December 1

"There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God" (Heb.4:9)

The rest includes victory, "And the Lord gave them rest round about; . . . the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand" (Joshua 21:44)

"He will beautify the meek¹ with victory”(Ps.149:4)(Rotherham,margin)

An eminent² Christian³ worker tells of his mother who was a very anxious and troubled Christian. He would talk with her by the hour trying to convince her of the sinfulness of fretting⁴, but to no avail. She was like the old lady who once said she had suffered so much, especially from the troubles that never came.

But one morning the mother came down to breakfast wreathed in smiles. He asked her what had happened, and she told him that in the night she had a dream.

She was walking along a highway with a great crowd of people who seemed so tired and burdened. They were nearly all carrying little black bundles, and she noticed that there were numerous repulsive⁵ looking beings which she thought were demons⁶ dropping these black bundles for the people to pick up and carry.

Like the rest, she too had her needless load, and was weighed down with the devil's bundles. Looking up, after a while, she saw a Man with a bright and loving face, passing hither and thither⁷ through the crowd, and comforting the people.

At last He came near her, and she saw that it was her Saviour⁸. She looked up and told Him how tired she was, and He smiled sadly and said:

"My dear child, I did not give you these loads; you have no need of them. They are the devil's burdens and they are wearing out your life. Just drop them; refuse to touch them with one of your fingers and you will find the path easy and you will be as if borne on eagle's wings."

He touched her hand, and lo, peace and joy thrilled her frame and, flinging down her burden, she was about to throw herself at His feet in joyful⁹ thanksgiving, when suddenly she awoke and found that all her cares were gone. From that day to the close of her life she was the most cheerful and happy member of the household.

━Selected

And the night shall be filled with music,

And the cares that infest¹⁰ the day,

Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,

And as silently steal away.

━Longfellow

十二月一日

「这样看来，必另有一安息，为神的子民存留。」 （来四:9直译）

「耶和华…使他们四境平安…耶和华把一切仇敌都交在他们手中。」 （书廿一:44）

「祂要用救恩当作谦卑人的妆饰。」（诗一四九:4）

一位著名的事奉主的工人告诉我们他母亲的故事：

他的母亲是一位非常多忧多虑的基督人。他常花数小时和她谈话，要想叫她看见烦恼是一个罪，但是没有一点用处。她曾饱经许多苦楚，特别是那些从未来临的。

一天早晨，他母亲下楼来吃早餐；满面笑容，和平常大不相同。他心中非常诧异，就问她甚么事情叫她这样喜乐；她告诉他：夜间她做了一个奇异的梦。

梦中她和一大群疲倦、背重担的人，同在一条大路上行走。他们背上都背着许多黑色的包裹；她看见许多形状可憎的恶魔把那些黑色的包裹撒在地上，让人们去拾起来背着。

她自己也像别人一样，背着那些无须背的重担，觉得非常苦重。过了一会，她抬起头来，看见一位人子，带着一个荣耀的慈颜，在人群中走来走去，安慰人们。

最后那位人子走到她身边来了；她仔细一看，原来是她的主。她仰起头来告诉祂，她非常疲倦，祂带着一个忧愁的笑容对说：

「亲爱的孩子，这些重担不是我给你的，你用不着去背它们。它们是魔鬼给你的，魔鬼要把的你命压出来，你知道么？所以你只要将它们丢下来，连你的手指也不去摸一摸，你就会觉得道路容易了，你也会觉得像生了翅膀一样。」

祂用手一模，看哪，平安和喜乐充满了她的全身；她把她的重担一掷，正想倒在祂脚前感谢祂，她突然醒了，发觉她一切的挂虑都消失了。从这一天起，直到她死的日子，她成了全家最喜乐的一个人。━选

黑夜弥漫着乐声,

白昼的忧虑,

会像阿拉伯人卷起营帐,

悄悄地离去。

━朗斐罗

1 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

2 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 fretting   

n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的

参考例句：

• Fretting about it won't help. 苦恼于事无补。
• The old lady is always fretting over something unimportant. 那位老妇人总是为一些小事焦虑不安。

5 repulsive   

adj.排斥的，使人反感的

参考例句：

• She found the idea deeply repulsive.她发现这个想法很恶心。
• The repulsive force within the nucleus is enormous.核子内部的斥力是巨大的。

6 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

8 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。

9 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

10 infest   

v.大批出没于；侵扰；寄生于

参考例句：

• Several animals in sea water can infest wood.海水中有好多动物能侵害木材。
• A lame cat is better than a swift horse when rats infest the palace.宫殿有鼠患，瘸猫比快马强。