December 3

"Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well" (2 kings 4:26)

"BE strong, my soul!

Thy loved ones go

Within the veil. God's thine, e'en so;

Be strong.”

"Be strong, my soul!

Death looms¹ in view.

Lo, here thy God! He'll bear thee through;

Be strong.”

For sixty-two years and five months I had a beloved wife, and now, in my ninety-second year I am left alone. But I turn to the ever present Jesus, as I walk up and down in my room, and say, "Lord Jesus, I am alone, and yet not alone━Thou art with me, Thou art my Friend. Now, Lord, comfort me, strengthen me, give to Thy poor servant everything Thou seest he needs."

And we should not be satisfied till we are brought to this, that we know the Lord Jesus Christ experimentally, habitually² to be our Friend: at all times, and under all circumstances, ready to prove Himself to be our Friend.

━George Mueller

Afflictions cannot injure when blended with submission³.

Ice breaks many a branch, and so I see a great many persons bowed down and crushed by their afflictions. But now and then I meet one that sings in affliction, and then I thank God for my own sake as well as his. There is no such sweet singing as a song in the night. You recollect⁴ the story of the woman who, when her only child died, in rapture⁵ looking up, as with the face of an angel, said, "I give you joy, my darling." That single sentence has gone with me years and years down through my life, quickening and comforting me. ━Henry Ward⁶ Beecher

"E 'en for the dead I will not bind⁷ my soul to grief;

Death cannot long divide﹒

For is it not as though the rose that climbed my garden wall〃

Has blossomed on the other side?

Death doth hide﹐

But not divide;

Thou art but on Christ's other side!

Thou art with Christ, and Christ with me;

In Christ united still are we﹒〃

十二月三日

「你丈夫平安么？孩子平安么？」她说:「平安。」 （王下四:26）

灵魂啊，要坚强！

你亲爱的人正进入天堂。

神是属你的，即然如此，

灵魂啊，要坚强。

灵魂啊，要坚强！

你毛见的虽是死亡，

但你的神会带你渡过危难；

灵魂啊，要坚强。

我所爱的妻子和我同居六十二年零五个月，在我九十二岁这一年，竟然离开我去了。虽然在我这样衰老的日子，觉得非常孤单，但是当我在房中踱来踱去的时候，我看见我的主是一直与我同在的；我就对祂说：「主耶稣阿，我虽然孤单，仍不孤单━祢与我同在，祢是我的朋友。现在，主阿，求祢安慰我、坚固我；祢看祢可怜的仆人需要甚么，祢就给他甚么。」

多少时候，我们的心得不着满足，是因为我们没有在经历上、习惯上，认识主耶稣基督是我们的朋友：无论在甚么时候、甚么环境中，祂总是我们的朋友。━莫勒

以驯服之心，接受痛苦，决不会受伤的。

冰冻折裂了许多树枝，同样地，我看到许多人被痛苦所 屈服，所摧残。但我时时遇见在痛苦中歌唱的人，我就为他和自己而感谢神。最美的声乐，莫过于深夜高歌。一位妇人，当她独生儿子去世时，她脸上带着天使般的表情，喜不自胜地仰望着说：「亲爱的，我给你欢欣。」这句简单的话，一直萦绕在我的生命中，年复一年地激励我，安慰我。━皮邱

即使你死了，我不愿悲伤；

死神不能永久把我们隔开。

不过像墙头的花，

爬到墙的那一边开出花来?

看不见，可是仍然存在，

它岂能把我们隔开；

你只是到了基督的那一边!

你和基督在一起，基督和我；

我们在基督里并没有分开。

1 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 habitually   

ad.习惯地，通常地

参考例句：

• The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow. 病痛使他习惯性地紧皱眉头。
• Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair. 我已经习惯于服从约翰，我来到他的椅子跟前。

3 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

4 recollect   

v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得

参考例句：

• He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
• She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。

5 rapture   

n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜

参考例句：

• His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
• In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地，被他父亲打断了。

6 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

7 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。