Still there is a keener joy in the recovery of the one than in the unbroken possession of the ninety-and-nine. The unstrayed may be many, and the strayed be but one. They may not be nearly so valuable as things that were not lost. The most prosaic shepherd looks for lost sheep, and everybody has peculiar joy over lost things found. It does all this by the homeliest image and by an appeal to the simplest instincts. It touches the deepest things in His relation to men, and sets forth thoughts of Him, such as man never dared to dream. It is an unveiling of His inmost heart, and therein a revelation of the very heart of God. Perhaps our Lord repeated the parable more than once. We find this simple parable, or germ of a parable, in a somewhat more expanded form, as the first of the incomparable three in the fifteenth chapter of Luke's Gospel. You are only human beings, and I am your God.” This is what the Lord GOD said.If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth Into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray!- Matthew 18:12. “You are my sheep, the sheep of my grassland. The family of Israel will know that I am with them and that they are my people.” This is what the Lord GOD said! Then they will know that I am the LORD their God. Then they will not suffer from hunger in that land or suffer the insults from the nations anymore. I will give them some land that will make a good garden. They will not be caught like an animal by the nations anymore. I will break the yokes on them and save them from the power of the people who made them slaves. The earth will give its harvest, so the sheep will be safe on their land. And the trees growing in the field will produce their fruit. I will cause the rains to fall at the right time and will shower them with blessings. I will bless the sheep and the places around my hill. Then the sheep can be safe in the desert and sleep in the woods. I will take harmful animals away from the land. “And I will make a peace agreement with my sheep. I, the, will be their God, and my servant David will be the ruler living among them. Then I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be the ruler living among them. Then I will put one shepherd over them, my servant David. I will judge between one sheep and another. They will not be caught by wild animals anymore. You push until you have forced them away, so I will save my flock. You knock down all the weak sheep with your horns. So the Lord GOD says to them: “I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep! You push with your side and shoulder. So why do you also stir the water that other sheep want to drink? My flock must eat the grass you crushed with your feet, and they must drink the water you stir with your feet!” So why do you also crush the grass that other sheep want to eat? You can drink plenty of clear water. You can eat the grass growing on the good land. I will judge between the male sheep and the male goats. This is what the Lord GOD says: “And you, my flock, I will judge between one sheep and another. I will feed them the punishment they deserve.” I will make the weak sheep strong, but I will destroy the fat and powerful shepherds. I will bring back the sheep that were scattered and put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. Yes, I will feed my flock, and I will lead them to a place of rest.” This is what the Lord GOD said. They will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel. They will go to the place high on the mountains of Israel and lie down on good ground and eat the grass. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the places where people live. I will gather them from those countries and bring them back to their own land. I will bring them back from those nations. I will save them and bring them back from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. In the same way I will search for my sheep. If a shepherd is with his sheep when they begin to wander away, he will go searching for them. I will search for my sheep and take care of them. The Lord GOD says, “I myself will be their Shepherd.
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