第四週•週六

w04d06-ch

晨興餧養

耶十七7 ～ 8『信靠耶和華，以耶和華爲可信靠的，那人有福了。他必像樹栽於水旁，沿河邊扎根，炎熱來到並不懼怕，葉子仍必青翠，在乾旱之年毫無罣慮，而且結果不止。』

約四14『…我所賜的水，要在他裏面成爲泉源，直湧入永遠的生命。』

按照神的經綸，信靠神的人像樹栽於水旁；這表徵神乃是活水的泉源。（耶二13 上。）樹長在河邊，藉着吸取水的一切豐富到它裏面而生長。〔十七7 ～8。〕這是神分賜的一幅圖畫。我們這些樹要接受神聖的分賜，就必須吸取神這水。

澆灌是爲着樹的吸取，而吸取就是接受神的分賜。〔參林前三6。〕樹憑着神作供應者和供應而生長。供應就是這位供應之神的豐富，分賜到我們這些植物裏面，使我們長成神的度量。至終，植物與神，神與植物，乃是一，有同樣的元素、素質、構成和樣子。

耶利米十七章七至八節…乃是指神藉着祂的分賜完成祂的經綸。神是活水，要分賜到我們裏面，纔成爲我們的構成。我們都需要看見，吸取神作活水，使我們由祂的元素和素質所構成，這事意義重大。（耶利米書生命讀經，一三七至一三八頁。）

信息選讀

若是我們到神面前，雖然沒有說甚麼話，但我們的全人、全心都到神面前，在那裏歎息，仰望神，皺皺眉，承認自己真不行，真輭弱，爬不起來，不像樣，裏面實在乾渴，傳福音沒有話，碰到弟兄姊妹也不喜歡交通。我們到神面前，就要這樣把裏面的光景都擺出來，甚至告訴神，說，『神阿，我甚麼都搆不上。』總之，無論我們裏面有甚麼光景，就把那種光景帶到神面前。有一首詩歌說，『照我本相，』（詩歌七二四首，）意思是照着我們原本的樣子來到神面前，一點都不必改、不必動。

禱告是照我本相，越原樣越好，…卽使你輭弱、糊塗、難過、沒有話說，也可以到神面前。

神乃是我們的一切。…神無所畏懼，祂惟一擔憂的，是我們不與祂見面，不朝見祂，不接觸祂。只要我們到祂面前，祂就有辦法，並且祂就是辦法。你輭弱麼？祂是能力。你不像樣麼？祂就是樣子。你爬不起來麼？祂就是起來。你缺少引導麼？祂就是引導。你裏面沒有話麼？祂就是話。…你不必等，不必改，每一次到神面前，越原樣越好。

一進到神面前，自己的光景都不用管，只要看着神，接觸神，仰望神，讚美神，感謝神，敬拜神，並吸取神。這是最甜美的功課。你若學會這個功課，你就會享受神的豐盛，嘗到神的甘美。你若天天都有一點時間，進到神面前吸取神自己，必定得着亮光，得着能力；你裏頭定規平安明亮，也定規剛強有力。（李常受文集一九五六年第三册，三○○至三○一、三一七頁。）

這湧流的三一神是『直湧入永遠的生命』。…永遠的生命乃是湧流之三一神的目的地。…新耶路撒冷是神聖、永遠生命的總和，這永遠的生命至終乃是新耶路撒冷。因此，『直湧入永遠的生命』，意思就是『直湧成爲新耶路撒冷』。（李常受文集一九九四至一九九七年第四册，五八五頁。）

參讀：禱告的意義與目的，第一、二、四篇。

WEEK 4 — DAY 6

Morning Nourishment

Jer. 17:7-8 Blessed is the man who trusts in Jehovah…He will be like a tree transplanted beside water, which sends out its roots by a stream, and will not be afraid when heat comes; for its leaves remain flourishing, and it will not be anxious in the year of drought and will not cease to bear fruit.

John 4:14 …The water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.

According to God’s economy, the one who trusts in God is like a tree planted by water, signifying God as the fountain of living waters (Jer. 2:13a). The tree grows beside the river by absorbing all the riches of the water into it. [Jeremiah 17:7-8] is a picture of God’s dispensing. In order to receive the divine dispensing, we as the trees must absorb God as the water.

The watering is for the tree’s absorbing, and the absorbing is the receiving of God’s dispensing [cf. 1 Cor. 3:6]. The tree grows with God as the Supplier and the supply. The supply is the riches of the supplying God dispensed into us as the plants so that we may grow into God’s measure. Eventually, the plants and God, God and the plants, are one, having the same element, essence, constitution, and appearance.

Jeremiah 17:7 and 8…refer to God’s economy carried out by His dispensing. God is the living water to be dispensed into our being in order to become our very constituent. We all need to see the crucial significance of absorbing God as the living water that we may be constituted with His element and essence. (Life-study of Jeremiah, pp. 111-112)

Today’s Reading

We may not say anything when we come to God, but our whole being, including our heart, should face God. While we look to God, we may sigh and confess that we are incompetent, weak, unable to rise, unpresentable, and thirsty and that we lack words for the gospel and are not inclined to fellowship with the saints. We should lay our inner condition before God and even tell Him that we are short in every matter. No matter what our inner condition is, we should bring it to God. There is a hymn that says, “Just as I am” (Hymns, #1048). This means that we should come to God just as we are without trying to improve or change our condition.

To pray is to come to God just as we are. The closer we are to our true condition, the better…Even if we are weak, confused, sad, and speechless, we can still come to God.

God is everything to us…Our condition does not bother Him. He is concerned only about our seeing and contacting Him. As long as we come to Him, He has a way because He is the way. If we are weak, He is power. If we are not presentable, He is presentable. If we are unable to rise up, He is rising up. If we lack leading, He is the leading. If we do not have words, He is the Word…We do not have to wait or improve ourselves. The more we come to God according to our condition, the better.

Instead of caring about our condition, we enter into God’s presence to contact God by looking to Him, beholding Him, praising Him, giving thanks to Him, worshipping Him, and absorbing Him. This is a sweet lesson. If we would learn this lesson, we will enjoy God’s riches and taste His sweetness. If we would spend a little time to enter into God’s presence and absorb Him every day, we will receive light and power; we will be peaceful, bright, strong, and empowered. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 3, “The Meaning and Purpose of Prayer,” pp. 225-226, 236)

[The] flowing Triune God is “into eternal life.”…The eternal life is the destination of the flowing Triune God…The New Jerusalem is the totality of the divine, eternal life. The eternal life eventually will be the New Jerusalem. Thus, into eternal life means into the New Jerusalem. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” p. 455)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1956, vol. 3, “The Meaning and Purpose of Prayer,” chs. 1, 2, 4; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” msg. 14