第二十七周 忧患之子
“他……多受痛苦，常经忧患。”（赛53:3）
诗：主你奇妙的故事，我正低头在默思；
今天荣耀当年苦，爱且孤单的道路；
往事历历满鼓舞，时时刻刻感深处。
你曾圣别客此地，万恶人间显公义；
因爱来作忧患子，谁能说尽你恩慈？
“耶稣因走路困乏，就坐在井旁。”哦，试想主自己，地上君王不认识祂，可是荣耀的主，正在困倦的坐在井旁。因着口渴，似乎向这世界要一口水──这世界就是祂所造，但不认识祂。
祂出尽代价，把神的爱显在人间。
我爱慕祂那样的爱，使祂为我成为罪。在这件事上，祂的大爱受了十足的试炼，也就是这爱带领祂经过一切。在这里给我们看见人到底是怎样的，事实虽然顶可怕，却能深刻的启迪我们。若我受审判，我对我的朋友寄予什么希望呢？最少他们不会离弃我罢。但他们都离开祂跑了！对于审判官呢？我必定盼望他保护无事，但彼拉多竟洗手自示清白，把祂交给百姓！对于祭司我所望为何？他们应为无知的人代求，为无告的人代方，但他们却鼓动百姓，喊着说：“除掉祂，除掉祂！”每一个人都没有公义，但这一位是义者，祂曾在神的爱中，经过了这一切的试炼！
祂的忧患有如深渊，我们从边缘一看下去，真是不寒而懔！对祂不禁肃然起敬……。一看祂受苦之深，恩典就在眼前显得高超绝俗。这就使人觉悟说，只有一位约对完全圣洁的“人”，才能当得起那样的深忧巨患。
祂指望有人同情，但找不着一个；指望有人安慰，也寻不见一人……。祂受尽人间痛苦忧患，最厉害的考验与磨炼，泰然独处，孤单交行，惊醒祷告……没有人与他表同情；如果有，也只是一个伯大尼的马利亚，此外再没有同情祂的人。但祂自己，却从来没有不同情任何需要祂的人。
祂本是在父怀中的爱子，但祂被离弃，像一个普通的罪人，对于这一点，我们没有一个能测度祂魂中的伤痛。
祂对于圣洁的认识何其高，所以祂在神面前成为罪的感觉也何其痛苦；祂对于神的认识其深，所以祂感觉神的离弃也何其忧伤！
祂是复活，祂是生命。祂是操纵生死的主，竟然在世界为我们踏进死门！祂买我们的代价太大，怎能把我们丢弃。
哦，面貌憔悴的主！曾因赐恩受损污；
我们欢乐等主来，细瞻创痕献敬拜。
面面相对亲近主，更表全心的爱慕！
欣逢再度降临时，所有忧伤成往事。
TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK THE MAN OF SORROWS
“A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Isaiah 53:3
O Lord! Thy wondrous story
My inmost soul doth move;
I ponder o’er Thy glory—
Thy lonely path of love!
But, O divine Sojourner,
’Midst man’s unfathomed ill,
Love, that made Thee a mourner,
It is not man’s to tell.
“Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well.” … Oh! to think of the Lord Himself, whom none of the princes of this world knew, but who was the Lord of glory, sitting weary on the well, thirsty, and dependent upon this world for a drink of water—the world that was made by Him, and knew Him not!
He was the display, at all cost to Himself, of divine love to man.
I adore the love that led Him to be made sin for me. There was the full testing of the love that carried Him through all. It is deeply instructive, though very dreadful to see there what man is. What do I expect of my friends if I am on trial? At least that they will not forsake me. They all forsook Him, and fled! In a judge? I expect him to protect innocence. Pilate washes his hands of His blood, and gives Him over to the people! In a priest, what do I expect? That he will intercede for the ignorant and for them that are out of the way. They urge the people, who cry, “Away with him, away with him!” Every man was the opposite of what was right, and that one Man was not only right, but in divine love He was going trough it all!
His sorrows must ever be a depth into which we look over on the edge with solemn awe. … It exalts His grace to the soul to look into that depth, and makes one feel that none but a divine Person (and one perfect in every way) could have been there.
He looked for some to take pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but found none. … He was tested and tried to the last degree of human suffering and sorrow, standing alone in this, praying in an agony and alone … none to sympathise with Him; Mary of Bethany was the only one, but for the rest never one had sympathy with Him; never one that wanted it that He had not sympathy with.
None of us can fathom what it was to One who had dwelt in the bosom of the Father to find His soul as a man forsaken of Him.
In the measure in which He knew what it was to be holy, He felt what it was to be made sin before God. In the measure in which He knew the love of God, He felt what it was to be forsaken of God.
He is the resurrection and the life. Wonderful that He, such in this world, Master of death, steps then into death Himself for us!
He has purchased us too dearly to give us up.
The traits of that face, Lord,
Once marred through Thy grace, Lord,
Our joy’ll be to trace
At Thy coming again.
With Thee evermore, Lord,
Our hearts will adore, Lord;
Our sorrow’ll be o’er
At Thy coming again.