October 9

"Therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you" (Isa. 30:18)

Where showers fall most, there the grass is greenest. I suppose the fogs and mists of Ireland make it "the Emerald Isle"; and whenever you find great fogs of trouble, and mists of sorrow, you always find emerald green hearts; full of the beautiful verdure of the comfort and love of God.

O Christian¹, do not thou be saying, "Where are the swallows gone? They are gone; they are dead." They are not dead; they have skimmed the purple sea, and gone to a far-off land; but they will be back again by and by. Child of God, say not the flowers are dead; say not the winter has killed them, and they are gone. Ah, no! though winter hath coated them with the ermine of its snow; they will put up their heads again, and will be alive very soon.

Say not, child of God, that the sun is quenched², because the cloud hath hidden it. Ah, no; he is behind there, brewing³ summer for thee; for when he cometh out again, he will have made the clouds fit to drop in April showers, all of them mothers of the sweet May flowers. And oh! above all, when thy God hides His face, say not that He hath forgotten thee. He is but tarrying a little while to make thee love Him better; and when He cometh, thou shalt have joy in the Lord, and shalt rejoice with joy unspeakable. Waiting exercises our grace; waiting tries our faith; therefore, wait on in hope; for though the promise tarry, it can never come too late. ━C. H. Spurgeon”

"Oh, every year hath its winter,

And every year hath its rain-

But a day is always coming,

When the birds go north again.

“When new leaves swell⁴ in the forest,

And grass springs green on the plain,

And alders’ veins⁵ turn crimson-

And the birds go north again.

“Oh, every heart hath its sorrow,

And event heart hath its pain-

But a day is always coming,

And the birds go north again.

“Is the sweetest thing to remember,

If courage be on the wane⁶,

When the cold, dark days are over-

Why, the birds go north again.”

十月九日

「耶和华必然等候，要施恩给你们。」（赛卅:18）

雨水最多的地方，青草最绿。爱尔兰地方素来多雾，结果得到了「翡翠岛」的尊称。甚么时候我们遭到了「苦难的雾」、「悲哀的雾」，甚么时候我们定归会有一颗翡翠的心──充满了神的安慰和爱的心。

哦，信徒阿，你不要说：「燕子不见了，牠们死了。」牠们并不是死了；牠们掠过大海，飞往远方去了；祂们不久还会再回来的。你不要说：「花儿死了，严冬把它们杀死了。」不是的！虽然严冬给它们加上了白鼬皮的大衣，不久它们仍要抬头吐气的。

你不要说：「太阳熄了，黑云把它扑灭了。」不是的！太阳在黑云后面替你酿造夏天。你也不要说：「我的神忘记了。」你的神并不是忘记，乃是迟延，为要叫你爱祂更深。神让我们等候，为要操练我们的忍耐，试验我们的信心；因此，我们应当继续在盼望中等候；应许虽然迟延，绝不会延的太迟的。──司布眞

啊,每年都有冬季,

每年都有雨天,

但这个日子终会来临,

其时,候鸟将归还北边。

当树林里缀满了嫩叶,

青草窜出了平原,

赤杨恢复了生机,

其时,候鸟将归还北边。

啊,每颗心都悲哀,

每颗心都有创伤,

但这个日子终会来临,

其时,候鸟将归还北边。

假若失去了勇气,

切莫把这件事遗忘,

当阴暗的冬天过完,

其时,候鸟将归还北边。

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 quenched   

解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却

参考例句：

• He quenched his thirst with a long drink of cold water. 他喝了好多冷水解渴。
• I quenched my thirst with a glass of cold beer. 我喝了一杯冰啤酒解渴。

3 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

4 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

5 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。