六月十八日[mp3_embed playlst=”/downloading/audio/evening/06/0618.mp3″]
经文: 我妹子、我新妇，我进了我的园中。（雅歌五：1）
信徒的心是基督的花园。是祂以自己的宝血买来的。祂进入此花园，并宣告它属祂自己。花园的含意是分别出来的。它不是公有财产，也不是旷野，四周有篱芭围绕。分开教会和世界的墙必须筑得又宽又坚固。基督徒常说：“这个无妨，那个无碍。”因此，与世界越靠越近。人若想知道他与世人可以一致到什么程度，恩典在这人的心中可能只占一点点的部份。花园是一美丽之处，远超过荒野未开垦之地。真正的基督徒在生命中的表现，必须比最好的道德家更为优异，因为基督的花园应当长出世上最优美的花朵。在耶稣称为属祂的地方，应当绽放出最罕见、最珍贵、最让人羡慕的百合花和玫瑰。花园是生长的地方。圣徒不能停滞不发展，常常只有稀疏的花蕾和花苞。我们应当“在我们主救主耶稣基督的恩典和知识上有长进”（彼后三：18）。耶稣是园丁，圣灵是从天而降的雨露，生长应当是迅速的。花园是一隐退的场所。主耶稣基督呼召我们将心灵保留作为祂向我们彰显祂自己的地方。我们常常像马大那样，为各种事务忧虑烦恼，不能像马利亚那样为基督保留地方，也没有坐在祂的脚前，那本是我们应当作的。但愿主今日沛降恩典之雨、滋润祂的花园。
Evening, June 18
Scripture: “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.”(Song of Solomon 5:1)
The heart of the believer is Christ’s garden. He bought it with his precious blood, and he enters it and claims it as his own. A garden implies separation. It is not the open common; it is not a wilderness; it is walled around, or hedged in. Would that we could see the wall of separation between the church and the world made broader and stronger. It makes one sad to hear Christians saying, “Well, there is no harm in this; there is no harm in that,” thus getting as near to the world as possible. Grace is at a low ebb in that soul which can even raise the question of how far it may go in worldly conformity. A garden is a place of beauty, it far surpasses the wild uncultivated lands. The genuine Christian must seek to be more excellent in his life than the best moralist, because Christ’s garden ought to produce the best flowers in all the world. Even the best is poor compared with Christ’s deservings; let us not put him off with withering and dwarf plants. The rarest, richest, choicest lilies and roses ought to bloom in the place which Jesus calls his own. The garden is a place of growth. The saints are not to remain undeveloped, always mere buds and blossoms. We should grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Growth should be rapid where Jesus is the Husbandman, and the Holy Spirit the dew from above. A garden is a place of retirement. So the Lord Jesus Christ would have us reserve our souls as a place in which he can manifest himself, as he doth not unto the world. O that Christians were more retired, that they kept their hearts more closely shut up for Christ! We often worry and trouble ourselves, like Martha, with much serving, so that we have not the room for Christ that Mary had, and do not sit at his feet as we should. The Lord grant the sweet showers of his grace to water his garden this day.