ds some heroic sacrifice, which you
will give, not feeling it great.

III. THE DIVINE COMMAND.--In the miracle Peter had been commissioned to
do the work of a fisherman, that is, of an evangelist; here he is
commissioned to do the work of a shepherd, that is, of a pastor.
Feeding and tending lambs and sheep. It is not every one that is able
to care for the sheep; but there is hardly any one who loves, that
cannot feed or tend the lambs. And even if you shrink from the former,
what good reason have you to refuse to comply with the latter?

There are in this land hundreds of young lives whom the morning light
awakes to hunger, filth, and wretchedness, and whom the evening shadows
limit to rooms in which you would not care to keep your dogs. They are
growing up without the least sense of decency, or the slightest
reverence for God. Their existence is one long struggle against the
constituted guardians of society; or if they do not resist, they are
always eluding. In addition to these are the children of our homes and
families and schools. "_Feed My lambs!_"

It is worthy of note that two Greek words are used in these
injunctions. In the first and last, the Master says simply, Feed. In
the middle He adds, Do the work of a shepherd. So that the lover of
Christ has not fulfilled all his duty, when he has given his sacred
lesson or instruction: he must go further, and be prepared to act as
shepherd.

XXXVI

The Life-Plan of Peter and John

"What is that to thee? follow thou Me."--JOHN xxi. 22.

We are standing on the eastern shore of the Lake of Galilee. The
morning breeze blows fresh in our faces; the tiny wavelets run up with
a silvery ripple, and die on the white sand; across the expanse of
water the white buildings of Tiberias and Capernaum gleam forth. With
gunwale all wet and slippery a fishing smack is drawn up on the
deserted shore; near it the nets unbroken, although they had been heavy
with finny spoils; yonder the remnants of a fisherman's breakfast and
the dying embers of a fire.

The Master has just reinstated His erring apostle and friend, and
proceeded to describe the death by which he was ultimately to glorify
God: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou
girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou
shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall
gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not."

How different thi