July 17

"I will be still, and I will behold¹ in my dwelling² place." (Isa. 18:4, R. V.)

ASSYRIA was marching against Ethiopia, the people of which are described as tall and smooth. And as the armies advance, God makes no effort to arrest them; it seems as though they will be allowed to work their will. He is still watching them from His dwelling place, the sun still shines on them; but before the harvest, the whole of the proud army of Assyria is smitten³ as easily as when sprigs are cut off by the pruning⁴ hook of the husbandman.

Is not this a marvelous conception of God-being still and watching? His stillness is not acquiescence⁵. His silence is not consent. He is only biding⁶ His time, and will arise, in the most opportune⁷ moment, and when the designs of the wicked seem on the point of success, to overwhelm them with disaster. As we look out on the evil of the world; as we think of the apparent success of wrong-doing; as we wince⁸ beneath the oppression of those that hate us, let us remember these marvelous words about God being still and beholding⁹.

There is another side to this. Jesus beheld¹⁰ His disciples¹¹ toiling¹² at the oars¹³ through the stormy night; and watched though unseen, the successive steps of the anguish¹⁴ of Bethany, when Lazarus slowly passed through the stages of mortal sickness, until he succumbed¹⁵ and was borne to the rocky tomb. But He was only waiting the moment when He could interpose most effectually. Is He still to thee? He is not unobservant; He is beholding all things; He has His finger on thy pulse, keenly sensitive to all its fluctuations¹⁶. He will come to save thee when the precise moment arrived. --- Devotional Commentary.

Whatever His questions or His reticences, we may be absolutely sure of an unperplexed and undismayed Saviour¹⁷.

"O troubled soul, beneath the rod,

Thy Father speaks, be still, be still;

Learn to be silent unto God,

And let Him mould thee to His will.

"O praying soul, be still, be still,

He cannot break His plighted¹⁸ Word;

Sink down into His blessed will,

And wait in patience on the Lord.

"O waiting soul, be still, be strong,

And though He tarry, trust and wait;

Doubt not, He will not wait too long,

Fear not, He will not come too late."　

七月十七日

「我要安静，在我的居所观看。」（以赛亚书十八: 4）

　　你们记得亚述王西拿基立上来攻击犹大的那段故事吗？当亚述军队上来的时候，神并没有阻止他们；似乎神许可他们这样作一般。神仍旧安安静静地在祂的居所观看，太阳也仍旧照着他们；但是到了夜间，耶和华的使者击杀了全批傲慢的亚述军队，正如农夫的镰刀割剪树枝一般容易。

　　我们看，神的观念多么奇异━祂喜欢安静，在祂的居所观看！祂的安静并不是默许，祂的缄默并不是同意；祂不过在等待祂自己的时候罢了 ━ 在最合宜的时候，祂要起来，在恶者的图谋正要成功的时候，祂要起来用灾祸毁灭他们。当我们看到世上的邪恶，想到恶人的成功， 挣扎在仇人的欺压下的时候，就应当想到神是在安静观看。

　　我们再看主耶稣在世时的态度。一天晚上，耶稣独自在岸上，看见门徒在海中，因风不顺，摇橹甚苦，祂怎么样呢？静静地望着； 拉撒路生病的时候，祂明知道祂所爱的人在伯大尼何等痛苦，但是祂却不去....直等到拉撒路的病势一天沉重一天，死了，安放在坟墓里了， 祂才前去，为的是要等待最合宜的时间。

　　亲爱的读者，祂对你是不是也是这样「安静」呢？祂并不是不关心；一切祂都看见；祂的手指正按在你的脉搏上，很留意地在数算起伏的次数。 在祂看为最恰当的时候，祂就要起来拯救你。── 译自日诚报

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 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。

3 smitten   

猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• From the moment they met, he was completely smitten by her. 从一见面的那一刻起，他就完全被她迷住了。
• It was easy to see why she was smitten with him. 她很容易看出为何她为他倾倒。

4 pruning   

n.修枝，剪枝，修剪v.修剪（树木等）( prune的现在分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• In writing an essay one must do a lot of pruning. 写文章要下一番剪裁的工夫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A sapling needs pruning, a child discipline. 小树要砍，小孩要管。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 acquiescence   

n.默许；顺从

参考例句：

• The chief inclined his head in sign of acquiescence.首领点点头表示允许。
• This is due to his acquiescence.这是因为他的默许。

6 biding   

v.等待，停留( bide的现在分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待；面临

参考例句：

• He was biding his time. 他正在等待时机。 来自辞典例句
• Applications:used in carbide alloy, diamond tools, biding admixture, high-temperature alloy, rechargeable cell. 用作硬质合金，磁性材料，金刚石工具，高温合金，可充电池等。 来自互联网

7 opportune   

adj.合适的，适当的

参考例句：

• Her arrival was very opportune.她来得非常及时。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 wince   

n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避

参考例句：

• The barb of his wit made us wince.他那锋芒毕露的机智使我们退避三舍。
• His smile soon modified to a wince.他的微笑很快就成了脸部肌肉的抽搐。

9 beholding   

v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• Beholding, besides love, the end of love,/Hearing oblivion beyond memory! 我看见了爱，还看到了爱的结局，／听到了记忆外层的哪一片寂寥！ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Hence people who began by beholding him ended by perusing him. 所以人们从随便看一看他开始的，都要以仔细捉摸他而终结。 来自辞典例句

10 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

11 disciples   

n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一

参考例句：

• Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. 犹大是耶稣十二门徒之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "The names of the first two disciples were --" “最初的两个门徒的名字是——” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

12 toiling   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• The fiery orator contrasted the idle rich with the toiling working classes. 这位激昂的演说家把无所事事的富人同终日辛劳的工人阶级进行了对比。
• She felt like a beetle toiling in the dust. She was filled with repulsion. 她觉得自己像只甲虫在地里挣扎，心中涌满愤恨。

13 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

16 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

17 saviour   

n.拯救者，救星

参考例句：

• I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。

18 plighted   

vt.保证，约定（plight的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They plighted their troth for the rest of their days. 他们俩盟誓结为终身伴侣。 来自辞典例句
• Here and there a raw young lady does think of the friends of her plighted man. 这是阅历不深的的年轻姑娘对她未婚夫的朋友往往会持有的看法。 来自辞典例句