二月四日

耶和華還是愛他們。（何3:1）

信徒呀！回頭看看你一切的經驗，想想你的神領你經過曠野的時候，他怎樣天天賜你衣食，容忍你一切的過犯。你發一切的怨言和你貪慕埃及一切食物的時候，他又怎樣不把這些存記在心上呢？他怎樣使石頭裂開流出水來供給你，並用天上來的嗎哪養活你呢？想想你在一切患難中的時候，他的恩典又怎樣夠你用的呢？他的血怎樣饒恕了你一切的罪呢？他的杖、他的竿又怎樣安慰你呢？當你這樣回想到過去主對你的愛時，那末，再用信眼看看將來主對你的愛吧，要記得基督的約和血中所有的超過了過去。那曾愛你、恕你的主，仍要不停地愛你、恕你。他是阿拉法，他也是俄梅戛。他是始，他也是終。所以，你要記得，即或經過死蔭的幽谷，你也不用怕遭害，因為他與你同在。當你站立在約旦河冰冷的水流中時，你也不用怕，因為死並不能使你與他的愛分離。當你進入永久的奧秘中時，你也不必戰慄，“因為我深信無論是死，是生，是天使，是掌權的，是有能的，是現在的事，是將來的事，是高處的，是低處的，是別的受造之物，都不能叫我們與神的愛隔絕；這愛是在我們的主基督耶穌裡的。”我的心哪！現在你還未重新燃起你的愛嗎？這還不足使你愛耶穌嗎？當你飛過無限之愛的高空時，你的心不使你在主你神裡面歡樂起來嗎？當我們想到神的愛時，我們的心必在我們裡面燃燒起來，我們就必更加愛他。

February 4

"The love of the Lord." --Hosea 3:1

Believer, look back through all thine experience, and think of the way whereby the Lord thy God has led thee in the wilderness, and how He hath fed and clothed thee every day--how He hath borne with thine ill manners--how He hath put up with all thy murmurings, and all thy longings after the flesh-pots of Egypt--how He has opened the rock to supply thee, and fed thee with manna that came down from heaven. Think of how His grace has been sufficient for thee in all thy troubles--how His blood has been a pardon to thee in all thy sins--how His rod and His staff have comforted thee. When thou hast thus looked back upon the love of the Lord, then let faith survey His love in the future, for remember that Christ's covenant and blood have something more in them than the past. He who has loved thee and pardoned thee, shall never cease to love and pardon. He is Alpha, and He shall be Omega also: He is first, and He shall be last. Therefore, bethink thee, when thou shalt pass through the valley of the shadow of death, thou needest fear no evil, for He is with thee. When thou shalt stand in the cold floods of Jordan, thou needest not fear, for death cannot separate thee from His love; and when thou shalt come into the mysteries of eternity thou needest not tremble, "For I am persuaded, that neither death; nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Now, soul, is not thy love refreshed? Does not this make thee love Jesus? Doth not a flight through illimitable plains of the ether of love inflame thy heart and compel thee to delight thyself in the Lord thy God? Surely as we meditate on "the love of the Lord," our hearts burn within us, and we long to love Him more.