五月二十三日[mp3_embed playlst=”/downloading/audio/evening/05/0523.mp3″]
经文: 你没有用银子为我买菖蒲。（以赛亚书四十三：24）
到圣殿敬拜的人，通常带着有香气的礼物烧在上帝的祭坛上。但是堕落的以色列人，自私地扣减向主的还愿祭物。这事证明了他们的心，向上帝和向祂的殿是何等冷漠。经文中所记载的指责曾否偶尔（若非经常）扎你的心？那些生活贫苦但信心丰富的人，并不因礼物菲薄而减少上帝的悦纳。你是将应献之份给主，或是寡妇的小钱没有投入上帝的库房？有钱的信徒应该感谢上帝托付给他的财富，但也不能忘记他的重大责任，因为多给谁就向谁多取（参阅路十二：48）。你是否明白所必须给主的份，是按你得到的好处而定的？耶稣为我们流血，我们应献何物给祂？我们，并我们所有的都是祂的，因为祂以生命买赎了我们。我们怎能继续按自己的意思去行？给祂更多的供奉、给祂更多的爱吧！赐福的耶稣，世上最昂贵的礼物也不足以回报祢的无比大爱，然而，祢以欣喜接受最小诚意的爱之礼物！祢接受我们微小的勿忘我花，视为无限珍贵，就如孩童带了一束野花呈献给母亲一般。但愿我们永不对祢吝啬。从此时开始，希望我们不再因拒绝向祢献上爱的礼而听到祢的怨言。
Evening, May 23
Scripture: “Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money.”(Isaiah 43:24)
Worshippers at the temple were wont to bring presents of sweet perfumes to be burned upon the altar of God: but Israel, in the time of her backsliding, became ungenerous, and made but few votive offerings to her Lord: this was an evidence of coldness of heart towards God and his house. Reader, does this never occur with you? Might not the complaint of the text be occasionally, if not frequently, brought against you? Those who are poor in pocket, if rich in faith, will be accepted none the less because their gifts are small; but, poor reader, do you give in fair proportion to the Lord, or is the widow’s mite kept back from the sacred treasury? The rich believer should be thankful for the talent entrusted to him, but should not forget his large responsibility, for where much is given much will be required; but, rich reader, are you mindful of your obligations, and rendering to the Lord according to the benefit received? Jesus gave his blood for us, what shall we give to him? We are his, and all that we have, for he has purchased us unto himself －can we act as if we were our own? O for more consecration! and to this end, O for more love! Blessed Jesus, how good it is of thee to accept our sweet cane bought with money! nothing is too costly as a tribute to thine unrivalled love, and yet thou dost receive with favour the smallest sincere token of affection! Thou dost receive our poor forget-me-nots and love-tokens as though they were intrinsically precious, though indeed they are but as the bunch of wild flowers which the child brings to its mother. Never may we grow niggardly towards thee, and from this hour never may we hear thee complain of us again for withholding the gifts of our love. We will give thee the first fruits of our increase, and pay thee tithes of all, and then we will confess “of thine own have we given thee.”