October 14

"The angel of the Lord came upon him (Peter) and a light shined in the prison; and he smote¹ Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off"(Acts 12:7)

"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God…And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and every one's bands were loosed" (Acts 16:25, 26).

This is God's way. In the darkest hours of the night, His tread draws near across the billows. As the day of execution is breaking, the angel comes to Peter's cell. When the scaffold for Mordecai is complete, the royal sleeplessness² leads to a reaction in favor of the favored race.

Ah, soul, it may have to come to the worst with thee ere thou art delivered; but thou wilt³ be delivered! God may keep thee waiting, but he will ever be mindful of His covenant⁴, and will appear to fulfill⁵ His inviolable Word. ━F. B. Meyer

There's a simplicity⁶ about God in working out His plans, yet a resourcefulness equal to any difficulty, and an unswerving faithfulness to His trusting child, and an unforgetting steadiness in holding to His purpose. Through a fellow-prisoner, then a dream, He lifts Joseph from a prison to a premiership. And the length of stay in the prison prevents dizziness in the premier⁷. It's safe to trust God's methods and to go by His clock. ━S. D. Gordon

Providence⁸ hath a thousand keys to open a thousand sundry⁹ doors for the deliverance of His own, when it is even come to a desperate case. Let us be faithful; and care for our own part which is to suffer for Him, and lay Christ's part on Himself, and leave it there.━George MacDonald

Difficulty is the very atmosphere of miracle━it is miracle in its first stage. If it is to be a great miracle, the condition is not difficulty but impossibility.

The clinging hand of His child makes a desperate situation a delight to Him.

十月十四日

「有主的一个使者，站在旁边，屋里有光照耀。天使拍彼得的肋旁，拍醒了他，说，快快起来。那铁链就从他手上脱落下来。」 （徒十二:7）

「约在半夜，保罗和西拉，祷告唱诗赞美神……忽然地大震动，甚至监牢的地基都摇动了。监门立刻全开，众囚犯的锁炼也都松开了。」（徒十六:25-26）

这是神的方法。神的脚步常要等到深夜最黑暗的时候，纔渐临近。我们看见，直到希律要提彼得出来处决的前一夜，天使纔来救彼得出监。挂末底改的木架预备好了以后，纔有哈随鲁王睡不着觉的事情发生。

啊，我的魂哪，也许在拯救临到你以前，你还须经过最黑暗的时期；但是不要怕，神必拯救你！神也许喜欢让你多等一会儿，但是祂不能忘记祂的誓约，祂必要实践祂那不可更改的应许。━梅尔

神有智慧的策略对付任何困难，神有不溺的信实对待信靠祂的，神有不变的公义坚持祂的旨意，我们还怕甚么呢？藉着一个同坐监牢的囚犯，藉着一个梦，神就把约瑟从监狱里提到王宫里。所以信靠神的方法、神的时间，是最安稳不过的。━戈登

神有一千把钥匙可以开一千扇不同的门户来拯救祂自己的孩子。所以让我们忠忠心心地去尽我们自己的那一份━为祂受苦━基督自然会去尽祂那一份的。━麦唐纳

困难是神迹的第一期。如果是大神迹的话，情形不仅「困难」，并且「不可能」。

神最喜欢祂的孩子用小手紧紧抱住祂，因此神常常给祂的孩子一些绝望。

1 smote   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Figuratively, he could not kiss the hand that smote him. 打个比方说，他是不能认敌为友。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• \"Whom Pearl smote down and uprooted, most unmercifully.\" 珠儿会毫不留情地将这些\"儿童\"踩倒，再连根拔起。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

2 sleeplessness   

n.失眠，警觉

参考例句：

• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness. 现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. 医生们对他的奇异的不眠感到疑惑。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

3 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

4 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。

5 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

6 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

7 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

8 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

9 sundry   

adj.各式各样的，种种的

参考例句：

• This cream can be used to treat sundry minor injuries.这种药膏可用来治各种轻伤。
• We can see the rich man on sundry occasions.我们能在各种场合见到那个富豪。