May 6

"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." (Ps. 25:14)

There are secrets of Providence¹ which God's dear children may learn. His dealings with them often seem, to the outward eye, dark and terrible. Faith looks deeper and says, "This is God's secret. You look only on the outside; I can look deeper and see the hidden meaning."

Sometimes diamonds are done up in rough packages, so that their value cannot be seen. When the Tabernacle was built in the wilderness² there was nothing rich in its outside appearance. The costly³ things were all within, and its outward covering of rough badger⁴ skin gave no hint of the valuable things which it contained.

God may send you, dear friends, some costly packages. Do not worry if they are done up in rough wrappings. You may be sure there are treasures of love, and kindness, and wisdom hidden within. If we take what He sends, and trust Him for the goodness in it, even in the dark, we shall learn the meaning of the secrets of Providence. --A. B. Simpson.

"Not until each loom⁵ is silent,

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Will God unroll the pattern

And explain the reason why

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver's skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

For the pattern which He planned."

He that is mastered by Christ is the master of every circumstance. Does the circumstance press hard against you? Do not push it away. It is the Potter's hand. Your mastery will come, not by arresting its progress, but by enduring its discipline, for it is not only shaping you into a vessel⁶ of beauty and honor, but it is making your resources available.

　 五月六日

“耶和华与敬畏他的人亲密”（诗二十五：14）。

　　神有他的秘密，敬畏他的儿女们都可以知道的。神对付他们的手段，在外表看来，常是严厉，可怕的。只有信心能看到深处，而说：“这是神的秘密。你只能看见外面；我却能看见其中包含着的意义”。

　　金刚钻和翡翠都是藏在顶粗大的石中的，它们的美丽和价值在外面一点都看不出来。古犹太人荒野中的会幕，在外面并不能看出什么价值来。岂知里面尽是宝贵的东西，虽然外面仅罩着一重顶难看的海狗皮。

　　亲爱的，神也许送你一包顶宝贵的东西。不要难受，如果外面的装璜并不好看。你可确实知道：里面定规包着爱和智慧。如果我们用信心接受，我们就是在黑暗中，也可以看见：在里面有神的秘密。——信宣

直到织机声息全无，

纺梭停止飞舞，

神才摊开织造的图案，

解释其中的原故。

为什么灵巧的织工

把黑色的线拿在手中，

对于他所设计的花式，

和金线银线同样成功

　　凡是接受基督支配的人，他可以支配一切的环境。你觉得环境给你的压力很大吗？不要躲避。这是主在塑造你，正像窑匠塑造瓷器一样。对你的支配，即将到来，并非阻止你前进，而是要你忍受其训练，因为他不仅要把你制成美丽大方的器皿，且使你发挥天赋的功能。

1 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

2 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 badger   

v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠

参考例句：

• Now that our debts are squared.Don't badger me with them any more.我们的债务两清了。从此以后不要再纠缠我了。
• If you badger him long enough,I'm sure he'll agree.只要你天天纠缠他，我相信他会同意。

5 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

6 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。