gh for Thee?
But the Shepherd made answer, "This of mine
Has wandered away from me,
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find my sheep."

But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed,
Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry--
Sick and helpless, and ready to die.

Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way
That mark out the mountain's track?
They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.
Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?
They are pierced tonight by many a thorn.

But all through the mountains, thunder-riven,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gates of heaven,
Rejoice! I have found my sheep!
And the angels echoed around the throne,
Rejoice, for the +LORD+ brings back His own!

--_Elizabeth C. Clephane_

"=_The Paths of Righteousness_="

"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

These words are strikingly significant, and show forth the tender aspect
of God's guidance. Ofttimes, after rain, the heavy wagon wheels would
leave deep ruts in the road, which in cold weather would become hardened
and make it difficult for the sheep to walk. Not such roads did the true
shepherd willingly choose for his sheep. If compelled, however, to take
such roads, he would choose those that had been flattened down by wagon
wheels until level. He chose those roads that had been worn smooth, that
the tender feet of the sheep might not be bruised. "He leadeth me in
smooth roads." "Thou didst sustain them in the wilderness; their feet
swelled not."

He who follows the divine leading will always be led aright. His feet
will travel in "right roads." No man will go wrong who follows Christ.
He never leads the soul into questionable places, and no feet guided by
Him will go into any place where He Himself does not go. "Where I am,
there shall my servant be." "He that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness." "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say
that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do
not the truth." Sometimes the road He chooses may not be after our
liking, but it will always be for our best interest, welfare and
usefulness. T