September 25

"Why go I mourning?" (Psalm 42:9).

Canst thou answer this, believer? Canst thou find any reason why thou art so often mourning instead of rejoicing? Why yield to gloomy anticipations¹? Who told thee that the night would never end in day? Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice, and hail, to deeper snow, and yet more heavy tempest of despair? Knowest thou not that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb², that spring and summer succeed winter? Hope thou then! Hope thou ever! for God fails thee not. --C. H. Spurgeon

“ He was better to me than all my hopes;

He was better than all my fears;

He made a bridge of my broken works,

And a rainbow of my tears.

The billows that guarded rny sea-girt path,

But carried my Lord on their crest³;

When I dwell on the days of my wilderness⁴ march

I can lean on His love for the rest. ”

“ He emptied my hands of my treasured store,

And His covenant⁵ love revealed,

There zoos not at wound in my aching heart,

But the balm of His breath hath healed.

Oh, tender and true was the chastening sore,

In wisdom, that taught and tried,

Till the soul that He sought was trusting in Him,

And nothing on earth beside. ”

“ He guided by paths that I could not see,

By ways that I have not known;

The crooked⁶ was straight, and the rough was plain,

As I followed the Lord alone.

I praise Him still for the pleasant palms,

And the water-springs by the way,

For the glowing pillar of flame by night,

And the sheltering cloud by day. ”

“ Never a watch on the dreariest⁷ halt,

But some promise of love endears;

I read from the past, that my future shall be,

Far better than all my fears.

Like the golden pot, of the wilderness bread,

Laid up with the blossoming rod,

All safe in the ark, with the law of the Lord,

Is the covenant care of my God. ”

九月二十五日

「我为何……时常哀痛？」（诗四十二9）

信徒阿，你能不能回答这个问句呢？你有没有甚么理由叫你时常哀痛毫无喜乐呢？你为甚么容让未来的忧郁这样摧残你呢？谁告诉你黑夜永不会变白昼呢？谁告诉你冬日的霜雪冰雹永不会融解呢？谁告诉你今日的风雨会越下越大呢？谁告诉你你的失望会变成绝望呢？岂不知严冬一过就是春夏么？所以你当仰望神！－－司布眞

1 anticipations   

预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物

参考例句：

• The thought took a deal of the spirit out of his anticipations. 想到这，他的劲头消了不少。
• All such bright anticipations were cruelly dashed that night. 所有这些美好的期望全在那天夜晚被无情地粉碎了。

2 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

3 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

4 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

5 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

6 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

7 dreariest   

使人闷闷不乐或沮丧的( dreary的最高级 )； 阴沉的； 令人厌烦的； 单调的

参考例句：

• It was the dreariest job I had ever done. 那是我所做过的最沉闷的工作。