(John MacDuff, “The Night Dream of the Desert”)
Our Omnipotent God keeps watch over the lichen
on the rock, and the lily on the mountain side.
He tempers His wind to the fragile flower as it
trembles on the lip of the Alpine glacier. He follows
the timid bird to its cleft; feeds the young raven’s
brood; and notes the fall of the sparrow.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not
one of them will fall to the ground apart from the
will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are
worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31
We see here, the personal love of God for 
every individual member of His vast family.
The heavenly Shepherd has a special, particular
care for each sheep of the fold. As it utters its
apparently unheard bleat on the lonely moorland,
or amid the thorny thicket of its wanderings, He
tracks its truant footsteps, as if it engrossed all
His interest, restoring it to the green pastures by
the side of the fold.
Yes, there is surely nothing more cheering, more
sublime, than the thought of this unwearying tending
of the Great Shepherd; this individual, (if we may so