December 17

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:23-24)

Many years since I saw that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." I began by following after it and inciting¹ all with whom I had intercourse² to do the same. Ten years after, God gave me a clearer view than I ever had before of the way to obtain it; namely, by faith in the Son of God. And immediately I declared to all, "We are saved from sin, we are made holy by faith." This I testified in private, in public, and in print, and God confirmed it by a thousand witnesses. I have continued to declare this for above thirty years, and God has continued to confirm my work. ━John Wesley in 1771

"I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to my soul; but I found something in me that would not keep sweet and patient and kind. I did what I could to keep it down, but it was there. I besought³ Jesus to do something for me, and, when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart, and took out all that would not be sweet, all that would not be kind, all that would not be patient, and then HE shut the door." ━George Fox

My whole heart has not one single grain, this moment, of thirst after approbation⁴. I feel alone with God; He fills the void; I have not one wish, one will, one desire, but in Him; He hath set my feet in a large room. I have wondered and stood amazed that God should make a conquest of all within me by love. ━Lady Huntington

"All at once I felt as though a hand━not feeble, but omnipotent⁵; not of wrath⁶, but of love━was laid on my brow. I felt it not outwardly but inwardly. It seemed to press upon my whole being, and to diffuse⁷ all through me a holy, sin-consuming energy. As it passed downward, my heart as well as my head was conscious of the presence of this soul-cleansing energy, under the influence of which I fell to the floor, and in the joyful⁸ surprise of the moment, cried out in a loud voice. Still the hand of power wrought⁹ without and within; and wherever it moved, it seemed to leave the glorious influence of the Saviour's image. For a few minutes the deep ocean of God's love swallowed me up; all its waves and billows rolled over me." ━Bishop Hamline

Holiness━as I then wrote down some of my contemplations on it━appeared to me to be of a sweet, calm, pleasant, charming, serene¹⁰ nature, which brought an inexpressible purity, brightness, peacefulness, ravishment to the soul; in other words, that it made the soul like a field or garden of God, with all manner of pleasant fruits and flowers, all delightful¹¹ and undisturbed, enjoying a sweet calm and the gentle vivifying beams of the sun.━Jonathan Edwards

十二月十七日

「愿赐平安的神，亲自使你们全然成圣。又愿你们的灵、与魂、与身子，得蒙保守，在我主耶稣基督降临的时候，完全无可指摘。那召你们的本是信实的，他必成就这事。」 （帖前五:23-24）

从前我曾竭力追求圣洁，并且鼓励一切和我交往的人都追求圣洁。十年以后，神给我清楚看见一个我以前从未看见过的得到圣洁的方法，就是相信神的儿子。我就立刻传扬这个真理：「信能把我们从罪恶中拯救出来，信能使我们成为圣洁。」我把这真理在私人生活上见证出来，在公共场所见证出来，在印刷物上见证出来；神也藉着许多见证人来证实。我继续传扬这个真理，到现在已经差不多三十年了，神继续给了我无数证实。━约翰韦斯利

主耶稣，对于我是非常宝贵的；但是我发现在我里面有一件东西我不能温柔，不能忍耐，不能仁爱。我尽力把这件东西压制下去，但是它仍在那里。直到我把我的意志完全让位给主的时候，主就替我拿去了一切使我不能温柔的，不能仁爱的，不能忍耐的。━福克斯

现在我的心不再希图人的称赞了。神填满了我心的一切空虚处；除祂以外，我不再有甚么希图、甚么意志、甚么欲望了。我自己也觉得非常奇怪━神竟用爱来征服了我的一切。━亨丁登

「忽然觉得好象有一只手，放到我的额上，力量很大，并非轻轻的一摸；而是出于爱，并非出于怒。我内心如此感觉。他似乎压着我的全身，那神圣与除罪涤污的力量，浇灌着我整个身体，他自上而下，我的心神清晰地感觉到这清洁灵力的临到。我心中惊喜，高声喊叫了出来，那双手的力量，仍在活动，他接触之处，似乎留下了救主的荣光。在一瞬之间，神的爱象潮水似的漫过了我，我好象随着爱波卷动。」━海林主教

圣洁是美丽的、平静的、爽快的、可爱的；它带给我们难以形容的光明、平安和喜乐；换言之，圣洁使我们的心变成神的花园━里面充满了佳美的果子和花卉，享受着暖和的、活泼的阳光。━爱德华思

1 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

2 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

3 besought   

v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词)

参考例句：

• The prisoner besought the judge for mercy/to be merciful. 囚犯恳求法官宽恕[乞求宽大]。 来自辞典例句
• They besought him to speak the truth. 他们恳求他说实话. 来自辞典例句

4 approbation   

n.称赞；认可

参考例句：

• He tasted the wine of audience approbation.他尝到了像酒般令人陶醉的听众赞许滋味。
• The result has not met universal approbation.该结果尚未获得普遍认同。

5 omnipotent   

adj.全能的，万能的

参考例句：

• When we are omnipotent we shall have no more need of science.我们达到万能以后就不需要科学了。
• Money is not omnipotent,but we can't survive without money.金钱不是万能的，但是没有金钱我们却无法生存。

6 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

7 diffuse   

v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的

参考例句：

• Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.直射光比漫射光更有利于阅读。
• His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point.他的谈话漫无边际，我抓不住他的要点。

8 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。

9 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

10 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

11 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。