August 6

"Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south, blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out!" (Song of Solomon 4:16)

Look at the meaning of this prayer a moment. Its root is found in the fact that, as delicious odors may lie latent in a spice tree, so graces may lie unexercised and undeveloped in a Christian¹'s heart. There is many a plant of profession; but from the ground there breathes forth² no fragrance³ of holy affections or of godly deeds. The same winds blow on the thistle bush and on the spice tree, but it is only one of them which gives out rich odors.

Sometimes God sends severe blasts of trial upon His children to develop their graces. Just as torches burn most brightly when swung to and fro; just as the juniper plant smells sweetest when flung into the flames; so the richest qualities of a Christian often come out under the north wind of suffering and adversity. Bruised⁴ hearts often emit the fragrance that God loveth to smell. --Selected.

“I had a tiny box, a precious box

Of human love-my spikenard of great price;

I kept it close within my heart of hearts,

And scarce would lift the lid lest it should waste

Its perfume on the air. One day a strange

Deep sorrow carne with crushing weight, and fell

Upon my costly⁵ treasure, sweet and rare,

And broke the box to atoms. All my heart

Rose in dismay and sorrow at this waste,

But as I mourned, behold⁶ ca miracle

Of grace Divine. My human love was changed

To Heaven's own, and poured in healing streams

On other broken hearts, while soft and clear

A voice above me whispered, "Child of Mine,

With comfort wherewith thou art comforted,

From this time forth, go comfort others,

And thou shalt know blest fellowship with Me,

Whose broken heart of love hath healed the world.”

八月六日

「北风阿，兴起。南风阿，吹来。吹在我的围内，使其中的香气发出来。」（歌四16）

我们先把这节圣经的意义看一看。事实告诉我们芬芳的香气是潜伏在香料里面的；照样，没有运用没有开发的恩典，也是隐伏在基督人的心内的。

有时候，神用猛烈的狂风来试炼祂的孩子们，为的是要开发隐伏的恩典。火把着得最旺的时候，是将它拿着晃动的时候；桧木的气味最香的时候，是将它投在火中焚烧的时候。照样，一个基督人最丰富的灵命，也是各种苦难和试炼下挣扎出来的。一个压伤的心，纔会发出神所爱的芬芳来。──选

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

4 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

5 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。

6 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。