八月十三日[mp3_embed playlst=”/downloading/audio/evening/08/0813.mp3″]
经文: 我便记念……所立的约。（创世记九：15）
上帝未曾说：“当你仰视虹的时候，你便会记念我所立的约，我就不会毁灭地球了。”上帝的话并不受我们易变、脆弱的记忆所影响，却决定于祂无限、不变的记忆。“虹必现在云彩中，我看见，就要记念我与地上各样有血肉的活物所立的永约。”（创九：16）不是因我记得上帝，乃是因上帝是祂的约紧握住我。救恩的全部基础乃藉上帝的能力得以稳固。甚至不是靠我们记忆力来记念那约，因为我们可能忘记。我们的主却不能忘记众圣徒，因为祂将他们铭刻在祂掌上（参阅赛四十九：16）。以色列人出埃及以前，上帝吩咐他们将血洒在门楣和左右的门框上，祂未曾说：“当你见到血的时候，我就会越过你的房屋。”祂却说：“当我看到那血，我将越过你的房屋。”（参阅出十二：23）当我注视耶稣时，我得到喜乐平安，当上帝注视耶稣时，祂坚定了我的救恩。上帝不会一边看着基督，我们流血的中保，然后一边向我们动怒。我们的罪在祂里面已得到应得的惩罚，不，不是依靠我们记念所立的约才能得救！我们应该记念所立的约，我们要靠上帝的恩典甘心去记念。可是我们的救恩系于上帝记念我们，非我们记念祂；因此，此约是一个永约。
Evening, August 13
Scripture: “And I will remember my covenant.”(Genesis 9:15)
Mark the form of the promise. God does not say, “And when ye shall look upon the bow, and ye shall remember my covenant, then I will not destroy the earth,” but it is gloriously put, not upon our memory, which is fickle and frail, but upon God’s memory, which is infinite and immutable. “The bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant.” Oh! it is not my remembering God, it is God’s remembering me which is the ground of my safety; it is not my laying hold of his covenant, but his covenant’s laying hold on me. Glory be to God! the whole of the bulwarks of salvation are secured by divine power, and even the minor towers, which we may imagine might have been left to man, are guarded by almighty strength. Even the remembrance of the covenant is not left to our memories, for we might forget, but our Lord cannot forget the saints whom he has graven on the palms of his hands. It is with us as with Israel in Egypt; the blood was upon the lintel and the two side-posts, but the Lord did not say, “When you see the blood I will pass over you,” but “When I see the blood I will pass over you.” My looking to Jesus brings me joy and peace, but it is God’s looking to Jesus which secures my salvation and that of all his elect, since it is impossible for our God to look at Christ, our bleeding Surety, and then to be angry with us for sins already punished in him. No, it is not left with us even to be saved by remembering the covenant. There is no linsey-wolsey here－not a single thread of the creature mars the fabric. It is not of man, neither by man, but of the Lord alone. We should remember the covenant, and we shall do it, through divine grace; but the hinge of our safety does not hang there－it is God’s remembering us, not our remembering him; and hence the covenant is an everlasting covenant.
