四月十二日

我心在我裡面如蠟熔化。（詩22:14）

我們的愛主心靈中經過了一種可怕的消沉和熔化。“人有疾病，心能忍耐；心靈憂傷，誰能承當呢？”心靈中的重壓是最悲傷的苦難，相形之下其他都是不足道的。救主當受苦時很可以向神呼求說“不要遠離我”，因為一個人受到重壓心便熔化，所以就需要神。信徒啊！今晨讓我們就近十架，謙恭敬拜榮耀之王，他曾降到卑微之境，內心受到極大的傷痛，是我們任何人所想像不到的，因此他堪作我們又慈悲又忠信的大祭司，他必能體恤我們的病痛。特別是那些因心中感到與父神的愛遠隔而愁苦的人應當前來，就近耶穌，與他有一次密切的交通。我們不要失望，因主必在這暗室中從我們面前經過。我們的心靈雖然有時因仰望主面的恩光而乾渴得發昏難過，在這時我們要想到我們大祭司的體恤是與我們同在的。我們點滴的痛苦在他憂患的汪洋中真是不足掛齒的，那末，我們愛主的心當怎樣地被激起來呀！願耶穌的堅強而深厚的愛進入我心，像大海的春潮，覆庇我的力量，沉溺我的罪惡，洗去我一切的顧慮，高舉我被地所困的靈魂，把它浮泛到我主的腳前，讓我躺臥在那裡，像一個渺小的破碎的貝殼，受到主愛的衝激，毫無美德和價值；但我只願在他傾聽的耳前向他低訴，他在我微弱的心中聽到他愛的巨浪，親自把我帶到我永遠歡喜在的地方，就是他的腳下。

“耶穌向我所存恩愛，捨身流血還我罪債，使我得免永遠災害，主恩愛說不盡。”

April 12

"My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." --Psalm 22:14

Our blessed Lord experienced a terrible sinking and melting of soul. "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?" Deep depression of spirit is the most grievous of all trials; all besides is as nothing. Well might the suffering Saviour cry to His God, "Be not far from me," for above all other seasons a man needs his God when his heart is melted within him because of heaviness. Believer, come near the cross this morning, and humbly adore the King of glory as having once been brought far lower, in mental distress and inward anguish, than any one among us; and mark His fitness to become a faithful High Priest, who can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. Especially let those of us whose sadness springs directly from the withdrawal of a present sense of our Father's love, enter into near and intimate communion with Jesus. Let us not give way to despair, since through this dark room the Master has passed before us. Our souls may sometimes long and faint, and thirst even to anguish, to behold the light of the Lord's countenance: at such times let us stay ourselves with the sweet fact of the sympathy of our great High Priest. Our drops of sorrow may well be forgotten in the ocean of His griefs; but how high ought our love to rise! Come in, O strong and deep love of Jesus, like the sea at the flood in spring tides, cover all my powers, drown all my sins, wash out all my cares, lift up my earth-bound soul, and float it right up to my Lord's feet, and there let me lie, a poor broken shell, washed up by His love, having no virtue or value; and only venturing to whisper to Him that if He will put His ear to me, He will hear within my heart faint echoes of the vast waves of His own love which have brought me where it is my delight to lie, even at His feet for ever.