晨興聖言-享受基督與在生命裏長大...(W1-4)

 

第一週■週四

w01d04-ch

晨興餧養

哀三22 ～ 24『我們不至消滅，是出於耶和華的慈愛，因祂的憐恤不至斷絕；每早晨這些都是新的；你的信實，極其廣大。我的魂說，耶和華是我的分；因此，我要仰望祂。』

惡人的邪惡光景，乃是他們沒有就近主來喫主並享受主。（參賽五五1 ～ 2。）他們作許多事，卻不來接觸主，取用祂，接受祂，嘗祂並享受祂。在神眼中，沒有比這更邪惡的事。（聖經恢復本，賽五七20 註1。）

以色列人沒有飲於神這活水的泉源，反而飲於他們的偶像。所以，神用巴比倫人對付這些偶像，也毀滅對他們成了偶像的耶路撒冷，甚至聖殿。我們要看見，我們不比以色列人好。任何事物對我們都能成爲偶像。但神在完成祂經綸的事上是信實的；因着祂的信實，祂就對付我們的偶像，使我們飲於祂。我們都需要飲於神這活水的泉源，將基督接受到裏面，並吸收祂，這樣祂就能擴增，以完成神的經綸，藉着祂的配偶得着彰顯。（耶利米書生命讀經，三五頁。）

信息選讀

我們也許以爲，因着我們的失敗，我們是無望的。…哀歌三章二十二至二十五節…是在巴比倫人毀滅了耶路撒冷，焚燒了聖殿，並將許多人擄去以後寫的。…當然，以色列人必定覺得，神丟棄了他們，他們完了。耶利米一面哭泣，一面寫作。在他的寫作裏他能說，他們不至消滅，是出於耶和華的慈愛。他能說，他們仍在那裏，神沒有丟棄他們。首領、申言者和祭司失敗了，但神的憐恤不至斷絕，反而，每早晨這些都是新的。耶利米甚至能宣告，耶和華是他的分，他要仰望祂，因那等候祂的，必蒙祂善待。爲甚麼在神裏面有盼望？因爲神不失望。

我們要看見，以色列的失敗爲基督開了路，使祂進來作他們的義。今天我們的情況也是一樣。我們的失敗爲基督開路，使祂進來。…照耶利米的豫言，無論以色列多麼邪惡、奸惡，無論他們離棄神多少次，去爲自己鑿出破裂的池子，他們仍要得復興。在以色列復興時，基督將是他們的公義、救贖和生命，（耶三一33 ～ 34，）基督也要被高舉爲他們的中心與普及。神要進來，將祂自己這神聖的生命分賜到祂的選民裏面，作他們的生命，和生命之律連同其性能，使他們認識神並活神。至終，他們要和保羅以及今天在基督裏的信徒一樣，成爲新造。

神是信實的，但我們旣不忠信，也不貞潔，反而有了許多別的丈夫。我們失敗虧欠神以後，也許得着一些憐憫和恩典，因而悔改哭泣。…我們悔改哭泣的時候，神就歡樂。…我們悔改以後，應當開始飲於活水，讚美神，爲凡事感謝祂，並且享受祂。這是神所要的。除了我們享受基督以外，神對任何事物都不感興趣。

今天我們若失敗虧欠神，我們不該失望；神有路來對付我們。祂有路使我們成熟，然後將我們帶進新耶路撒冷。…神是忍耐、同情並憐恤的，祂會花時間使我們成熟。每位信徒，無論現在輭弱或剛強，都要在新耶路撒冷裏，在其中每個人都要成熟。無論我們是殷勤或只是稍微尋求神，神都有路使基督成爲我們的公義、救贖、生命、生命之律、生命的性能，這樣我們就能成熟。（耶利米書生命讀經，三五至三九頁。）

參讀：哥林多前書中爲着基督的身體享受基督，第三章。

WEEK 1 — DAY 4

w01d04-en

Morning Nourishment

Lam. 3:22-24 It is Jehovah’s lovingkindness that we are not consumed, for His compassions do not fail; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Jehovah is my portion, says my soul; therefore I hope in Him.

The evil condition of the wicked is that they do not come to the Lord to eat and enjoy the Lord (cf. Isa. 55:1-2). They do many things, but they do not come to contact the Lord, to take Him, to receive Him, to taste Him, and to enjoy Him. In the sight of God, nothing is more evil than this. (Isa. 57:20, footnote 1)

Instead of drinking of God as the fountain of living waters, Israel drank of their idols. Therefore, God used the Babylonians to deal with these idols and also to destroy Jerusalem and even the temple, which had become an idol to them. We need to see that we are not better than Israel. Anything can become an idol to us. But God is faithful in fulfilling His economy. In His faithfulness He deals with our idols that we may drink of Him. We all need to drink of God as the fountain of living waters, receiving Christ into us and assimilating Him, so that He may increase for the fulfillment of God’s economy to have His expression through His counterpart. (Life-study of Jeremiah, p. 29)

Today’s Reading

We may think that because of our failure, we are hopeless…Lamentations 3:22-25…[was] written after the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem, burned the temple, andhttps://mygoodland.notion.site/mygoodland/Paul-s-NOTION-117eeafd285445828856f7d6be113607 carried away many into captivity…Surely, the people of Israel must have felt that God had given them up and that they were finished. On the one hand, Jeremiah was weeping; on the other hand, he was writing. In his writing he could say that it was of Jehovah’s lovingkindness that they were not consumed. He could say that they were still there and that God had not given them up. The princes, the prophets, and the priests had failed, but God’s compassions do not fail; rather, they are new every morning. Jeremiah could even declare that Jehovah was his portion and that he hoped in Him, for He is good to those who wait on Him. Why is there hope in Him? There is hope in God because with God there is no disappointment.

We need to see that Israel’s failure opened the way for Christ to come in to be their righteousness. The situation is the same with us today. Our failure opens the way for Christ to come in. According to the prophecy of Jeremiah, no matter how evil and wicked Israel may be and no matter how often they have forsaken God to hew out broken cisterns for themselves, Israel will be restored. In the restoration of Israel, Christ will be their righteousness, redemption, and life (Jer. 31:33-34), and Christ will be exalted to be their centrality and universality. God will come in to dispense Himself into His elect as the divine life to be their life and life law with its capacity to know God and to live God. Eventually, they, like Paul and the believers in Christ today, will be a new creation.

Whereas God is faithful, we are neither faithful nor chaste but go to many other husbands. After failing God, we may receive some mercy and grace and therefore repent and weep…While we are repenting and weeping, God is rejoicing…After repenting, we should begin to drink of the living waters, praising God, giving thanks to Him for everything, and enjoying Him. This is what God wants. God is not interested in anything other than our enjoyment of Christ.

If we fail God today, we should not be disappointed. God has a way to deal with us. He has a way to cause us to mature and then to bring us into the New Jerusalem. God is patient, sympathetic, and compassionate, and He will take the time to make us mature. Every believer, whether presently weak or strong, will be in the New Jerusalem, and everyone there will be mature. Whether we seek God diligently or only a little, God has a way to make Christ our righteousness, our redemption, our life, our life law, and our life capacity so that we can be matured. (Life-study of Jeremiah, pp. 29-31, 29, 31)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1973-1974, vol. 1, “The Enjoyment of Christ for the Body in 1 Corinthians,” ch. 3