January 25

"…Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…." (Psa. 23:4)

At my father's house in the country there is a little closet in the chimney corner where are kept the canes¹ and walking-sticks of several generations of our family. In my visits to the old house, when my father and I are going out for a walk, we often go to the cane² closet, and pick out our sticks to suit the fancy of the occasion. In this I have frequently been reminded that the Word of God is a staff.

During the war, when the season of discouragement and impending³ danger was upon us, the verse, "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is fixed⁴, trusting in the Lord," (Ps.112:7) was a staff to walk with many dark days.

When death took away our child and left us almost heartbroken, I found another staff in the promise that "weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning."(Ps.30:5)

When in impaired⁵ health, I was exiled for a year, not knowing whether I should be permitted to return to my home and work again, I took with me this staff which never failed, "He knoweth the thoughts that he thinketh toward me, thoughts of peace and not of evil."(Jer.29:11)

In times of special danger or doubt, when human judgment⁶ has seemed to be set at naught⁷, I have found it easy to go forward with this staff, "……In quietness and confidence shall be your strength……."(Is.30:15) And in emergencies, when there has seemed to be no adequate time for deliberation or for action, I have never found that this staff has failed me, "……He that believeth shall not make haste."(Is.28:16) ━Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, in The Outlook.

"I had never known," said Martin Luther's wife, "what such and such things meant, in such and such psalms⁸, such complaints and workings of spirit; I had never understood the practice of Christian⁹ duties, had not God brought me under some affliction." It is very true that God's rod is as the schoolmaster's pointer to the child, pointing out the letter, that he may the better take notice of it; thus He pointeth out to us many good lessons which we should never otherwise have learned. –Selected

"God always sends His staff with His rod."

"Thy shoes shall be iron and brass¹⁰; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be" (Deut. 33:25).

Each of us may be sure that if God sends us on stony¹¹ paths He will provide us with strong shoes, and He will not send us out on any journey for which He does not equip us well. –Maclaren.

一月二十五日

“…祢的杖，祢的竿，都安慰我…” （诗廿三：4）

　　在我父亲的家中有一个小房间，里面藏着我家几代所用的许多手杖。有的是爬山用的，有的是走平坦大道用的，有的是走泥泞之地用的，有的是雨后雪后行路用的，每种手杖的样式各不相同。有时我回故乡去探望父亲，他老人家常喜欢和我出外散步；每次出发之前，我们总先到手杖室中去拣选我们那一次所适用的手杖。因此我常常想起神的话语是我们生活中的手杖，会给我无限帮助和安慰。

　　在打仗的时候，紧急的风声使我们心慌意乱，神给我们的杖是：“他必不怕凶恶的信息；他心坚定，依靠耶和华”（诗一一二：7）。这杖扶持我们经过许多黑暗的日子。

　　当死亡夺去我们的孩子，使我们心碎的时候，我在应许中找到另一根安慰的杖：“……一宿虽然有哭泣，早晨便必欢呼”（诗三十：5）

　　有一次我病倒了，在外养病有一年之久，在这时期中我不知道究竟我是否再会恢复，再能回到我的家中去，再担任我以前的工作。在这样没有指望之中，我始终抓住神的杖。“耶和华说，我知道我向你们所怀的意念，是赐平安的意念，不是降灾祸的意念…”（耶廿九：11）

　　在危险或疑惧的时候，人的评判都说“完了”的时候，我发见了一根带领我安然过去的杖：“……你们得力在乎平静安稳……”（赛三十：15）。在遇到意外事情的时候，似乎没有一点工夫可以设法补救了，我发现了一根从来没有误过我的杖：“……信靠的人必不着急“（赛二十八：16）━亚保德便雅悯

　　马丁路得的妻子说：“如果神不叫我经过苦难，我永远不会知道诗篇中这些话语是甚么意思；我也永远不会明白基督徒的责任是甚么。“真的，神的杖好像教员指示孩子识字的教鞭一般，指到某一个字，孩子就注意这一个字；照样，神指导我们许多有益的功课，是我们在别的地方永不会学到的。━选

　　“神总是用祂的竿和杖指引我们。”

　　“你的鞋是铜的，铁的。你的日子如何，你的力量也必如何”（申三十三：25）

　　让我们记得：如果神要我们走在坚固的石路上，祂必先给我们穿上铁鞋或铜鞋；祂决不会不先替我们预备好了，就差我们出外去走崎岖的路。━麦克劳

1 canes   

n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖

参考例句：

• Sugar canes eat sweet. 甘蔗吃起来很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I saw several sugar canes, but wild, and for cultivation, imperfect. 我还看到一些甘蔗，因为是野生的，未经人工栽培，所以不太好吃。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

2 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

3 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

4 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。

5 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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。

7 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

8 psalms   

n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的)

参考例句：

• the Book of Psalms 《〈圣经〉诗篇》
• A verse from Psalms knifed into Pug's mind: "put not your trust in princes." 《诗篇》里有一句话闪过帕格的脑海：“不要相信王侯。” 来自辞典例句

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

11 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。