ions, we do something better, we "grow in grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

AUGUST The Twenty-second

_THE SICK AND THE LOST_

EZEKIEL xxxiv. 11-16.

Surely everybody is included in this redemptive purpose of the Lord! He is
looking for everybody, for everybody finds a place in His holy quest.

He is seeking the "_lost_" sheep. The one that has wandered far away, and
now no longer hears the sound of the Shepherd's voice! The one that is
carelessly nibbling the herbage on the very edge of perdition! He is
looking for this one. Is He therefore looking for thee and me?

He is seeking "_that which was driven away_." Some hireling, some enemy of
the shepherd, drove it far away from the fold. "A thief and a robber," for
his own purposes, hath done this. And the Lord's sheep are driven away by
"principalities and powers," and by the violence of wicked men. Some
impure and unworthy professor of religion can drive a whole household from
the fellowship of the Church. And the Good Shepherd is seeking these. Is
He therefore looking for thee or me?

And He is seeking "_that which was sick_." And some of the Lord's sheep
are sickly. The chill of disappointment, or failure, or bereavement has
blown upon them, and they are "down." Or they have been feeding on illicit
pleasure. And the Lord is seeking such. Is He therefore seeking thee or
me?

AUGUST The Twenty-third

_NOT LOST IN THE FLOCK_

"_I know My sheep, and am known of mine._"
--JOHN x. 7-16.

There is mutual recognition, and in that recognition there is confidence
and peace.

"_I know my sheep._" He knows us one by one. My knowledge of the
individual wanes in proportion as the multitude is increased. The teacher
with the smaller class has the deepest intimacy with her scholars. The
individual is lost in the crowd. But not so with our Lord. There are no
"masses" in His sight. However big the crowd, even though it be "a
multitude which no man can number," we still remain individuals, known to
the Lord by name, and face, and personal need. If thou art away from the
fold, thy face is missed, and the Shepherd is away in search of thee!

"_And I am known of mine._" And the knowledge deepens with every day's
experience. There are false shepherds who can subtly mimic the Good
Shepherd, and in my early discipleship I am liable to be deceived. The
devil himself can array himself like a shepherd, and imitate the very
tones