January 1

“The land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: a land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.” (Deut. 11:11-12)

Today, dear friends, we stand upon the verge¹ of the unknown. There lies before us the new year and we are going forth² to possess it. Who can tell what we shall find? What new experiences, what changes shall come, what new needs shall arise? But here is the cheering, comforting, gladdening message from our Heavenly Father, “The Lord thy God careth for it.” “His eyes are upon it away to the ending of the year.”

All our supply is to come from the Lord. Here are springs that shall never dry; here are fountains and streams that shall never be cut off. Here, anxious one, is the gracious pledge of the Heavenly Father. If He be the Source of our mercies they can never fail us. No heat, no drought can parch³ that river, “the streams whereof make glad the city of God.”

The land is a land of hills and valleys. It is not all smooth nor all down hill. If life were all one dead level the dull sameness it would oppress us; we want the hills and the valleys. The hills collect the rain for a hundred fruitful valleys. Ah, so it is with us! It is the hill difficulty that drives us to the throne of grace and brings down the shower of blessing⁴; the hills, the bleak⁵ hills of life that we wonder at and perhaps grumble⁶ at, bring down the showers. How many have perished in the wilderness⁷, buried under its golden sands, who would have lived and thriven in the hill-country; how many would have been killed by the frost, blighted⁸ with winds, swept desolate⁹ of tree and fruit but for the hill—stern, hard, rugged¹⁰, so steep to climb. God’s hills are a gracious protection for His people against their foes¹¹!

We cannot tell what loss and sorrow and trial are doing. Trust only. The Father comes near to take our hand and lead us on our way today. It shall be a good, a blessed new year!

He leads us on by paths we did not know;

Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,

Though oft we faint and falter¹² on the way,

Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day;

Yet when the clouds are gone,

We know He leads us on.

He leads us on through all the unquiet years;

Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts and fears,

He guides our steps, through all the tangled¹³ maze

Of losses, sorrows, and o’erclouded days;

We know His will is done;

And still He leads us on.

━ N. L. Zinzendorf.

一月一日

“你们要过去得为业的那地，乃是有山，有谷，雨水滋润之地。是耶和华你神所眷顾的，从岁首到年终，耶和华你神的眼目时常看顾那地” (申十一:11-12)

　　亲爱的读者，今天我们站在一个新的境界上，前途茫然。摆在我们面前的是一个新年，等待我们经过。谁也不能预知在将来的路程中有什么遭遇，什么变迁，什么需要。可是在这里有一段从父神那里来的信息，顶能安慰我们，顶能激励我们，━“耶和华你神…眷顾…从岁首到年终，耶和华你神的眼目时常看顾那地。”

我们所有的接济都可仰赖于神。祂那里有不干的活泉，永流的江河。祂那里有恩典的誓约。如果祂作我们供给的源头，就什么都不能使我们失望。没有热，没有旱能叫那道“使神的城欢喜”(诗四十六篇四节)的河干涸。

我们要得的那地乃是有山有谷之地。不是一片光滑的平原。若是我们前面的生活只是平而又光，何等乏味！我们需要山和谷。山使雨水汇集谷中，使地肥沃多结果子。山对于我们的生命也是这样。山一般的难处原是催赶我们到施恩座前去得有福的甘霖的；我们所厌烦的山境，反使我们得福。多少人因为厌烦山谷的辛苦，贪恋平地的舒服，因此受风霜的摧残，倒毙在山下的平地，埋葬在黄金色的沙中。神的山是祂子民的保障！

我们不能说前面没有损失，忧虑，试炼。我们只能信靠。父神必从今日起伸出祂大能的手来扶持我们走当走的路程。所以我们的新年是一个快乐，有福的新年！

祂引导我们走上新的路程，

虽然我们步伐缓慢艰困，

祂引导我们往高处攀登，有时我们沮丧逡巡，

有时目眩头昏，甚之那风雨使白昼晦冥；

但等天朗云散，

祂仍在引导我们。

祂引导我们度过坎坷岁月，

其间有多少梦幻境况，

有多少疑惧惊恐：祂指引我们的脚步，

不至落入失望，伤心和忧虑的迷津；

祂的旨意已完成，

祂仍在引导我们。

━秦成陶夫

1 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 parch   

v.烤干，焦干

参考例句：

• Let's parch corn!咱们爆玉米花吧。
• But you can parch the clothes with the gas in the kitchen.你就用煤气火烤干衣服吧。

4 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。

5 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

6 grumble   

vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another grumble from you.我不愿再听到你的抱怨。
• He could do nothing but grumble over the situation.他除了埋怨局势之外别无他法。

7 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。

8 blighted   

adj.枯萎的，摧毁的

参考例句：

• Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。
• She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

9 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

10 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

11 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

12 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

13 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。