August 11

"Although the fig¹ tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor² of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd³ in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation⁴" (Hab. 3:17, 18).

Observe,I entreat⁵ you, how calamitous⁶ a circumstance is here supposed, and how heroic a faith is expressed.It is really as if he said, "Though I should be reduced to so great extremity⁷ as not to know where to find my necessary food, though I should look around about me on an empty house and a desolate⁸ field, and see the marks of the Divine scourge⁹ where I had once seen the fruits of God's bounty¹⁰, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord." "

Methinks these words are worthy¹¹ of being written as with a diamond on a rock forever. Oh, that by Divine grace they might be deeply engraven on each of our hearts! Concise¹² as the form of speaking in the text is, it evidently implies or expresses the following particulars: That in the day of his distress¹³ he would fly to God; that he would maintain a holy composure of spirit under this dark dispensation, nay¹⁴, that in the midst of all he would indulge in a sacred joy in God, and a cheerful expectation from Him. Heroic confidence! Illustrious faith! Unconquerable love!--Doddridge..

Last night I heard a robin¹⁵ singing in the rain,

And the raindrop'sfiatter made ct sweet refrain,

Making all the sweeter the music of the strain.

So, I thought, when trouble comes, as trouble will,

Why should I stop singing? Just beyond the hill

It may be that sunshine floods the green world still.

He who faces the trouble with ct heart of cheer

Makes the burden lighter¹⁶. If there falls ct tear,

Sweeter is the cadence¹⁷ in the song we hear.

I have learned your lesson, bird with dappled wing,

Listening to your music with its lilt of spring-

When the storm-cloud darkens, then's the TIME to sing.

-Eben E. Rexfor

八月十一日

「虽然无花果树不发旺，葡萄树不结果，橄榄树也不効力，田地不出粮食，圈中绝了，羊棚内也没有牛。然而我要因耶和华欢欣，因救我的神喜乐。」（哈三17-18）

你看这里所说的，是一个多么不幸的境遇。这里所给我们看见的，是一个多么伟大的信心。他的意思说：「虽然我受到这样大的灾祸━甚至连养生的食物，也不知道到甚么地方去找；四围所看见的，不过是一所空旷的房屋，一块荒芜的田地；在以前看见神赐恩的地方，现在看见神鞭打的伤疤━然而我要因耶和华欢欣。」

我想这两节圣经，眞值得用金钢钻记录在盘石上，永远保存起来。哦，巴不得靠神的恩典，这几节圣经能深深地铭刻在我们每一个人的心版上！句法虽然简短，其中却显著地含蓄着不少属灵的意义。他告诉我们：在他遭难的日子，他怎样到神里去躲避；在黑暗的命运下，他怎样赖主保持灵的镇静；在一切的试炼中，他怎样在神里面享受属灵的喜乐，从祂得到欢乐的期望。这就是伟大的信心！这就是光荣的信心！──陶杜力慈

1 fig   

n.无花果(树)

参考例句：

• The doctor finished the fig he had been eating and selected another.这位医生吃完了嘴里的无花果，又挑了一个。
• You can't find a person who doesn't know fig in the United States.你找不到任何一个在美国的人不知道无花果的。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

4 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。

5 entreat   

v.恳求，恳请

参考例句：

• Charles Darnay felt it hopeless entreat him further,and his pride was touched besides.查尔斯-达尔内感到再恳求他已是枉然，自尊心也受到了伤害。
• I entreat you to contribute generously to the building fund.我恳求您慷慨捐助建设基金。

6 calamitous   

adj.灾难的，悲惨的；多灾多难；惨重

参考例句：

• We are exposed to the most calamitous accidents. 我们遭受着极大的灾难。 来自辞典例句
• Light reveals the subtle alteration of things, the sly or calamitous impermanence or mortal life. 事物的细微变动，人生的狡猾，倏忽无常，一一都在光中显露出来。 来自辞典例句

7 extremity   

n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度

参考例句：

• I hope you will help them in their extremity.我希望你能帮助在穷途末路的他们。
• What shall we do in this extremity?在这种极其困难的情况下我们该怎么办呢？

8 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

9 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

10 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

11 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

12 concise   

adj.简洁的，简明的

参考例句：

• The explanation in this dictionary is concise and to the point.这部词典里的释义简明扼要。
• I gave a concise answer about this.我对于此事给了一个简要的答复。

13 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

14 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

15 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

16 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

17 cadence   

n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫

参考例句：

• He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
• He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。