July 5

"I will allure¹ her, and bring her into the wilderness²…And I will give her her vineyards from thence."(Hosea 2:14, 15)

A strange place to find vineyards━in the wilderness! And can it be that the riches which a soul needs can be obtained in the wilderness, which stands for a lonely place, out of which you can seldom find your way? It would seem so, and not only that, but the "Valley of Achor," which means bitterness, is called a door of hope. And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth!

Yes, God knows our need of the wilderness experience. He knows where and how to bring out that which is enduring. The soul has been idolatrous, rebellious³; has forgotten God, and with a perfect self-will has said, "I will follow after my lovers." (Hos.2:5) But she did not overtake them. And, when she was hopeless and forsaken⁴, God said, "I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her." What a loving God is ours! ━Crumbs

We never know where God hides His pools. We see a rock, and we cannot guess it is the home of the spring. We see a flinty place, and we cannot tell it is the hiding place of a fountain. God leads me into the hard places, and then I find I have gone into the dwelling⁵ place of eternal springs. ━Selected

七月五日

“…我必劝导他，领他到旷野，对他说安慰的话。从那里我必赐他葡萄园，又赐他亚割谷作为指望的门，他必在那里歌唱，与幼年的日子一样”（何二：14-15直译）

在甚么地方找到“葡萄园”？在“旷野”里！真奇怪，在一个连出路也难找的“旷野”里找到“葡萄园”！读者，这给我们看见：我们属灵的丰富能在“旷野”里━寂静的地方━找到。不但能找到“葡萄园”，也能找到“亚割谷（亚割意卽苦难）作为指望的门“。“他必在那里歌唱，与幼年的日子一样”！

是的，神知道我们需要旷野的经历。祂知道在甚么地方能生出忍耐来，祂也知道怎样能生出忍耐来。我们的心是叛逆的，善于崇拜偶像的，最会忘记神，也最会固执地说：“我要随从我所爱的”（何二章五节译）。到我们绝了望被人弃绝的时候，神却说：“我必劝导他，领他到旷野，对他说安慰的话”。啊，我们的神是一个爱的神啊！━碎锦

我们不知道神把泉源藏在什么地方。我们看见一块岩石，但不能断定下面藏着甘泉。直到神把我们领到艰苦的环境下，我们纔会发现永生之泉，就发源在那里。━选

1 allure   

n.诱惑力，魅力；vt.诱惑，引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
• The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。

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 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

4 Forsaken   

adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词

参考例句：

• He was forsaken by his friends. 他被朋友们背弃了。
• He has forsaken his wife and children. 他遗弃了他的妻子和孩子。

5 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。