8月23日 拒绝的代价
拒绝的代价
“我的神说，恶人必不得平安。”（赛57:21）
纵然你拥有世上所有的帝国，万国都匍匐在你脚前，如同走兽来到亚当面前一般；纵然你的寿命比玛土撒拉还长两倍，可以无忧无虑地尽情享受这一切，没有半点愁云笼罩。但若你没有这平安，我宁愿做你鞋底下的蠕虫或沟渠里的癞蛤蟆，也不愿做宫殿里的你。只要死亡将至、刑罚等候的念头在脑海中闪过一丝，就能立刻摧毁你眼前所有的狂欢。
拒绝按福音的恩典条件接受神所赐的平安，会使得世上那些伟大的领袖，事实上也会使一切未与神和好的罪人，无论尊卑，都像熊倒退着下山一样步入坟墓。只要他们向前瞥一眼，看见自己正走向何处，就可能当场吓死。他们正走向地狱，胸前却没有护心镜，也就是没有与神和好的确据作为遮蔽。
那么，接下来你当作什么呢？你当将自己关在内室，认清自己是个被定罪的罪人，远离那些阿谀奉承的损友；他们只会用摇篮曲哄骗你的灵魂陷入麻木的虚假安全感中，这摇篮正是魔鬼摇荡灵魂、使其走向彻底毁灭的安乐床。相反，你当去请那些敢于对你发出忠言的人，让他们像撒母耳那样，将神责备你的每一句话都明明白白地告诉你，毫无隐瞒。
你当定睛于神的话语，在其中读出对你自己的判决；你当从神口中领受自己的定罪，而非从人口中领受。“我的神说：恶人必不得平安！”（赛57:21）你当昼夜默想这节经文，直到它像膏药贴在烂疮上一样紧紧贴住你的灵魂，将那使你心里刚硬的骄傲与属肉体自信的毒根连根拔出。到了那时，你灵里的痛苦将催逼你，使你对与神和好的渴望，胜过对世上一切事物的贪恋。这正是神一直等候从你口中听见的回转之言。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：撒上15章，罗13章，
个人灵修：耶52章，路20章
AUGUST 23, SUNDAY
THE COST OF REFUSING
“There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21).
You might own all the empires of the world, and have nations creeping to your feet, as the animals came to Adam; and your lease on life might be twice as long as Methuselah’s span to enjoy all this, without one cloud of trouble. But if you lack peace, I would rather be the worm under your shoe or the toad in the ditch than you in your palace. Just one small thought of approaching death and the torment waiting for you can immediately destroy all your present happiness.
This refusal to accept God’s peace on Gospel terms makes the great leaders of the world—in fact, all unreconciled sinners, high and low—go to their graves as bears go down a hill—backwards. One glance forward might cause them to die of fright as they see where they are going. They are headed there without a breastplate, the persuasion of peace with God.
What should you do next then? Shut yourself up as a condemned sinner, apart from flattering friends who would lullaby your soul into senseless security—the cradle which the devil rocks souls in, to their utter destruction. Instead, send for those who dare to be faithful, like Samuel, to tell you every word God has against you, hiding nothing.
Read your own sentence with your eyes on the Word; take your condemnation from God’s mouth, not from man’s. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21). Meditate on that Scripture until it cleaves to your soul like a plaster to a sore and draws out the core of pride and carnal confidence which have hardened your heart. By this time the anguish of your own spirit will prompt you to want peace with God more than anything else in the world. This is what God has been waiting to hear from you.