October 23

"There hath not failed one word of all his good promise"(1 Kings 8:56)

Some day we shall understand that God has a reason in every NO which He speaks through the slow movement of life. "Somehow God makes up to us." How often, when His people are worrying and perplexing themselves about their prayers not being answered, is God answering them in a far richer way! Glimpses of this we see occasionally, but the full revelation of it remains¹ for the future.

"If God say 'Yes' to our prayer, dear heart,

And the sunlight is golden, the sky is blue,

While the smooth road beckons² to me and you,

And the song-birds warble as on we go,

Pausing to gather the buds at our feet,

Stopping to drink of the streamlets we meet,

Happy, more happy our journey will grow,

If God says 'Yes' to our prayer, dear heart.

"If God says 'No'to our prayer, dear heart,

And the clouds hang heavy and dull and gray;

If the rough rocks hinder and block the way,

While the sharp winds pierce us and sting with cold;

Ah, dear, there is home at the journey's end,

And these are the trials the Father doth send

To draw us as sheep to His Heavenly fold,

If God says 'No'to our prayer, dear heart. "

Oh for the faith that does not make haste, but waits patiently for the Lord, waits for the explanation that shall come in the end, at the revelation of Jesus Christ! When did God take anything from a man, without giving him manifold more in return? Suppose that the return had not been made immediately manifest, what then? Is today the limit of God's working time? Has He no provinces beyond this little world? Does the door of the grave open upon nothing but infinite darkness and eternal silence ?

Yet, even confining the judgment³ within the hour of this life, it is true that God never touches the heart with a trial without intending to bring upon it some grander gift, some tenderer benediction⁴. He has attained⁵ to an eminent⁶ degree of Christian⁷ grace who knows how to wait.━Selected

When the frosts are in the valley,

And the mountain tops are grey,

And the choicest buds are blighted⁸,

And the blossoms die away,

A loving Father whispers,

"This cometh from my hand";

Blessed are ye if ye trust

Where ye cannot understand.

If, after years of toiling⁹,

Your wealth should fly away,

And leave your hands all empty,

And your locks are turning grey,

Remember then your Father

Owns all the sea and land;

Blessed are ye if ye trust

Where ye cannot understand. ━Selected

十月二十三日

「…应许赐福的话，一句都没有落空。」（王上八:56）

有一天我们会明白：神每一个「不」，都是有理由的。可是祂每一次，总用一些别的方法来补救祂的「不」。多少时候，祂的子民在担忧，在烦恼说，为甚么他们的祷告还没有得着答应，那知神正在用一个更丰富的方法答应他们。这种光景我们是常看见的，但是完全的启示尚须留待将来纔能显明。

假若神听了我们的祈祷说：「行」，

天空变为蔚蓝，阳光变为黄金，

平坦的大道在前面向我们招手，

鸟儿在我们面前鸣唱飞翔，

偶或停步采集脚边的花草，

偶或站在清澈溪旁解渴歇凉，

假若神听了我们的祈祷说：「行」，

我们的旅程必然欢乐安康。

假若神听了我们的祈祷说：「不行」，

空中阴云密集，光明变为黑暗，

粗糙的岩石，阻挡着我们前进，

尖锐的寒风，刺得我们在打颤，

假若神听了我们的祈祷说：「不行」，

这些却是神赐给我们的考验。

要把我们像羊羣似的引入羊圈，

我们的家就在这旅程的终点。

哦，信心是不会着急的，信心只知道忍耐等候主━等候末日的解释。信徒阿，甚么时候神曾拿去你的，而不加倍还给你呢？假使神不立刻归还你，怎么样呢？莫非今天是神的末了一天么？难道在这个小小的世界以外，祂就没有别的领土了么？

我们就是只说今生，也知道神从来不单给我们一个试炼，而不带一些更大的恩赐、更大的祝福，来给我们的。所以知道怎样等候神乃是基督人最高的祝福。━选

寒霜覆山着幽谷，

山顶一片荒芜，

植物不发嫩芽，

花草也给摧残；

亲爱的天父在说：

「这出自我的手」；

只要信，就有福了，

不论你明白与否。

假若经过多年劳苦，

你的财富不翼而飞，

剩下了两手空空，

你的黑发逐渐转灰，

要记住你的天父：

乃拥有整个宇宙，

假如你不懂,也能信，

就可得到福佑。

━选

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 beckons   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He sent his ships wherever profit beckons. 他将船队派往赢利的那些地方。 来自辞典例句
• I believe history beckons again. 我认为现在历史又在召唤了。 来自辞典例句

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 benediction   

n.祝福；恩赐

参考例句：

• The priest pronounced a benediction over the couple at the end of the marriage ceremony.牧师在婚礼结束时为新婚夫妇祈求上帝赐福。
• He went abroad with his parents' benediction.他带着父母的祝福出国去了。

5 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

6 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

7 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。

8 blighted   

adj.枯萎的，摧毁的

参考例句：

• Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。
• She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

9 toiling   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• The fiery orator contrasted the idle rich with the toiling working classes. 这位激昂的演说家把无所事事的富人同终日辛劳的工人阶级进行了对比。
• She felt like a beetle toiling in the dust. She was filled with repulsion. 她觉得自己像只甲虫在地里挣扎，心中涌满愤恨。