ's care for his sheep.
Isai. xl. 11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd : he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom; and shall gently lead those that are with young.
THE holy Psalmist, speaking of Jehovah's care of him, says, " The Lord is my Shepherd:" and then,
923. J Christ's care for his siiffp. 129
from the union of the Godhead with the pastoral office, he infers, " Therefore I shall not want3." The same incomprehensible union is mentioned by the prophet in the passage before us. The heralds that proclaimed the advent of the Messiah were commanded to draw the attention of men to them in these words, " Behold your God!" The person thus announced, is further described in the words preceding our text; " Behold ! the Lord God will come : " and then it is added, " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd." Now when it is considered how prone the Israelites were to idolatry, it cannot be conceived that the prophet should speak of the Messiah in such exalted terms, if they did not properly belong to him. But the pro- phets generally, and Isaiah in particular, are very full and explicit in declaring, that Jehovah was to become incarnate, and by the sacrifice of himself to redeem and save a ruined world. It is not however of his person that we now propose to speak, but of his office; that being the particular point to which my text refers : yet it would be improper to pass over such a strong testimony to the divinity of our blessed Lord, because, in the judgment of all, but more especially of Jews, it must have the effect of silencing every doubt upon that important subject. And it adds no little interest to the description here given of him, when we know, that He who so condescends to minister as a Shepherd to the least and meanest of his flock, is the Most High God : according as it is written, " To us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and his name shall be called, The Mighty GodV
The words which form the ground-work of our discourse, will lead me to set before you,
I. A general view of our Lord as a Shepherd —
The character of a shepherd is frequently assigned to our blessed Lord, in the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament0: and every duty pertaining to that office is executed by him : —
a Ps. xxiii. 1. b Isai. ix. 6.
c Ezek. xxxvii. 24. Zech. xiii. 7. Heb. xiii. 20. 1 Pet. v, 4.