The Lord, the Shepherd of His People

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” The storm breaks on the mountain, but the valley is the place of quietude, and thus often, the last days of Christians are the most peaceful of their whole career. The mountain is bleak and bare, but the valley is rich with golden sheaves, and many saints have reaped more joy and knowledge when they came to die than they ever knew while they lived. And then it is not the valley of death but “the valley of the shadow of death,” for death in its substance has been removed, and only the shadow of it remains. Death stands by the side of the highway by which we have to travel, and the light of heaven shining upon it throws a shadow across our path; let us then rejoice that there is a light beyond. Nobody is afraid of a shadow, for a shadow cannot stop a person’s pathway, even for a moment. The shadow of a dog cannot bite; the shadow of a sword cannot kill; the shadow of death cannot destroy us. Let us not, therefore, be afraid.