September 6

"Thou remainest" (Heb. 1:11).

There are always lone¹ hearth-fires; so many! And those who sit beside them, with the empty chair, cannot restrain the tears that will come. One sits alone so much. There is some One unseen, just here within reach. But somehow we don't realize His presence. Realizing is blessed, but--rare. It belongs to the mood, to the feelings. It is dependent on weather conditions and bodily conditions. The rain, the heavy fog outside, the poor sleep, the twinging pain, these make one's mood so much, they seem to blur² out the realizing. But there is something a little higher up than realizing. It is yet more blessed. It is independent of these outer conditions, it is something that abides³. It is this: recognizing that Presence unseen, so wondrous⁴ and quieting, so soothing⁵ and calming and warming. Recognize His presence--the Master's own. He is here, close by; His presence is real.

Recognizing will help realizing, too, but it never depends on it. Aye, more, immensely more, the Truth is a Presence, not a thing, a fact, a statement. Some One is present, a warm-hearted Friend, an all-powerful Lord. And this is the joyful⁶ truth for weeping hearts everywhere, whatever be the hand that has drawn⁷ the tears; by whatever stream it be that your weeping willow⁸ is planted. --S. D.Gordon

When from my life the old-time joy have vanished,

Treasures once mine, I ma) no longer claim,

This truth rnay feed my hungry heart, and furnished:

Lord, THOUREMAINEST! THOU art still the same!

When streams have dried, those streams of glad refreshing-

Friendships so blest, so rich, so free;

When sun-kissed skies give place to clouds depressing

Lord, THOUREMAINEST! Still my heart hath THEE.

When strength hath failed and feet now worn and weary

On gladsome errands may no longer go,

Why should I sigh, or let the day be dreary⁹?

Lord, THOUREMAINEST! Could'st Thou more bestow¹⁰?

Thus through life's days-whoe'er or what may fail me,

Friends, friendships, joys, in small or great degree,

Songs may be rnine, no sadness need assail¹¹ me,

Lord, THOUREMAINEST! Still my heart hath THEE.

-]. D. Smith

九月六日

「祢却仍旧在那里。」（来一11，直译）

许多时候，我们独自坐在炉旁烤火，会感觉非常寂寞。望见空着的座位，常会禁不住掉下泪来。但是亲爱的读者阿，你要知道：一位看不见的，正在你面前啊！只是你不觉得就是了。觉得果然是一件幸福的事，但是觉得是凭依心境，凭依感觉的。觉得也是凭依天气和身体的状况的。下雨、下雾、睡眠不足、痛苦难当，都会影响我们的心境，叫我们不能觉得。有一件东西比觉得更高超、更幸福。这件东西是不随外面的情形转变的。这件东西是甚么呢？就是承认，承认那看不见的正和我同在━这样奇妙、安静、温和、镇定和热切！亲爱的读者阿，主在这里，正在你旁边；祂的同在是真实的。

承认能帮助感觉，但承认不凭依感觉。有这样一位热情的朋友，全能的恩主，和你同在，纵使有甚么事情叫你流泪，也足能叫你悲伤的心喜乐了。－－戈登

1 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

2 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

3 abides   

容忍( abide的第三人称单数 )； 等候； 逗留； 停留

参考例句：

• He abides by his friends. 他忠于朋友。
• He always abides by the law. 他素来守法。

4 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。

5 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

6 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

9 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

10 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

11 assail   

v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥

参考例句：

• The opposition's newspapers assail the government each day.反对党的报纸每天都对政府进行猛烈抨击。
• We should assist parents not assail them.因此我们应该帮助父母们，而不是指责他们。