Monday, August 21, 2006
"The Good Shepherd" by George Whitefield
"If you ask me why Christ’s people are called sheep, as God shall enable me, I will give you a short, and I hope it will be to you an answer of peace. Sheep, you know, generally love to be together; we say a flock of sheep, we do not say a herd of sheep; sheep are little creatures, and Christ’s people may be called sheep, because they are little in the eyes of the world, and they are yet less in their own eyes. O, some people think, if the great men were on our side, if we had king, lords, and commons on our side, I mean if they were all true believers, O if we had all the kings upon the earth on our side! Suppose you had: alas! alas! do you think the church would go on the better? Why, if it were fashionable to be a Methodist at court, if it were fashionable to be a Methodist abroad, they would go with
a Bible or a hymn-book, instead of a novel; but religion never thrives under
too much sun-shine. ‘Not many mighty, not many noble, are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.’ Dr. Watts says, Here and there I see a king, and here and there a great man, in heaven, but their number is but small.
Sheep are looked upon to be the most harmless, quiet creatures that God hath made: O may God, of his infinite mercy, give us to know that we are his sheep, by our having this blessed temper infused into our hearts by the Holy Ghost. ‘Learn of me,’ saith our blessed Lord; what to do? To work miracles? No; ‘Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.’ A very good man, now living, said once, if there be any particular temper I desire more than another, it is the grace of MEEKNESS, quietly to bear bad
treatment, to forget and to forgive: and at the same time that I am sensible I am injured, not to be overcome of evil, but to have grace given me to overcome evil with good. To the honor of Moses, it is declared, that he was the meekest man upon earth. Meekness is necessary for people in power; a man that is passionate is dangerous. Every governor should have a warm temper, but a man of an unrelenting, unforgiving temper, is no more fit for government than Phaethon to drive the chariot of the sun; he only sets the world on fire."
Related Tags: George Whitefield, sheep, God
a Bible or a hymn-book, instead of a novel; but religion never thrives under
too much sun-shine. ‘Not many mighty, not many noble, are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.’ Dr. Watts says, Here and there I see a king, and here and there a great man, in heaven, but their number is but small.
Sheep are looked upon to be the most harmless, quiet creatures that God hath made: O may God, of his infinite mercy, give us to know that we are his sheep, by our having this blessed temper infused into our hearts by the Holy Ghost. ‘Learn of me,’ saith our blessed Lord; what to do? To work miracles? No; ‘Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.’ A very good man, now living, said once, if there be any particular temper I desire more than another, it is the grace of MEEKNESS, quietly to bear bad
treatment, to forget and to forgive: and at the same time that I am sensible I am injured, not to be overcome of evil, but to have grace given me to overcome evil with good. To the honor of Moses, it is declared, that he was the meekest man upon earth. Meekness is necessary for people in power; a man that is passionate is dangerous. Every governor should have a warm temper, but a man of an unrelenting, unforgiving temper, is no more fit for government than Phaethon to drive the chariot of the sun; he only sets the world on fire."
Related Tags: George Whitefield, sheep, God
