Ezekiel 34:13-15. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
There is a blessed state of rest. God’s flock are not only to be fed, but they are to lie down while they feed. You have sometimes noticed a flock, at noontide, when the sun is hot, lie down upon the grass, and feed while they rest; that is what God’s people are to do. They are to lie down in tranquility of spirit; they are to lie down in a state of placid submission to his will, in a state of perfect security, - a state, not of idleness from the Master’s service, but still a state in which they know there is nothing for them to do for their own security, since Christ has accomplished the whole of their salvation. "I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God." It is not every one of God’s people that has attained to this blessed experience, to be able to lie down in quiet confidence and rest.
"Thousands in the fold of Jesus,
This attainment ne’er can boast;
To his name eternal praises:,
None of these shall e’er be lost."
Deeply graven on his heart their names remain. If ye are his sheep, yet even if ye have never come to lie down in peace, if ye cannot say, "I know and am confident," and cannot rest while you feed; it is still comforting for you to feel that all Christ’s sheep are his sheep, whether they are lying down or standing up, or even wandering from him.
Ezekiel 34:13-15. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
There is a blessed state of rest. God’s flock are not only to be fed, but they are to lie down while they feed. You have sometimes noticed a flock, at noontide, when the sun is hot, lie down upon the grass, and feed while they rest; that is what God’s people are to do. They are to lie down in tranquility of spirit; they are to lie down in a state of placid submission to his will, in a state of perfect security, - a state, not of idleness from the Master’s service, but still a state in which they know there is nothing for them to do for their own security, since Christ has accomplished the whole of their salvation. "I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God." It is not every one of God’s people that has attained to this blessed experience, to be able to lie down in quiet confidence and rest.
"Thousands in the fold of Jesus,
This attainment ne’er can boast;
To his name eternal praises:,
None of these shall e’er be lost."
Deeply graven on his heart their names remain. If ye are his sheep, yet even if ye have never come to lie down in peace, if ye cannot say, "I know and am confident," and cannot rest while you feed; it is still comforting for you to feel that all Christ’s sheep are his sheep, whether they are lying down or standing up, or even wandering from him.