September 17

"It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good". (1 Sam. 3:18)

See God in everything, and God will calm and color all that thou dost see!" It may be that the circumstances of our sorrows will not be removed, their condition will remain unchanged; but if Christ, as Lord and Master of our life, is brought into our grief and gloom, "HE will compass us about with songs of deliverance." (Psalm32:7) To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom cannot err¹, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even His direst dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able to say, in the midst of bereavement², sorrow, pain, and loss, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath, taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."(Job.1:21)

Nothing else but seeing God in everything will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes toward us, and we shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the blessings⁴ they bring us. Nothing else will completely put an end to all murmuring or rebelling thoughts.--H. W. Smith.

“Give me a new idea,” I said,

While musing⁵ on a sleepless⁶ bed;

“A new idea that'll bring to earth

A balm for souls of priceless worth;

That'll give men thoughts of things above,

And teach them how to serve and love,

That'll banish⁷ every selfish thought,

And rid men of the sins they’ve fought.”

The new thought came, just how, I’ll tell:

'Twas when on bended knee I fell,

And sought from HIM who knows full well

The way our sorrow to expel.

SEE GOD IN ALL THINGS, great and small,

And give HIM praise whate'er befall,

In life or death, in pain or woe⁸,

See God, and overcome thy foe⁹.

I saw HIM in the morning light,

HE made the day shine clear and bright;

I saw HIM in the noontide hour,

And gained from HIM refreshing¹⁰ shower.

Al eventide, when worn and sad,

HE gave me help, and made me glad.

At midnight, when on tossing bed

My weary soul to sleep HE led.

I saw HIM when great losses came,

And found HE loved me just the same.

When heavy loads / had to bear,

I found HE lightened every care.

By sickness, sorrow, sore distress¹¹,

HE calmed my mind and gave me rest.

HE'S filled my heart with gladsome praise

Since I gave HIM the upward gaze.

'Twas new to me, yet old to some,

This thought that to me has become

A revelation of the way

We all should /tie throughout the day;

For as each day unfolds its light,

We'll walk by faith and not by sight.

Life will, indeed, a blessing³ bring,

If we SEE GOD IN EVERYTHING."

-A.E.Finn

九月十七日

「这是出于耶和华，愿祂凭自己的意旨而行。」

　如果我们在每一件事情上看见神，神就会在我们所看见的事情上替我们着上颜色。也许痛苦并没有挪去，环境并没有改变；但是如果我们生活的主━基督，在我们的忧愁痛苦之中，「祂必以得救的乐歌，四面环绕我。」（诗卅二7）如果我们眞看见祂，确信祂的智慧不能错误，祂的能力不能失败，祂的慈爱不能变更，祂最严厉的对付乃是我们灵程上最深的获益，我们就能在丧失、忧愁、痛苦、失败中，像乔布一样说：「赏赐的是耶和华，收取的也是耶和华。耶和华的名是应当称颂的。」（伯一21）

没有别的方法，只有在每一件事情上看见神，能叫我们爱那些伤害我们、烦扰我们的；能叫我们看见他们不过是神所利用的工具，来完成神慈爱、智慧的目的；能叫我们完全停止一切的怨言和判思。－－司密斯

1 err   

vi.犯错误，出差错

参考例句：

• He did not err by a hair's breadth in his calculation.他的计算结果一丝不差。
• The arrows err not from their aim.箭无虚发。

2 bereavement   

n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛

参考例句：

• the pain of an emotional crisis such as divorce or bereavement 诸如离婚或痛失亲人等情感危机的痛苦
• I sympathize with you in your bereavement. 我对你痛失亲人表示同情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

4 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 musing   

n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

6 sleepless   

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

• The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
• One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

7 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

8 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

9 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

10 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

11 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。