August 18

"Alone" (Deut. 32:12).

"The hill was steep, but cheered along the way

By converse¹ sweet, I mounted on the thought

That so it might be till the height was reached;

But suddenly a narrow winding² path

Appeared, and then the Master said, 'My child,

Here thou wilt³ safest walk with Me alone.'

"I trembled, yet my heart's deep trust replied,

'So be it, Lord.' He took my feeble hand

In His, accepting thus my will to yield Him

All, and to find all in Him.

One long, dark moment,

And no friend I saw, save Jesus only.

"But oh! so tenderly He led me on

And up, and spoke⁴ to me such words of cheer,

Such secret whisperings of His wondrous⁵ love,

That soon I told Him all my grief and fear,

And leaned on His strong arm confidingly⁶.

"And then I found my footsteps quickened,

And light ineffable⁷, the rugged⁸ way

Illumined, such light as only can be seen

In close companionship with God.

"A little while, and we shall meet again

The loved and lost; but in the rapturous joy

Of greetings, such as here we cannot know,

And happy song, and heavenly embraces,

And tender recollections rushing back

Of pilgrim life, methinks one memory

More dear and sacred than the rest, shall rise,

"And we who gather in the golden streets,

Shall oft be stirred to speak with grateful love

Of that dark day when Jesus bade us climb

Some narrow steep, leaning on Him alone."

"There is no high hill but beside some deep valley.

There is no birth without a pang⁹."--Dan Crawford　

八月十八日

「耶和华独自引导他。」（申卅二12）

　 山路虽然崄阻，但是沿途有同伴的谈笑，也就不觉得怎样困难了；我想这样走上山顶，也不算难啊；那里知道突然间一条狭窄曲折的小径出现了，那时主对我说：「我的孩子，这里你独自跟我走罢。」

我战栗了，但是在我心的深处却带着信心答道：「主阿，愿祢的旨意成就。」祂握住了我弱小的手，接受了我的顺服。我跟祂走了一条很长、很黑暗的道路；除祂以外，没有看见一个朋友。

哦！祂眞温柔，祂用温暖的手牵着我前进，对我说了许多激励的话语，在我耳边流露了祂奇妙的爱情；不久，我也把我的忧愁和恐惧一一告诉祂，放放心心地倚偎在祂强壮的手臂中。

那时候，我的脚步加速了，我的欢乐眞是难以言喻，崎岖的山路发出了明亮的光辉。

再过一回，我们要在天上遇见许多我们所亲爱、所失去的人们；但是在不能想象的狂喜、快活的歌唱、亲密的拥抱、旅程的回忆中，有一件事情最值得我们回忆的，就是我们在黑暗中攀登狭窄的绝壁时，耶和华独自引导我们。

1 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

2 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

3 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

6 confidingly   

adv.信任地

参考例句：

• She watched him confidingly and without any fear, faintly wagging her tail. 木木信任地望着自己最新近的主人，不但没有畏惧，还轻轻地摇着尾巴。 来自互联网

7 ineffable   

adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的

参考例句：

• The beauty of a sunset is ineffable.日落的美是难以形容的。
• She sighed a sigh of ineffable satisfaction,as if her cup of happiness were now full.她发出了一声说不出多么满意的叹息，仿佛她的幸福之杯已经斟满了。

8 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

9 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。