Daily Devotion - Apr 28 - ¥q¥?‾u‥C?eAF-×(c]) Evening by Evening

司布真每日靈修(夜) Evening by Evening 四月二十八日 經文: 以色列全家是額堅心硬的人。（以西結書三：7） 沒有一人例外嗎？沒有，沒有一人。即使蒙愛的民族也被描述為額堅心硬的。想一想這向全人類的指控也是針對你而來的，且預備向上帝認罪吧！第一項罪名額堅，這是指厚顏卑鄙，缺少聖潔的羞恥感，或大膽地犯罪。信主以前，我犯罪但不感懊悔，聽人講述我的罪行仍然不知謙卑，即使承認錯誤亦不會因錯而體驗到內心的憂傷。罪人到上帝的殿中若假裝向祂禱告、讚美，就是以最卑劣的形式，以厚顏無恥的偽善來作表演！即使已經重生，我仍然會在祂面前懷疑祂，在祂同在時會低聲輕慢祂，以疏忽的心情敬拜祂，犯罪也無誠實的悔改。若我的額不是堅硬，我會更敬畏祂，也會有更深的悔罪。第二項罪名是心硬。在這方面，我也不敢申辦無罪。我曾經有一顆石心，藉上帝的恩典，雖然我現在有一顆新心，一顆肉心，但是我過去許許多多的頑梗依舊存在。我應該被耶穌的受死所感動，但是沒有。我也沒有因同胞之毀滅、時間的殘酷、天父的懲罰和自己的失敗而激動。哦，每當提到我救主受苦受死時，但願我的心能熔化。救主的寶血是宇宙性的溶劑，願它將我軟化，直至我的心像臘在火上般熔化！ Evening, April 28 Scripture: "All the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted."(Ezekiel 3:7) Are there no exceptions? No, not one. Even the favoured race are thus described. Are the best so bad?—then what must the worst be? Come, my heart, consider how far thou hast a share in this universal accusation, and while considering, be ready to take shame unto thyself wherein thou mayst have been guilty. The first charge is impudence, or hardness of forehead, a want of holy shame, an unhallowed boldness in evil. Before my conversion, I could sin and feel no compunction, hear of my guilt and yet remain unhumbled, and even confess my iniquity and manifest no inward humiliation on account of it. For a sinner to go to God's house and pretend to pray to him and praise him argues a brazen-facedness of the worst kind! Alas! since the day of my new birth I have doubted my Lord to his face, murmured unblushingly in his presence, worshipped before him in a slovenly manner, and sinned without bewailing myself concerning it. If my forehead were not as an adamant, harder than flint, I should have far more holy fear, and a far deeper contrition of spirit. Woe is me, I am one of the impudent house of Israel. The second charge is hardheartedness, and I must not venture to plead innocent here. Once I had nothing but a heart of stone, and although through grace I now have a new and fleshy heart, much of my former obduracy remains. I am not affected by the death of Jesus as I ought to be; neither am I moved by the ruin of my fellow men, the wickedness of the times, the chastisement of my heavenly Father, and my own failures, as I should be. O that my heart would melt at the recital of my Saviour's sufferings and death. Would to God I were rid of this nether millstone within me, this hateful body of death. Blessed be the name of the Lord, the disease is not incurable, the Saviour's precious blood is the universal solvent, and me, even me, it will effectually soften, till my heart melts as wax before the fire. www.glorypress.com