一月七日[mp3_embed playlst=”/downloading/audio/evening/01/0107.mp3″]
“我妹子，我新妇。”（歌四12）
属天的所罗门，心中满怀爱情，甜密地呼唤着祂的新妇——教会。“我的妹子”——那亲近我，与我联结，并与我忧患与共的；“我的新妇”——是我最亲近与亲密的，祂用最柔细的爱索与我结连；是我甜蜜的伴侣；是我生命的一部分。我的妹子啊，因我道成肉身，你成为我骨中的骨，肉中的肉；我的新妇，借属天的婚配，我以公义聘你归我。我妹子，是我从亘古所认识的，也是我在她襁褓中就眷顾的；我的新妇，是从众童女中所拣选的，我用双手环抱她，作为永远属我的凭据。
请看我们这至尊的亲属竟不以我们为耻，在这双重亲密的关系中，祂喜悦与我同住。“我的”这二字在此段经文中共出现两次，似乎表明基督满心喜悦地与祂的产业——教会——同住。祂“喜悦住在世人之间”（箴八31），因为这些人是祂己拣选的。祂是寻找羊群的大牧人，因为他们是属祂的；祂四处“寻找拯救失丧的人”（路十九10），因为那些失丧的，不管是自己走迷或离祂而去的，本都是属祂的。教会是主独有的产业，无人声称拥有她，或假意要求分享她的爱情。哦，耶稣，你的教会因这关系满心喜悦，让每颗信靠你的心，从这泉源里吸取安慰。我的心哪！基督与你在婚姻的联合中，何等亲密！你在祂眼中，何等宝贵！看哪，祂正用自己的双手，紧握你的手，深情款款地对你说：“我妹子，我新妇。”祂双臂紧抱着你，将你拥在祂怀里，祂不能也不容你离去。亲爱的，切莫用迟疑的态度回报祂神圣的爱。
Evening, January 7
Scripture: “My sister, my spouse.”(Song of Solomon 4:12)
Observe the sweet titles with which the heavenly Solomon with intense affection addresses his bride the church. “My sister, one near to me by ties of nature, partaker of the same sympathies. My spouse, nearest and dearest, united to me by the tenderest bands of love; my sweet companion, part of my own self. My sister, by my Incarnation, which makes me bone of thy bone and flesh of thy flesh; my spouse, by heavenly betrothal, in which I have espoused thee unto myself in righteousness. My sister, whom I knew of old, and over whom I watched from her earliest infancy; my spouse, taken from among the daughters, embraced by arms of love, and affianced unto me for ever. See how true it is that our royal Kinsman is not ashamed of us, for he dwells with manifest delight upon this two-fold relationship. We have the word “my” twice in our version; as if Christ dwelt with rapture on his possession of his Church. “His delights were with the sons of men,” because those sons of men were his own chosen ones. He, the Shepherd, sought the sheep, because they were his sheep; he has gone about “to seek and to save that which was lost,” because that which was lost was his long before it was lost to itself or lost to him. The church is the exclusive portion of her Lord; none else may claim a partnership, or pretend to share her love. Jesus, thy church delights to have it so! Let every believing soul drink solace out of these wells. Soul! Christ is near to thee in ties of relationship; Christ is dear to thee in bonds of marriage union, and thou art dear to him; behold he grasps both of thy hands with both his own, saying, “My sister, my spouse.” Mark the two sacred holdfasts by which thy Lord gets such a double hold of thee that he neither can nor will ever let thee go. Be not, O beloved, slow to return the hallowed flame of his love.
