十二月二日

我的佳偶，你全然美麗。（歌4：7）

主極其愛慕他的教會，他形容她美麗的話語也很奇特。她不僅美麗，而且是“全然美麗”。他是在他裏面來看她，用他贖罪的血洗淨，幷用他所成就的義給她穿上，因此他認爲她極其可愛，全然美麗。她的美麗就是在此，他所羡慕的不過是他自己的完全秀美罷了！因爲他的教會所有的聖潔、榮耀和純全乃是他自己的榮耀衣裳穿在他所愛的佳偶身上罷了！她不僅貞潔、勻稱，而且甚美麗可愛！她實在有她的美點！她罪的缺陷已經沒有了，而且主所成就的義就成了她的美麗。

當信徒們在“愛子裏蒙悅納”（弗1：6）的時候就得了義，教會不但是可愛，她乃是極其可愛。她的主說她是“女子中極美麗的”。她的榮美和秀麗是世上一切名閨淑媛所比不上的。就是可能，耶穌也不願用他所揀選的新婦與地上一切的王后和貴婦，或是天上的天使交換，因爲他把她看爲貴，看爲寶，把她列于一切之上——“女子中極美麗的”。她像明月一樣，使衆星黯然失色。他幷不因羡慕她感到羞耻，因他是說給衆人聽的。他在羡慕她的時候加上“看哪！”二字（漢文未譯），爲的是叫人注意。“看哪！我的佳偶，你甚美麗；看哪！你甚美麗。”（歌4：1）他現在仍舊要使別人曉得，有一天在他榮耀的寶座上，他必在衆人之前宣布這事實：“你們這蒙我父賜福的，可來……。”（太25：34）他就這樣隆重地宣布他所揀選之人的可愛。

December 2

"Thou art all fair, my love."—Song of Solomon 4:7

The Lord's admiration of His Church is very a wonderful, and His description of her beauty is very glowing. She is not merely fair, but "all fair." He views her in Himself, washed in His sin-atoning blood and clothed in His meritorious righteousness, and He considers her to be full of comeliness and beauty. No wonder that such is the case, since it is but His own perfect excellency that He admires; for the holiness, glory, and perfection of His Church are His own glorious garments on the back of His own well-beloved spouse. She is not simply pure, or well-proportioned; she is positively lovely and fair! She has actual merit! Her deformities of sin are removed; but more, she has through her Lord obtained a meritorious righteousness by which an actual beauty is conferred upon her. Believers have a positive righteousness given to them when they become "accepted in the beloved" (Eph. 1:6). Nor is the Church barely lovely, she is superlatively so. Her Lord styles her "Thou fairest among women." She has a real worth and excellence which cannot be rivalled by all the nobility and royalty of the world. If Jesus could exchange His elect bride for all the queens and empresses of earth, or even for the angels in heaven, He would not, for He puts her first and foremost—"fairest among women." Like the moon she far outshines the stars. Nor is this an opinion which He is ashamed of, for He invites all men to hear it. He sets a "behold" before it, a special note of exclamation, inviting and arresting attention. "Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair" (Song of Sol. 4:1). His opinion He publishes abroad even now, and one day from the throne of His glory He will avow the truth of it before the assembled universe. "Come, ye blessed of my Father" (Matt. 25:34), will be His solemn affirmation of the loveliness of His elect.