November 23

“Thou hast shewed thy people hard things” (Ps.60:3)

I have always been glad that the Psalmist said to God that some things were hard. There is no mistake about it; there are hard things in life. Some beautiful pink flowers were given me this summer, and as I took them I said, "What are they?" And the answer came, "They are rock flowers; they grow and bloom only on rocks where you can see no soil." Then I thought of God's flowers growing in hard places; and I feel, somehow, that He may have a peculiar¹ tenderness for His "rock flowers" that He may not have for His lilies and roses. ━Margaret Bottome

The tests of life are to make, not break us. Trouble may demolish² a man's business but build up his character. The blow at the outward man may be the greatest blessing³ to the inner man. If God, then, puts or permits anything hard in our lives, be sure that the real peril⁴, the real trouble, is what we shall lose if we flinch⁵ or rebel. ━Maltbie D. Babcock

"Neroes are forged on anvils⁶ hot with pain,

And splendid courage comes but with the test,

Some natures ripen⁷ and some natures bloom,

Only on blood-wet soil,some souls prove great,

Only in moments dark with death or doom⁸."

“God gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”

十一月二十三日

「祢叫祢的民遇见艰难。 」 （诗六十:3）

我很高兴的是诗篇作者对神说有些事是艰难的。这句话说得不错，生活中确实有许多艰难的事。今年夏天，有人送给我一些美丽的粉红色花，我问这是什么花，回答是：「这些是石花；石花只在你看不见泥土的岩石上生长开花。」于是我想到在艰难处生长的神的花；因此，不知怎么地，我感觉到神可能对其「石花」特别亲切，其亲切的程度可能是祂对其百合花和玫瑰花所没有的。━玛格丽特?博顿

人生的试验都是造就我们，不是破坏我们的。患难也许会拆毁我们的事业，可是能建立我们的品性。外面最大的打击，乃是里面最大的祝福。如果神允许艰难临到我们，那临到我们的危险、患难，定规都是于我们有益的；倘使我们退缩、叛逆，我们必会蒙到损失。━贝伯考克

英雄在痛苦的铁砧上成的,

唯有试炼才能培养无畏的勇气,

有些德性只在沾血的泥土上成熟开花,

有些灵魂只在危难时显出伟大和卓异。

神的精兵都是从苦难中得来的。

1 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

2 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

3 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

4 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

5 flinch   

v.畏缩，退缩

参考例句：

• She won't flinch from speaking her mind.她不会讳言自己的想法。
• We will never flinch from difficulties.我们面对困难决不退缩。

6 anvils   

n.（铁）砧( anvil的名词复数 )；砧骨

参考例句：

7 ripen   

vt.使成熟；vi.成熟

参考例句：

• I'm waiting for the apples to ripen.我正在等待苹果成熟。
• You can ripen the tomatoes on a sunny windowsill.把西红柿放在有阳光的窗台上可以让它们成熟。

8 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。