April 1

"Though he slay¹ me, yet will I trust him." (Job 13:15)

"For I know whom I have believed." (2 Tim. 1:12)

"I will not doubt, though all my prayers return

Unanswered from the still, white realm above;

I will believe it is an all-wise love

Which has refused these things for which I yearn²;

And though at times I cannot keep from grieving,

Yet the pure ardor³ of my fixed⁴ believing

Undimmed shall burn.

"I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea

Come drifting home with broken masts and sails;

I will believe the Hand which never fails,

From seeming evil worketh good for me.

And though I weep because those sails are tattered⁵,

Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered:

'I trust in Thee.'

"I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain,

And troubles swarm⁶ like bees about a hive.

I will believe the heights for which I strive

Are only reached by anguish⁷ and by pain;

And though I groan⁸ and writhe⁹ beneath my crosses.

I yet shall see through my severest losses

The greater gain.

"I will not doubt. Well anchored is this faith,

Like some staunch ship, my soul braves every gale¹⁰;

So strong its courage that it will not quail¹¹

To breast the mighty¹² unknown sea of death.

Oh, may I cry, though body parts with spirit,

'I do not doubt,' so listening worlds may hear it,

With my last breath."

"In fierce storms," said an old seaman¹³, "we must do one thing; there is only one way: we must put the ship in a certain position and keep her there."

This, Christian¹⁴, is what you must do. Sometimes, like Paul, you can see neither sun nor stars, and no small tempest lies on you; and then you can do but one thing; there is only one way.

Reason cannot help you; past experiences give you no light. Even prayer fetches no consolation¹⁵. Only a single course is left. You must put your soul in one position and keep it there.

You must stay upon the Lord; and come what may--winds, waves, cross-seas, thunder, lightning, frowning rocks, roaring breakers--no matter what, you must lash¹⁶ yourself to the helm, and hold fast your confidence in God's faithfulness, His covenant¹⁷ engagement, His everlasting¹⁸ love in Christ Jesus. --Richard Fuller.

四月一日

“他虽杀我，然而我还要信靠他”（伯十三：15直译）。

“因为我知道我所信的是谁”（提后一：12直译）。

我决不怀疑，虽然我的船队

在海上漂泊颠簸，帆樯破碎。

相信那从不失误的神之手，

将转灾祸为福祉充沛，

在失望中，我仍高呼信靠神，

纵然惋惜着船的破碎狼狈。

我决不怀疑，虽然祈求的一切

苍天还没有给我回音，

相信拒绝实现这些愿望，

乃是出于全智者的哀矜，

有时虽不禁愁闷，

丝毫未损我至诚不变的信心。

我决不怀疑，悲哀虽如雨降潮涨，

困难群集，像蜜蜂围聚蜂房。

相信要达成我争取的崇高目标，

唯有伤痛和苦难，才能担当，

虽在十字架下呻吟号呼，

将从惨痛失丧中获得更大报偿。

决不怀疑，我的信心碇泊稳妥，

如坚固巨艇，能受任何风浪，

绝不气馁，有的是毅力与勇敢，

足以面对那祸患莫测的海洋。

纵然牺牲尘世生命，只要一息尚存，

“决不怀疑”，让这呼声播扬。

　　人生如渡洋海，不免遭遇风浪。一位老于航行者说道：“当浪高如山，风疾如火时，唯一的办法，就是将船停在一个地方，让它一直留在那里。”

　　在基督徒的生命中也是如此。有时，像保罗一样，“我们被风浪逼得甚急…太阳和星辰多日不愿露，又有狂风大浪催逼，我们得救的指望就都绝了”。（徒二十七：18/20）在这样的光景中，我们只能作一件事：将自己停在一个地方。

　　那时候，理由不能帮助我们；竭力挣扎，也不能产生效果；以往的经验，不能给我们亮光；甚至祷告，也得不着安慰。我们只有一个方法，就是安息我们自己在一个地方，一直留在那里。

　　我们只能安息在神的胸怀中；来的无论是狂风，暴雨，骇浪，怒涛，轰雷，闪电，浓雾，冰山…我们只要紧紧抓住舵柄——神的信实，誓约，和在基督耶稣里不止息的爱——好了。——付勒

1 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

2 yearn   

v.想念；怀念；渴望

参考例句：

• We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

3 ardor   

n.热情，狂热

参考例句：

• His political ardor led him into many arguments.他的政治狂热使他多次卷入争论中。
• He took up his pursuit with ardor.他满腔热忱地从事工作。

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 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

6 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

7 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

8 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

9 writhe   

vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼

参考例句：

• They surely writhe under this pressure.他们肯定对这种压力感到苦恼。
• Her words made him writhe with shame.她的话使他惭愧地感到浑身不自在。

10 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。

11 quail   

n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖

参考例句：

• Cowards always quail before the enemy.在敌人面前，胆小鬼们总是畏缩不前的。
• Quail eggs are very high in cholesterol.鹌鹑蛋胆固醇含量高。

12 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

13 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

14 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。

15 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

16 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

17 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

18 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。