May 25

"I endure all things for the sake of God's own people; so that they also may obtain salvation¹...and with it eternal glory." (2 Tim. 2:10) (Weymouth)

If Job could have known as he sat there in the ashes, bruising² his heart on this problem of Providence--that in the trouble that had come upon him he was doing what one man may do to work out the problem for the world, he might again have taken courage. No man lives to himself. Job's life is but your life and mine written in larger text….So, then, though we may not know what trials wait on any of us, we can believe that, as the days in which Job wrestled³ with his dark maladies are the only days that make him worth remembrance, and but for which his name had never been written in the book of life, so the days through which we struggle, finding no way, but never losing the light, will be the most significant we are called to live. --Robert Collyer.

Who does not know that our most sorrowful days have been amongst our best? When the face is wreathed in smiles and we trip lightly over meadows bespangled with spring flowers, the heart is often running to waste.

The soul which is always blithe⁴ and gay misses the deepest life. It has its reward, and it is satisfied to its measure, though that measure is a very scanty⁵ one. But the heart is dwarfed⁶; and the nature, which is capable of the highest heights, the deepest depths, is undeveloped; and life presently burns down to its socket⁷ without having known the resonance⁸ of the deepest chords of joy.

"Blessed are they that mourn." Stars shine brightest in the long dark night of winter. The gentians show their fairest bloom amid almost inaccessible⁹ heights of snow and ice.

God's promises seem to wait for the pressure of pain to trample¹⁰ out their richest juice as in a wine-press. Only those who have sorrowed know how tender is the "Man of Sorrows." --Selected.

Thou hast but little sunshine, but thy long glooms are wisely appointed thee; for perhaps a stretch of summer weather would have made thee as a parched¹¹ land and barren wilderness¹². Thy Lord knows best, and He has the clouds and the sun at His disposal. --Selected.

"It is a gray day." "Yes, but dinna ye see the patch of blue?" --Scotch Shoemaker.

　 　 五月二十五日

　　“我为选民凡事忍耐，叫他们也可以得着……救恩，和永远的荣耀”（提后二：10）

　　当约伯坐在灰烬之中，假使他能知道神的旨意，究竟如何的时候，他所遭遇的磨难，正是给世人解答这回问题，他可能重新鼓起勇气来。没有人只为自己而活。约伯的生命，只是你我生命扩大的写照。我们虽不知道每一个人将遭遇到何种的试炼，但能相信，使约伯在苦痛疾病中挣扎着过那些日子，就是使他值得为后世之人怀念的日子。若不是那些日子，他的名字决不会写在圣经上。因此我们在奋斗前进，遭遇到这种阻挠，而从不灰心的这些日子，也将成为我们一生中最有意义的日子。

　　谁不知道我们最大的悲痛，是发生在最幸福的时候！当我们笑容满面，闲步于春花怒放的庭园时，我们的心常在此时颓唐下沉。

　　生活愉快逍遥的人，得不到最高属天的生命，他已有了酬报，而且满足于所得的酬报，却是他属灵生命长进的阻碍；使他本能意愿向最高最深之处的发展，亦因此而停滞了；他的生命还没有和最高贵的喜悦之音产生共鸣，就很快的耗为灰烬了。

　　“哀恸的人有福了；因为他们必得安慰”（太五：4）。星光照耀得最亮的时候，是在黑暗的冬夜。龙胆花开得最美丽的地方，是在冰雪的山顶。

　　神的应许，似乎要等待痛苦的压力，象酒坊中的压酢机那样，酢出最香烈的佳酿来。唯有经历悲哀的人，才知道耶稣是多么慈爱。

　　你虽只有一点点阳光，但对于你这长夜的阴暗是明智的安排。如果永远骄阳丽日的夏天，也许会把你晒成一片干枯不毛之地。你的主无所不知，云和太阳，都受他的使唤与调节。

　　“这是个阴天”“不错，但你难道没有看见也有补丁似的几片蔚蓝的天空吗”？

1 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

2 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

3 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 blithe   

adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的

参考例句：

• Tonight,however,she was even in a blithe mood than usual.但是，今天晚上她比往常还要高兴。
• He showed a blithe indifference to her feelings.他显得毫不顾及她的感情。

5 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

6 dwarfed   

vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
• The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 socket   

n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口

参考例句：

• He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
• The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。

8 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

9 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

10 trample   

vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯

参考例句：

• Don't trample on the grass. 勿踏草地。
• Don't trample on the flowers when you play in the garden. 在花园里玩耍时,不要踩坏花。

11 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

12 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。