must follow the Shepherd as he leads the way,
and hence our Lord has said, "if any man will come after me, let him take
up his cross daily and follow me."(40) Yes, it is the following of the
Shepherd, it is his leadership, his constant presence, that give comfort
to the sheep, and dispel the dread and fear of perils. And though we pass
through the valley and shadow of death, we need fear no evil, for He is
with us. At times, frequently perhaps, as we sail the sea of life, the
waves roll over and deluge us so completely that we are all but smothered.
The clouds gather, thick and black, and overcast the sky of our souls; the
sorrows of death surround us, and the pains of the pit encompass us;(41)
we are overwhelmed with sadness and plunged in darkness. We think of God,
we remember Him, but He seems afar off. The evil which weighs us down--the
pain of body, the agony of soul, the sadness and dejection of heart and
mind, "the madness that worketh in the brain," muffle the voice and all
but still the trembling pulse, and we are not able so much as to lift our
drooping heads and tear-dimmed eyes to see the gentle Shepherd standing
faithfully at our side. It is our failure to discern and apprehend Him
that causes extreme agony. If at these times of utter desolation, when the
soul is swept by the winds of sorrow, we could only raise our eyes and
thoughts to Him, with faith and hope and child-like trust, the spell would
be broken; and we should see the clouds lift and part and float away on
the wind, only to let in God's cheerful sun to raise the drooping spirit,
and warm and soothe the troubled soul.

But it is difficult, when oppressed by sorrow and affliction, to lift the
heart and mind to things above. Nature of itself tends downward, and
unless it has learned to discipline itself and to engage with the enemy in
sturdy battle, it is not yet prepared for life. For the world is a
battlefield and life a warfare, even from a natural point of view, and
only they can hope to win in life's hard contest who have learned to brave
the battle, who have prepared themselves for conflict. But who is ready
for the struggle, and how shall we be able to encounter our foes? Left to
ourselves and to our own resources, we shall surely go down in defeat. The
opposing forces are too gigantic, too numerous. They throng from near and
from afar. They swarm from within and from without; from our own nature
and from others, from the world around, and f