第二週．週四

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晨興餧養

賽四五１５『救主以色列的神阿，你實在是自隱的神。』

王上十九１２『地震後有火，耶和華也不在火中；火後有微小柔細的聲音。』

［神的兒女可能］認識神是全能的神，是公義的神，是滿有恩典和慈愛的神，卻不認識神是一位自隱的神。

以賽亞［在以賽亞四十五章十五節的］表達是非常重的。他這話不是憑空說的，也不是想像出來的；乃是他根據許多的事實所產生出來的發表。他把那些事實都看過、都研究過了，就得到一個結論：『神阿，你實在是自隱的神。』當申言者看看神所作的事，看看以色列人在神手中的遭遇，看看神百姓的經歷，就叫他不能不承認，神的確是一位自隱的神。以賽亞為甚麼會得到這一個結論？…那是因為神在以色列人中間，在以色列人身上，作了許許多多的事，但神卻把自己隱藏起來。祂一直在作事，卻一直是隱藏的。許多事都是祂作的，以色列人卻不知道作事者是誰。所以有一天以賽亞就驚歎說，『神阿，你實在是自隱的神。』（李常受文集一九五六年第二冊，八至九頁。）

信息選讀

我們的個性與神的個性截然不同。神喜歡隱藏，我們卻喜歡顯揚；神不求外在的顯明，但我們沒有外在的顯明就不滿意。

『以利亞是與我們性情相同的人，』（雅五17，）他受不住神這個試驗。在迦密山頂，神是明顯的與他同在。但神一隱退，以利亞就受不了。他就心灰意冷跑到山洞裏去。當神問他說，『你在這裏作甚麼？』他回答說，『我為耶和華萬軍之神大發妒忌；因為以色列人背棄了你的約，拆毀了你的壇，用刀殺了你的申言者，只剩下我一個人，他們還尋索要奪我的命。』（王上十九9∼10。）神知道以利亞的難處；祂知道以利亞願意神是一位顯明的神，但他不曉得神是自隱的神。於是神給他一個說明。在那裏『有烈風大作』，（11上，）以利亞以為神在其中，但『耶和華卻不在風中』。（11中。）風後有地震，以利亞以為神必定在其中，但『耶和華卻不在其中』。（11下。）地震後有火；以利亞以為神是烈火，神該在其中了，但『耶和華也不在火中』。（12上。）火後有微小柔細的聲音，神就在其中。（12下。）以利亞對神說，『只剩下我一個人。』（14。）但神非常柔細的回答說，『有七千人是未曾向巴力屈膝的。以利亞，我是隱藏的神。我為自己留下了七千人，這是你所不知道的。』（參18。）以利亞以為看得見的纔算得數，但神是一位自隱的神。…神為祂自己留下七千人，是未曾向巴力屈膝的，但神的活動隱藏到連申言者以利亞都不知道。

你若把聖經好好的讀過，就看見神有一個脾氣，就是不樂意顯揚。祂不願意在明處作事，乃喜歡在暗中作工。祂造了宇宙，祂就隱藏在宇宙中人所不知道的地方，以致人找不著祂。祂住在一個人裏面，但…就連祂的門徒與祂同在三年半，還未能真正的認識祂。這在在告訴我們，祂是一直把自己隱藏著。有一刻祂把自己顯出來，隨後又隱藏回去。（李常受文集一九五六年第二冊，九至一○、一三至一四頁。）

參讀：自隱的神。

WEEK 2 — DAY 4

Morning Nourishment

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Isa. 45:15 Surely You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

1 Kings 19:12 And after the earthquake, a fire—Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire, a gentle, quiet voice

[God’s children] know Him as the almighty One, as the righteous One, as One full of grace and compassion, but as the One who hides Himself, He is unknown to them.

[Isaiah’s statement in Isaiah 45:15] is most emphatic. He is not talking empty words, the fruit of his own imagination; his utterance is based on an accumulation of facts. He has looked at those facts, he has studied those facts, and then he has come to his conclusion: “You are a God who hides Himself, / O God.” What he has seen of God’s doings, what he has observed happen to Israel under the hand of God, what he has beheld of the experiences of God’s people—all these observations have forced the prophet to acknowledge that God is a God who hides Himself. Why did Isaiah come to this conclusion?… It was because God did countless things in the midst of the children of Israel and countless things in their personal lives, yet He concealed Himself. He was ceaselessly working, yet He was always hidden. Very much was being done by Him, yet the Israelites were utterly ignorant as to who the doer was. Then one day Isaiah exclaimed, “Surely You are a God who hides Himself, / O God.” (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “A God Who Hides Himself,” p. 3)

Today’s Reading

Our personalities are diametrically opposed to God’s personality. He likes concealment; we like display. He does not crave outward manifestations; we cannot be content without them.

“Elijah was a man of like feeling with us” (James 5:17), and he did not stand this test. On Mount Carmel God was obviously with him, but when God withheld His manifest presence, Elijah could not bear it. He became depressed and crept into a cave. When God asked him, “What are you doing here?” he answered, “I have been very jealous for Jehovah the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and slain Your prophets with the sword; and alone am left, and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19:9-10). God knew Elijah’s difficulty; He knew Elijah wanted Him to be a God who would manifest Himself; he had not realized that God is a God who hides Himself. So God gave him a demonstration. There arose “a great, strong wind” (v. 11). Elijah thought, The Lord is in this. But “Jehovah was not in the wind” (v. 11). The wind was followed by an earthquake. Elijah thought, Surely the Lord is in this. But “Jehovah was not in the earthquake” (v. 11). Then came a fire, and Elijah thought, The Lord is a consuming fire; He will be in this. But “Jehovah was not in the fire” (v. 12). After the fire came a gentle, quiet voice—and the Lord was in that (v. 12). Elijah said to Him, “I alone am left” (v. 14), but the Lord very gently answered, “There are seven thousand persons who have not bowed down to Baal. Elijah, I hide Myself; you did not know that I had preserved those seven thousand souls” (cf. v. 18). Elijah had reckoned only with what he could see, but God is a God who hides Himself… He had preserved for Himself seven thousand persons who had not bowed the knee to Baal, but so hidden was His activity that not even the prophet Elijah knew anything about it.

If you study the Scriptures carefully, you will see that God has the kind of temperament that dislikes ostentation. He likes to work secretly rather than openly. He created the universe and then hid Himself in it, until we do not know where to find Him. He took up His abode in a man, but…even His disciples, during their three and a half years in His company, did not arrive at a true knowledge of Him. All this tells us that He was continually hiding Himself. He would manifest Himself for a moment and then would conceal Himself again. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “A God Who Hides Himself,” pp. 3-4, 6-7)

Further Reading: A God Who Hides Himself (booklet)