八月十九日
他必起來，依靠耶和華的大能……牧養他的羊群（他必在耶和華的大能中……站起，喂養）。（彌5：4）
基督在教會中的權柄好像是一位牧王。他有權柄，但他像一個大有聰明和溫柔的牧人牧養饑餓可愛的羊群一樣；羊群甘心聽從他的命令，因爲他的看顧是周到的。他們知道可愛之牧人的聲音，因此使他得到快樂。他用慈愛和良善來治理他們。
他的權柄的性質是很實際的：“他必……站起，喂養。”教會的頭實在供給他民的一切需用。他幷非空自坐在寶座上，或是持節而不理政事。不，他乃是站起，喂養。喂養與希臘文的牧放同義，牧人要當心羊群的一切：引導、看守、保護、尋找、醫治、服侍以及喂養。
他的權柄是繼續不斷的：“他必……站起，喂養；”幷不是說：“他喂養過了，就離開他的地位。”也不是：“他在某一天奮興了教會，第二天就任他的教會荒廢起來。”他的眼永不打盹，他的手永不休息；他的心永遠不停地流露他的愛；他的肩永不疲倦地擔負著他民的重擔。
他的權柄是有效能的：“他必在耶和華的大能中站起，喂養。”基督在哪裏，神就在哪裏；凡他作的，就是至高者所作的。今天我們想到他爲他民的好處而站起的道理就當快樂，他就是神，萬膝都當向他跪拜。我們在這樣一位牧者的手下真該歡喜快樂，他時時與我們同在，他用神權保護我們。我們要在他的面前向他跪拜，像他草場的羊一樣。
August
19
“He
shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord.” — Micah 5:4
Christ’s reign in His Church is that of a
shepherd-king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender
shepherd over his needy and loving flock; He commands and receives obedience,
but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully
to their beloved Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force
of love and the energy of goodness.
His reign is practical in its character.
It is said, “He shall stand and feed.” The great Head of the Church
is actively engaged in providing for His people. He does not sit down upon the
throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without wielding it in government. No,
He stands and feeds. The expression “feed,” in the original, is like
an analogous one in the Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything
expected of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend,
as well as to feed.
His reign is continual in its duration. It
is said, “He shall stand and feed”; not “He shall feed now and
then, and leave His position”; not, “He shall one day grant a
revival, and then next day leave His Church to barrenness.” His eyes never
slumber, and His hands never rest; His heart never ceases to beat with love,
and His shoulders are never weary of carrying His people’s burdens.
His reign is effectually powerful in its action; “He shall feed in
the strength of Jehovah.” Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever
Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh! it is a joyful truth to consider
that He who stands to-day representing the interests of His people is very God
of very God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to such a
shepherd, whose humanity communes with us, and whose divinity protects us. Let
us worship and bow down before Him as the people of His pasture.
