十二月二日
我的佳偶，你全然美丽。（歌4：7）
主极其爱慕他的教会，他形容她美丽的话语也很奇特。她不仅美丽，而且是“全然美丽”。他是在他里面来看她，用他赎罪的血洗净，幷用他所成就的义给她穿上，因此他认爲她极其可爱，全然美丽。她的美丽就是在此，他所羡慕的不过是他自己的完全秀美罢了！因爲他的教会所有的圣洁、荣耀和纯全乃是他自己的荣耀衣裳穿在他所爱的佳偶身上罢了！她不仅贞洁、匀称，而且甚美丽可爱！她实在有她的美点！她罪的缺陷已经没有了，而且主所成就的义就成了她的美丽。
当信徒们在“爱子里蒙悦纳”（弗1：6）的时候就得了义，教会不但是可爱，她乃是极其可爱。她的主说她是“女子中极美丽的”。她的荣美和秀丽是世上一切名闺淑媛所比不上的。就是可能，耶稣也不愿用他所拣选的新妇与地上一切的王后和贵妇，或是天上的天使交换，因爲他把她看爲贵，看爲宝，把她列于一切之上——“女子中极美丽的”。她像明月一样，使衆星黯然失色。他幷不因羡慕她感到羞耻，因他是说给衆人听的。他在羡慕她的时候加上“看哪！”二字（汉文未译），爲的是叫人注意。“看哪！我的佳偶，你甚美丽；看哪！你甚美丽。”（歌4：1）他现在仍旧要使别人晓得，有一天在他荣耀的宝座上，他必在衆人之前宣布这事实：“你们这蒙我父赐福的，可来……。”（太25：34）他就这样隆重地宣布他所拣选之人的可爱。
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.
