第四週■週五

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晨興餧養

太五7『憐憫人的人有福了，因爲他們必蒙憐憫。』

提後一16『願主憐憫阿尼色弗一家，因他屢次使我舒爽，且不以我的鎖鍊爲恥。』

        18『願主使他在那日從主得着憐憫。他在以弗所怎樣多方的服事我，你知道得最清楚。』

義是將人所當得的給人；憐憫〔太五7〕是將優於人所當得的給人。爲着諸天的國，我們不僅需要是義的，還需要是憐憫人的。蒙憐憫是得着我們所不當得的。我們若憐憫別人，主就要憐憫我們，（提後一16，18，）特別要在祂的審判臺前憐憫我們。（雅二12 ～ 13。）

馬太五章七節給我們的應許是，憐憫人的人必蒙憐憫。…所以，我們對待自己該嚴格，對待別人卻該富於憐憫。這也是與我們裏面的所是有關的事。（新約總論第六册，一七○頁。）

信息選讀

一般人一旦學習用公義約束自己，就難免用同樣嚴格、甚至更加苛刻的尺度要求別人。主卻給我們看見，一個活在諸天之國裏的人，儘管對待自己是絕對的公義，對待別人卻是滿了憐憫。

憐憫是比恩典更低就人的。…比方，你白白送一筆錢給朋友，這是恩典。但你若把這筆錢送給一個乞丐，就不單是恩典，還有憐憫。因爲你所給他的恩典，完全是他不配得的。

一個讓諸天掌權的人，不僅恩待那些像樣、配得恩典的人，並且也憐憫那些不像樣、不配得恩典的人。…公義是絕對有要求，完全嚴格，而憐憫正好相反。

這樣待人的結果，就是蒙神的憐憫。…神如何待我們，正是根據我們如何待人。〔參太七12。〕我們因着憐憫別人，就能在神面前蒙憐憫。（李常受文集一九五五年第三册，七九至八○頁。）

你若真對自己嚴格，那麼你就會曉得如何對別人憐憫。但你不先對自己公義，就不要想對別人憐憫。每個鬆散的人都憐憫別人，因爲他已經憐憫自己了。如果他每天早晨睡得很晚，他就會非常憐憫那些睡得很晚的人。這種憐憫根本就不是憐憫；這完全是錯的。…只有嚴格的人，公義的人，纔知道如何憐憫。你若要照着〔馬太五章的〕第五福憐憫別人，你就必須先照着第四福對自己公義。

我們對自己必須是公義、嚴格的，絕不要爲自己找藉口。但別人得罪我們，因而暴露出他們的缺點時，我們必須憐憫他們。所有自義的人都定罪別人，不讓別人過去。…我們對自己必須公義且嚴格，認真且清明。但我們對別人必須憐憫。神自己是公義的。然而，祂對待我們若公義至極，我們都會被擊殺。雖然神對自己是公義的，但祂對待我們卻滿了憐憫。我們是墮落的罪人，實在需要神的憐憫。我們也必須學習對自己公義，對別人憐憫。對自己公義，對別人憐憫，首要的不是外面的行爲，乃是裏面的態度，裏面的所是。（馬太福音生命讀經，二一六至二一七頁。）

參讀：國度子民的生活與法則，第一篇；新約總論，第二百五十一篇；馬太福音生命讀經，第十五篇。

WEEK 4 — DAY 5

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Morning Nourishment

Matt. 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

2 Tim. 1:16 May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain.

             18 May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord in that day. And in how many things he served me in Ephesus, you know best.

To be righteous is to give one what he deserves, but to be merciful [Matt. 5:7] is to give someone better than what he deserves. For the kingdom of the heavens we need to be not only righteous but also merciful. If we are merciful to others, the Lord will grant us mercy (2 Tim. 1:16, 18), especially at His judgment seat (James 2:12-13).

In Matthew 5:7 there is the promise that those who are merciful shall receive mercy…Therefore, although we should be strict in dealing with ourselves, we should be very merciful in dealing with others. This is not an outward matter; it is a matter related to our inward being. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2648-2649)

Todays Reading

When most people learn to restrict themselves righteously, they inevitably make the same, if not more stringent, demands on others. However, the Lord said that a person living in the kingdom of the heavens is full of mercy toward others while being righteous toward himself.

Mercy accommodates people more than grace…For example, to give money to a friend is grace, but to give money to a beggar is mercy, because a beggar is totally unworthy of the grace that we would give him.

Someone who lets the heavens rule is gracious to those who are proper and worthy of grace and also shows mercy to those who are improper and unworthy of grace…To be righteous is to make demands and to be strict, but to be merciful is the opposite.

The result of being merciful toward others is that God shows mercy to us…God treats us according to how we treat others [cf. Matt. 7:12]. If we have mercy on others, God will have mercy on us. (CWWL, 1955, vol. 3, “The Living and Principles of the Kingdom People,” pp. 66-67)

If you are truly strict with yourself, then you will know how to be merciful to others. But do not try to be merciful to others without first being righteous with yourself. Every sloppy person is merciful to others because he has already been merciful to himself. If he sleeps late every morning, he will be very merciful to others who sleep late. This kind of mercy is not mercy at all; it is absolutely wrong…Only a strict person, a righteous person, knows how to be merciful. If you would be merciful to others according to the fifth blessing, you must first be righteous toward yourself according to the fourth blessing.

We must be righteous and strict with ourselves, never making excuses for ourselves. But when others offend us, thereby exposing their shortage, we must be merciful toward them. All those who are self-righteous condemn others and never let them go…To ourselves, we must be righteous and strict, serious and sober. But toward others we must be merciful. In Himself God is righteous. However, if He were righteous to the uttermost in dealing with us, we would all be killed. Although God is righteous in relation to Himself, He is full of mercy in dealing with us. As fallen sinners, we surely need God’s mercy.We also must learn to be righteous with ourselves and merciful toward others. This matter of being righteous toward ourselves and merciful toward others is not first a matter of outward behavior; it is first a matter of our inward attitude, of our inward being. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 180-181)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1955, vol. 3, “The Living and Principles of the Kingdom People,” ch. 1; The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 251; Life-study of Matthew, msg. 15