7月3日 盼望神的赐福
盼望神的赐福
“神没有丢弃我。我昼夜都在祂心中，祂的意念正在作工，为要使我得益处。”
纯全使基督徒能够对神存美善的思想，也能说出颂扬神的话语。诡诈之人虽面容沮丧，内心却暗藏着对神的毒恨。他不敢将这些话吐出口，却任凭它们在最深的思想深处腐烂发酵。因为这个可怜的人并不爱神，所以他的灵魂没有空间思想神的良善。他满腹怒火、烦躁不安，忘记神过去所赐的丰盛恩典，又因眼前的困境而屈从于怨恨。他宁愿归咎于神，也不肯反躬自责。
但纯全的基督徒，心中珍藏着对神甘甜的思念，以至于他的默想使他与平安联合，他绝不会口出一句有损神荣耀或良善的话语。我们在大卫身上清楚看见这一点：“因我所遭遇的是出于你，我就默然不语。”（诗39:9）。他的灵与身体同时受苦，忧伤与病痛并袭，然而他仍记得苦难从何而来。“主啊，这是出于祢，而我深深爱祢，所以我能坦然承受。况且，祢本可将我投于烈火之床，却只是让我躺在病榻之上；让我带着感恩之心领受祢的管教吧。”于是，他承受了这一击，却没有把怨恨或愤怒的话反弹回神身上。
纯全使灵魂能够期盼神所赐的美善。读到大卫在肉身痛苦、灵里煎熬之际所发出的哀呼，足以使铁石心肠为之破碎。然而即便在这场风暴中，他仍然抛下锚，直至锚抓牢了神：“耶和华啊，我仰望祢！主我的神啊，祢必应允我！”（诗38:15）。他对神良善的期盼，将痛苦带来的苦涩尽数吸收：“但我是困苦穷乏的，主仍顾念我”（诗40:17）。他的处境令人怜悯，但他所得的安慰却更为有力：“神没有丢弃我。我昼夜都在祂心中，祂的意念正在作工，为要使我得益处。”
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：书5章，诗132-134章，
个人灵修：赛65章，太13章
JULY 3, FRIDAY
EXPECT GOD’S BLESSINGS
“God has not thrown me away. I am in His mind day and night, and His thoughts are at work to do me good.”
Sincerity enables the Christian to think and speak well of God. A deceitful man’s countenance droops and his heart enlarges with venom against God. He dares not let it come out of his mouth but it festers in his deepest thoughts. Because the wretched man does not love God, he has no place in his soul to reflect on God’s goodness. He fumes and frets and forgets the abundant blessings God has brought in the past and gives in to resentment because of his present problems. And he would much rather curse God than take the blame himself.
But the sincere Christian cherishes such sweet thoughts of God that his meditations unite him with peace and he would not consider speaking unworthily of God’s glory or goodness. We see this in David: “I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it” (Psalm 39:9). Both his spirit and body were afflicted at the same time; he was sad and sick, yet he remembered where the affliction came from. “This is from You, Lord, and I love You dearly; so I can take it without fear. After all, You might have thrown me into a bed of flames instead of a bed of sickness; so let me accept my correction thankfully.” Thus he fielded the blow without sending words of resentment or anger back upon God.
Sincerity enables the soul to expect good from God. It would break a heart of stone to read the sad cries which David’s soul made when he was in anguish of flesh and agony of spirit. Yet even in this storm he cast out his anchor until it took hold of God: “In thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.” (Psalm 38:15). His expectation of good from God absorbed the bitterness coming from his pain: “I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me” (Psalm 40:17). His condition was pitiful but his comfort was even stronger: “God has not thrown me away. I am in His mind day and night, and His thoughts are at work to do me good.”