I pleaded for time to be given. He said, "It is hard to decide? It will not seem hard in heaven, To have followed the steps of your guide." I cast one look at the fields, Then set my face to the town. He said, "My child, do you yield? Will you leave the flowers for the crown?" Then into His hand went mine, And into my heart came He; And I walk in a light divine, The paths I had feared to see. --_George MacDonald_ "=_His Name's Sake_=" All this He does for His name's sake. How beautiful those words are, "_for His name's sake_." Christ's own glory is involved in the security and care of His children. The physician cares for your child who is sick unto death, for your sake, it is true, but for "his own name's sake" as well. To lose your child would hurt his reputation and practice. The lawyer protects his client for his client's sake, it is true, but also, and perhaps more so, for "his own name's sake." To lose the case would be to hurt his standing in the legal profession. The pilot guides the ship safely into harbor for the passengers' sake, it is true, but more particularly for "his own name's sake," for to lose the ship would be to lose his license. We remember that Jesus said, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." He also said, "And of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none." Christ Himself is the door. His broad figure and bulk fills it. Who shall strip Him of His power, or rob Him of His sheep? He is the secret of the security of the believer; yea, He is the security itself. We are hid in Him. It is rather the perseverance of the Christ than of the believer. Here, then, is the security of the believer, saved and kept for "His own name's sake." How proud we are of someone who is named after us! We have more solicitude and care for the child that carries our name than for other children. _For His name's sake_, therefore, is an indication of the intense, intimate interest and care of the Christ for His people. Do we not recall what Moses said to Jehovah when He said He thought to destroy the people of Israel? Did not Moses plead thus with God, "If thou dost destroy them, what shall we say to the nations, and what wilt thou do for thine own name's sake?" Shall it not be that in that great day not one of Christ's sheep will be missing? "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." "The +LORD+ is my Shepherd, I shall not be missing."