November 26

"And Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou? Who answered, give me a blessing¹; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether² springs" (Joshua 15:18-19)

There are both upper and nether springs. They are springs, not stagnant³ pools. There are joys and blessings⁴ that flow from above through the hottest summer and the most desert land of sorrow and trial. The lands of Achsah were "south lands," lying under a burning sun and often parched⁵ with burning heat. But from the hills came the unfailing springs, that cooled, refreshed and fertilized⁶ all the land.

There are springs that flow in the low places of life, in the hard places, in the desert places, in the lone⁷ places, in the common places, and no matter what may be our situation, we can always find these upper springs.

Abraham found them amid the hills of Canaan. Moses found them among the rocks of Midian. David found them among the ashes of Ziklag when his property was gone, his family captives and his people talked of stoning him, but "David encouraged himself in the Lord."(1 Sam.30:6)

Habakkuk found them when the fig⁸ tree was withered⁹ and the fields were brown, but as he drank from them he could sing: "Yet will I rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of my salvation¹⁰."(Hab.3:18)

Isaiah found them in the awful days of Sennacherib's invasion, when the mountains seemed hurled¹¹ into the midst of the sea, but faith could sing: "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. God is in the midst of her: she shall not be moved."(Ps.46:4-5)

The martyrs¹² found them amid the flames, and reformers amid their foes¹³ and conflicts, and we can find them all the year if we have the Comforter in our hearts and have learned to say with David: "All my springs are in thee."(Ps.87:7)

How many and how precious these springs, and how much more there is to be possessed¹⁴ of God's own fulness! ━A. B. Simpson

I said: "The desert is so wide!"

I said: "The desert is so bare!

What springs to quench¹⁵ my thirst are there?

Whence shall I from the tempest hide?"

I said: "The desert is so lone!

Nor gentle voice, nor loving face

Will brighten any smallest space. "

I paused or ere my moan was done!

I heard a flow of hidden springs;

Before me palms rose green and fair;

The birds were singing; all the air

Did shine and stir with angels' wings!

And One said mildly: "Why, indeed,

Take over-anxious thought for that

The morrow bringeth! See you not

The Father knoweth what you need?"

━Selected

十一月二十六日

「迦勒问他说，你要甚么。他说，求你赐福给我，你既将我安置在南地，求你也给我水泉。他父亲就把上泉下泉赐给他。」 （书十五:18-19）

押撒的地是「南地」━一块在烈日之下非常炎热的地。他父亲给了他水泉，从此山上有不竭的泉水流下来使全地凉爽、肥沃了。

我们所在环境，无论如何炎热、荒芜、艰难、痛苦、寂寞、平庸，我们总能找到喜乐和祝福的。因为我们的父亲已把活水的泉源赐给我们了。

亚伯拉罕曾在迦南的山中,摩西在米甸的岩石里,都曾发现过这种泉水。戴维在洗格拉的灰烬中，虽然他妻子儿女都被掳去，众人说要用石头打死他，「戴维却倚靠耶和华」（撒上卅:6）

哈巴谷虽然看见无花果树不发旺、田地不出粮食…他仍能唱说：「然而我要因耶和华欢欣，因救我的神喜乐。」（哈三:18）

以赛亚在西拿基立上来攻击犹大的时候，虽然似乎都摇动到海心了，他仍能用信心唱说：「有一道河。这河的分汊，使神的城欢喜…神在其中。城必不动摇。」（诗四十六:4-5）

许多殉道者在火焰中仍有喜乐；许多信徒在患难中仍有平安；这是为甚么缘故呢？乃是因为他们能和戴维一同唱说：「我的泉源都在祢里面。」（诗八十七:7）

啊！我们的父亲所赐给我们的水泉多么宝贵！━宣信

我说：「这沙漠多么广大！」

我说：「这沙漠多么荒凉！

那里有泉水给我解渴？

何处?可给我躲避风沙猖狂！」

我说：「这沙漠多么寂寥！

没有柔声细语，没有可爱脸孔

给最小地方带来盼望。」

我停下来，抱怨声仍在！

忽然,听见潜藏地下的泉声；

面前升起葱绿的棕榈；

鸟儿在歌唱；整个空中

都闪耀着天使的翅羽！

有一位在温柔地说：

「何必为明天忧虑悲惨，

你难道还不明白，

天父知道你需要的东西吗？」

━选

1 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。

2 nether   

adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会

参考例句：

• This terracotta army well represents his ambition yet to be realized in the nether-world.这一批兵马俑很可能代表他死后也要去实现的雄心。
• He was escorted back to the nether regions of Main Street.他被护送回中央大道南面的地方。

3 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

4 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

6 Fertilized   

v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of psychology has recently been widely cross-fertilized by new discoveries in genetics. 心理学研究最近从遗传学的新发现中受益匪浅。
• Flowers are often fertilized by bees as they gather nectar. 花常在蜜蜂采蜜时受粉。

7 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

8 fig   

n.无花果(树)

参考例句：

• The doctor finished the fig he had been eating and selected another.这位医生吃完了嘴里的无花果，又挑了一个。
• You can't find a person who doesn't know fig in the United States.你找不到任何一个在美国的人不知道无花果的。

9 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

10 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

11 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

14 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

15 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。