February 3

"And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness¹." (Mark 1:12)

It seemed a strange proof of Divine favor. "Immediately." Immediately after what? After the opened heavens and the dove-like peace and the voice of the Father's blessing², "......Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mk.1:11)It is no abnormal experience. Thou, too, hast passed through it, O my soul. Are not the times of thy deepest depression just the moments that follow thy loftiest flight? Yesterday thou wert soaring far in the firmament³, and singing in the radiance of the morn; today thy wings are folded and thy song silent. At noon thou wert basking⁴ in the sunshine of a Father's smile; at eve thou art saying in the wilderness, "...My way is hid from the Lord...."(Is.40:27)

Nay⁵, but, my soul, the very suddenness of the change is a proof that it is not revolutionary.

Hast thou weighed the comfort of that word "immediately"? Why does it come so soon after the blessing? Just to show that it is the sequel to the blessing. God shines on thee to make thee fit for life's desert-places━for its Gethsemanes, for its Calvaries. He lifts thee up that He may give thee strength to go further down; He illuminates⁶ thee that He may send thee into the night, that He may make thee a help to the helpless.

Not at all times art thou worthy⁷ of the wilderness; thou art only worthy of the wilderness after the splendors⁸ of Jordan. Nothing but the Son's vision can fit thee for the Spirit's burden; only the glory of the baptism can support the hunger of the desert. ━George Matheson

After benediction⁹ comes battle.

The time of testing that marks and mightily¹⁰ enriches a soul's spiritual career is no ordinary one, but a period when all hell seems let loose, a period when we realize our souls are brought into a net, when we know that God is permitting us to be in the devil's hand. But it is a period which always ends in certain triumph for those who have committed the keeping of their souls to Him, a period of marvelous "nevertheless afterward¹¹" of abundant usefulness, the sixty-fold that surely follows. ━Aphra White

二月三日

　　“圣灵立刻把耶稣催到旷野里去”（可一：12直译）

　　这似乎是很可怪的一回事。“立刻”。在甚么事情发生了之后，纔有“立刻“呢？在主从水里上来，看见天裂开了，圣灵仿佛鸽子降在祂身上，父神公开宣布：“......你是我的爱子，我喜悦你”（可一：11）之后。这并不是反常的经历。你有否这样的经历？岂不是山峯一程之后，立刻就是山谷的一程么？也许昨天你曾飞翔天空，歌唱赞美；今天你的翅膀下垂，歌声全止了。早晨你曾享受父神的欢笑；晚上你会在旷野中说：“...我的道路向耶和华隐藏...”（赛四十：27）。

　　可是，信徒们啊，事情突然转变，并非出乎偶然，乃是有神的美意在其中。

　　你有没有想过：为甚么祝福之后，就有这“立刻”呢？原来祝福是手续，“立刻”是目的。“立刻”就是祝福的下文。神给你祝福，原是要使你能胜任前面的荒漠━客西马尼，各各他。神光照你，高举你，给你力量，原是要你冲过前面可怕的阵地；神给你亮光，原是要你经过黑夜；神给你帮助，原是要帮助那些无助的。

　　并非随时有资格到旷野去受试炼的，你必须先有约旦河的祝福，然后纔配到旷野去。唯有圣子的启示，才能使你承担圣灵的重负；惟有洗礼的荣耀，才能支持沙漠中的饥饿。━马得胜

　　祝福之后就是战争。

　　一个人的精神修养，将因试炼而充实，而有显著的进步。但试炼时期是不平常的。在这个时期，地狱好象张开了口的门户，我们的灵魂如入罗网之中，神并且让我们落到魔鬼的手掌中去。但这个时期，对于永远把灵魂依赖祂的人，迟早必会结束于胜利之中，不管这试炼时期有多长，时有神奇的功用，无穷的后效。━怀特

1 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

3 firmament   

n.苍穹；最高层

参考例句：

• There are no stars in the firmament.天空没有一颗星星。
• He was rich,and a rising star in the political firmament.他十分富有，并且是政治高层一颗冉冉升起的新星。

4 basking   

v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的现在分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽

参考例句：

• We sat basking in the warm sunshine. 我们坐着享受温暖的阳光。
• A colony of seals lay basking in the sun. 一群海豹躺着晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

6 illuminates   

v.使明亮( illuminate的第三人称单数 )；照亮；装饰；说明

参考例句：

• The light shines on from over there and illuminates the stage. 灯光从那边照进来，照亮了舞台。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sun illuminates the sky. 太阳照亮了天空。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

8 splendors   

n.华丽( splendor的名词复数 )；壮丽；光辉；显赫

参考例句：

• The sun rose presently and sent its unobstructed splendors over the land. 没多大工夫，太阳就出来了，毫无阻碍，把它的光华异彩散布在大地之上。 来自辞典例句
• Her mortal frame could not endure the splendors of the immortal radiance. 她那世人的肉身禁不住炽热的神光。 来自辞典例句

9 benediction   

n.祝福；恩赐

参考例句：

• The priest pronounced a benediction over the couple at the end of the marriage ceremony.牧师在婚礼结束时为新婚夫妇祈求上帝赐福。
• He went abroad with his parents' benediction.他带着父母的祝福出国去了。

10 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

11 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。