August 21

"He brought me forth¹ also into a large place; he delivered me; because he delighted in me" (Ps. 18:19).

And what is this "large place"? What can it be but God Himself, that infinite Being in whom all other beings and all other streams of life terminate? God is a large place indeed. And it was through humiliation², through abasement³, through nothingness that David was brought into it.—Madame Guyon

"I bare you on eagle's wings, and brought you unto myself" (Exod.19:4).

Fearing to launch on “full surrender's” tide,

I asked the Lord where would its waters glide⁴

My little bark, “To troubled seas I dread⁵?”

“Unto Myself,” He said.

Weeping beside an open grave I stood,

In batterness of soul I cued to God:

“Where leads this path of sorrow; that I tread?”

“Unto Myself,” He said.

Striving for souls, I loved the work too well;

Then disappointments came; I could not tell

The reason, till He said, “I am thine all;

Unto Myself I call.”

Watching my heroes-those I loved the best-

I saw them fail; they could not stand the test,

Even by this the Lord, through tears not few,

Unto Himself me drew.

Unto Himself ! No earthly tongue can tell

The bliss⁶ I find, since in His heart I dwell;

The things that charmed me once seem all as naught⁷;

Unto Himself I'm brought.

-Selected

八月二十一日

「祂又领我到宽阔之处，祂救拔我，因祂喜悦我。」（诗十八19）

这「宽阔之处」究竟是甚么呢？这不是别的，乃是神自己━切生命河流的归宿。神实在是一个宽阔之处。戴维被领到宽阔之处，是先经过羞辱和侮辱的。－－盖恩夫人

「我如鹰将你们背在翅膀上，带来归我。」（出:十九:4)

1 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。

2 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

3 abasement   

n.滥用

参考例句：

• She despised herself when she remembered the utter self-abasement of the past. 当她回忆起过去的不折不扣的自卑时，她便瞧不起自己。
• In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. 在我们的世界里，除了恐惧、狂怒、得意、自贬以外，没有别的感情。 来自英汉文学

4 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

5 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

6 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

7 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。