03 應許、基督之愛、罪與恩典

Section 2. Meditate upon the PROMISES of God.

The promises of God are flowers growing in the paradise of scripture; meditation, like the bee, sucks out the sweetness of them. The promises are of no use or comfort to us, until they are meditated upon. Roses hanging in the garden may give a fragrant redolence, yet their sweet water is distilled only by the fire. Just so, the promises are sweet in reading over—but the water of these roses, the spirits and quintessence of the promises, are distilled into the soul only by meditation. The incense, when it is pounded and beaten, smells sweetest. Meditating on a promise, like the beating of the incense, makes it more fragrant and pleasant. The promises may be compared to a gold mine, which only enriches when the gold is dug out. By holy meditation, we dig out that spiritual gold which lies hidden in the midst of the promise, and so we come to be enriched!

Cardan says that every precious gem-stone has some hidden virtue in it. They are called precious promises, 2Pe 1:4. When they are applied by meditation, then their virtue appears, and they become precious indeed. There are three sorts of promises which we should meditate upon.

1. Promises of REMISSION. "I, even I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins," Isa 43:25. Whereas the poor sinner may say, "Alas, I am deep in debt with God, I fear I have not filled his bottle with my tears—but I have filled his book with my debts!" Well, but meditate on his promise, "I am he who blots out," etc. The word there in the original to blot out, is a metaphor alluding to a merchant, who when his debtor has paid him, he blots out the debt, and gives him an acquittance. So says God, "I will blot out your sin, I will cross out the debt-book!" In the Hebrew it is, "I am blotting out your transgressions." "I have taken my pen, and am crossing out your debt!" Oh, but may the sinner say, "There is no reason God should do thus for me." Well, but acts of grace do not go by reason, "I will blot out your sins—for my name’s sake." Oh, but says the sinner, "Will not the Lord call my sins again to remembrance?" No, he promises to send them into oblivion; "I will not upbraid you with your sins—I will remember your sins no more." Here is a sweet promise to meditate upon; it is a hive full of the honey of the gospel.

1. Meditate upon promises of SANCTIFICATION. The earth is not so apt to be overgrown with weeds and thorns, as the heart is to be overgrown with lusts! Now, God has made many promises of healing, Hos 14:4, and purging, Jer 33:8. Promises of sending his Spirit, Isa 44:3, which, for its sanctifying nature, is compared sometimes to water which cleanses the vessel; sometimes to wind, which is the fan to winnow and purify the air; sometimes to fire, which refines the metals. Meditate often on that promise, Isa 1:18, "Though your sins be as scarlet—they shall be as white as snow!" Scarlet is so deep a dye, that all the art of man cannot take it out; but behold here a promise—God will whiten the soul; he will make a scarlet sinner—into a snow white saint! By virtue of this refining and consecrating work, a Christian is made partaker of the divine nature; he has a suitability and fitness to have communion with God forever. Meditate much on this promise.

1. Meditate upon promises of REMUNERATION. "The haven of rest," Heb 4:9. The beatifical sight of God, Mat 5:8. The glorious mansions, Joh 14:2. Meditation on these promises will be as choice cordials to keep us from fainting under our sins and sorrows.

Section 3. Meditate upon the Love of Christ.

Christ is full of love, as he is of merit. What was it but love—that he should save us—and not the fallen angels? Among the rarities of the loadstone, this is not the least—that leaving the gold and pearl, it should draw iron to it—which is a baser kind of metal. Just so, that Christ should leave the angels, those more noble spirits, the gold and pearl—and draw mankind to him—how does this proclaim his love? Love was the wing on which he flew into the virgin’s womb!

1. How TRANSCENDENT is Christ’s love to the saints! The apostle calls it a love "which passes knowledge," Eph 3:19. It is such a love as God the Father bears to Christ; the same for quality, though not equality, Joh 15:9. "As the Father has loved me—so have I loved you." A believer’s heart is the garden where Christ has planted this sweet flower of his love. It is the channel through which the golden stream of his affection runs.

1. How SOVEREIGN is Christ’s love! "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth." 1Co 1:26 In the old law God passed by the noble lion and the eagle—and took the dove for sacrifice. That God should pass by so many of noble birth and abilities, and that the lot of free grace should fall upon me—O the depth of divine grace!

1. How INVINCIBLE is the love of Christ! "It is strong as death," Cant. 8:6. Death might take away Christ’s life—but not his love! Neither can our sin wholly quench that divine flame of love; the church had her infirmities, her sleepy fits, Cant. 5:2, but though blacked and sullied, yet she is still a dove; Christ could see the faith, and wink at the failing. He who painted Alexander, drew him with his finger over the scar on his face. Just so, Christ puts the finger of mercy upon the scars of the saints! He will not throw away his pearls for every speck of dirt! That which makes this love of Christ the more stupendous, is that there was nothing in us to excite or draw forth his love! He did not love us because we were worthy—but by loving us he made us worthy!

1. How IMMUTABLE is Christ’s love! "Having loved his own, he loved them to the end," Joh 13:1. The saints are like letters of gold engraved upon Christ’s heart, which cannot be erased out. Meditate much upon the love of Christ.

1. Serious meditation on the love of Christ, would make us love him in return. "Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burnt?" Pro 6:28. Who can tread by meditation upon these hot coals of Christ’s love, and his heart not burn in love to him?

1. Meditation on Christ’s love, would set our eyes abroach with tears for our gospel unkindnesses. O that we should sin against so sweet a Savior! had we none to abuse—but our best friend? Had we nothing to kick against—but affections of love? Did not Christ suffer enough upon the cross—but must we needs make him suffer more? Do we give him more gall and vinegar to drink? O, if anything can dissolve the heart into mourning, it is the unkindness offered to Christ. When Peter thought of Christ’s love to him—Christ could deny Peter nothing, yet he could deny Christ, this made his eyes to water; "Peter went out and wept bitterly."

1. 默想基督的愛會使我們愛我們的仇敵。耶穌基督向他的仇敵展現了愛。我們讀到「火燒盡了水」，王上 18:38。通常是水滅火，但火卻能燒乾並吞噬水，這水本來不能燃燒，這是神蹟！基督就展現了這樣一個神蹟；他的愛在沒有合適對象可作用之處燃燒——除了罪和敵意之外一無所有。他愛他的仇敵；他愛的火吞噬並燒盡了他們罪惡的水！他為他的仇敵禱告：「父啊，赦免他們」；他為那些流他血的人流下眼淚！那些給他膽汁和醋喝的人——他卻給他們喝他赦罪的血。默想他的愛——應當使我們的心因愛我們的仇敵而融化。奧古斯丁說：「基督以十字架為講壇，他教導基督徒的偉大功課就是愛他們的仇敵。」

1. 默想基督的愛將是他在缺席時支持我們的途徑。有時他樂意隱藏自己，歌 5:6，然而當我們思想他的愛是何等完全和不變時，這會使我們耐心等候，直到他溫柔地向我們顯現。他是愛，他不能長久離棄他的百姓，彌 7:19。太陽可能會暫時離開我們的氣候——但它會在春天回來。默想基督的愛會使我們等候這公義日頭的歸來；來 10:37，「因為還有一點點時候，那要來的就來，並不遲延。」他是真理，所以他必來；他是愛，所以他會來。

第四部分：默想罪。

1. 默想罪的罪咎。我們在亞當裡，如同在一個共同的元首或根源裡——他犯罪，我們就成了有罪的，羅 5:12，「這就如罪是從一人入了世界，死又是從罪來的；於是死就臨到眾人，因為眾人都犯了罪。」因著他的背叛——我們的血脈被玷污了。這罪咎帶來了羞恥，如同它的雙生子！羅 6:21。

1. 默想罪的污穢。不僅亞當之罪的罪咎被歸算，而且他本性的毒素也散播給了我們！我們純潔的本性被玷污了！如果心是污穢的——那麼行為怎能純潔呢？如果井裡的水是髒的——它在桶裡就不會是乾淨的！賽 64:6，「我們都像不潔淨的人。」我們就像一個在醫生照護下的病人——他身上沒有一處是健全的，他的頭部受傷，肝臟腫脹，肺部喘息，血液感染，雙腳壞疽。在救贖的恩典來到之前，我們就是這樣！在心思裡有黑暗！在記憶裡有滑溜！在心裡有剛硬！在意志裡有頑固！「你們從腳掌到頭頂，沒有一處是完全的，盡是傷口、青腫與新打的傷痕，都沒有擠壓，沒有包紮，也沒有用油滋潤！」賽 1:6。一個被罪玷污的罪人，無異於披著人皮的魔鬼！

而令人悲傷地銘記於心的是——這罪的附著性。罪對我們來說是與生俱來的。使徒稱之為「那容易纏累我們的罪！」來 12:1。罪不是輕易就能擺脫的。一個人要擺脫他身體的皮膚，就像擺脫他靈魂的罪一樣困難！除非死亡，否則無法擺脫這條毒蛇！

哦，常常默想這罪的傳染性。那毒藥何等強烈——一滴就能毒害整個海洋？那蘋果何等惡毒和劇烈——一嚐就毒害了全人類！悲傷地默想這一切。默想罪會使驕傲的羽毛脫落！如果我們的知識使我們驕傲——那罪就足以使我們謙卑。活著的最好的聖徒，雖然從罪的墳墓中被取出——但身上仍然帶著墳墓衣物的氣味！

1. 默想罪的咒詛。加 3:10，「凡不常照律法書上所寫的一切之事去行的，就被咒詛。」這咒詛就像果實上的致命潰瘍，使其無法茁壯成長。罪不僅是玷污之物——更是定罪之物！它不僅是臉上的污點——更是心臟的一刀！罪將我們出賣給魔鬼——魔鬼用血寫下他所有的律法。罪將我們綁定在神的忿怒之下！那麼，我們所有的世俗享樂——頭上懸著神聖報應的劍，又有何用！罪帶來了「寫滿咒詛的書卷」來對付罪人，亞 5:5，而且它是一卷「飛行的書卷」——它迅速而來——如果憐憫不阻止它。瑪 3:9，「你們被咒詛，因為你們通國的人都奪取我的供物。」直到這咒詛的頭被基督斬斷，情況才會改變。哦，默想這因罪而來的咒詛。

1. 默想這咒詛會使我們害怕保留罪。當米迦偷了他母親的錢，聽到她咒詛他時，他不敢再保留，而是歸還了，士 17:2。他害怕他母親的咒詛；那麼神的咒詛又是什麼呢！

1. 默想這咒詛會使我們害怕接納罪。我們不會樂意在家中接待一個患有致命瘟疫的人！罪帶來了神咒詛的瘟疫，這瘟疫附著在罪人身上。默想這一切，會使我們逃離罪！當我們坐在這罪的荊棘陰影下時——火將永遠從荊棘中出來吞噬我們！士 9:15。

第五部分：默想受造物的虛空。

當你篩出受造物所能給予的最精細的麵粉時，你會發現有些東西要麼不滿足，要麼令人作嘔。最好的酒有它的泡沫，最甜的玫瑰有它的刺，最純粹的安慰有它的渣滓。受造物不能說是豐滿的——除非我們說它充滿了虛空；就像帆可以被風充滿一樣。伯 20:22，「他在豐裕中，必遭遇困苦；一切患難都必臨到他身上。」那些以為能在地上找到幸福的人，就像阿波羅擁抱一棵樹，而不是可愛的達芙妮。默想受造物的這種虛空。世界就像一面破碎的鏡子——它顯示出虛假的美容。

1. 默想世俗的虛空，就像在樹根周圍挖掘，以使其脫離泥土。這會大大鬆開我們的心與世界的連結，並成為抵禦對世俗事物之愛的絕佳防護。讓基督徒這樣自思：「我為何如此認真於這種毫無價值的虛空？即使整個地球都變成一個金球，也無法填滿我的心！」

1. 默想受造物的虛空會使我們尋求更堅實的安慰——神的恩寵、基督的寶血、聖靈的影響。當我看到我從水池中汲取來的生命是虛空的——我就會更多地走向海洋！在基督裡有無窮無盡的寶藏！當一個人發現樹枝開始折斷時，他會放開樹枝，抓住樹幹。同樣地，當我們發現受造物不過是一根腐朽的樹枝時，我們就會憑著信心抓住基督，那生命樹！啟 2:7。受造物不過是搖擺的蘆葦，神是永不動搖的萬古磐石！

第六部分：默想恩典的卓越。

1. 恩典本身是寶貴的。彼後 1:1，寶貴的信心。

1. 恩典是寶貴的，因為它的源頭來自上方，雅 3:17。

1. 恩典是寶貴的，因為它的本質；它是神的種子，約壹 3:9。恩典是靈魂的屬靈刺繡；它是聖靈的印記和雕刻。恩典不會褪色：它是一種商品，我們保存得越久，它就越好——它會轉變為榮耀！

1. 恩典本身是寶貴的，它也使我們在神眼中寶貴；就像一顆昂貴的鑽石裝飾佩戴它的人一樣。賽 43:4，「因你看我為寶為尊。」被恩典裝飾的聖徒是神的珠寶，瑪 3:17，儘管被羞辱玷污，儘管被鮮血塗抹——然而，他們仍是珠寶！除此之外，整個世界不過是糠秕。這些是珠寶——天堂是將它們安全鎖住的黃金櫃子！一個有恩典的人是他所處時代的榮耀。在神眼中，一個被恩典點綴的靈魂是如此輝煌，以至於他不認為世界配得上他，來 11:38，「世界不配有他們。」因此神如此迅速地將他的百姓召回家，因為他們太好了，不適合活在世上，箴 12:26，「義人比他的鄰舍更優越。」

恩典是最好的祝福；它超越所有其他事物。有兩樣東西在我們眼中閃耀，但恩典無限地超越了這兩樣。

1. 黃金。太陽在我們眼中閃耀的程度不及黃金；它是美麗的鏡子，「錢能叫萬事應心」，傳 10:19。但恩典比黃金更重；黃金使心遠離神，恩典使心歸向神。黃金只豐富了必朽壞的部分，恩典則豐富了天使般的部分。黃金會朽壞，彼前 1:7，恩典卻能堅忍。玫瑰開得越盛，凋謝得越快——這是除了恩典之外所有事物的象徵。

1. 恩賜。這些是本性的驕傲。恩賜和能力，像拉結一樣，外表美麗——但恩典更為卓越。我寧願聖潔也不願雄辯。一顆充滿恩典的心，勝過一個充滿概念的頭腦。恩賜不能使人蒙神悅納。我們所看重的不是蘋果的皮，儘管它有朱紅色——而是果實。我們不會因為一匹馬的裝飾和華麗而對它評價更高，除非它有良好的氣質。如果心中沒有恩典的本質，最輝煌的能力又有何用？恩賜可能為了他人的益處而賜予，就像護士的乳房是為孩子而賜予一樣——但恩典是為了人自己的永恆益處而賜予的。神可能會用恩賜打發棄絕的人，就像亞伯拉罕給妾的兒子們一些禮物一樣，創 25:6——但他只將產業傳給有恩典的人。哦，常常默想恩典的卓越！

1. 默想恩典的美麗會使我們愛上它。默想鑽石價值的人，會愛上它。大馬士革的約翰稱聖靈的恩典為神聖本性的特徵和印記。恩典是那喜悅之花，就像寓言中的葡萄樹，士 9:13，「使神和人喜悅。」

1. 默想恩典的卓越會使我們熱切地追求它。我們在礦井中挖掘黃金，我們在熔爐中為它流汗。如果我們默想恩典的價值，我們就會在聖禮的礦井中為它挖掘。我們會付出多少汗水和禱告的掙扎啊！我們會表現出謙遜的膽量，不接受拒絕。「你還賜我什麼呢？我既無子。」創 15:2。靈魂也會這樣說：「主啊，我既無恩典，你還賜我什麼呢？誰能給我喝生命井的水呢？」

1. 默想恩典的卓越會使我們努力成為將恩典傳遞給他人的工具。恩典是如此超凡寶貴，而我卻有一個孩子缺乏恩典？哦，願我能成為將這寶藏傳遞到他靈魂中的媒介！我曾讀到一位富有的佛羅倫薩人，臨終前召集所有兒子，對他們說：「我現在臨終之際，很高興能讓你們都富有。」但父母的抱負應該是傳遞聖潔，這樣他就可以說：「哦，我的孩子們，我很高興能讓你們有恩典；我很高興在我死前，能看到耶穌基督活在你們裡面。」

第七部分：默想你的屬靈狀態。

認真默想你靈魂的狀態；當你默想其他事物時，不要忘記自己；重要的工作在於自身。所羅門的建議是：「要確實知道你羊群的景況」，箴 27:23，更要確實知道你靈魂的景況；由於缺乏這種默想，人們就像旅行者，精通其他國家——卻對自己的國家一無所知：所以他們了解其他事物——卻不知道自己的靈魂如何，是處於良好狀態還是糟糕狀態；很少有人通過聖潔的默想進入自己內心。很少有人默想自己靈魂狀態的原因有兩個。

1. 自我罪咎。人們不願透過默想審視自己的內心，以免發現令他們不安的事物。杯子在他們的袋子裡。大多數人在這方面就像商人，當他們的財產瀕臨破產時，不願查看他們的帳簿，以免發現他們的財產所剩無幾；但是，你難道不寧願透過默想進入你的內心，也不願神以悲傷的方式與你審判嗎？

1. 僭越。人們希望一切都好；人們不會憑信任接受他們的土地——而是會讓它被測量；然而他們會憑信任接受他們的屬靈產業，而沒有任何測量。他們確信自己的情況很好；箴 14:16。他們認為這是不容置疑的事情，而這種自信不過是自負。愚拙的童女，雖然她們燈裡沒有油，但她們是何等自信？「她們來敲門」——她們毫不懷疑會被允許進入。同樣地，許多人並沒有擁有救恩——卻安然自得；他們認為一切都好，從未認真默想自己是否有油。哦，基督徒，默想你的靈魂！看看神與你之間的情況如何；像商人一樣，計算你的財產，這樣你就可以看到你值多少錢。看看你是否在神面前富足，路 12:21。默想三件事：

1. 關於你的債務，看看你的債務是否已償還，也就是你的罪是否已蒙赦免；看看是否有任何欠款，你的靈魂中是否有任何未悔改的罪。

1. 默想你的意志；看看你的意志是否已經立定。你是否已將自己所有的權益都交出來了？你是否已將你的愛獻給神？你是否已將你的意志交出來了？這就是立定你的意志。默想你的意志；在健康的時候立定你的屬靈遺囑；如果你將立遺囑推遲到死亡之時，它可能無效；或許那時神不會接受你的靈魂。

1. 默想你的憑據。這些憑據是聖靈的恩典；看看你是否有任何憑據。你對基督有什麼渴望？有什麼信心？看看你的憑據是否有任何瑕疵；你的渴望是真的嗎？你是否既渴望屬天的原則，也渴望屬天的特權？哦，認真默想你的憑據。

如此透過默想篩查我們的心，是非常必要的；如果我們發現我們的狀況不健全，錯誤就會被發現，危險就能被預防。如果我們的屬靈狀況健全，我們就會得到安慰。希西家能說：「耶和華啊，求你記念我怎樣在你面前存完全的心，按誠實行事，又行你眼中看為善的。」賽 38:3，這是何等的喜樂啊。同樣地，當一個基督徒在認真默想和審視自己的屬靈狀況後，能說：「我有東西可以證明我能上天堂——我知道我已經出死入生了。」約壹 3:14，並且像一位聖潔的人曾經說過：「我是基督的，魔鬼與我無關。」這將是何等難以言喻的安慰啊。