January 12

“Reckon it nothing but joy...whenever you find yourself hedged in by the various trials, be assured that the testing of your faith leads to power of endurance.” (James 1:2, 3) (Weymouth)



God hedges in His own that He may preserve them, but oftentimes they only see the wrong side of the hedge, and so misunderstand His dealings. It was so with Job (Job 3:23). Ah, but Satan knew the value of that hedge! See his testimony¹ in chapter 1:10. Through the leaves of every trial there are chinks of light to shine through. Thorns do not prick² you unless you lean against them, and not one touches without His knowledge. The words that hurt you, the letter which gave you pain, the cruel wound of your dearest friend, shortness of money ━ are all known to Him, who sympathizes as none else can and watches to see, if, through all, you will dare to trust Him wholly.



“The hawthorn³ hedge that keeps us from intruding,

Looks very fierce and bare

When stripped by winter, every branch protruding

Its thorns that wound and tear.



“But spring-time comes; and like the rod that budded,

Each twig⁴ breaks out in green;

And cushions soft of tender leaves are studded,

Where spines⁵ alone are seen.



“The sorrows, that to us seem so perplexing,

Are mercies kindly⁶ sent,

To guard our wayward souls from sadder vexing,

And greater ills prevent.



“To save us from the pit, no screen of roses

Would serve for our defense,

The hindrance⁷ that completely interposes

Stings back like thorny⁸ fence.



“At first, when smarting from the shock, complaining

Of wounds that freely bleed,

God’s hedges of severity us paining,

May seem severe indeed.



“But afterwards, Gods blessed spring-time cometh,

And bitter murmurs⁹ cease;

The sharp severity that pierced us bloometh,

And yields the fruits of peace.



Then let us sing, our guarded way thus wending

Life’s hidden snares¹⁰ among,

Of mercy and of judgment¹¹ sweetly blending;

Earths sad, but lovely song.”

　



　

一月十二日



　　 “无论何时你们看见自己被各样试炼围困了，都要以为大喜乐；因为知道你们的信心经过试验，就生忍耐” （雅一：2-3）



　　神常围困祂自己的儿女们，为着要训练他们；可是人总错看祂的围困，误会祂的作为。乔布就是这样，他说：“人的道路旣然遮隐，神又把他四面围困，为何有光赐给他呢？”（伯三：23）。啊，神的儿女们！试炼虽然围困我们，仍有许多隙缝可以透光进来的。荆棘不会来刺你，除非你靠着它。并且那些伤你的话语，使你痛心的信札，亲朋的弃绝，经济的压迫…神都知道。如果，你敢完全信靠祂，祂必与你表同情，并且负你一切的责任。



荆棘编成的藩篱，

被寒冬剥夺了青翠，

剩下光秃的树枝，

满眼针扎尖刺。



春来了，像花朵怒放，

抽出了绿色枝条，

嫩叶纷披，婆娑掩隐，

如何地青葱美娇。



别以为悲哀多么恼人，

却是天赐的宏恩，

免得任性的灵魂，

陷入更深的纠纷。



为了免去我们沉沦地狱，

不用玫瑰花作护佑的屏风，

我们的四周，祇有

触着生痛的荆篱重重。



荆棘刺得我们疼痛，

还要埋怨创口流血，

多么的严厉凛冽，

这是神的圭臬。



终于神赐的春天来了，

痛苦的呻吟停止，

艰难中开出花朵，

结成平安的果子。



让我们高歌前进，

穿过隐伏的人生陷阱，

走上恩威兼施神安排的道路，

高唱悲壮柔和的歌咏。

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 prick   

v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛

参考例句：

• He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。
• He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

3 hawthorn   

山楂

参考例句：

• A cuckoo began calling from a hawthorn tree.一只布谷鸟开始在一株山楂树里咕咕地呼叫。
• Much of the track had become overgrown with hawthorn.小路上很多地方都长满了山楂树。

4 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

5 spines   

n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊

参考例句：

• Porcupines use their spines to protect themselves. 豪猪用身上的刺毛来自卫。
• The cactus has spines. 仙人掌有刺。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

7 hindrance   

n.妨碍，障碍

参考例句：

• Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。
• The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。

8 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

9 murmurs   

n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕

参考例句：

• They spoke in low murmurs. 他们低声说着话。 来自辞典例句
• They are more superficial, more distinctly heard than murmurs. 它们听起来比心脏杂音更为浅表而清楚。 来自辞典例句

10 snares   

n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He shoots rabbits and he sets snares for them. 他射杀兔子，也安放陷阱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death. 我自己不知不觉跌进了死神的陷阱。 来自辞典例句

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。