十月十七日
大卫心里说：必有一日我死在扫罗手里。（撒上27：1）
大卫这时心里的思想乃是错误的，因爲他毫无根据地怀疑神藉撒母耳膏他爲王的事是一件无意义的、多余的举动。神从未丢弃过他的仆人；他常身历险境，但没有一次神不从中救他的。他曾受过各样的苦难；各式各样的苦难都有，可是没有一次神不开恩在苦难中爲他开一条出路的。大卫绝不能记载说：“这是神丢弃我的证据。”因爲他过去生活的证明适与此相反。他应当从神过去爲他所作的，得知神必仍然作他的护卫者。我们不也像大卫一样疑惑神的帮助吗？我们的不信不是也有一种理由吗？我们的理智不也曾受蒙蔽因而疑惑到神的良善吗？他的慈爱不是奇妙吗？他曾有一次使我们的信靠落空吗？
不，我们的神在任何时候绝不撇弃我们。我们曾经黝黑之夜，但慈爱的星仍在黑暗中放光；我们曾经激烈的争斗，但我们必永不受损，而常获益；我们过去的经验证明，在六次苦难中他曾与我们同在；那末第七次来到时，他会丢下我们吗？我们所认识的信实的神必保守我们到底。那末，让我们不要从肯定的证据推出相反的结论来，我们疑惑神真是一件不应当的事。主啊！求你打倒我们不信的耶洗别，叫狗来吞吃了它。
“既然信靠主耶稣，信上更必加信；
既蒙恩惠免罪辜，恩上更必加恩！”
October
17
“And
David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of
Saul.”–1 Samuel 27:1
The thought of David’s heart at this time was a false thought, because
he certainly had no ground for thinking that God’s anointing him by Samuel was
intended to be left as an empty unmeaning act. On no one occasion had the Lord
deserted his servant; he had been placed in perilous positions very often, but
not one instance had occurred in which divine interposition had not delivered
him. The trials to which he had been exposed had been varied; they had not
assumed one form only, but many–yet in every case he who sent the trial had
also graciously ordained a way of escape. David could not put his finger upon
any entry in his diary, and say of it, “Here is evidence that the Lord
will forsake me,” for the entire tenor of his past life proved the very
reverse. He should have argued from what God had done for him, that God would
be his defender still. But is it not just in the same way that we doubt God’s
help? Is it not mistrust without a cause? Have we ever had the shadow of a
reason to doubt our Father’s goodness? Have not his lovingkindnesses been
marvellous? Has he once failed to justify our trust? Ah, no! our God has not
left us at any time. We have had dark nights, but the star of love has shone
forth amid the blackness; we have been in stern conflicts, but over our head he
has held aloft the shield of our defence. We have gone through many trials, but
never to our detriment, always to our advantage; and the conclusion from our
past experience is, that he who has been with us in six troubles, will not forsake
us in the seventh. What we have known of our faithful God, proves that he will
keep us to the end. Let us not, then, reason contrary to evidence. How can we
ever be so ungenerous as to doubt our God? Lord, throw down the Jezebel of our
unbelief, and let the dogs devour it.
