November 14

“Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it remains¹ a single grain, but if it dies away in the ground, the grain is freed to spring up in a plant bearing many grains”(John12:24)

Go to the old burying ground of Northampton, Mass., and look upon the early grave of David Brainerd, beside that of the fair Jerusha Edwards, whom he loved but did not live to wed².

What hopes, what expectations for Christ's cause went down to the grave with the wasted form of that young missionary³ of whose work nothing now remained but the dear memory, and a few score of swarthy Indian converts! But that majestic⁴ old Puritan saint, Jonathan Edwards, who had hoped to call him his son, gathered up the memorials of his life in a little book, and the little book took wings and flew beyond the sea, and alighted on the table of a Cambridge student, Henry Martyn.

Poor Martyn! Why should he throw himself away, with all his scholarship, his genius, his opportunities! What had he accomplished⁵ when he turned homeward from "India's coral strand," broken in health, and dragged himself northward⁶ as far as that dreary⁷ khan at Tocat by the Black Sea, where he crouched⁸ under the piled-up saddles, to cool his burning fever against the earth, and there died alone?

To what purpose was this waste? Out of that early grave of Brainerd, and the lonely grave of Martyn far away by the splashing of the Euxine Sea, has sprung the noble army of modern missionaries⁹. ━Leonard Woolsey Bacon

Is there some desert, or some boundless¹⁰ sea,

Where Thou, great God of angles, wilt¹¹ send me?

Some oak for me to rend¹²,

Some sod for me to break,

Some handful of Thy corn to take

And scatter¹³ far afield,

Till it in turn shall yield

Its hundredfold

Of grains of gold

To feed the happy children of my God?

“Show me the desert, Father, or the sea;

Is it Thine enterprise? Great God, send me!

And though this body lies where ocean rolls,

Father, count me among all faithful souls.”

十一月十四日

「一粒麦子不落在地里死了,仍旧是一粒,若是死了,就结出许多子粒来。」 （约十二:24）

到美国马塞诸塞州诺桑普顿城的古坟场，凭吊戴维．勃雷奈特的坟墓，这墓是在他所心爱的美丽的杰鲁霞．爱德华兹小姐坟墓旁边，他因死得早，生前没有与她结婚。

这位年轻的传教士对于基督事业的多少希望和多少期待，都随着他的遗体进入坟墓，关于他的工作，现在只留下亲切的回忆和几十个浅黑皮肤的印第安信徒。然而那位德高望重的清圣徒乔纳单．爱德华兹曾希望戴维成为他的女婿，他把戴维一生事迹收集在一本小册子里；而这本小册子竟插翅飞过海洋，落到剑桥大学一个学生亨利．马廷的桌上。

那位马廷就抛弃他的学业成绩、他的才华和他的机会到印度去传教。当他从印度的珊瑚海滨启程回家，中途患病，于是带病向北跋涉，远到黑海之滨那阴郁沉闷的托卡特可汗，在那里他蹲伏在园木堆下，贴着泥土来减轻高烧，终于孤独地死在那里。他成就了什么？

这种浪费达到什么目的呢？从勃雷奈特的古墓中，和远在黑海海滨的马廷坟墓中，已兴起了现代传教士的浩荡大军。━倍根

伟大的主,有没有甚么地方,

像沙漠,或是海角天涯,

你要孤遣我前往?

有没有障碍,要我打开?

有没有土地要我耕耘?

把你的种子,在田野里种栽,

直到它结出一百倍的黄金壳粒,

来喂饱你子民的饥怀。

天父指示我,沙漠或海在那里,

若是你的计划,请派遣我去。

即使我躯体在波浪的翻腾中,

你忠实信徒的队伍里,我也能参与。

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 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

3 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

4 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

5 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

6 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

7 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

8 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

9 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 boundless   

adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的

参考例句：

• The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
• His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。

11 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。

12 rend   

vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取

参考例句：

• Her scrams would rend the heart of any man.她的喊叫声会撕碎任何人的心。
• Will they rend the child from his mother?他们会不会把这个孩子从他的母亲身边夺走呢？

13 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。