十二月二十日
我以永遠的愛愛你。（耶31：3）
有時主耶穌把他的愛告訴他的教會。“他想在背後告訴是不夠的，所以他當她的面說：‘我的佳偶，你全然美麗。’不錯，他平常的方法幷不是這樣；他的愛是出于智慧的，他知道什麽時候該表白或不該表白他的愛；有很多時候他毫不隱藏地表示出來，也有很多時候，他也使他的民在心中捉摸不到。”（R．Erskine所講的話）聖靈滿有恩惠的，常在我們的心靈中見證耶穌的愛，因此得到喜悅。他把基督的一切啟示給我們。我們沒有聽到雲彩裏發出什麽聲音，夜裏也沒有看到什麽异象，但我們卻有比這更確實的見證。
若是天使自天而來向聖徒說明救主對他的愛，也不能比聖靈在我們的心裏的明證更能使我們滿意。我們若詢問一些生活靠近天門的神的兒女們，他們必能告訴你說基督有時對他們的愛是非常清楚而確實的，這是他們絲毫不能懷疑的事實，正如他們的生存一樣的真實。是的，親愛的信徒！你我也有主同在的生活經驗，那時我們的信心便到了穩固確實的高峰。我們有信心把我們的頭倚在主的懷裏，那時我們不再疑惑主的愛了，正像約翰當時的經驗一樣；此外，“主啊！是我嗎？”這一類不快的問題也不會臨到我們了。他曾用他的嘴親我們，因他的親近斬除了我們的疑心。他的愛對于我們的心靈，比酒還美。
“凡靠著他進到神面前的人，他都能拯救到底；因爲他是長遠活著，替他們祈求。”
December 20
“Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love.”—Jeremiah 31:3
Sometimes the Lord Jesus
tells his Church his love thoughts. “He does not think it enough behind
her back to tell it, but in her very presence he says, ‘Thou art all fair, my
love.’ It is true, this is not his ordinary method; he is a wise lover, and
knows when to keep back the intimation of love and when to let it out; but
there are times when he will make no secret of it; times when he will put it
beyond all dispute in the souls of his people” (R. Erskine’s Sermons). The
Holy Spirit is often pleased, in a most gracious manner, to witness with our
spirits of the love of Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ and reveals them
unto us. No voice is heard from the clouds, and no vision is seen in the night,
but we have a testimony more sure than either of these. If an angel should fly
from heaven and inform the saint personally of the Saviour’s love to him, the
evidence would not be one whit more satisfactory than that which is borne in
the heart by the Holy Ghost. Ask those of the Lord’s people who have lived the
nearest to the gates of heaven, and they will tell you that they have had
seasons when the love of Christ towards them has been a fact so clear and sure,
that they could no more doubt it than they could question their own existence.
Yes, beloved believer, you and I have had times of refreshing from the presence
of the Lord, and then our faith has mounted to the topmost heights of
assurance. We have had confidence to lean our heads upon the bosom of our Lord,
and we have no more questioned our Master’s affection to us than John did when
in that blessed posture; nay, nor so much: for the dark question, “Lord,
is it I that shall betray thee?” has been put far from us. He has kissed
us with the kisses of his mouth, and killed our doubts by the closeness of his
embrace. His love has been sweeter than wine to our souls.
