Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
Therefore God Himself will save His flock so that they shall no more be a prey, and He will judge between cattle and cattle, that is, between members of the flock. The One who thus saves is Christ in His relation to His people as a shepherd. After the fall He saw His sheep doomed to perish in the dark ways of sin, and to save these wandering ones He left the honors and glories of His Father's house.
His saving work calls them with His voice into His fold for shelter and refuge, so they are no longer plundered and no beast devours them. His care for the flock is unwearied, strengthening the weak, relieving the suffering, and gathering the lambs in His arms and carrying them in His bosom, and His sheep love Him and know His voice. In its setting the chapter is a warning to guard against the great deceiver, against being deceived and acting as an unfaithful shepherd.
Against the failure of shepherds, the promise shows God's care for the people whom their leaders have neglected, exposing ministers who reject truth and trample God's law. The promise belongs to the covenant of peace and gives most precious encouragement, whose most striking feature is the exceeding richness of pardoning mercy to the sinner if he repents and turns from his sin, bringing salvation through the tender mercies of God in the gospel. This mercy does not turn God from justice, for He cannot dishonor His law by letting it be transgressed with impunity, and under the new covenant perfect obedience is the condition of life; if the sinner repents and confesses his sins he finds pardon because Christ by His sacrifice has satisfied the demands of the law for every repentant, believing sinner.
Therefore God Himself will save His flock so that they shall no more be a prey, and He will judge between cattle and cattle, that is, between members of the flock. The One who thus saves is Christ in His relation to His people as a shepherd. After the fall He saw His sheep doomed to perish in the dark ways of sin, and to save these wandering ones He left the honors and glories of His Father's house.
His saving work calls them with His voice into His fold for shelter and refuge, so they are no longer plundered and no beast devours them. His care for the flock is unwearied, strengthening the weak, relieving the suffering, and gathering the lambs in His arms and carrying them in His bosom, and His sheep love Him and know His voice. In its setting the chapter is a warning to guard against the great deceiver, against being deceived and acting as an unfaithful shepherd.
Against the failure of shepherds, the promise shows God's care for the people whom their leaders have neglected, exposing ministers who reject truth and trample God's law. The promise belongs to the covenant of peace and gives most precious encouragement, whose most striking feature is the exceeding richness of pardoning mercy to the sinner if he repents and turns from his sin, bringing salvation through the tender mercies of God in the gospel. This mercy does not turn God from justice, for He cannot dishonor His law by letting it be transgressed with impunity, and under the new covenant perfect obedience is the condition of life; if the sinner repents and confesses his sins he finds pardon because Christ by His sacrifice has satisfied the demands of the law for every repentant, believing sinner.