第四週•週五

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晨興餧養

歌八 5 ～ 6『那從曠野上來，靠着她良人的是誰呢？…求你將我放在你心上如印記，帶在你臂上如戳記；因爲愛如死之堅強，嫉妒如陰間之殘忍；所閃的光是火的閃光，是耶和華的烈焰。』

被提的豫備，就是在今天的時候，靠着良人一直的脫離世界，一直的上來，一直的上來，一直到主來接我們的時候。『靠着她良人』〔歌八 5〕，好像自己無力，不能行走一樣。…『靠着她良人』，就是將自己當作一個擔子，讓良人來背負。『靠着她良人』，好像腿筋被神摸扭了的人一樣。『靠着她良人』，好像力不能勝，一直到曠野的路程過去。惟有主能豫備我們，叫我們可以被提。倚靠的生活，是不可少的。我們要無依無靠的直靠着祂到一個地步，叫聖靈好像都要希奇說，這樣『靠着她良人的』，她到底是誰呢？（倪柝聲文集第二輯第三册，一三九頁）

信息選讀

當她看見她自己的本來的時候，她就不能不充滿了謙卑的感覺，…不能不看見她自己的虛空，經歷的無用，心意的靠不住，追求的不會給她甚麼。她惟一的仰望就是在乎主。她知道她能否『到底』，並非藉着自己的『堅持』，乃是藉着主的保守。一切屬靈的造就，並不足以幫助一個人繼續到主耶穌再來。一切都靠着神和祂保守的能力。知道了這一個，她就不能不求說，『求你將我放在你心上如印記，帶在你臂上如戳記。』〔歌八 7〕『心上』是情愛的地方。『臂上』是能力的地方。…我知道我自己的輭弱，我也知道我自己的虛空，我感覺到我自己的一無所能。主阿，我是一個無依無靠的人。要我自己保守自己，一直等到見你的面，我就只會羞辱你的名，並叫我自己喫虧。我今天所有的盼望就是在於你的愛和你的能力。…我今天的倚靠並不是我拉住的能力，乃是你拉住的能力。所以，我不敢再說到我對於你的愛，我也不敢題到我對你的拉住；從今以後，一切都在於你的能力和你的愛。

因爲你的愛如死之堅強。誰能彀搖動死亡呢？父母的歎息、妻子的眼淚、朋友的難過，都不能從死亡裏討回一個人來。死亡要守着它所得着的人，堅固的保守着，不被搖動，不肯放鬆。你如果愛我，我就永不搖動，因爲你的愛絕不會比死更輭弱的。你若愛我，你的嫉妒就也必跟着而來。你的嫉妒，就要像陰間的殘忍，…你就不能讓甚麼來分我的心；就是你所得着的是更多，你也必定不願意。你的眼睛不能看屬乎你的愛被世人所玷污，被情人所侵佔。你要嫉妒，因爲從古以來，你就是嫉妒的神（出二十 5）。並且你的使徒豈不是曾對我們說到神的嫉妒麼？（林後十一 2）你若肯嫉妒，有誰能…抵擋你的嫉妒呢？…你要挪移你一切的攔阻，一直等到你作獨一的主，作萬有的神，作無人與競的王；我就蒙着保守，我就不會失去我的貞潔，一直到我見你的面（倪柝聲文集第二輯第三册，一四○至一四二頁）。

雅歌八章十三節說，『你這住在園中的，我的同伴都要聽你的聲音，求你使我也得聽見。』良人的佳偶求祂這位住在作祂園子之信徒裏面的，使她同伴聽見祂聲音時，她也得聽見。這指明我們這些愛基督，在外面彰顯祂作我們生活的人，爲那住在我們裏面，在內裏作我們生命的良人工作時，該在祂的說話中與祂交通。我們與祂同工時，需要維持我們與祂的交通，一直聽祂（雅歌生命讀經，八五頁）。

參讀：倪柝聲文集第二輯第三册，第六段。

WEEK 4 — DAY 5

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Morning Nourishment

S. S. 8:5-6 Who is this who comes up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?…Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, jealousy is as cruel as Sheol; its flashes are the flashes of fire, a flame of Jehovah.

This is the time to prepare ourselves for the rapture. By leaning on our Beloved, we constantly leave the world behind and come up again and again until the Lord comes to take us away. “Leaning on her beloved.” [The lover] seems to be powerless and unable to walk. “Leaning on her beloved.” She makes herself a burden for her beloved to carry. “Leaning on her beloved.” It is as if the hollow of her thigh has been touched. “Leaning on her beloved.” She seems to find herself pressed beyond measure, and this seems to last until the wilderness journey is over. Only the Lord can prepare us for the rapture. A trusting life is indispensable. We should trust in Him helplessly until the Holy Spirit exclaims, “Who is this who comes…leaning on her
beloved?” [S. S. 8:5]. (CWWN, vol. 23, “The Song of Songs,” p. 118)

Today’s Reading

When she recalls her original condition, she cannot help but be filled with humility. She cannot help but consider her emptiness, the vanity of her experience, the undependability of her mind, and the futility of her pursuit. Her only hope is the Lord. She realizes that whether she can endure to the end does not depend on her own endurance, but on the Lord’s preservation. No spiritual perfection can sustain a person until the Lord’s return. Everything depends on God and His preserving
power. When she realizes this, she cannot help but exclaim, “Set me as a seal on your heart, / As a seal on your arm” [S. S. 8:6]. The heart is the place of love, while the arm is the place of strength. “…I know that I am weak and empty, and I am conscious of my powerlessness. Lord, I am a

helpless person. If I try to preserve myself until Your coming, it will only bring shame to Your name and loss to myself. All my hopes are in Your love and power…My trust is not in my holding power, but in Your holding power. I dare not speak of my love to You any longer. I dare not speak of my grasping of You any longer. From this point on, everything depends on Your strength and Your love.

“Your love is as strong as death. Who can shake death? No sighing of parents, no tears of wives, and no sorrow of friends can bring back a man from death. Death holds its captives and keeps them firmly, unrelentingly, and unshakably in its hand. If You love me, I will not be shaken, because Your love cannot possibly be weaker than death. “If You love me, Your jealousy will follow. Your jealousy will be as cruel as Sheol…You will not allow anything to share my heart. Even if You owned a major part of me, You would not be satisfied. Your eyes cannot stand to see those who are Yours being defiled by the world or usurped by other loves. You are jealous; from the beginning of time You have been a jealous God (Exo. 20:5). Have not Your apostles
told us about the jealousy of God (2 Cor. 11:2)? If You are jealous, who can withstand Your jealousy?…You will remove all hindrances until You become the unique Lord, the God of all, and the unchallenged King. In this way, I will be protected, and my chastity will be preserved until I see Your face.” (CWWN, vol. 23, “The Song of Songs,” pp. 119-120)

Song of Songs 8:13 says, “O you who dwell in the gardens, / My companions listen for your voice; / Let me hear it.” The lover of her Beloved asks Him who dwells in the believers as His gardens to let her hear His voice as her companions listen for His voice. This indicates that in the work, which we as the lovers of Christ who express Him as our living outwardly do for Him as our Beloved who indwells us as our life inwardly, we should fellowship with Him in His speaking. As we are working with Him, we need to maintain our fellowship with Him, always listening to Him. (Life-study of
Song of Songs, p. 68)

Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 23, “The Song of Songs,” sec. 6