LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Hear His Voice and Follow Him
"Do not be like the horse, or like the mule, without understanding..." (Psalm 32:9).
How difficult it is for us to hear the Lord's teaching regarding our daily needs! We have the strength of the horse and the strength of the mule when any situation appears before us in our daily life, but we do not have the meekness of the sheep to hear the Lord, since God teaches us that in confidence is our strength. "For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In quietness and in quietness shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. And ye would not, but said, Nay, but we will flee on horses: therefore ye shall flee. We will ride upon swift steeds; therefore shall your persecutors be swift" (Isa. 30:15-16).
It is easier for us to run to and fro like a horse, and to look for resources and help in our own strength than to hear and wait upon the Lord. But God knows our weakness, and is longsuffering toward us. He always waits for us and has mercy on us. "Therefore the LORD will wait to have mercy on you, and therefore he will be exalted in having mercy on you: for the LORD is a righteous God; blessed are all they that trust in him" (Isa. 30:18).
In verses 8 and 9 of Psalm 32 with which we began, the Lord tells us: "I will make you understand, and teach you the way in which you should walk; I will fix my eyes upon you. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, without understanding, which must be bridled and haltered, or else they will not come nigh thee".
We cannot be like the horse or the mule. In spite of their impetus and strength, they are not held without halter and bridle. They have no understanding, but God gave us his Spirit, that we might understand the things of God. "And we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are given to us of God" (1 Cor. 2:12). We now have the mind of Christ to discern all things.
We are not horses or mules, but sheep of his flock. "We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture" (Ps. 100:3). The sheep needs no halter, for she is subject to the voice of her shepherd. "But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper openeth, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he has led out all his own, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. But a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers" (John 10:2-5). Let us listen to his voice, let us heed his teaching, for as a Good Shepherd, he is mindful of us (Ps. 23:1-3).
We need to know the meekness of the Lamb. When he was under his shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth, expecting everything from the Father. "He was oppressed and afflicted, he opened not his mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers, he was dumb, and opened not his mouth" (Isa. 53:7).