August 2, 2026 - Ezekiel 34-39

The Lord looks and he finds unfaithful shepherds among his people.  He will cast them aside.  But he himself says, “As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep” (34:12).  This is always our hope and encouragement, i.e., that the Lord himself cares for and watches over us.

Moreover, the Lord says to his people:  “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.  “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God” (36:26-28).  Can we ever tire of reading about God’s mercy?  No!

The King of love my shepherd is,

whose goodness faileth never.

I nothing lack if I am his,

and he is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow,

my ransomed soul he leadeth;

and where the verdant pastures grow,

with food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed,

but yet in love he sought me;

and on his shoulder gently laid,

and home, rejoicing, brought me.   -- H. W. Baker (1868)