February 2

"In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft¹: in his quiver hath he hid me."(Isa. 49:2)

"In the shadow." We must all go there sometimes. The glare of the daylight is too brilliant; our eyes become injured, and unable to discern the delicate shades of color, or appreciate neutral tints━the shadowed chamber² of sickness, the shadowed house of mourning, the shadowed life from which the sunlight has gone.

But fear not! It is the shadow of God's hand. He is leading thee. There are lessons that can be learned only there.

The photograph of His face can only be fixed³ in the dark chamber. But do not suppose that He has cast thee aside. Thou art still in His quiver; He has not flung thee away as a worthless thing.

He is only keeping thee close till the moment comes when He can send thee most swiftly and surely on some errand in which He will be glorified⁴. Oh, shadowed, solitary⁵ ones, remember how closely the quiver is bound to the warrior⁶, within easy reach of the hand, and guarded jealously. ━Christ in Isaiah, Meyer.

In some spheres the shadow condition is the condition of greatest growth. The beautiful Indian corn never grows more rapidly than in the shadow of a warm summer night. The sun curls the leaves in the sultry noon light, but they quickly unfold, if a cloud slips over the sky. There is a service in the shadow that is not in the shine. The world of stellar beauty is never seen at its best till the shadows of night slip over the sky. There are beauties that bloom in the shade that will not bloom in the sun. There is much greenery in lands of fog and clouds and shadow. The florist⁷ has "evening glories" now, as well as "morning glories." The "evening glory" will not shine in the noon's splendor⁸, but comes to its best as the shadows of evening deepen.

If all of life were sunshine,

Our faces would be fain

To feel once more upon them

The cooling plash of rain.

━Henry Van Dyk　

二月二日

　　“祂…将我藏在祂手荫之下；又使我成为磨亮的箭，将我藏在祂箭袋之中“ （赛四十九：2）

　　“在祂手荫之下“。我们常有到那里去的需要。日光太炫耀了；我们的目光会受到损伤，使我们不能分辨相仿的颜色。所以神将我们暂时藏在疾病的荫中，忧愁的荫中，穷苦的荫中，在那里和日光隔绝。

　　但是不要怕这是神的手荫祂正在引导。你有许多功课只能彀在那边学得的。

　　不要想神已经把你丢在一边了。你仍旧在祂箭袋之中；祂并没有把你当作无用之物抛去。

　　祂现在把你藏起，保守你直到相当的时候，祂要配你在弓弦上，送你出去，使仇敌受亏损，使神得荣耀。哦！在神手荫之下的信徒阿，战士如何宝贝他的箭，把它藏在贴身的箭袋中，神也如此宝贝你爱护你，藏你在祂的荫庇之下。━梅尔

　　许多时候，黑荫倒是生长必需的条件。美丽的玉蜀黍在夏夜的荫下生长得最快。在炎热的日光下，牠的叶子是鬈着的，到了天上起黑云的时候，叶子很快地开放了。也有许多美丽的花，日间藏起它们的美丽来，晚荫降时方纔开放。多云多雾和多荫的地带，草木也葱郁茂盛。花圃里不但有晨间怒放的花朵，也有“夜来香”，“夜来香”在日正当中时并无光彩，到深夜纔散布它的芬芳。

假如一生尽是阳光，

我们将会盼望，

清凉的雨滴，

洒到我们脸上。

━亨利·范戴卡

1 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

2 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

5 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

6 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

7 florist   

n.花商；种花者

参考例句：

• The florist bunched the flowers up.花匠把花捆成花束。
• Could you stop at that florist shop over there?劳驾在那边花店停一下好不好？

8 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。