The Security of the Sheep

 •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 9
“They shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out of my hand.” It has often been pointed out that this promise is of a double character, assuring the saints against both corruption and disruption, against internal decay and external foes, against their own harmful weaknesses as well as the rapacious power of the enemy.
Truly, “the name of the Lord is a-strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe” (Prov. 18:10). And this unqualified promise is such an impregnable citadel for the timid believer. For the Good Shepherd herein pledges Himself and the honor of His glorious name1 that the very feeblest of the flock shall never by any possible means perish. So, speaking to His Father of the twelve, He says, “Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost (same Greek word) but the son of perdition” 2(John 17:12).
Further, the place of safety for the believer is not symbolized by an earthly fold as in former days, but by the hand of the Good Shepherd. There, in the shadow of His hand (compare Isa. 49:2; 51; 16) are they securely hidden from every foe. That hand of invincible might (which redeemed the ancient people from the iron bondage of Egypt, preserved and defended them through the desert and brought them into the promised land flowing with milk and honey) will environ the frail and feeble sheep and protect them from every attack of the enemy. Though the wolf seeks to ravage the flock, the Good Shepherd leads the sheep of His hand (Psa. 95:7) into those green pastures where they may peacefully feed beside the still waters.
The Father also graciously concerns Himself in their guardianship. “My Father which gave them me is greater than all; and no one is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” This unity of interest in those who received the Lord is also shown in John 17:11, 1211And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:11‑12). The Son there prays the Father to “keep in thine own name those whom thou hast given me,” adding” while I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name.” And when the Shepherd was smitten and the sheep were scattered, the Father turned His hand upon these little ones, according to the prophecy of the Spirit (Zech. 13:7) and the prayer of the Son (John 17); for it was not His will that one of the little ones should perish (Matt. 18:14).
Thus the Father and the Son constitute themselves the Protectors of those who trust them for salvation. Could the ground for confident assurance be made firmer? Away with those who depict the child of faith as scantily-attired, clinging with numb fingers to a slippery sea-girt rock, while dashing waves threaten every moment to engulf in a watery grave. Scripture teaches us to think of such a one held in that hand, in Whose hollow the waters were measured (Isa. 40:1212Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? (Isaiah 40:12)).
W. J. H.
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2. It is well to note that the Lord here (17:12) refers to the twelve not as “sheep,” but as apostles. Judas, though an apostle, was evidently not a “sheep;” a “son of perdition,” not a child of God.