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(轉簡)
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March 11
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三月十一日
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“Now it came to pass after the death of Moses, the servant of the
Lord, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of
Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now, therefore arise,
go over this Jordan, thou and all this people.”
(Joshua 1:1, 2)
Sorrow came to you yesterday, and emptied your home. Your first
impulse now is to give up, and sit down in despair amid the wrecks of your
hopes. But you dare not do it. You are in the line of battle, and the crisis
is at hand. To falter a moment would be to imperil some holy interest. Other
lives would be harmed by your pausing, holy
interests would suffer, should your hands be folded. You must not linger even
to indulge your grief.
A distinguished
general related this pathetic incident of his own experience in time of war.
The general's son was a lieutenant of battery. An assault was in progress.
The father was leading his division in a charge; as he pressed on in the
field, suddenly his eye was caught by the sight of a dead battery-officer
lying just before him. One glance showed him it was his own son. His fatherly
impulse was to stop beside the loved form and give vent to his grief, but the
duty of the moment demanded that he should press on in the charge; so,
quickly snatching one hot kiss from the dead lips, he hastened away, leading
his command in the assault.
Weeping
inconsolably beside a grave can never give back love's banished treasure, nor
can any blessing come out of such sadness. Sorrow makes deep scars; it writes
its record ineffaceably on the heart which suffers. We really never get over
our great griefs; we are never altogether the same
after we have passed through them as we were before. Yet there is a
humanizing and fertilizing influence in sorrow which has been rightly
accepted and cheerfully borne. Indeed, they are poor who have never suffered,
and have none of sorrow's marks upon them. The joy set before us should shine
upon our grief as the sun shines through the clouds, glorifying them. God has
so ordered, that in pressing on in duty we shall
find the truest, richest comfort for ourselves. Sitting down to brood over
our sorrows, the darkness deepens about us and creeps into our heart, and our strength changes to weakness. But, if we
turn away from the gloom, and take up the tasks and duties to which God calls
us, the light will come again, and we shall grow stronger.
━J. R. Miller.
Thou knowest that through our tears
Of hasty,
selfish weeping
Comes surer sin,
and for our petty fears
Of loss thou
hast in keeping
A greater gain
than all of which we dreamed;
Thou knowest that in grasping
The bright
possessions which so precious seemed
We lose them;
but if, clasping
Thy faithful hand,
we tread with steadfast feet
The path of thy
appointing,
There waits for
us a treasury of sweet
Delight, royal
anointing
With oil of
gladness and of strength.
━Helen Hunt Jackson.
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“耶和華的僕人摩西死了以後，耶和華曉諭摩西的幫手嫩的兒子約書亞，說，我的僕人摩西死了；現在你要起來，和眾百姓過這約但河。”
(書一：1-2)
當憂愁和損失同時臨到你的時侯，你第一個衝動就是想放棄一切，坐在失望中傷心。但是你決不能這樣。須知你是在戰場的前線，正當勝敗關頭。如果你躊躇一刻，同胞就要喪膽，神就要受着虧損。所以你不該稍有耽延，連痛哭一場的時間也不能。
某名將常述說他在戰爭時所遭遇的一段傷心的經歷：將軍的兒子是一個陸軍中尉。一次，父子各率一軍，開拔前線。不久，總攻擊開始，將軍身先士卒，向敵陣衝鋒；在戰場上，他偶然瞥見一個本國的戰死軍官躺在地上。跑近一看，乃是他自己的兒子。他第一個意念就是抱了屍身痛哭一場，但是轉念之間，他想到身負重責，戰爭的勝敗就在這一仗，豈可因個人私事貽誤大事；於是在死者灰白的冷唇上搶了一個熱吻，鼓着勇氣，急忙率領軍兵向前沖去。
如果約書亞在摩西的墓旁一直哀哭，是哭不活摩西的，也哭不出神的祝福來。憂愁哀痛留下深深的傷痕，在哀痛者的心上，刻劃着不可磨滅的記錄。我們從來無法真正去解脫大悲哀；經歷了大悲痛之後，決不會和經歷之前完全一樣。然而，倘能正確和欣然去接受悲哀，它能發揮培養人格的豐富影響力。那些從未受過痛苦，心上從未留下過悲哀烙印的人，才是可憐蟲。我們未來的歡樂，一定要像穿過烏雲的陽光，才能倍見光明。神既如此吩咐了。我們要從履行任務中，去找尋最真切最豐富的安慰。如果坐下悲哀，會使我們四圍的環境更艱難，我們的心更痛苦，我們的力量衰弱。只要我們不去理會痛苦，立即負起神的使命，光明就會隨着來到,我們也會發揮剛強的力量了。━密勒
輕率的啼哭，自私的淚珠，
將招來深的罪過。
我們憂慮那微不足道的損失，
祢卻給我準備了夢想不到的收穫；
我們若不肯放下自以為珍貴的一切，
結果還是喪失，何能持到永久？
但若緊握着祢的手，
堅定步伐走在祢指示的道路
前途是浸潤着快樂與豐富，
充滿了幸福和尊容的寶庫。
━傑克遜
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March 12
“The Lord
brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when
it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts....Then Pharaoh called for
Moses and Aaron in haste....And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind,
which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained
not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.”
(Exod. 10:13, 19)
See how in the olden times, when the Lord fought for Israel
against the cruel Pharaoh, the stormy winds wrought out their deliverance;
and yet again, in that grandest display of power━the last blow that
God struck at the proud defiance of Egypt. A strange, almost cruel thing it
must have seemed to Israel to be hemmed in by such a host of dangers━in front the wild
sea defying them, on either hand the rocky heights cutting off all hope of
escape, the night of hurricane gathering over them. It was as if that first
deliverance had come only to hand them over to more certain death. Completing
the terror there rang out the cry: "The Egyptians are upon us!"
When it seemed
they were trapped for the foe, then came the glorious triumph. Forth swept
the stormy wind and beat back the waves, and the hosts of Israel marched
forward, down into the path of the great deep━a way arched over with God's protecting love.
On either hand
were the crystal walls glowing in the light of the glory of the Lord; and
high above them swept the thunder of the storm. So on through all that night;
and when, at dawn of the next day, the last of Israel's host set foot
upon the other shore, the work of the stormy wind was done.
Then sang Israel unto the Lord the
song of the "stormy wind fulfilling his word."
"The enemy
said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil...Thou didst
blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty
waters."
One day, by God's
great mercy, we, too, shall stand upon the sea of glass, having the harps of
God. Then we shall sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song
of the Lamb: "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." We
shall know then how the stormy winds have wrought out our deliverance.
Now you see only
the mystery of this great sorrow; then you shall see how the threatening
enemy was swept away in the wild night of fear and grief.
Now you look only
at the loss; then you shall see how it struck at the evil that had begun to
rivet its fetters upon you.
Now you shrink
from the howling winds and muttering thunders; then you shall see how they
beat back the waters of destruction, and opened up your way to the goodly
land of promise.━Mark Guy Pearse.
"Though
winds are wild;
And the gale
unleashed,
My trusting
heart still sings:
I know that
they mean
No harm to me,
He rideth on their wings."
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三月十二日
“那一晝一夜，耶和華使東風刮在埃及地上，到了早晨，東風
把蝗蟲刮了來。…於是法老急忙召了摩西亞倫來，…耶和華轉了極大的西風，把蝗蟲刮起，吹入紅海，在埃及的四境連一個也沒有留下。” (出十：13，16，19)
我們看神怎樣利用暴風來拯救以色列人脫離殘酷的法老；還有，神在表顯祂最大的神權時━神最後一次對付埃及的軍隊━也利用大東風(十四：21)。當時以色列人都以為他們的處境太危急，太殘酷了━前面是紅海，後面是追兵，兩旁都是高聳的山岩，斷絕了一切逃生的希望。以色列人在這時侯只能夠仰望耶和華的拯救了。可是祂的拯救是大東風。這真出他們意外。可怕的風聲加增他們的驚慌，四周的寒冷凍得他們戰慄。他們怨神的拯救無非催逼他們死得快一點。恐怕中那時他們全營的呼聲是：“我們死啦！埃及人追及我們了”。
正在絕望的時侯，榮耀的勝利來了。吼聲可怕的東風把浪擊退，把海吹乾，以色列人向前走去，進入神的保護和慈愛中。兩旁是水晶的牆，前面是耶和華的榮光。終夜都是這樣；到了天一亮，最後一個以色列人也上了岸，大東風的使命便完成了。
於是以色列人向耶和華唱歌說:“成就祂命的狂風…都當讚美耶和華”(詩一四八：8，12)。
“仇敵說，我要追趕，我要追上，我要分擄物…祢叫風一吹，海就把他們(埃及軍兵)淹沒，他們如鉛沉在大水之中”(出十五：9-10)。
到有一天，我們要站在玻璃海上，拿着神的琴；與眾聖徒一同唱神僕人摩西的歌和羔羊的歌說：“眾聖之王啊，祢的方法義哉，誠哉”━(啟十五：3直譯)。━披爾斯
如今你只覺得大風暴的不可思議；將來你必看見威脅你的敵人，在戰慄恐怖的夜裏，殲滅淨盡。
如今你只注意到損失；將來你必見到祂為何打擊那已經開始桎梏你的罪惡。
如今你因風嘯雷鳴而畏縮；將來你必知道祂如何擊退那滅絕生命的洪水，為你們開闢道路，通往那應許的福地。━披爾斯
風雖倡狂奔放，
我的信心仍在歌唱。
我知道這不會傷害我，
神附在它的翅膀之上。
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March 13
“Just and true are thy
ways, thou King of saints.”
(Rev.
15:3)
The following incident is related by Mrs. Charles Spurgeon, who
was a great sufferer for more than a quarter of a century:
"At the close
of a dark and gloomy day, I lay resting on my couch as the deeper night drew
on; and though all was bright within my cozy room, some of the external
darkness seemed to have entered into my soul and obscured its spiritual
vision. Vainly I tried to see the Hand which I knew held mine, and guided my
fog-enveloped feet along a steep and slippery path of suffering. In sorrow of
heart I asked,
"'Why does my
Lord thus deal with His child? Why does He so often send sharp and bitter
pain to visit me? Why does He permit lingering weakness to hinder the sweet
service I long to render to His poor servants?'
"These
fretful questions were quickly answered, and through a strange language; no
interpreter was needed save the conscious whisper of my heart.
"For a while silence
reigned in the little room, broken only by the crackling of the oak log
burning in the fireplace. Suddenly I heard a sweet,
soft sound, a little, clear, musical note, like the tender trill of a robin
beneath my window.
"'What can it
be? surely no bird can be singing out there at this
time of the year and night.'
"Again came
the faint, plaintive notes, so sweet, so melodious, yet mysterious enough to
provoke our wonder. My friend exclaimed,
"Perchance he
had garnered up this song in the days when all was well with him, when birds
twittered merrily on his branches, and the soft sunlight flecked his tender
leaves with gold. But he had grown old since then, and hardened; ring after
ring of knotty growth had sealed up the long-forgotten melody, until the
fierce tongues of the flames came to consume his callousness, and the
vehement heart of the fire wrung from him at once a song and a sacrifice.
'Ah,' thought I, 'when the fire of affliction draws songs of praise from us,
then indeed we are purified, and our God is glorified!'
"Perhaps some
of us are like this old oak log, cold, hard, insensible; we should give forth
no melodious sounds, were it not for the fire which kindles around us, and
releases notes of trust in Him, and cheerful compliance with His will.
"Singing in
the fire! Yes, God helping us, if that is the only way to get harmony out of
these hard apathetic hearts, let the furnace be heated seven times hotter
than before."━Selected.
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三月十三日
“眾聖之王啊，祢的方法義哉，誠哉。”
(啟十五：3)
在患難中經歷頂深的司布真師母說：
有一天陰沉的晚上，我獨自坐在椅子上休息；雖然室中很光亮，但是我心靈中有一層黑暗罩着，使我不能看見甚麼。我也不覺得主的手攙住我，我好似滑跌在傷痛中。我憂憂愁愁地自問說：
“為甚麼我的神如此待祂的孩子呢？為甚麼祂一直把銳利的痛苦加給我呢？為甚麼祂應許纏綿的軟弱來攔阻我去事奉祂呢？”
這些煩惱的問題立即得到了答覆；頂希奇，答覆我的一個特異的聲音；用不着翻譯的人，神在我心中輕輕地替我解釋。
室內寂靜了好久，我忽然聽見一聲清幽悅耳的樂音，很像窗下知更雀的歌聲。
這是甚麼聲音？決不會是知更雀在那裏唱歌，因為這是寒冷的晚上。
又是一聲。這次我才發現：原來是壁爐中一根橡樹枝，正被猛烈的火焰焚燒着，從裂口中發出那個好聽的音樂來！
此時，我發生了一些感想：當這根樹枝嫩綠青翠的時侯，許多歌鳥遊歇其上，唱出美麗的調兒來，它就把那些歌聲收集起來，含蓄在裏面。後來它漸漸老了，樹枝漸漸硬了；那聲音便永久被封住在裏面了，直到猛烈的火焰燒毀了它的堅硬，久囚的音樂才被釋放。啊，照樣，神用痛苦的火焰燃燒我們，原是要從我們久寂的心中抽出讚美的歌聲來，叫我們的神得着榮耀！就在此時，我得了安慰。
恐怕我們中間有幾個很像這根橡樹枝━老，冷，硬，麻木；我們不會發出讚美的聲音來，如果沒有火的催逼。
如果苦難的火焰會叫無情的冷心得到溫暖，願爐中的火焰較前加旺“七倍”！━選
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March 14
“Moses
drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.”
(Exod. 20:21)
God has still His hidden secrets, hidden from the wise and prudent.
Do not fear them; be content to accept things that you cannot understand;
wait patiently. Presently He will reveal to you the treasures of darkness,
the riches of the glory of the mystery. Mystery is only the veil of God's
face.
Do not be afraid to
enter the cloud that is settling down on your life. God is in it. The other
side is radiant with His glory. "Think it not strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto
you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings."
When you seem loneliest and most forsaken, God is nigh. He is in the dark
cloud. Plunge into the blackness of its darkness without flinching; under the
shrouding curtain of His pavilion you will find God awaiting you. ━Selected.
"Hast thou
a cloud?
Something that
is dark and full of dread;
A messenger of
tempest overhead?
A something
that is darkening the sky;
A something
growing darker bye and bye;
A something
that thou fear'st will burst at last;
A cloud that doth
a deep, long shadow cast,
God cometh in
that cloud.
Hast thou a
cloud?
It is Jehovah's
triumph car: in this
He rideth to thee, o'er the wide abyss.
It is the robe
in which He wraps His form;
For He doth
gird Him with the flashing storm.
It is the veil
in which He hides the light
Of His fair
face, too dazzling for thy sight.
God cometh in
that cloud.
Hast thou a
cloud?
A trial that is
terrible to thee?
A black
temptation threatening to see?
A loss of some
dear one long thine own?
A mist, a veiling,
bringing the unknown?
A mystery that
unsubstantial seems:
A cloud between
thee and the sun's bright beams?
God cometh in
that cloud.
Hast thou a
cloud?
A sickness━weak old age━distress and
death?
These clouds
will scatter at thy last faint breath.
Fear not the
clouds that hover o'er thy barque,
Making the harbour's entrance dire and dark;
The cloud of
death, though misty, chill and cold,
Will yet grow
radiant with a fringe of gold.
GOD cometh in
that cloud."
As Dr. C. stood on
a high peak of the Rocky Mountains watching a storm raging below him, an
eagle came up through the clouds, and soared away towards the sun and the
water upon him glistened in the sunlight like diamonds. Had it not been for
the storm he might have remained in the valley. The sorrows of life cause us
to rise towards God.━Selected.
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三月十四日
“摩西就挨近神所在的幽暗之中。”
(出二十：21)
神今天仍有祂隱藏的秘密，向聰明通達人藏起來。可是你不必怕它們；儘管在神面前接受你所不解的東西；忍耐等候。不久祂要指示你黑暗中的寶貝，隱密中的榮耀。
不要怕進前面的黑雲。神在其中。“有火煉的試驗臨到你們，不要以為奇怪，(似乎是遭遇非常的事)倒要歡喜；因為你們是與基督一同受苦”(彼前四：12-13) 。當你感到孤單的時侯，須知神在咫尺。祂在黑雲中，等候你進去親近祂。━選
黑雲罩上了你的生命，
這種遭遇，可怕陰沉，
它預示風雨來臨，
雲漸漸迷漫開來，
一陣緊一陣，地暗天昏，
雲中卻隱藏着天上的神。
黑雲罩上了你的生命，
這是耶和華的凱旋車，
載着祂前來給你溫存，
雲是祂的面紗，祂的衣襟。
你受不住那樣的光輝，
所以要遮掩祂的聖容。
黑雲罩上了你的生命，
何等可怕的考驗，
如失去了可愛的親人，
又如威脅更如誘惑，
你將不知所措，心迷神昏，
但雲中卻隱藏着天上的神。
黑雲罩上了你的生命，
你是否遇上了衰老病痛和死亡的陰雲？
這些雲將皆在你奄奄一息時來到，
正像駕舟歸航，別怕港口黑暗；
死亡之雲雖然寒冷陰沉，
終將鍍上金邊，逐漸光明，
神就在這雲裏來臨。
某醫師一天站在一座高山頂上，觀看山下的陣雨；他看見一頭鷹沖出黑雲，向上高飛，身上帶着的水珠，在日光下閃爍，好似金鋼鑽一般美麗。如果山下沒有陣雨，它必是仍在谷中。人生的苦難使我們向上近神。━選
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March 15
“Fear not, thou worm Jacob...I
will make thee a threshing instrument with teeth.” (Isa.
41:14, 15)
Could any two things be in greater contrast than a worm and an instrument
with teeth? The worm is delicate, bruised by a stone, crushed beneath the
passing wheel; an instrument with teeth can break and not be broken; it can
grave its mark upon the rock. And the mighty God can convert the one into the
other. He can take a man or a nation, who has all the impotence of the worm,
and by the invigoration of His own Spirit, He can endow with strength by
which a noble mark is left upon the history of the time.
And so the
"worm" may take heart. The mighty God can make us stronger than our
circumstances. He can bend them all to our good. In God's strength we can
make them all pay tribute to our souls. We can even take hold of a black
disappointment, break it open, and extract some jewel of grace. When God
gives us wills like iron, we can drive through difficulties as the iron share
cuts through the toughest soil. "I will make thee," and shall He
not do it? ━Dr. Jowett.
Christ is building
His kingdom with earth's broken things. Men want only the strong, the
successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God
is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling
with earth's broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot
take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty. He can take the life
crushed by pain or sorrow and make it into a harp whose music shall be all
praise. He can lift earth's saddest failure up to heaven's glory. ━J. R. Miller.
"Follow
Me, and I will make you"…
Make you speak
My words with power,
Make you
channels of My mercy,
Make you
helpful every hour.
"Follow
Me, and I will make you"…
Make you what
you cannot be━
Make you
loving, trustful, godly,
Make you even
like to Me.
━L. S. P.
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三月十五日
“你這蟲雅各…不要害怕…我已使你成為有快齒打糧的新器具。” (賽四十一：14-15直譯)
蟲與快齒的器具怎樣可以相比呢？蟲是多麼軟弱，給我們石頭或車輪一壓，就會壓得稀爛；快齒的器具是多麼堅強；甚至能“把山嶺打得粉碎，使岡陵如同糠秕”(十五節)。但是全能的神能使蟲成為有快齒的器具。神能使個人或民族，藉着祂的靈，從蟲的軟弱變到快齒器具的剛強，在歷史上留着很深的痕跡。
所以我們這些蟲不要喪膽。全能的神能使我們在四圍患難的環境中變成剛強。靠着祂的力量，我們能叫我們的環境向我們屈服，向我們進貢。我們甚至能隨便抓住一個黑色的失望，把它劈開來，從其中抽出恩典的寶石來。神也能給我們像鐵那般的意志，所有的難處都能迎刃而解，猶如堅土遇到鐵犁那樣鬆散。神既說：“我要使你…”，祂豈會不如此行呢？━喬懷德
基督建造祂的國度，都是用地上破碎的東西建造的。人們所要的是強健的，成功的，勝利的，不碎的；但是神所要的乃是在地上不成功的，失敗的，傷心的，軟弱的。天上充滿着地上破碎的生命，沒有一根壓傷的蘆葦是基督所不能恢復的。祂能使一個被痛苦憂愁所壓傷的生命變成一架彈出讚美的音樂來的古琴。祂把地上的失敗變成天上的榮耀。━密勒
跟從我，我要範鑄你們，
有力地傳佈我的福音，
成為流出慈恩的溝洫，
使你們成為有用之人。
跟從我，我要範鑄你們，
脫胎換骨，重新做人，
有信，有愛，忠實虔誠，
不愧為神的子民。
━L. S. P.
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March 16
“For our profit.” (Heb. 12:10)
In one of Ralph Connor's books he tells a story of Gwen. Gwen was
a wild, wilful lassie and one who had always been
accustomed to having her own way. Then one day she met with a terrible
accident which crippled her for life. She became very rebellious and in the
murmuring state she was visited by the Sky Pilot, as the missionary among the
mountaineers was termed.
He told her the
parable of the canyon. "At first there were no canyons, but only the
broad, open prairie. One day the Master of the Prairie, walking over his
great lawns, where were only grasses, asked the Prairie, 'Where are your
flowers?' and the Prairie said, 'Master I have no seeds.'
"Then he
spoke to the birds, and they carried seeds of every kind of flower and
strewed them far and wide, and soon the prairie bloomed with crocuses and
roses and buffalo beans and the yellow crowfoot and the wild sunflowers and
the red lilies all summer long. Then the Master came and was well pleased;
but he missed the flowers he loved best of all, and he said to the Prairie:
'Where are the clematis and the columbine, the sweet violets and
wind-flowers, and all the ferns and flowering shrubs?'
"And again he
spoke to the birds, and again they carried all the seeds and scattered them
far and wide. But, again, when the Master came he could not find the flowers
he loved best of all, and he said:
"'Where are
those my sweetest flowers?' and the Prairie cried sorrowfully:
"'Oh, Master,
I cannot keep the flowers, for the winds sweep fiercely, and the sun beats
upon my breast, and they wither up and fly away.'
"Then the
Master spoke to the Lightning, and with one swift blow the Lightning cleft
the Prairie to the heart. And the Prairie rocked and groaned in agony, and
for many a day moaned bitterly over the black, jagged, gaping wound.
"But the
river poured its waters through the cleft, and carried down deep black mould,
and once more the birds carried seeds and strewed them in the canyon. And
after a long time the rough rocks were decked out with soft mosses and
trailing vines, and all the nooks were hung with clematis and columbine, and
great elms lifted their huge tops high up into the sunlight, and down about
their feet clustered the low cedars and balsams, and everywhere the violets
and wind-flower and maiden-hair grew and bloomed, till the canyon became the
Master's favorite place for rest and peace and joy."
Then the Sky Pilot
read to her: "The fruit━I'll read 'flowers'━of the Spirit are
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness━and some of these grow only in the
canyon."
"Which are
the canyon flowers?" asked Gwen softly, and the Pilot answered:
"Gentleness, meekness, longsuffering; but though the others, love, joy,
peace, bloom in the open, yet never with so rich a bloom and so sweet a
perfume as in the canyon."
For a long time
Gwen lay quite still, and then said wistfully, while her lips trembled:
"There are no flowers in my canyon, but only ragged rocks."
"Some day
they will bloom, Gwen dear; the Master will find them, and we, too, shall see
them."
Beloved, when you
come to your canyon, remember!
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三月十六日
“生身的父都是暫隨己意管教我們，惟有萬靈的父管教我們,是要我們得益處，使我們在祂的聖潔上有份。”
(來十二：10)
康諾氏所寫的書中，說有一個山野少女葛文的故事。葛文頑皮任性，她在某一日不幸遇到了意外，成了殘廢。臥病在床第中，性情更加暴躁，當她在怨天尤人的時候,“天的響導”來看她，所謂“天的響導”，是山中居民對傳教士的尊敬稱呼。
傳教士給她講了一個峽谷的寓言，他說：地球最初的時候，只有一望無際的原野，並沒有峽谷。原野的主人，有一天出外散步，看見大地上只長着青草，就問原野道:“你的花在哪里?”，原野回答說：“主人，我沒有種子”。
於是主人吩咐禽鳥把各類花的種子帶來，四處播種。不久原野上就開出了番紅玫瑰，水豆花，毛莨花，向日葵，紅鈐蘭，以及一些耐熱的夏季花卉。主人看了很高興，但他找不到他最心愛的幾種花，於是他對原野說：“還有鐵線蓮,縷鬥菜，紫羅蘭，白頭翁，各種鳳尾草和開花的灌木在哪里呢?”
他又吩咐禽鳥把所有的種子帶來，四處播種。但主人再來的時候，還是找不到他最心愛的幾種花，於是他說：“那些最可愛的花在哪里?”
原野悲哀地說：“主人，我無法保存這些花，因為狂風拼命的吹刮，烈陽炙烤着我的胸膛，這些花忍不住原野的氣候，它們都零落凋萎了。”
於是主人吩咐閃電劈開原野的胸懷,原野在劇痛中顫抖哀號,為那黝黑而凹凸不平的裂口，悲痛呻吟了許多日子。
由於河水湧進了裂口，把深黑色的泥土帶了進來，禽鳥再把種子帶來，在那峽谷中播種。過了很長一段的時間之後，粗糙的岩石上，鋪滿了柔軟的青苔和綿延的藤蔓，各處角落，都垂掛着鐵線蓮和縷鬥菜，碩壯的榆樹，仰起粗大枝幹，升向高空的陽光，樹根附近盤屈着矮杉和鳳仙花，到處都有紫羅蘭，白頭翁和孔雀草在生長開花，峽谷終於成了主人所尋求的安息，平安和快樂的心愛之地了。
傳教士講完了故事之後，就對她說：“聖靈所結的果子，也可以稱之謂聖靈之花，包括愛，喜樂，平安，堅忍，溫和等等，其中有些只能在峽谷中生長”。
“只能在峽谷裏生長的是甚麼花呢?”葛文輕聲問。傳教士答道：“溫和，謙卑，忍耐，其他如愛，喜樂，和平安，雖能在原野開放，但若生長在峽谷裏，它們將更美麗，更芬芳。”
葛文默默地躺了好一會，然後嘴唇顫抖地自言自語道：“在我的峽谷裏沒有花，只有粗陋的岩石”。
“親愛的葛文，總有一天它們會開出花來，主會發現，我們也會看到”。
親愛的，當你淪入你的峽谷時，請記着這句話！
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March 17
“Be thou there till I bring
thee word.” (Matt. 2:13)
"I'll stay
where You've put me; I will, dear Lord,
Though I wanted
so badly to go;
I was eager to
march with the 'rank and file,'
Yes, I wanted
to lead them, You know.
I planned to
keep step to the music loud,
To cheer when
the banner unfurled,
To stand in the
midst of the fight straight and proud,
But I'll stay
where You've put me.
"I'll stay
where You've put me; I'll work, dear Lord,
Though the
field be narrow and small,
And the ground be
fallow, and the stones lie thick,
And there seems
to be no life at all.
The field is Thine own, only give me the seed,
I'll sow it
with never a fear;
I'll till the
dry soil while I wait for the rain,
And rejoice
when the green blades appear;
I'll work where
You've put me.
"I'll stay
where You've put me; I will, dear Lord;
I'll bear the
day's burden and heat,
Always trusting
Thee fully; when even has come
I'll lay heavy
sheaves at Thy feet.
And then, when
my earth work is ended and done,
In the light of
eternity's glow,
Life's record
all closed, I surely shall find
It was better
to stay than to go;
I'll stay where
You've put me."
"Oh restless
heart, that beat against your prison bars of circumstances, yearning for a
wider sphere of usefulness, leave God to order all
your days. Patience and trust, in the dullness of the routine of life, will
be the best preparation for a courageous bearing of the tug and strain of the
larger opportunity which God may some time send you." ━Selected.
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三月十七日
“住在那裏，等我吩咐你 ” (太二：13)
親愛的主，我願留在祢安置我的地方；
我雖渴想離此遠揚；
我有意和大隊一起前進，
是的，祢知道我要做他們的領導人。
為了鮮明的旗幟而歡呼，
把腳步配合着軍樂的悠揚，
光榮地身先士卒，馳騁疆場，
但我願留在祢安置我的地方。
親愛的主，我願留在祢安置我的地方；
地的面積雖狹小，而又是一片荒涼，
石礫既多，土質更是澆薄，
似乎不會有生命在此滋長。
這是祢的土地，只要給我種子，
我將放膽去播種插秧，
我願耕耘，等待雨水沛降，
一旦綠苗抽茁，我將欣喜若狂！
我願留在祢安置我的地方。
親愛的主，我願留在祢安置我的地方，
我永遠敬虔忠誠來信靠祢；
白日的辛勞和炎熱，我都願一嘗，
夜間我可伏臥在祢的腳旁。
當我把塵世工作一一做完，
將可沐浴在永世的榮光，
來結束我一生的全部記錄，那時
我必發覺留着比離開更為適當；
我願留在祢安置我的地方。
哦，不安定的心哪，你跳得多麼厲害，撞在環境的鐵欄上，想沖出去到外面更寬大的場地去工作。靜下來罷，讓神替你安排你的日子罷。今天的忍耐和信靠，就是將來神差你出去作大事業的預備。━選
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March 18
“He answered nothing.” (Mark 15:3)
There is no spectacle in all the Bible so sublime as the silent
Savior answering not a word to the men who were maligning Him, and whom He
could have laid prostrate at His feet by one look of Divine power, or one
word of fiery rebuke. But He let them say and do their worst, and He stood in
THE POWER OF STILLNESS ━ God's holy silent Lamb.
There is a
stillness that lets God work for us, and holds our peace; the stillness that
ceases from its contriving and its self-vindication, and its expedients of
wisdom and forethought, and lets God provide and answer the cruel blow, in
His own unfailing, faithful love.
How often we lose
God's interposition by taking up our own cause, and striking for our defense.
God give to us this silent power, this conquered spirit! And after the heat
and strife of earth are over, men will remember us as we remember the morning
dew, the gentle light and sunshine, the evening breeze, the Lamb of Calvary,
and the gentle, holy heavenly Dove. ━A. B. Simpson.
The day when
Jesus stood alone
And felt the
hearts of men like stone,
And knew He
came but to atone
That day
"He held His peace."
They witnessed
falsely to His word,
They bound Him
with a cruel cord,
And mockingly
proclaimed Him Lord;
"But Jesus
held His peace."
They spat upon
Him in the face,
They dragged
Him on from place to place,
They heaped
upon Him all disgrace;
"But Jesus
held His peace."
My friend, have
you for far much less,
With rage,
which you called righteousness,
Resented
slights with great distress?
Your Saviour "held His peace."
━L. S. P.
I remember once
hearing Bishop Whipple, of Minnesota, so well known as
"The Apostle of the Indians," utter these beautiful words:
"For thirty years I have tried to see the face of Christ in those with
whom I differed." When this spirit actuates us we shall be preserved at
once from a narrow bigotry and an easy-going tolerance, from passionate
vindictiveness and everything that would mar or injure our testimony for Him
who came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. ━W. H. Griffith
Thomas.
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三月十八日
“耶穌仍不回答。” (可十五：5)
聖經中頂希奇的一幕，就是創造天地的主，一聲不響地站在誹謗祂的人面前受冤枉。祂可以運用祂的能力向他們一看，或者向他們出一聲責備，就使他們倒在祂的腳前。但是祂不動聲色，任憑他們作惡妄為。祂站着是表顯神鎮靜的能力━神無聲的羔羊！
我們也當有這樣的鎮靜。這樣的鎮靜可以給神機會替我們工作，給我們平安；這樣的鎮靜就是停止自己的謀畫和活動，摒除自己的智慧和成見，讓神單獨去應付人們的攻擊。
多少時侯，我們失敗，就是因為沒有神的鎮靜。我們頂會用自己的智慧和力量來自衛，因此失去了神愛的力量，以致落入急躁慌亂。因為這正是神所賜下的緘默和自製力量。當塵世的擾攘過去之後，人們將懷念我們，好像我們懷念露珠，曙光和太陽，那晚風和各各他的羔羊，和那至善至尊至福的天堂。━宣信
這一天，耶穌形單影隻，
體驗到人心硬如鐵石，
但知道祂之降臨人世，
祂緘默為了救贖眾生。
他們以假見證對祂譭謗，
用繩索殘酷地把祂捆綁，
譏嘲祂為猶太人的王；
但耶穌緘默着，不作反抗。
唾沫污辱了祂的臉，
把耶穌拖東拉西任意磨折，
使祂受盡了屈辱與輕蔑；
但耶穌保持緘默。
為了遠遜於此的輕微小事，
你曾否發怒，自以為理直氣壯，
小小的齟齬，當作了大侮辱？
救世主卻保持緘默。
━L.S.P.
在明尼蘇達州的威波主教，眾人都稱他為印地安人的使徒，我記得他曾說過這樣一句動人的話：“三十年來，當我與人齟齬不合的時候，我總是想法從對方的臉上見到基督的聖容”。假若我們亦被這種美德所感動，我們立刻化褊狹為謙容，不至有報復的衝動，而損傷了我們為主作見證人的立場，因為祂來到塵世，不是要毀滅生命，乃是要拯救人類。━湯麥斯
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March 19
“Beloved, do not be surprised
at the ordeal that has come to test you…you are sharing
what Christ suffered; so rejoice in it. ”
(1 Peter
4:12)
Many a waiting hour was needful to enrich the harp of David, and
many a waiting hour in the wilderness will gather for us a psalm of
"thanksgiving, and the voice of melody," to cheer the hearts of
fainting ones here below, and to make glad our Father's house on high.
What was the
preparation of the son of Jesse for the songs like unto which none other have
ever sounded on this earth?
The outrage of the
wicked, which brought forth cries for God's help. Then the faint hope in
God's goodness blossomed into a song of rejoicing for His mighty deliverances
and manifold mercies. Every sorrow was another string to his harp; every
deliverance another theme for praise.
One thrill of
anguish spared, one blessing unmarked or unprized,
one difficulty or danger evaded, how great would have been our loss in that
thrilling Psalmody in which God's people today find the expression of their
grief or praise!
To wait for God,
and to suffer His will, is to know Him in the fellowship of His sufferings,
and to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. So now, if the vessel is to
be enlarged for spiritual understanding, be not affrighted at the wider
sphere of suffering that awaits you. The Divine capacity of sympathy will
have a more extended sphere, for the breathing of the Holy Ghost in the new
creation never made a stoic, but left the heart's affection tender and true. ━Anna Shipton.
"He tested
me ere He entrusted me." (1 Tim. 1:12) ( Way's
Trans.)
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三月十九日
“親愛的啊，有火煉的試驗臨到你們，不要以為奇怪…倒要歡喜；因為你們是與基督一同受苦。” (彼前四：12-13)
大衛的遭難使他的古琴發出更悅耳的音樂來，他的遇險使他發出“感謝，和歌唱的聲音”(賽五十一：3)來；他的詩篇直到今天仍能叫地上的許多軟弱信徒得到幫助，叫天上的父神得到快樂。
究竟甚麼東西使耶西的兒子有這般屬靈的修養呢？
仇敵的吼叫，逼他發出向神的呼籲來。神大能的拯救，豐富的恩慈，使他唱出感謝和歡樂的讚美來。所以，每一次的苦難在他琴上添一根弦；每一次的拯救給他一個讚美的新題目。
一次痛苦躲過，一次祝福扣留；一次危難避去，一次榮耀失去。平穩度日的人不懂得依靠，所以他們不會看見神的榮耀，也不會唱出讚美來。
如果我們要多明白屬靈的奧秘，我們就不能懼怕在前面等待我們的苦難；因為有許多寶貝的功課，是必須在苦難中方能學到的。━薛伯登
“祂試驗我，為要派我服事祂”(提前一：12韋氏譯本)。
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March 20
“As sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing.” (2 Cor.
6:10)
The stoic scorns
to shed a tear; the Christian is not forbidden to weep. The soul may be dumb
with excessive grief, as the shearer's scissors pass over the quivering
flesh; or, when the heart is on the point of breaking beneath the meeting
surges of trial, the sufferer may seek relief by crying out with a loud
voice. But there is something even better.
They say that
springs of sweet fresh water well up amid the brine of salt seas; that the
fairest Alpine flowers bloom in the wildest and most rugged mountain passes;
that the noblest psalms were the outcome of the profoundest agony of soul.
Be it so. And thus
amid manifold trials, souls which love God will find reasons for bounding,
leaping joy. Though deep call to deep, yet the Lord's song will be heard in
silver cadence through the night. And it is possible in the darkest hour that
ever swept a human life to bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you learned this lesson yet? Not simply to endure God's will, nor only
to choose it; but to rejoice in it with joy unspeakable and full of glory. ━Tried as by Fire.
I will be still,
my bruised heart faintly murmured,
As o'er me
rolled a crushing load of woe;
The cry, the
call, e'en the low moan was stifled;
I pressed my
lips; I barred the tear drop's flow.
I will be
still, although I cannot see it,
The love that
bares a soul and fans pain's fire;
That takes away
the last sweet drop of solace,
Breaks the lone
harp string, hides Thy precious lyre.
But God is
love, so I will bide me, bide me━
We'll doubt
not, Soul, we will be very still;
We'll wait till
after while, when He shall lift us━
Yes, after
while, when it shall be His will.
And I did
listen to my heart's brave promise;
And I did
quiver, struggling to be still;
And I did lift
my tearless eyes to Heaven,
Repeating ever,
"Yea, Christ, have Thy will."
But soon my
heart upspake from 'neath
our burden,
Reproved my
tight-drawn lips, my visage sad:
"We can do
more than this, O Soul," it whispered.
"We can be
more than still, we can be glad!"
And now my
heart and I are sweetly singing—
Singing without
the sound of tuneful strings;
Drinking
abundant waters in the desert,
Crushed, and
yet soaring as on eagle's wings.
━S. P. W.
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三月二十日
“似乎憂愁，卻是常常快樂的。”
(林後六：10)
主張苦行主義者，連流淚也在禁止之列；基督徒卻不然。許多時候，我們憂悶得發昏；當剪毛的剪刀碰在顫抖的肉上時，當仇敵的欺侮達到頂點時，當我們的心幾乎碎裂時，最自然我們巴不得尋找機會痛哭一場，釋出胸中的憂鬱。但是還有一個比痛哭更好的方法。
航海者知道甘泉是在苦且鹹的海水中找到的；旅行家知道阿爾卑斯山最美麗的花是開在最荒僻，最崎嶇的山路上的；屬靈人知道最寶貴的詩篇是在最痛苦的時候寫成的。
所以讓我們在黑暗中讚美神我們主耶穌基督的父。試煉越深，願我們的歌聲越高。親愛的，你有沒有學會這個功課呢？我們不只要忍受神的旨意，揀選神的旨意，遵行神的旨意，並且要用讚美來歡迎神的旨意。━譯自火中的試驗
當我輾轉於禍患的重負之下，
傷痛的心卻喃喃說，要安詳；
不必叫喊號哭，也不用呻吟，
緊閉嘴唇，不讓淚珠流出眼眶。
這愛使我靈魂無所掩蔽，
苦痛與煎熬，如煽沸湯，
最後一絲的安慰也化為烏有，
我雖不明究竟，我仍願安詳。
這愛是神的愛，因此我要忍耐，
靈魂啊，我們切莫疑懷，安詳等待，
是的，等一會，祂會照着祂的美意，
把我們從苦難中提拔出來。
我聽從心給我這個應許，
會在戰抖中竭力保持安靜，
曾向天舉起無淚的眼睛，
我說：“主啊，照祢的旨意去行”。
過不久，我心又在重負下，
斥責我的嘴唇繃緊，滿臉愁哀。
它輕聲說，“我們還要更進一步”，
“不但安定，還要樂以忘憂！”
如今我和我心都在歡唱，
用不着弦樂伴奏的聲響，
在荒漠中暢飲甘泉，
受了挫折，仍如振翅翱翔。
━S.P.M.
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