July 26

"For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness." (Gal. 5:5, R. V.)

THERE are times when things look very dark to me so dark that I have to wait even for hope. It is bad enough to wait in hope. A long-deferred fulfillment carries its own pain, but to wait for hope, to see no glimmer¹ of a prospect² and yet refuse to despair; to have nothing but night before the casement³ and yet to keep the casement open for possible stars; to have a vacant place in my heart and yet to allow that place to be filled by no inferior presence-that is the grandest patience in the universe. It is job in the tempest; it is Abraham on the road to Moriah; it is Moses in the desert of Midian; it is the Son of man in the Garden of Gethsemane.

There is no patience so hard as that which endures, "as seeing him who is invisible;" (Heb.11:27) it is the waiting for hope.

Thou hast made waiting beautiful; Thou has made patience divine. Thou hast taught us that the Father's will may be received just because it is His will. Thou hast revealed to us that a soul may see nothing but sorrow in the cup and yet may refuse to let it go, convinced that the eye of the Father sees further than its own.

Give me this Divine power of Thine, the power of Gethsemane. Give me the power to wait for hope itself, to look out from the casement where there are no stars. Give me the power, when the very joy that was set before me is gone, to stand unconquered amid the night, and say, "To the eye of my Father it is perhaps shining still," I shall reach the climax⁴ of strength when I have learned to wait for hope. --- George Matheson.

Strive to be one of those─so few─who walk the earth with ever─present consciousness─all mornings, middays, star─times─that the unknown which men call Heaven is "close behind the visible scene of things."

七月二十六日

「我们靠着圣灵，凭着信心，等候义的盼望。」（加五: 5，英文圣经直译）

有时候，光景似乎非常黑暗━黑暗得连盼望都要等起来了。在盼望中等候已经够难了，何况等候盼望呢？一线光明也没有，却仍不肯绝望；窗前尽是黑暗，却仍开着窗等候星宿；心中有了空处，却不许装置污秽━这就是宇宙中最大的忍耐。这就是乔布在患难中、亚伯拉罕在往摩利亚去的路上、摩西在米甸的旷野、人子在客西马尼的那种忍耐。

「恒心忍耐，如同看见那不能看见的主」（来书十一章 27节）━这样的忍耐，比任何样的忍耐都难；这就是等候盼望。

　主啊，给我你的力量━你客西马尼的力量。给我等候盼望的力量━叫我在没有星宿的黑夜，仍有力量守望窗外；在最大的欢乐失去了的时候， 仍有力量站住。── 马得胜

1 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 casement   

n.竖铰链窗；窗扉

参考例句：

• A casement is a window that opens by means of hinges at the side.竖铰链窗是一种用边上的铰链开启的窗户。
• With the casement half open,a cold breeze rushed inside.窗扉半开，凉风袭来。

4 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。