Luke xii. 32. Fear not, little flock ; for it is your Father s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
AMONG the many faculties which exalt man above the brute creation, that of being able to look into futurity is by no means the least : but while this in many instances elevates him with hope, in many other instances it depresses him with fear. Hence he is often
filled with anxiety to secure the good he hopes for, and to avert the evil which he dreads. To discoun- tenance this solicitude, and to teach men to live dependent upon God, is the scope of our Lord's dis- course before us. And, in the text, he fortifies his own peculiar people against fear and anxiety, by re- minding them of the distinguishing favour of God towards them, and the glorious provision he has made for them. To elucidate his words we shall shew, I. What the Lord's people have to fear —
The Lord's people are but " a little flock" — [They once "went astray like sheep that are lost:" but they have been brought home by Christ, the great and good shepherd, and have been united together by him in one fold. They are kept enclosed, as it were, and distinct from the world: they " hear their shepherd's voice and follow him : he " leads them into pastures" which he himself has provided for them: " he administers to all their wants," " strengthening the dis- eased, healing the sick, and binding up the broken3." The lambs he carries in his bosom, and gently leads them that are with young b ; and, however they may feed in different pastures, he considers them all as under his peculiar care.
But they are " a little flock." In every age and every place their numbers have been small : they are " the few that find the narrow way." When indeed they shall be all assembled at the last day they will be more than the stars of heaven or the sands upon the sea-shore for multitude0. But before that period they will receive an astonishing increase : the whole earth shall be overspread with them ; and that too in successive generations for a thousand years'1. Till that day of God's power; they will be a little flock when compared with the herds of the ungodly. At present they are only " like the gleanings of the olive-tree, two or three upon the topmost branch e."]
Weak as they are, they have much to fear —
[They are not exempt from the common calamities of life. In some respects they are more exposed to them than other people. They have reason to fear wants. In making provision for themselves, they labour under many disadvantages : they cannot use those means of acquiring wealth which the generality of the world employ without any scruple : they cannot devote all their time, and all their attention to secular engagements : they dare not neglect their soul, even if they could gain the
a Ezek. xxxiv. 10. t> Isai. xl. 11. c Rev. vii. 9.
d Rev. xx. 4. e Isai. xvii. 6.