April 2

"They looked…and behold¹, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud." (Exod. 16:10)

Get into the habit of looking for the silver lining² of the cloud and when you have found it, continue to look at it, rather than at the leaden gray in the middle.

Do not yield to discouragement no matter how sorely pressed or beset³ you may be. A discouraged soul is helpless. He can neither resist the wiles⁴ of the enemy himself, while in this state, nor can he prevail in prayer for others.

Flee from every symptom of this deadly foe⁵ as you would flee from a viper⁶. And be not slow in turning your back on it, unless you want to bite the dust in bitter defeat.

Search out God's promises and say aloud of each one: "This promise is mine." If you still experience a feeling of doubt and discouragement, pour out your heart to God and ask Him to rebuke⁷ the adversary⁸ who is so mercilessly nagging⁹ you.

The very instant you whole-heartedly turn away from every symptom of distrust and discouragement, the blessed Holy Spirit will quicken your faith and inbreathe Divine strength into your soul.

At first you may not be conscious of this, still as you resolutely¹⁰ and uncompromisingly "snub" every tendency toward doubt and depression that assails¹¹ you, you will soon be made aware that the powers of darkness are falling back.

Oh, if our eyes could only behold the solid phalanx of strength, of power, that is ever behind every turning away from the hosts of darkness, God-ward, what scant¹² heed¹³ would be given to the effort of the wily foe to distress¹⁴, depress, discourage us!

All the marvelous attributes of the Godhead are on the side of the weakest believer, who in the name of Christ, and in simple, childlike trust, yields himself to God and turns to Him for help and guidance. --Selected.

On a day in the autumn, I saw a prairie eagle mortally wounded by a rifle shot. His eye still gleamed like a circle of light. Then he slowly turned his head, and gave one more searching and longing¹⁵ look at the sky. He had often swept those starry¹⁶ spaces with his wonderful wings. The beautiful sky was the home of his heart. It was the eagle's domain¹⁷. A thousand times he had exploited there his splendid strength. In those far away heights he had played with the lightnings, and raced with the winds, and now, so far away from home, the eagle lay dying, done to the death, because for once be forgot and flew too low. The soul is that eagle. This is not its home. It must not lose the skyward look. We must keep faith, we must keep hope, we must keep courage, we must keep Christ. We would better creep away from the battlefield at once if we are not going to be brave. There is no time for the soul to stampede. Keep the skyward look, my soul; keep the skyward look!

"Keep looking up—

The waves that roar around thy feet,

Jehovah-Jireh will defeat

When looking up.

"Keep looking up—

Though darkness seems to wrap thy soul;

The Light of Light shall fill thy soul

When looking up.

"Keep looking up—

When worn, distracted with the fight;

Your Captain gives you conquering might

When you look up."

We can never see the sun rise by looking into the west. --Japanese Proverb.

　 四月二日

“他们…观看，不料，耶和华的荣光在云中显现”（出十六：10）。

　　黑云当空时，当养成一个习惯：一直看它银色的夹里，不去看它黑色的面子。

　　事情无论怎样糟，不可落到失望的地步。人失望简直等于无望。因为一个失望的人，既不能抵抗仇敌的攻击，又不能为人发出有效的代祷。

　　当逃避这样可怕的仇敌——失望，——犹如逃避一条致命的毒蛇一般。不要在它面前慢慢地转身，除非你愿意一败涂地。

　　在神前搜寻他的应许。既得着了，就用指头指着它说：“神，你曾说过这个。这应许是给我的”。若是你仍感觉怀疑或失望，向神倾心吐意地求他为你斥责欺侮你的仇敌。

　　一等到你全心离开不信和失望，圣灵立刻要复活你的信心，将属天的能力吹入你里面去。

　　起先你也许不觉得有什么动静，可是你只要决心抵抗每一个偏于疑惑和失望的倾向，你就会看见黑暗的势力败退。

　　哦，巴不得我们的眼睛能看见在黑暗势力后面的神的权能，我们就不会惧怕仇敌的狡猾，恶魔欲使我们落入悲伤，抑郁，灰心，气馁等的各种欺骗，将不值得一顾了。

神所具有伟大的权力，都是为了维护我们脆弱的心灵，只要奉基督的名，与纯洁无邪的信心，依靠神，向神祈求和引导。

　　一天，我看见草场上躺着一只重伤的老鹰。它的眼睛仍在射出光来。它慢慢地转过它的头来，再望一望它所渴幕的天空。它以前常在那里疾驰高飞。这美丽的天空是它心目中的老家。它曾千万次在那里表演它的勇力。它曾在高处与闪电同玩，与疾风竞走；现在呢，离家这么远，只因一次不小心飞得太低，就在这里等死。啊，让我们拿老鹰来比我们的心：世界并不是我们的老家。虽然我们在世上受了创伤，但是我们的心还得向着天家。我们应该守住信心，守住盼望，守住勇气，守住基督。如果我们没有勇气，我们还是早些离开战场的好。我的魂哪，你当仰望天！——选

继续向天盼望，

围着你怒号的浪涛，

就会被耶和华一扫而光！

当你向天盼望。

继续向天盼望，

虽然灵魂如被笼罩黑乡，

但终于充满了永恒之光，

当你向天盼望。

继续向天盼望，

虽然到了疲惫志丧，

主会给你得胜的力量，

当你向天盼望。

1 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

2 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

3 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

4 wiles   

n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All her wiles were to persuade them to buy the goods. 她花言巧语想打动他们买这些货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The woman used all her wiles to tempt him into following her. 那女人用尽了自己的诱骗本领勾引着他尾随而去。 来自《用法词典》

5 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

6 viper   

n.毒蛇；危险的人

参考例句：

• Envy lucks at the bottom of the human heart a viper in its hole.嫉妒潜伏在人心底，如同毒蛇潜伏在穴中。
• Be careful of that viper;he is dangerous.小心那个阴险的人，他很危险。

7 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

8 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

9 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 resolutely   

adj.坚决地，果断地

参考例句：

• He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。

11 assails   

v.攻击( assail的第三人称单数 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对

参考例句：

• The fragrance of flowers assails one's nose. 花气袭人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Envy assails the noblest, the wind howls around the highest peak. 位高招人怨；山高刮大风。 来自互联网

12 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

13 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

14 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

15 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

16 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

17 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。