“The song dies away as the heart that God has watched and tended breathes this grateful vow before the roaming of the day is forgotten in sleep:  ’I will—­not shall, but will; for it is a decision, a settled purpose, a holy vow—­’I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever_.’  And the song ends, and the sheep are at rest, safe in the good shepherd’s fold.”

Do you wonder that ever since that night we have called this psalm The Song of Our Syrian Guest?

Sidelights

Shepherd Life in Bible Lands

PROFESSOR GEORGE E. POST

The American College, Bayrout, Syria

“The same regions which furnished the vast flocks in ancient times are still noted for their sheep.  All the plateaus east of the Jordan and the mountains of Palestine and Syria are pasture-grounds for innumerable flocks and herds.  They require water but once a day, and, where they cannot get it from perennial streams, they find it in the innumerable wells, fountains and cisterns.  The descendants of the same shepherds who tended flocks in Bible days still occupy the great sheepwalks of Palestine.

“The care of sheep is the subject of frequent allusion in Scripture.  The shepherd leads (not drives) them to pasture and water (Ps. 23; 77:20; 78:52; 80:1); protects them at the risk of his life (John 10:15).  To keep them from the cold and rain and beasts, he collects them in caves (1 Sam. 24:3) or enclosures built of rough stones (Num. 32:16; Judg. 5:16; Zeph. 2:6; John 10:1).  The sheep know their shepherd, and heed his voice (John 10:4).  It is one of the most interesting spectacles to see a number of flocks of thirsty sheep brought by their several shepherds to be watered at a fountain.  Each flock, in obedience to the call of its own shepherd, lies down, awaiting its turn.  The shepherd of one flock calls his sheep in squads, draws water for them, pours it into the troughs, and, when the squad has done, orders it away by sounds which the sheep perfectly understand, and calls up another squad.  When the whole of one flock is watered, its shepherd signals to it, and the sheep rise and move leisurely away, while another flock comes in a similar manner to the troughs, and so on, until all the flocks are watered.  The sheep never make any mistake as to who whistles to them or calls to them.  ’They know not the voice of strangers’ (John 10:5).  Sometimes they are called by names (John 10:3).  Syrian sheep are usually white (Ps. 147:16; Isa. 1:18; Dan. 7:9), but some are brown (Gen. 30:32-42; Revised Version ’black’).  No animal mentioned in Scripture compares in symbolical interest and importance with the sheep.  It is alluded to about five hundred times.”

The Singing Pilgrim

A CHARACTERIZATION OF THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM