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found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, That likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance.'* The good Shepherd here undoubtedly intended to represent himself. What a blessed work! I see him wending his way along the hill-sides; up the craggy cliff; then upon the mountain; then far down in the dreary valley; then in the impervious desert. He delays not. He is out at sultry noon, amid the scorching, burning sands; when the world is slumbering, he is out, amidst the darkness of the night, still on his way. He braves the sweeping tempest and the pitiless storm. He hungers and thirsts; he is faint and weary; yet he delays not. He calleth his sheep by name. Till, at last, the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.' What unexampled diligence! What inexpressible tenderness! What unwearied patience!

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Thus will the good Shepherd pursue his work, till the last wanderer is brought home to the fold.

*Luke xv. 4-7.

cease.

When on earth, he gathered some of his flock. He carried the lambs in his bosom. But he said, in view of the great work which lay before him, 'Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd.' Now the flock is scattered upon the mountains and in the deserts. Now there are numerous folds, and many shepherds; but then there will be but 'one fold and one Shepherd.' Their wanderings and their weariness will There will be no thief or robber to climb up another way,' to terrify, rob, and spoil the flock. No. It will be a fold into which no enemy can enter, and from which no friend will ever depart. He will make us to lie down in the green pastures,' and 'lead us beside the still waters.' Our labors will be at an end, and our sorrows cease. The voice of praise and thanksgiving will be heard continually. All will behold the face of the good Shepherd. "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.' He shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.'

'There is a fold whence none can stray,

And pastures ever green,

Where sultry sun, or stormy day,

Or night, is never seen.

Far up the everlasting hills,

In God's own light it lies;
His smile its vast dimension fills
With joy that never dies.'

LXX. SHILOH.

'The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come: and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.' Gen. xlix. 10.

THIS word occurs in twenty-four instances, but this is the only place where it is applied to a person. This is a very remarkable passage, and critics have given to it a variety of renderings, but, among them all, we have seen no one that looks more plausible than the view taken by Bishop Newton, He says, 'the word shebet, which we translate sceptre, signifies a rod or staff of any kind, and particularly the rod or staff which belonged to each tribe as an ensign of their authority; and thence it is transferred to signify a tribe, as being united under one rod or staff of government, or a ruler of a tribe.' And the same writer says, 'by the term lawgiver, we may understand a judge.' 'Nor a judge from between his feet, until Shiloh come.' Almost all commentators agree that this refers to the coming of the Messiah. The Vulgar Latin translates it, 'Qui mittendus est: He who is to be sent. The LXX translate, 'the things reserved for him.' In the Samaritan text, it is pacificus, the peace-maker; and to whom can we apply that title so well as to the Messiah, who is called Prince of Peace, and at whose birth was sung the heavenly anthem, 'Glory to God in the highest;

on earth peace, and good will to men?' 'Unto him shall the gathering of the people be.' late, obedience of the people.

Some transThe translation of

Onkelos runs thus: 'There shall not be taken away from Judah one having the principality, nor the scribe from the sons of his children, till the Messiah come.'

The circumstances connected with this passage are of a very interesting character. The patriarch Jacob is at last brought to the close of an eventful life. And he called unto his sons, and said, 'Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.' What a moment! The fate of every tribe now stands before the vision of the patriarch. He beholds with a prophet's eye the future condition of the whole Jewish nation,-moral, political, and spiritual. In the midst of all, the Messiah stands before him. And beyond all, and above all, he beholds the vast ingathering of a world!

And, as time rolled on in its rapid flight, the great theme of the coming Shiloh and the gathering of the people unto him, becomes more full, till even the time, the place, the ministry, the miracles, the rejection, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus, all successively appear before the prophets; and, beyond all, they see him given as a light to the Gentiles, that he may be salvation unto the ends of the earth. Then they exclaim, 'Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth.' 'Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, * * let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.' And, at last, the silence of prophecy was broken by the songs of angels, pro

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