Daily Devotion - Nov 25 - ¥q¥¬¯u¨C¤éÆF­×(©]) Evening by Evening

司布真每日靈修(夜) Evening by Evening

十一月二十五日

經文: 因祂對摩西說：「我要憐憫誰就憐憫誰，要恩待誰就恩待誰。」（羅馬書九：15）

因為生死大權是操在君王手中，所有全地的審判者有權恕宥或定罪。罪惡使人喪失向上帝要求的權利。因為罪，世人應當滅亡。即使所有人都滅亡，亦無抱怨之理由。主若要介入拯救任何人，就絕對可以作到，只要公義的目的不受阻撓即可。但是倘若祂決定最好讓定罪的人受到正義之判決，也沒有人能控告祂不公正。那些論及人有權利配受聖潔上帝體恤之言論是愚蠢、不知羞恥的。反對恩典有差別，也就是驕傲人性敵視耶和華的王權和王位的那些悖逆言論，別的不是，最起碼是無知的。當我們看到自己的邪惡，又看到上帝反對罪惡的公正裁決，我們就不會再對真理發怨言，認為上帝有義務要救我們了。祂若眷顧我們，那是祂對不配得仁慈的人所採取的自願行動，為此我們要永遠稱頌祂的名。蒙救贖的人如何能完全地崇拜上帝的恩典呢？惟有讓主的旨意得榮耀，摒棄人的功勳這一觀念。在聖經中最謙卑的教義就是藉恩典得救恩，那是最配受我們感激的事，並且也是最聖潔的事。信徒不應懼怕上帝的恩典，反應在恩典中更崇敬更喜樂。

Evening, November 25

Scripture: "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."(Romans 9:15)

In these words the Lord in the plainest manner claims the right to give or to withhold his mercy according to his own sovereign will. As the prerogative of life and death is vested in the monarch, so the Judge of all the earth has a right to spare or condemn the guilty, as may seem best in his sight. Men by their sins have forfeited all claim upon God; they deserve to perish for their sins—and if they all do so, they have no ground for complaint. If the Lord steps in to save any, he may do so if the ends of justice are not thwarted; but if he judges it best to leave the condemned to suffer the righteous sentence, none may arraign him at their bar. Foolish and impudent are all those discourses about the rights of men to be all placed on the same footing; ignorant, if not worse, are those contentions against discriminating grace, which are but the rebellions of proud human nature against the crown and sceptre of Jehovah. When we are brought to see our own utter ruin and ill desert, and the justice of the divine verdict against sin, we no longer cavil at the truth that the Lord is not bound to save us; we do not murmur if he chooses to save others, as though he were doing us an injury, but feel that if he deigns to look upon us, it will be his own free act of undeserved goodness, for which we shall for ever bless his name.

How shall those who are the subjects of divine election sufficiently adore the grace of God? They have no room for boasting, for sovereignty most effectually excludes it. The Lord's will alone is glorified, and the very notion of human merit is cast out to everlasting contempt. There is no more humbling doctrine in Scripture than that of election, none more promotive of gratitude, and, consequently, none more sanctifying. Believers should not be afraid of it, but adoringly rejoice in it.


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