March 1

"Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked¹." (Eccles. 7:13)

Often God seems to place His children in positions of profound difficulty, leading them into a wedge from which there is no escape; contriving² a situation which no human judgment³ would have permitted, had it been previously⁴ consulted. The very cloud conducts them thither⁵. You may be thus involved at this very hour.

It does seem perplexing and very serious to the last degree, but it is perfectly⁶ right. The issue will more than justify⁷ Him who has brought you hither. It is a platform for the display of His almighty⁸ grace and power.

He will not only deliver you; but in doing so, He will give you a lesson that you will never forget, and to which, in many a psalm⁹ and song, in after days, you will revert¹⁰. You will never be able to thank God enough for having done just as He has. –Selected

"We may wait till He explains,

Because we know that Jesus reigns¹¹."

It puzzles me; but, Lord, Thou understandest,

And wilt¹² one day explain this crooked thing.

Meanwhile, I know that it has worked out Thy best—

Its very crookedness¹³ taught me to cling.

Thou hast fenced up my ways, made my paths crooked,

To keep my wand'ring eyes fixed¹⁴ on Thee;

To make me what I was not, humble¹⁵, patient;

To draw my heart from earthly love to Thee.

So I will thank and praise Thee for this puzzle,

And trust where I cannot understand.

Rejoicing Thou dost hold me worth such testing,

I cling the closer to Thy guiding hand.

--F. E. M. I.

三月一日

“你要察看神的作为，因神使为曲的，谁能变为直呢？”（传七：13）

神似乎常把他的儿女放在极困难的处境中，使他们无法逃避，也无法解决。这种处境绝非人类的判断所能解决的，但这种阴暗际遇，自有其目的，也许你正在陷入这种际遇之中。

似乎你的遭遇是顶烦恼，顶严重。你也不懂得为什么神要如此待你，但是神的处理绝没有错误，不久你就会看见他的美意。你所处的地位是一个戏台，你正在戏台上表演神的荣耀、恩典和权能。

他不只要施行拯救；他也要借此使你学习一个不能遗忘的功课，叫你在事情经过之后，还能常常唱出新的赞美，发出足够的感谢来。——选

“我们知道，一切都在主的统驭之中，

所以我们必须静待他的解释“

我虽模糊，主，你却完全知道，

总有一天，你会解释其中奥秘，

那时我才会明白是你最好的安排，

这些曲折，正是教训我对你的顺服。

给我围上了藩篱，使我的途径成为曲折，

我的目光虽游移不定，但你却成了目标；

纠正了我的不耐与高傲，

转移了我的心，只听你的呼召。

我感谢你与赞美你曲折的安排，

我虽不知道，还是一心信靠，

你把我作了试炼，何等忭幸，

我要紧紧依靠着你的指导。

1 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

2 contriving   

（不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到

参考例句：

• Why may not several Deities combine in contriving and framing a world? 为什么不可能是数个神联合起来，设计和构造世界呢？ 来自哲学部分
• The notorious drug-pusher has been contriving an escape from the prison. 臭名昭著的大毒枭一直都在图谋越狱。

3 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。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

8 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

9 psalm   

n.赞美诗，圣诗

参考例句：

• The clergyman began droning the psalm.牧师开始以单调而低沈的语调吟诵赞美诗。
• The minister droned out the psalm.牧师喃喃地念赞美诗。

10 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

11 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

12 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

13 crookedness   

[医]弯曲

参考例句：

• She resolutely refused to believe that her father was in any way connected with any crookedness. 她坚决拒绝相信她父亲与邪魔歪道早有任何方面的关联。
• The crookedness of the stairway make it hard for the child to get up. 弯曲的楼梯使小孩上楼困难。

14 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。

15 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。