November 29

"Nevertheless afterward¹" (Heb. 12:11)

There is a legend that tells of a German baron² who, at his castle on the Rhine, stretched wires from tower to tower, that the winds might convert them into an Aeolian harp³. And the soft breezes played about the castle, but no music was born.

But one night there arose a great tempest, and hill and castle were smitten⁴ by the fury of the mighty⁵ winds. The baron went to the threshold to look out upon the terror of the storm, and the Aeolian harp was filling the air with strains that rang out even above the clamor of the tempest. It needed the tempest to bring out the music!

And have we not known men whose lives have not given out any entrancing music in the day of a calm prosperity, but who, when the tempest drove against them have astonished their fellows by the power and strength of their music?

"Rain, rain,

Beating against the pane⁶!

How endlessly it pours

Out of doors

From the blackened sky━

I wonder why!

"Flowers, flowers,

Upspringing after showers,

Blossoming fresh and fair,

Everywhere!

Ah, God has explained

Why it rained! "

十一月二十九日

「凡管教的事……不觉得快乐……后来却……。」（来十二:11）

相传有位德国男爵，住在莱因河畔的宫堡里，他在楼塔之间，搭上了若干金属线，希望这些线，因风吹拂而自然发音，成为一种类似「伊奥良」式之弦琴。但威风在宫堡之间吹过，那些金属线没有产生音乐。

某晚，起了暴风，宫堡和附近山地都遭袭击，男爵走到门口去观看暴风带来的恐怖景象，而空中正弥漫着「伊奥良」琴的弦音，盖过了粗暴的风声，它需要暴风来奏出音乐。

我们知道有许多人，他们在平安顺利的时候，从来不会奏出优美的人生音乐来的；但是一遭遇了狂风暴雨，就奏出悠扬绝伦的音乐来了━这音乐精美得会叫我们惊奇！

雨，雨，

雨点打着玻璃窗框！

无休无止,

从乌黑的天幕,

倾泻下来,如怨如怒,

我不懂甚么缘故！

花，花，

草木在阵雨后发芽，

到处开出,

如锦的奇葩，

啊，神已给我们解释,

下雨为使这世界美丽堪夸！

你永远可以依靠神给你以困难的酬报，只要你用正当的方法克服困难,将来的结果,一定比以前的更为丰美。(凡管教的事,当时不觉得快乐,反觉得愁苦。后来,却为那经炼的人,结出平安的果子,就是义)。这是多大的收获!

1 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

2 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

3 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

4 smitten   

猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• From the moment they met, he was completely smitten by her. 从一见面的那一刻起，他就完全被她迷住了。
• It was easy to see why she was smitten with him. 她很容易看出为何她为他倾倒。

5 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

6 pane   

n.窗格玻璃，长方块

参考例句：

• He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
• Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气，在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。