November 30

"And seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not: for, behold¹, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey² in all places whither thou goest" (Jer. 45:5)

A promise given for hard places, and a promise of safety and life in the midst of tremendous pressure, a life "for a prey." It may well adjust itself to our own times, which are growing harder as we near the end of the age, and the Tribulation³ times.

 

What is the meaning of "a life for a prey"? It means a life snatched out of the jaws⁴ of the destroyer, as David snatched the lamb from the lion. It means not removal from the noise of the battle and the presence of our foes⁵; but it means a table in the midst of our enemies, a shelter from the storm, a fortress⁷ amid the foe⁶, a life preserved in the face of continual pressure: Paul's healing when pressed out of measure so that he despaired of life; Paul's Divine help when the thorn remained, but the power of Christ rested upon him and the grace of Christ was sufficient. Lord, give me my life for a prey, and in the hardest places help me today to be victorious⁸. ━Days of Heaven upon Earth

 

We often pray to be delivered from calamities⁹; we even trust that we shall be; but we do not pray to be made what we should be, in the very presence of the calamities; to live amid them, as long as they last, in the consciousness that we are, held and sheltered by the Lord, and can therefore remain in the midst of them, so long as they continue, without any hurt. For forty days and nights, the Saviour¹⁰ was kept in the presence of Satan in the wilderness¹¹, and that, under circumstances of special trial, His human nature being weakened by want of food and rest. The furnace was heated seven times more than it was wont¹² to be heated, but the three Hebrew children were kept a season amid its flames as calm and composed in the presence of the tyrant's last appliances of torture, as they were in the presence of himself before their time of deliverance came. And the livelong night did Daniel sit among the lions, and when he was taken up out of the den¹³, "no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God."(Dan.6:23) They dwelt in the presence of the enemy, because they dwelt in the presence of God. ━Selected

 

 

十一月三十日

「你为自己图谋大事么？不要图谋。我必使灾祸临到凡有血气的。但你无论往那里去，我必使你以自己的命为掠物。这是耶和华说的。」

（耶四十五:5）

 

在极大的灾祸中，耶和华给杰里迈亚一个安全的应许，就是「以自己的命为掠物」。在这末世时代，这应许在我们身上，也是非常适用的。

「以自己的命为掠物」到底是甚么意思呢？意思说：我们能从毁灭者的爪牙中间抢出我们自己的命来，好像戴维从狮子口中抢出羊羔来一般。这并不是挪去战争、挪去仇敌；这乃是在敌人面前摆设筵席，在风雨中间建立避难所，在灾祸中间存留性命。保罗的刺虽然没有离开他，但是基督的恩典够他用的，基督的能力覆庇了他。主阿，求祢使我以自己的命为掠物，在最危险难的环境中获得胜利！━译自地上的属天生活

 

我们常求脱离灾祸，却不求在灾祸中间得胜；我们应当活在灾祸中间，深信我们被保守在神的庇护之下，绝不能受到丝毫伤损。我们的主在旷野，受魔鬼的试探四十昼夜，虽然又饿又倦，魔鬼并不能伤害祂。火窑虽然比寻长烧热七倍，三个希伯来人却在火中游行。但以理虽然被扔在狮子坑中，当他从坑里被系上来的时候，「身上毫无伤损，因为信靠他的神。」（但六:23）━选

1 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

3 tribulation   

n.苦难，灾难

参考例句：

• Even in our awful tribulation we were quite optimistic.即使在极端痛苦时，我们仍十分乐观。
• I hate the tribulation,I commiserate the sorrow brought by tribulation.我厌恶别人深重的苦难，怜悯苦难带来的悲哀。

4 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

5 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。

6 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

7 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

8 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

9 calamities   

n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One moment's false security can bring a century of calamities. 图一时之苟安，贻百年之大患。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 saviour   

n.拯救者，救星

参考例句：

• I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。

11 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

12 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

13 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。