March 10

"The just shall live by faith." (Heb. 10:38)

Seemings and feelings are often substituted for faith. Pleasurable emotions and deep satisfying experiences are part of the Christian¹ life, but they are not all of it. Trials, conflicts, battles and testings lie along the way, and are not to be counted as misfortunes, but rather as part of our necessary discipline.

In all these varying experiences we are to reckon on Christ as dwelling² in the heart, regardless of our feelings if we are walking obediently before Him. Here is where many get into trouble; they try to walk by feeling rather than faith.

One of the saints tells us that it seemed as though God had withdrawn³ Himself from her. His mercy seemed clean gone. For six weeks her desolation lasted, and then the Heavenly Lover seemed to say:

"Catherine, thou hast looked for Me without in the world of sense, but all the while I have been within waiting for thee; meet Me in the inner chamber⁴ of thy spirit, for I am there."

Distinguish between the fact of God's presence, and the emotion of the fact. It is a happy thing when the soul seems desolate⁵ and deserted⁶, if our faith can say, "I see Thee not. I feel Thee not, but Thou art certainly and graciously here, where I am as I am." Say it again and again: "Thou art here: though the bush does not seem to burn with fire, it does burn. I will take the shoes from off my feet, for the place on which I stand is holy ground." --London Christian.

Believe God's word and power more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your Rock is Christ, and it is not the Rock which ebbs⁷ and flows, but your sea. --Samuel Rutherford.

Keep your eye steadily⁸ fixed⁹ on the infinite grandeur¹⁰ of Christ's finished work and righteousness. Look to Jesus and believe, look to Jesus and live! Nay¹¹, more; as you look to him, hoist¹² your sails and buffet¹³ manfully the sea of life. Do not remain in the haven¹⁴ of distrust, or sleeping on your shadows in inactive repose¹⁵, or suffering your frames and feelings to pitch and toss on one another like vessels¹⁶ idly moored¹⁷ in a harbor. The religious life is not a brooding over emotions, grazing the keel of faith in the shallows, or dragging the anchor of hope through the oozy¹⁸ tide mud as if afraid of encountering the healthy breeze. Away! With your canvas spread to the gale¹⁹, trusting in Him, who rules the raging of the waters. The safety of the tinted²⁰ bird is to be on the wing. If its haunt be near the ground--if it fly low--it exposes itself to the fowler's net or snare²¹. If we remain grovelling²² on the low ground of feeling and emotion, we shall find ourselves entangled²³ in a thousand meshes²⁴ of doubt and despondency, temptation and unbelief. "But surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of THAT WHICH HATH A WING" (marginal reading Prov. 1:17). Hope thou in God. --J. R. Macduff.

　 三月十日

“义人必因信而活”(来十：38直译) 。

　　眼见和感觉常会代替信心。高兴的情感和满足的经历仅是基督徒生活中的一部分，并不是全部分。前途中埋伏着的试炼，逼迫，战争，绝非不幸，乃是我们必受的训练。

　　在这一切患难的经历中，我们须认定主活在我们里面，不管我们的感觉怎样。许多人因为感觉而跌倒；他们依靠感觉，不依靠信心。

　　有一个姐妹告诉我们：她有一次觉得神离开了她。他的恩典怜悯，似乎完全跑开了。她在这种情形之下有六星期之久，有一天神对她说:“凯塞林，你一直在外面的感觉上寻找我，所以找不着我；这六星期中我却在里面等待你；你应当到你灵中内室里来找我，因为我在那里”。

　　我们应该分辨情感和事实，这是何等快乐的一回事：当魂感觉孤单凄凉的时侯，我们的信心仍能说：“我看不见你，我觉不到你，但是你始终在这里，所以我一直是这样的我。哦，主，你一直在这里；荆棘虽然没有烧毁，但是的确被火烧着。我要把我脚上的鞋脱下来，因为我所站的是圣地”。——基督徒报

　　我们应该信神的话语和能力过于信我们自己的感觉和经历。我们的磐石是基督，涨落的不是磐石，乃是我们魂中的海潮。——罗斯福特

　　我们的眼睛应该凝视基督所已经完成的工作。我们应当仰望耶稣，张起我们的帆来，勇勇敢敢地与浪相搏。不要留恋在不信的港口里，不要躺卧在黑暗的死寂里，不要任你的感觉上下颠簸像碇泊在港口的船只一般。属灵的生活不是蹲伏在情感上的，也不是留恋在浅水里的。撑开去！撑到大风大浪中去。信靠主，他是管理洋海的主。飞鸟越飞得高，越是安全。如果它飞得低——靠近地面——它也许会陷入捕鸟者所设的网罗里去.　照样，如果我们一直匍匐在低地上——依靠感觉，情感 ——我们就要看见我们自己将要被千万种网罗——怀疑，失望，诱惑，不信……——所缠累。这就是“好象飞鸟，网罗设在眼前仍不躲避”(箴一：17) 。——马克特夫

1 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。

2 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

3 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

4 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

5 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。

6 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

7 ebbs   

退潮( ebb的名词复数 )； 落潮； 衰退

参考例句：

• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。
• The new Russia steadily ebbs away drive out of Moscow. 驶离莫斯科愈来愈远以后，俄罗斯崭新的景象也逐渐消失。

8 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

9 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。

10 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

11 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。

12 hoist   

n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起

参考例句：

• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。
• Hoist the Chinese flag on the flagpole,please!请在旗杆上升起中国国旗！

13 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

14 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

15 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

16 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 moored   

adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. 该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
• We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

18 oozy   

adj.软泥的

参考例句：

• What calls erythema oozy sex gastritis? 什么叫红斑渗出性胃炎？ 来自互联网

19 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

20 tinted   

adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
• a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法

21 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

22 grovelling   

adj.卑下的，奴颜婢膝的v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的现在分词 )；趴

参考例句：

• Can a policeman possibly enjoy grovelling in the dirty side of human behaivour? 一个警察成天和人类行为的丑恶面打交道，能感到津津有味吗？ 来自互联网

23 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 meshes   

网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境

参考例句：

• The net of Heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. 天网恢恢，疏而不漏。
• This net has half-inch meshes. 这个网有半英寸见方的网孔。