九月二十一日
我必欢喜施恩与他们。（耶32：41）
神欢喜属他的圣徒实在是信徒所当快乐的一件事！我们不明白我们有什麽理由使神欢喜；我们不能使自己欢喜，因爲我们常有悲哀，常背重担；想到我们的罪，看到我们的不信，我们也怕属神的人不能欢喜我们，因爲他们必知晓我们的缺陷和愚妄；他们非但不羡慕我们的美点，反而爲我们的过犯伤心。但我们却喜欢靠着这超然的真理、这荣耀的奥秘而生存；新郎怎样喜悦新妇，神也照样喜悦我们。圣经中从没有一处说神欢喜终年积雪的高山，或是晶莹的明星，但我们却读到过他欢喜住在地上的人，他喜爱人的儿子。圣经中也没有一处记载着他对基路伯和撒拉弗说“你却要称爲我所喜悦的……因爲耶和华喜悦你”；但他却这样向我们这些被罪所败坏，被拯救，被高举，幷被他的恩典所荣耀的人说过。他表现他欢喜他民的话是多麽清楚有力呀！谁知道永生神会唱出这样一支歌来呢？但经上说：“他在你中间必因你欢欣喜乐，默然爱你，且因你喜乐而欢呼。”当他察看他所造的世界时，他说“都甚好”；但当他看耶稣的血所买来的，他自己所拣选的民时，无限之神的伟大的心不能抑制的喜乐便像歌声一样涌流而出。我们不当爲他奇妙大爱的宣告存著感恩的心回答说“我要因耶和华欢欣，因救我的神喜乐”吗？
“神欢喜施恩与我们，乐意赐福于我们。”
September
21
“I
will rejoice over them to do them good.” — Jeremiah 32:41
How heart-cheering to the believer is the
delight which God has in His saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why
the Lord should take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in ourselves, for
we often have to groan, being burdened; conscious of our sinfulness, and
deploring our unfaithfulness; and we fear that God’s people cannot take much
delight in us, for they must perceive so much of our imperfections and our
follies, that they may rather lament our infirmities than admire our graces.
But we love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: that
as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so does the Lord rejoice over us.
We do not read anywhere that God delighteth in the cloud-capped mountains, or
the sparkling stars, but we do read that He delighteth in the habitable parts
of the earth, and that His delights are with the sons of men. We do not find it
written that even angels give His soul delight; nor doth He say, concerning
cherubim and seraphim, “Thou shalt be called Hephzibah, for the Lord
delighteth in thee”; but He does say all that to poor fallen creatures
like ourselves, debased and depraved by sin, but saved, exalted, and glorified
by His grace. In what strong language He expresses His delight in His people!
Who could have conceived of the eternal One as bursting forth into a song? Yet
it is written, “He will rejoice over thee with joy, He will rest in His
love, He will joy over thee with singing.” As He looked upon the world He
had made, He said, “It is very good”; but when He beheld those who
are the purchase of Jesus’ blood, His own chosen ones, it seemed as if the
great heart of the Infinite could restrain itself no longer, but overflowed in
divine exclamations of joy. Should not we utter our grateful response to such a
marvellous declaration of His love, and sing, “I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation?”
