三月三十日[mp3_embed playlst=”/downloading/audio/evening/03/0330.mp3″]
经文: 我们当深深考察自己的行为,再归向耶和华。(耶利米哀歌三:40)
妻子切盼出远门的丈夫速速归来。与相爱长久分离使她灵里感到痛苦虚空。热切爱主的心灵亦有同感,他们必须见祂的面。当祂远离上到上巅而不能与之相交时,他们根本不能忍受。儿女皆害怕冒犯温柔的父亲,当他投以责备的一瞥或伸出指责的手指时,孩子们都会忧伤。亲爱的,你是否曾经历过一段经文,一些惊吓或痛苦之仗的触摸,使你来到父上帝的脚前,哭泣着说:“求祢向我显明何以祢向我发怒?”你现在的光景是否如此?你是否安心于远离不跟随耶稣?你能毫无警觉地中止与基督相交吗?你的罪是否使你与上帝分离而你的心仍有平安,若我们能不欣赏救主之面容,并且能心满意足地生活,实在是一件令人忧伤的事。让我们深思这是何等的罪恶──对为我们而死的救主缺乏爱,对珍贵的耶稣没有喜乐、与所爱者短少相交。当你为自己刚硬之心悲哀时,从灵里真正悔改吧!不要仅止于悲哀,回想当初接受救恩的时刻,立即回到十字架下,唯有在该处,你的灵才能活过来。无论你是如何刚硬、如何麻木不仁、如何没有生气,就以本性的褴褛、穷困、和污秽,再次前来紧握那十字架。耶稣将把最初的爱再赐给我们,这将恢复你信仰的单纯和你心的柔和!
Evening, March 30
Scripture: “Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.”(Lamentations 3:40)
The spouse who fondly loves her absent husband longs for his return; a long protracted separation from her lord is a semi-death to her spirit: and so with souls who love the Saviour much, theymust see his face, they cannot bear that he should be away upon the mountains of Bether, and no more hold communion with them. A reproaching glance, an uplifted finger will be grievous to loving children, who fear to offend their tender father, and are only happy in his smile. Beloved, it was so once with you. A text of Scripture, a threatening, a touch of the rod of affliction, and you went to your Father’s feet, crying, “Show me wherefore thou contendest with me?” Is it so now? Are you content to follow Jesus afar off? Can you contemplate suspended communion with Christ without alarm? Can you bear to have your Beloved walking contrary to you, because you walk contrary to him? Have your sins separated between you and your God, and is your heart at rest? O let me affectionately warn you, for it is a grievous thing when we can live contentedly without the present enjoyment of the Saviour’s face. Let us labour to feel what an evil thing this is-little love to our own dying Saviour, little joy in our precious Jesus, little fellowship with the Beloved! Hold a true Lent in your souls, while you sorrow over your hardness of heart. Do not stop at sorrow! Remember where you first received salvation. Go at once to the cross. There, and there only, can you get your spirit quickened. No matter how hard, how insensible, how dead we may have become, let us go again in all the rags and poverty, and defilement of our natural condition. Let us clasp that cross, let us look into those languid eyes, let us bathe in that fountain filled with blood-this will bring back to us our first love; this will restore the simplicity of our faith, and the tenderness of our heart.