第三十七週．週六
晨興餧養
啟七１６～１７ 『他們不再飢、不再渴，日頭和一切炎熱也必不傷害他們，因為寶座中的羔羊必牧養他們，領他們到生命水的泉；神也必從他們眼中擦去一切的眼淚。』
有盼望卻未得著滿足就叫作飢渴。甚麼人會不飢不渴呢？『耶穌對他們說，我就是生命的糧，到我這裏來的，必永遠不餓；信入我的，必永遠不渴。』（約六35。）『人若喝我所賜的水，就永遠不渴；我所賜的水，要在他裏面成為泉源，直湧入永遠的生命。』（四14。）基督應許每一個信入祂的人，都能得著滿足，能得著一個滿足的生命。不是你把基督看為怎樣滿足，乃是基督能使你滿足。世界只能叫你有一時的滿足，有一次的滿足，不能叫你永遠的滿足。『凡喝這水的，還要再渴；人若喝我所賜的水，就永遠不渴，』（13～14，）這是主說的話。（倪柝聲文集第二輯第十七冊，一三頁。）
信息選讀
今天你能在世上得著主耶穌滿足你的心，像那天在天上滿足你的心一樣。…是一次就可以滿足的。這是滿足的生命，是今天就能有的。
人住在溫帶，不覺得炎熱和烈日的傷害。若到熱帶地方，就知道炎熱和烈日烤人是多麼厲害。有一位弟兄說，在熱帶有一個人出外忘了帶傘，回來就病了數月之久。…在房子裏不會被烈日傷害，因為有了遮蓋；沒有遮蓋就會受炎熱的傷害。在聖經裏有一種遮蔽的東西，就是神的蔭下。有一種生命是在神蔭下的生命，就是藏在神那裏的生命。（詩三六7～9。）
在屬靈的爭戰中，我們是有救恩的頭盔的。（弗六17。）我們的生命是一個隱藏的生命。我們在世上是在神的翅膀之下，好像小雞在母雞的翅膀之下。我們讀詩篇九十一篇，就看見『住在至高者隱密處的，必住在全能者的蔭下』〔1〕的那一等人，主會救他們免受許多的災害。這是一個有福的生活—我們是有遮蓋的。
泉源是在乎神自己，（八七7，）生命的河水是從神和羔羊的寶座流出來的。（啟二二1。）換句話說，我們是頂親近神，是在神旁邊的。是神領我們到祂面前，是羔羊牧養我們。再換句話說，就是羔羊牧羊，就是神的兒子耶穌基督，以作神的羔羊的經歷來牧養羊。我們自己永遠不會作好，我們永遠需要一位牧者來牧養我們。這是何等安息的享受，是今天就可以得到的。
在今天，我們能享受〔前述〕那三樣福氣，但是，我們並非不流淚。擦乾眼淚是到了天上纔有的。…我們的主耶穌在世上是完全安息，有時在困難中能直行過去，但是，祂曾一哭於拉撒路墓旁，再哭於將進耶路撒冷時，最後哭於客西馬尼。希伯來五章說祂強烈哭號，流淚懇求。〔7。〕可見流淚是在今世不可免的。不過，我們的眼淚，神都裝在皮袋裏，記在冊子上。（詩五六8。）…流淚是苦的，可是，神顧念我們的流淚，這也是一種福氣！
我們今天雖不免流淚，但是，我們如果相信神的話，我們就能在今天得著滿足，有神的遮蓋，並且有主的牧養。這三樣是神應許我們今天就可以享受的福氣。（倪柝聲文集第二輯第十七冊，一三至一五頁。）
參讀：約翰福音結晶讀經，第六篇；倪柝聲文集第二輯第十七冊，第二篇。
WEEK 37 — DAY 6
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 7:16-17 They will not hunger anymore, neither will they thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat upon them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and guide them to springs of waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
To hunger and thirst is to have a hope that is not yet satisfied. Who are the ones who will not hunger and thirst? “Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst” (John 6:35). “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life” (4:14). Christ promises that everyone who believes into Him will be satisfied and receive a satisfying life. It is not us satisfying ourselves with Christ but Christ becoming our satisfaction. The world can only satisfy us temporarily; it can only satisfy us for a moment. It cannot satisfy us forever.
“Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever” (vv. 13-14). This is the Lord’s word. (CWWN, vol. 37, “General Messages,” p. 9)
Today’s Reading
Today the Lord Jesus can satisfy our heart as much as He will satisfy us on that day in heaven…Once we drink, we are satisfied. This satisfying life can be ours today.
If one travels to tropical lands, he will realize the intensity of the striking from the heat and the sun. A brother once said that when a man walks out of the house without his umbrella in a tropical country, he will be sick for a few months…However, if one is inside a house, he will not be hurt by the sun because there is a shelter. Without a shelter, one will be hurt by the heat. The Bible mentions God’s overshadowing as a kind of shelter. There is one kind of life that is under God’s overshadowing; it is a life that is hidden in God (Psa. 36:7-9).
In spiritual warfare, we have the helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:17). Our life is a hidden life. We are hidden under God’s wings on earth today as little chickens are hidden under the wings of their mother. In Psalm 91, we find that those who dwell “in the secret place of the Most High / Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (v. 1). The Lord will deliver these ones from many perils. This is a blessed life. We are a sheltered people.
Springs are with God (87:7), while the river of water of life flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1). In other words, we are very close to God; we are right beside Him. God leads us to His presence, and the Lamb shepherds us. To put it another way, it is the Lamb who shepherds; it is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who feeds the lambs with His experience as the Lamb of God. We can never improve ourselves. We need a Shepherd to feed us all the time. What a restful enjoyment this is! This again is something that we can enjoy today.
Today we can enjoy the three blessings above. But this does not mean that we will have no tears. We have to wait until we reach heaven before our tears will be wiped away…Our Lord Jesus was completely restful while He was on earth; He could walk through all difficulties. Yet He wept beside the tomb of Lazarus, and He also wept on His way to Jerusalem. Finally, He wept in Gethsemane. Hebrews 5 says that He prayed “with strong crying and tears” (v. 7). This shows that tears are unavoidable in this age. However, our tears are put into God’s bottle and recorded in His book (Psa. 56:8)…Even though tears are bitter, God remembers them; therefore, they are a blessing!
Although we cannot avoid tears today, if we believe in God’s word, we can be satisfied, and we can have God’s sheltering and the Lord’s shepherding. God has promised that we can enjoy these three items of blessings today. (CWWN, vol. 37, “General Messages,” pp. 9-11)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” ch. 6; CWWN, vol. 37, “General Messages,” ch. 2
