110. Maroth; or; the Disappointed

For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem. Micah 1:12
The village of the bitter spring (for such is probably the meaning of the name Maroth) experienced a bitter disappointment.
The more eager and patient their careful waiting, the more distasteful the draught of evil which they were compelled to drink. Their trust in man proved to be vain, for the Assyrian swept over them, and stopped not till he reached the gate of Jerusalem, where Hezekiah's faith in God made the enemy pause and retreat.
Let us consider, as suggested by the text:

I. SAD DISAPPOINTMENTS. "waited carefully for good: but evil came."

Disappointments come frequently to the sanguine, but they also happen to those who wait — wait carefull, and expect reasonably.
1. Disappointments are often extremely painful at the time.
2. Yet could we know all the truth, we should not lament them.
3. In reference to hopes of several kinds they are certain. As for instance, when we expect more of the creature than it was ever meant to yield us, when we look for happiness in sin, when we expect fixity in earthly things, etc.
4. In many cases disappointments are highly probable. Conceited hopes, groundless expectations, speculations, etc.
5. In all cases they are possible. "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip."
6. They should be accepted with manly patience.
7. They may prove highly instructive, teaching us:

• Our fallibility of judgment.
• The uncertainty of sublunary things.
• The need of reserve in speaking of the future (James 4:14).
• The duty of submitting all our projects to the divine will.

8. They may be greatly sanctified.

• Sometimes they have turned the current of a life.
• They are intended to wean us from the world.
• They tend to make us prize more the truthfulness of our God, who fulfills the desire of them that fear him.
• They bring us precious things which can only come of experience.
• They save us from unknown evils which might ruin us.

II. STRANGE APPOINTMENTS.

The text tells us, "evil came down from the Lord."

1. The expression must not be misunderstood. God is not the author of moral evil. It is the evil of sorrow, affliction, calamity that is here meant.
2. It is nevertheless universally true. No evil can happen without divine permission. "I make peace, and create evil" (Isa. 45:7).
3. Some evils are distinctly from the Lord. "This evil is of the Lord" (2 Kings 6:33).

• For testing men, and making their true character to be known,
• For chastening the good (1 Chron. 21:7).
• For punishing the wicked (Gen. 6:5-7; 19:24-25).

4. Hence such evils are to be endured by the godly with humble submission to their heavenly Father's will.
5. Hence our comfort under them: since all evils are under divine control, their power to injure is gone.
6. Hence the antidote for our disappointments lies in the fact that they are God's appointments.

III. EXPECTATIONS WHICH WILL NOT END IN DISAPPOINTMENT.

l. Hopes founded on the promises of God (Heb. 10:23).
2. Confidence placed in the Lord Jesus (1 Pet. 2:6).
3. Desires presented in believing prayer (Matt. 21:22).
4. Harvest hopes in connection with sowing seed for the Lord (Ps. 126:5-6).
5. Expectations in falling asleep in Jesus (1 Thess. 4:14). Is your life embittered by disappointment?

Cast the cross into the bitter water, and it will become sweet.

Gatherings

During the period when lotteries were unhappily allowed to flourish in this country, a gentleman, looking into the window of a lottery office in St. Paul's Churchyard, discovered to his joy that his ticket had turned up a 10,000 prize. Intoxicated with this sudden accession of wealth, he walked round the churchyard, to consider calmly how he should dispose of his fortune. On again, in his circuit, passing the lottery office, he resolved to take another glance at the charming announcement in the window, when, to his dismay, he saw that a new number had been substituted. On inquiry, he found that a wrong number had at first been posted by mistake, and that after all he was not the holder of the prize. His chagrin was now as great as his previous pleasure had been. — W. Haig Miller's "Life's Pleasure Garden"

It is wise, when we are disappointed in one thing, to set over against it a hopeful expectancy of another, like the farmer who said, "If the peas don't pay, let us hope the beans will. "Yet it would be idle to patch up one rotten expectation with another of like character, for that would only make the rent worse. It is better to turn from the fictions of the sanguine worldling to the facts of the believer in the Word of the Lord. Then, if we find no profit in our trading with earth, we shall fall back upon our heart's treasure in heaven. We may lose our gold, but we can never lose our God. The expectation of the righteous is from the Lord, and nothing that comes from him shall ever fail.

I knew one who had made an idol of his daughter, and when she sickened and died, he was exceedingly rebellious, and the result was that he died himself. Expectations which hang upon the frail tenure of a human life may fill our cup with wormwood if we indulge them. Could this father have owned the Lord's hand in the removal of his child, and had he beforehand moderated his expectations concerning her, he might have lived happily with the rest of his family, and have been an example of holy patience. — C. H. S.

Who has not muttered "Marah" over some well in the desert which he strained himself to reach, and found to be bitterness? Have you found no salt waters where you thought to find sweetness and joy? Love, beauty, the world's bright throngs, marriage, home, the things which once wooed you, and promised to slake the thirst of your soul for happiness, are they all Elims, sweet springs and palms? Oh, what fierce murmurings of "Marah" have I heard from hearts wrung with anguish, from souls withered and blasted by a too fond confidence in anything or any being but God! Believe it, no man, with a man's heart in him, gets far on his wilderness way without some bitter soul-searching disappointment; happy he who is brave enough to push on another stage of the journey, and rest in Elim, where there are twelve springs, living springs of water, and threescore and ten palm trees. — L B. Brown

Disappointments in favorite wishes are trying, and we are not always wise enough to remember that disappointments in time are often the means of preventing disappointments in eternity. — William Jay

Charles Hadden Spurgeon

110. 瑪羅；或：失望的人

一、悲傷的失望

「切切等候良善，卻有災禍來到。」
失望常臨到性情樂觀的人，但也會發生在那些等待的人身上——小心地等待，合理地期待。

1. 失望在當下往往極其痛苦。
2. 然而，若我們能知曉全部真相，便不致為之哀歎。
3. 就各類盼望而言，失望是必然的；例如：當我們向受造之物索求超過它本不該給予的，當我們在罪中尋找幸福，當我們期望地上的事物能夠恆久不變，等等。
4. 在許多情況下，失望極有可能發生；如自負的盼望、毫無根據的期待、投機性的推算等。
5. 在任何情況下，失望都是可能的；「杯到唇邊，仍有失手之虞。」
6. 失望應以剛毅的耐心來承受。
7. 失望可能極具教益，教導我們：

• 我們判斷的易錯性；
• 世俗萬事的不確定；
• 論及將來時保持節制的需要（雅各書 4:14 14其實明天如何，你們還不知道。你們的生命是甚麼呢？你們原來是一片雲霧，出現少時就不見了。 ）；
• 將一切計畫交託於神旨意之下的本分。

8. 失望也可能被大大地成聖使用：

• 有時它們會改變一生的方向；
• 它們旨在使我們對世界生厭；
• 它們使我們更珍視神的信實，因祂成就敬畏祂之人的心願；
• 它們帶來唯有經驗才能得著的寶貴事物；
• 它們救我們脫離那些未知、卻可能毀滅我們的災禍。

二、奇妙的安排

經文告訴我們：「災禍從耶和華那裡降下來。」

1. 這句話不可被誤解。神不是道德之惡的作者；此處所指的是憂愁、患難、災害之惡。
2. 然而，這在普遍意義上是真實的：沒有任何災禍會在沒有神允許之下發生。「我使平安，也降災禍」（以賽亞書 45:7 7我造光，又造暗；我施平安，又降災禍；造作這一切的是我－耶和華。）。
3. 有些災禍明明是出於耶和華：「這災禍是出於耶和華」（列王紀下 6:33 33正說話的時候，使者來到，王也到了，說：「這災禍是從耶和華那裏來的，我何必再仰望耶和華呢？」 ），

• 為要試驗人，使其真實品格顯明；
• 為要管教良善的人（歷代志上 21:7 7神不喜悅這數點百姓的事，便降災給以色列人。）；
• 為要刑罰惡人（創世記 6:5–7 5耶和華見人在地上罪惡很大，終日所思想的盡都是惡， 6耶和華就後悔造人在地上，心中憂傷。 7耶和華說：「我要將所造的人和走獸，並昆蟲，以及空中的飛鳥，都從地上除滅，因為我造他們後悔了。」；19:24–25 24當時，耶和華將硫磺與火從天上耶和華那裏降與所多瑪和蛾摩拉， 25把那些城和全平原，並城裏所有的居民，連地上生長的，都毀滅了。）。

4. 因此，敬虔的人當以謙卑的順服，忍受這些災禍，接受天父的旨意。
5. 因此，我們在其中得著安慰：既然一切災禍都在神的掌管之下，它們傷害人的能力便被除去。
6. 因此，醫治失望的良方就在於明白：它們乃是神的安排。

三、不致以失望告終的期待

1. 建立在神應許之上的盼望（希伯來書 10:23 23也要堅守我們所承認的指望，不致搖動，因為那應許我們的是信實的。 ）。
2. 對主耶穌的信靠（彼得前書 2:6 6因為經上說：看哪，我把所揀選、所寶貴的房角石安放在錫安；信靠他的人必不至於羞愧。）。
3. 在信心中的祈求所呈上的渴望（馬太福音 21:22 22你們禱告，無論求甚麼，只要信，就必得着。」）。
4. 與為主撒種相連的收穫盼望（詩篇 126:5–6 5流淚撒種的，必歡呼收割！6那帶種流淚出去的，必要歡歡樂樂地帶禾捆回來！）。
5. 在耶穌裡安睡時的期待（帖撒羅尼迦前書 4:14 14我們若信耶穌死而復活了，那已經在耶穌裏睡了的人，神也必將他們與耶穌一同帶來。）。你的生命是否因失望而變得苦澀？

把十字架投入苦水之中，它就會變甜。

蒐集（例證）

在這個國家曾不幸允許彩券盛行的時期，有一位紳士在聖保羅教堂庭院的一家彩券行門窗前張望，驚喜地發現自己的彩券中了 一萬英鎊 的獎。他因這突如其來的財富而陶醉，便繞著庭院走動，想要冷靜地思量如何運用這筆財產。當他再次經過彩券行，決定再看一眼窗中那迷人的公告時，卻驚愕地發現號碼已被換掉。查詢之後才知道，原先張貼的是錯誤號碼，結果他並非得獎者。他的懊惱此時與先前的喜悅一樣強烈。——W. 海格·米勒《人生的樂園》

當我們在一件事上失望時，把另一件充滿希望的期待放在對面，乃是智慧之舉；就像那位農夫所說：「若豌豆不賺錢，盼望豆子會。」然而，用同樣性質的另一個腐敗期待去修補原先的期待，乃是徒然，只會使裂口更大。更好的作法，是從樂觀世俗之人的虛構，轉向信靠主話語之人的事實。如此，若我們在與地上交易中得不著益處，便會回到天上那屬於我們心的寶藏。我們或可失去黃金，卻永不會失去我們的神。義人的期待出於耶和華，凡從祂而來的，必不落空。

我認識一人，把女兒當作偶像；當她病重去世時，他極其悖逆，其結果是他自己也死了。倚附在脆弱人命之上的期待，若被縱容，便會使我們的杯充滿苦艾。若這位父親能承認主在奪去孩子一事上的手，並且事先節制他對她的期待，他本可與其餘家人幸福度日，並成為聖潔忍耐的榜樣。——C. H. S.
有誰不曾在沙漠中，為了某一口井竭力前行，卻發現那是苦水，而低聲嘀咕「瑪拉」呢？你是否也在以為會得甘

甜與喜樂之處，卻遇見鹹水？愛情、美貌、世上的繁華人群、婚姻、家庭、那些曾向你招手、應許要解你心靈之渴的事物——它們全都是以琳嗎？都是甘泉與棕樹嗎？噢，我曾聽見多少出自痛苦之心、因過分信賴任何事物或任何人（而非神）而枯萎破碎之靈魂，所發出的激烈「瑪拉」的怨聲！請相信，凡有真實人心的人，在荒野之路上行走，不可能走得太遠而不遭遇某次苦澀、刺透靈魂的失望；那能勇敢地再前行一站、在以琳歇息的人是有福的——那裡有十二股活水泉，七十棵棕樹。——L. B. 布朗

對所喜愛的願望之失落，確實是試煉；而我們並非總有足夠的智慧記得：今生的失望，往往正是防止永恆失望的途徑。——威廉·傑伊

查爾斯·哈登·司布真

111. The Worst of Enemies

Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy. Micah 2:8
WHEN men are in trouble they are apt to blame God. But the blame lies with themselves. "Are these his doings?" (verse 7). Does the good Lord arbitrarily cause sorrows? No, they are the fruit of sin, the result of backsliding.
The Lord here answers Israel's complaint of him by a deeply truthful complaint of them.
They should not have wondered that they suffered, for they had become enemies to God, and thus enemies to themselves.

I. LET US LISTEN TO THE GRIEVOUS CHARGE.

There is a deep pathos about this as coming from the God of love.

1. They were his own people. "My people:' God has enemies enough without his own beloved ones becoming such. It is horrible ingratitude and treachery for the chosen to rebel.
2. They had risen up "as an enemy." Faithless friends wound keenly, and are often more bitter than other antagonists. For favored ones to rise up as foes is cruel indeed.
3. They had lately done this: "even of late," — "yesterday;' in the margin. The sin is fresh, the wound is bleeding, the offense is rank. A fit of willfulness was on them.
4. They had done this wantonly (see latter part of verse). They picked a quarrel with One who is "averse from war." God would have our love, yet we turn against him without cause.

How far may this indictment lie against us?

II. LET US HEAR THE MORE GRIEVOUS EVIDENCE BY WHICH THE CHARGE IS SUBSTANTIATED.

Taking the words "my people" as referring to all professing Christians, many of them "rise up as an enemy" from the fact of—
1. Their separation from their Lord. "He that is not with me is against me" (Matt. 12:30). They walk not in communion with him, neither are they diligent in his service, nor careful in obedience, nor consecrated to his cause.
2. Their worldliness. By this the Lord's jealousy is moved, for the world is set up as his rival in the heart. "The friendship of the world is enmity with God" (James 4:4).
3. Their unbelief, which stabs at his honor, his veracity, his immutability ( 1 John 1:10). A man cannot treat another more maliciously than by calling him a liar.
4 Their heresies, fighting against his revealed truth. It is wretched work when the church and its ministers oppose the gospel. It is to be feared that this is by no means uncommon in these degenerate days.
5. Their unholiness. Unholy professors are, par excellence, "the enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:18).
6. Their lukewarmness: by which they sicken their Savior (Rev. 3:16), grieve his Spirit (Eph. 4:30), encourage sinners in sin (Ezek. 16:54), and discourage seekers.

By these, and other miserable courses of action, those who should be the friends of God are often found to be "risen up as an enemy."

III. LET US HEARKEN TO MOST GRIEVOUS WARNINGS.

No good can possibly come of opposition to the Lord; but the most painful evils will inevitably ensue.

1. In the case of true Christians, there will come to them heavy chastisements and humiliations. If we walk contrary to the Lord, he will walk contrary to us (Lev. 26:23-24).
2. With these will come the keenest regrets, and agonies of heart. It may be pleasant to go down By-path Meadow, but to return to the King's highway will cost many a groan and tear.
3. In the case of mere professors, there will soon come abandonment of profession, immorality, seven-fold wickedness, etc.
4. To such may also come special punishments, which will make them a terror to the universe of God.

Be anxious to be truly reconciled to God by the blood of Jesus.
Abide in peace with God by yielding to his Spirit.
Increasingly love and honor him, that no root of bitterness may ever spring up between him and you.

Home-Thrusts

It is not, perhaps, that we are determinably his enemies, but his love is so great that he feels very keenly the slightest swerving of our hearts from him. So much so that he that is not with him is against him, he that turns aside from his friendship is felt to be "an enemy." — From "Wounded in the House of his Friends, "by F. M.

Sin will cause repenting work, even for the children of God. The sins of the wicked pierce Christ's side, but the sins of the godly plunge the spear into his heart.

Carlyle, speaking of the changes made by time, says, "How tragic to me is the sight of old friends; a thing I always really shrink from!" Sin has made still more painful changes in some once numbered amongst the friends of God.

Pharnaces, the son of Mithridates, the king of Pontus, sending a crown to Caesar at the time he was in rebellion against him, he refused the present, saying, "Let him first lay down his rebellion, and then I will receive his crown." There are many who set a crown of glory upon the head of Christ by a good profession, and yet plant a crown of thorns upon his head by an evil conversation. — Secker

After poor Sabat, an Arabian, who had professed faith in Christ by the means of the labors of the Rev. H. Martyn, had apostatized from Christianity, and written in favor of Mohammedanism, he was met at Malacca by the late Rev. Dr. Milne, who proposed to him some very pointed questions, in reply to which, he said, "I am unhappy! I have a mountain of burning sand on my head. When I go about, I know not what I am doing!" It is indeed an evil thing and bitter to forsake the Lord our God. — Bate's Cyclopaedia

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky,
Thou cost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though more the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
— Shakespeare

Charles Hadden Spurgeon

111. 最惡的仇敵

「甚至到如今，我的百姓起來如同仇敵。」——彌迦書 2:8 (8然而，近來我的民興起如仇敵，從那些安然經過不願打仗之人身上剝去外衣。)
人遇到患難時，往往傾向於責怪神；然而責任其實在他們自己身上。「這是祂所行的嗎？」（第7節 7雅各家啊，豈可說耶和華的心不忍耐嗎（或譯：心腸狹窄嗎）？這些事是他所行的嗎？我－耶和華的言語豈不是與行動正直的人有益嗎？）良善的主會任意降下憂患嗎？不；那些都是罪的果子，是背道的結果。
在此，耶和華以極其真實的控訴，回應以色列對祂的抱怨。
他們本不該對自己所受的苦感到驚訝，因為他們已成了神的仇敵，也就成了自己的仇敵。

一、讓我們聽這沉痛的指控

這話出自慈愛之神，帶著深切的哀傷。

1. 他們本是祂的百姓。「我的百姓。」神的仇敵已夠多了，何必讓祂自己所愛的人成為仇敵！蒙揀選者反叛，實在是可怕的忘恩與背信。
2. 他們起來「如同仇敵」。 失信的朋友傷人最深，往往比其他對手更為苦毒；蒙恩者起來成為仇敵，確實殘酷。
3. 這事發生在近來。「甚至到如今」——旁註作「昨日」。罪是新近的，傷口仍在流血，冒犯尚且新鮮；他們正陷在一時任性的衝動中。
4. 他們是無端而為。（見本節後半）他們無故與那位「不喜好爭戰」的主挑起爭端。神要我們的愛，我們卻無緣無故轉而敵對祂。

這樣的控訴，在我們身上究竟有多少成立呢？

二、讓我們聽支撐這指控的更沉痛證據

若將「我的百姓」理解為一切自稱為基督徒的人，那麼其中許多人「起來如同仇敵」，表現在——

1. 與主分離。「不與我同在的，就是敵我的」（太 12:30 30不與我相合的，就是敵我的；不同我收聚的，就是分散的。」）。他們不與主交通，不殷勤事奉，不謹慎順服，也不將自己獻上給祂的事工。
2. 屬世的心態。 這使主的忌邪被激動，因為世界在心中被立為與祂競爭的對手。「與世俗為友，就是與神為敵」（雅 4:4 4你們這些淫亂的人（原文是淫婦）哪，豈不知與世俗為友就是與神為敵嗎？所以凡想要與世俗為友的，就是與神為敵了。）。
3. 不信。 這刺傷了祂的尊榮、祂的誠信、祂的不變性（約壹 1:10 10我們若說自己沒有犯過罪，便是以神為說謊的，他的道也不在我們心裏了。）。對一個人最惡毒的對待，莫過於指他是說謊的。
4. 異端。 抵擋祂所啟示的真理。當教會與其傳道人反對福音，乃是極其悲慘之事；恐怕在這敗壞的世代並不少見。
5. 不聖潔。 不聖潔的信徒，尤其是「基督十字架的仇敵」（腓 3:18 18因為有許多人行事是基督十字架的仇敵。我屢次告訴你們，現在又流淚地告訴你們：）。
6. 不冷不熱。 這使救主厭惡（啟 3:16 16你既如溫水，也不冷也不熱，所以我必從我口中把你吐出去。），使聖靈憂傷（弗 4:30 30不要叫神的聖靈擔憂；你們原是受了他的印記，等候得贖的日子來到。），鼓勵罪人在罪中（結 16:54 54好使你擔當自己的羞辱，並因你一切所行的使她們得安慰，你就抱愧。），也使尋求者灰心。

因著這些及其他可悲的行徑，那些本該作神朋友的人，常被發現竟「起來如同仇敵」。

三、讓我們留心極其嚴肅的警告

敵對主，決不可能有任何好結果；最痛苦的惡果必然隨之而來。

1. 對真實的基督徒而言， 將臨到嚴厲的管教與羞辱。若我們行事與主相反，祂也必與我們相反而行（利 26:23–24 23「你們因這些事若仍不改正歸我，行事與我反對， 24我就要行事與你們反對，因你們的罪擊打你們七次。）。
2. 隨之而來的， 是最尖銳的懊悔與心靈的痛楚。走進「旁路草甸」也許愉快，但要回到君王的大道，卻要付出許多呻吟與眼淚。
3. 對僅有外表信仰的人而言， 不久便會出現棄絕信仰、道德敗壞、七倍的邪惡等等。
4. 對這樣的人， 也可能臨到特別的刑罰，使他們成為神宇宙中的可怖警戒。

務要切切追求，藉著耶穌的血真實地與神和好。
順服祂的靈，持守與神的和平。
日益愛祂、尊崇祂，使你與祂之間永不生出苦毒的根。

直擊人心（短評）

或許並非我們決意要作祂的仇敵；只是祂的愛如此浩大，以致我們心稍有偏離，祂便感受極深。於是，不與祂同在的，就被視為敵對；凡轉離祂友誼的，便被感到是「仇敵」。——F. M.〈傷在親友之家〉

罪即使在神的兒女身上，也會帶來悔改的苦工。惡人的罪刺透基督的肋旁，敬虔之人的罪卻把槍刺進祂的心。

卡萊爾談到時間帶來的改變時說：「對我而言，見到老朋友是何等悲劇；這是我向來真正畏縮的事！」罪在一些曾被列為神朋友的人身上，造成了更為痛苦的改變。

本都王米特里達梯之子法爾納克斯，在背叛凱撒之時，差人送上一頂冠冕給他；凱撒拒收，說：「先放下他的叛逆，然後我才收他的冠冕。」許多人以良好的信仰告白，把榮耀的冠冕戴在基督頭上，卻以惡劣的生活行徑，在祂頭上加上荊棘冠冕。——西克

可憐的阿拉伯人薩巴特，因亨利·馬丁牧師的勞苦而曾信奉基督，後來卻背教並撰文為伊斯蘭辯護；他在馬六甲遇見已故米爾恩博士時，被問到一些直指人心的問題，他回答說：「我很不快樂！我頭上像壓著一座燃燒的沙山。我走動時，不知道自己在做什麼！」離棄耶和華我們的神，真是又惡又苦。——《貝特百科全書》

吹吧，吹吧，冬風啊，
你並不如人的忘恩那般殘忍；
你的牙不那麼鋒利，
因你不被看見，
儘管你的氣息粗獷。
凍吧，凍吧，苦寒的天空，
你咬得不那麼近，
不及被遺忘的恩惠；
縱然水更扭曲，
你的刺也不那麼尖銳，
不及被記不起的朋友。
——莎士比亞

查爾斯·哈登·司布真

112. The Lord's Appeal to his own People

Oh my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. Micah 6:3
This is a portion of Jehovah's pleading with his people.
He has called upon the mountains and the strong foundations of the earth to hear the suit between him and Israel.
Far be it from us to trifle when God has a controversy with us, for to him it is a matter of deep solemnity. In condescending grace he makes much of the affection of his people, and he will not lose it without effort.
We have before us—

I. A PITEOUS EXCLAMATION. "O my people!"

Is it not remarkable that such language should be used by the Eternal God?
1 It is the voice of solemn earnestness.
2. It is the cry of sorrow. The interjection is wet with tears.
3. It is the appeal of love. Love injured, but living, pleading, striving, entreating.
4. It is the language of desire. Divine love yearns for the reconciliation of the rebel: it pines to have his loyal affection.

The Lord calls a revolted nation "my people" still Grace is stronger than sin. Eternal love is not founded upon our merits.

II. A PAINFUL FACT. "Wearied thee;"

Israel acted as if they were tired of their God.

1. They were weary of his name. Baal and Ashtaroth had become the fashion, and the living God was despised.
2. They were weary of his worship. The sacrifice, the priest, the holy place, prayer, praise, etc.; all these were despised.
3. They were weary of obedience to his laws, though they were right, and just, and meant for their good.
4. They were weary of his restraints: they desired liberty to ruin themselves by transgression.

The parallel between ourselves and Israel lies upon the surface.
In the following points, and many more, certain professors prove their weariness of God—

• They give up nearness of communion.
• They abandon preciseness of walking.
• They fail in fullness of consecration.
• They cool down from intensity of zeal.
• They lose the full assurance of faith, and other joys.

And all this because they are in reality weary of their God.
This is a sorrow of sorrows to the great heart of love.

III. A PATIENT ENQUIRY. "What have I done unto thee?" etc.

Amazing love! God himself puts himself upon trial.

1. What single act of God could induce us to forsake his way? "What have I done unto thee?"
2. What continuous way of the Lord could have caused us weariness?
"Wherein have I wearied thee?"
3. What testimony of any kind can we bear against God? "Testify against me."

No answer is possible except the most unreserved confession that the Lord has done us no ill. The Lord is goodness itself, and unmingled kindness.

• He has not wearied us with demands of offering.
• He has not burdened us with austerities.
• He has not tired us with monotonies.
• He has not denied us rest, but has even commanded it.

If wearied with our God, it is—

• Because of our foolish waywardness.
• Because of our fickle fancy.
• Because of our feeble love to himself and holiness.
• Or because we have misunderstood his commands.

By all that God has already done for us, let us cling to him.
By the superlative excellence of Jesus, let us be bound to him.
By the sacred power of the Holy Ghost, may we be kept loving to the end.

Quotations

Now there is one thing to which we need to call the attention of backsliders; and that is — that the Lord never forsook them; but that they forsook him! The Lord never left them; but they left him! And this, too, without a cause! He says, "What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me?" Is not God the same to-day as when you came to him first? Has God changed? Men are apt to think that God has changed; but the change is with them. Backslider, I would ask you,"What iniquity is there in God, that you have left him, and gone far from him?"

Love does not like to be forgotten. You mothers would break your hearts if your children left you, and never wrote you a word, or sent any memento of their affection for you: and God pleads over backsliders as a parent over loved ones who have gone astray; and he tries to woo them back. He asks, "What have I done that you should have forsaken me?" The most tender and loving words to be found in the whole of the Bible are from Jehovah to those who have left him without a cause. — O. L. Moody

Let those tempted to depart from the Lord remember the answer of Christian to Apollyon, when the latter sought to persuade him to turn back, and forsake his Lord: "O thou destroying Apollyon, to speak truth, I like his service, his wages, his servants, his government, his company, and country, better than thine; and, therefore, leave off to persuade me further: I am his servant, and I will follow him."

Polycarp, being required by an infidel judge to blaspheme Christ, made him this witty and devout answer: "Eighty-six years have I lived, neither did he once harm me in any one thing; why, then, should I blaspheme my God, which hath neither hindered me nor injured me?" We cannot charge our God with any wrong, our gracious Lord with any hardness, injury, or unkindness towards us; but must always, with Polycarp, acknowledge his exceeding bounty and unspeakable goodness. — Richard Meredeth

"O my people, what have I done unto thee?" or, rather, what have I not done to do thee good? "O generation, see ye the word of the Lord," and not hear it only; was ever anything more evidencing and evincing than what I now allege? "Have I been a wilderness unto Israel, a land of darkness?" (Jer. 2:31). May I not well say unto you, as Themistocles did to his ungrateful countrymen, "What? are ye weary of receiving so many benefits from one man?" But say, What hurt have I ever done you? and wherein have I wearied you, or been troublesome to you? unless it be by daily loading you with lovingkindnesses (Ps. 68:19), and bearing with your provocations? Forgive me that injury (2 Cor. 12:13). — Trapp

"O my people, "etc. If subjects quit their allegiance to their prince, they will pretend, as the ten tribes did when they revolted from Rehoboam, that his yoke is too heavy for them; but can you pretend any such thing? What have I done to you that is unjust or unkind? Wherein have I wearied you with the impositions of service, or the exaction of tribute? Have I made you to serve with an offering? (Isa. 43:23). — Matthew Henry

Charles Hadden Spurgeon

112. 耶和華向祂自己百姓的呼籲

「我的百姓啊，我向你做了甚麼呢？我在何事上使你厭煩？你可以指證我。」——彌迦書 6:3 (3我的百姓啊，我向你做了甚麼呢？我在甚麼事上使你厭煩？你可以對我證明。)
這是一段耶和華向祂百姓申訴時的懇辯之詞。
祂已呼召群山與地的堅固根基，來聽祂與以色列之間的訴訟。當神與我們有爭論時，我們切不可輕忽，因為對祂而言，這是極其莊嚴的事。在俯就的恩典中，祂極其看重祂百姓的愛，並且不肯不經努力就失去它。
在我們面前的是——

一、哀痛的呼喊

「噢，我的百姓啊！」
永恆的神竟使用這樣的語言，豈不令人驚訝嗎？

1. 這是極其鄭重、迫切的聲音。
2. 這是憂傷的呼喊；這感嘆詞浸滿了淚水。
3. 這是愛的呼求——受傷卻仍然活著的愛，仍在懇求、爭取、央求。
4. 這是渴望的語言；神聖的愛切慕悖逆者的和好，渴想重新得著他忠誠的愛。

耶和華仍然稱那背叛的國家為「我的百姓」。恩典比罪更強；永恆的愛並非建立在我們的功德之上。

二、痛心的事實

「使你厭煩；」
以色列的行為，好像他們對自己的神感到厭倦了。

1. 他們厭煩祂的名。巴力與亞斯他錄成了時尚，永活的神卻被藐視。
2. 他們厭煩祂的敬拜：祭物、祭司、聖所、禱告、讚美等等，全被輕看。
3. 他們厭煩順服祂的律法，儘管那些律法是正直、公義，且為他們的益處而設。
4. 他們厭煩祂的約束；他們渴望自由，好在過犯中毀滅自己。

我們與以色列之間的相似之處，一目了然。
在以下各點（以及更多方面），某些自稱為信徒的人，顯出他們其實已厭煩了神——

• 他們放棄與主親密的交通；
• 他們捨棄行事為人的嚴謹；
• 他們在完全奉獻上失敗；
• 他們的熱心不再火熱；
• 他們失去了信心的確據與其他喜樂。

而這一切，乃因他們實際上已厭煩了自己的神。
這對那顆偉大的愛之心而言，是眾愁之愁。

三、忍耐的詢問

「我向你做了甚麼呢？……我在何事上使你厭煩？」
何等奇妙的愛！神親自把自己置於審問之下。

1. 神哪一件事，能使我們離棄祂的道路呢？——「我向你做了甚麼？」
2. 主哪一種一貫的行事方式，會使我們感到厭煩呢？——「我在何事上使你厭煩？」
3. 我們能對神提出任何指控或見證嗎？——「你可以指證我。」

除了最坦率的承認：主從未加害於我們，別無可能的回答。主本身就是良善，是毫無摻雜的慈愛。

• 祂沒有以奉獻的要求使我們疲乏；
• 祂沒有以苦修重擔壓迫我們；
• 祂沒有以單調乏味使我們厭倦；
• 祂沒有拒絕我們的安息，反而命定我們要安息。

若我們對神感到厭煩，那是——

• 因我們愚昧的悖逆；
• 因我們反覆無常的幻想；
• 因我們對祂與聖潔的愛太過微弱；
• 或因我們誤解了祂的命令。

憑著神已為我們成就的一切，讓我們緊緊依附祂。
憑著耶穌無比卓越的美善，讓我們與祂緊密相連。
願藉著聖靈神聖的大能，保守我們愛祂直到終局。

引文

如今，有一件事是我們必須提醒那些退後之人的：**主從未離棄他們，是他們離棄了主！**主從未撇下他們，是他們撇下了主！而且，毫無理由！祂說：「你們列祖在我身上找著甚麼不義，竟遠離我呢？」神今日不正與你初來歸向祂時一樣嗎？神改變了嗎？人常以為是神改變了，其實改變的是他們自己。退後的人哪，我要問你：「神有甚麼不義，使你離棄祂、遠離祂呢？」

愛不喜歡被遺忘。母親們啊，若你們的孩子離開你們，從不寫信、也不寄任何表達愛意的紀念，你們的心豈不破碎嗎？神對退後者的呼求，就如父母對走迷之子；祂設法吸引他們回來。祂問：「我做了甚麼，使你離棄我？」整本聖經中最溫柔、最慈愛的言語，正是耶和華對那些無故離棄祂之人的話。——歐．L．穆迪

凡受試探要離棄主的人，當記得《天路歷程》中，基督徒對亞玻倫的回答。當後者勸他回頭、離棄他的主時，他說：「噢，你這毀滅人的亞玻倫，說實話，我更喜愛祂的服事、祂的工價、祂的僕人、祂的治理、祂的同伴與祂的國度，勝過你的；所以不要再勸我了。我是祂的僕人，我要跟隨祂。」

坡旅甲被一位不信的審判官要求褻瀆基督時，給了這樣既機智又敬虔的回答：「我事奉祂八十六年，祂從未在任何一件事上傷害過我；那麼，我怎能褻瀆這位從未攔阻我、也未加害於我的神呢？」我們不能控告我們的神有任何不義，也不能指我們的慈愛之主對我們有任何嚴苛、傷害或不仁；反而應當與坡旅甲一同承認祂極大的恩惠與說不盡的良善。——理查德．梅瑞德斯

「我的百姓啊，我向你做了甚麼呢？」不如說，我還有甚麼好事沒有為你做呢？「這世代啊，你們要看耶和華的話」，不只是聽；我如今所陳明的，還有甚麼比這更有力、更明顯的證據呢？「我豈向以色列作曠野，或幽暗之地嗎？」（耶 2:31）我豈不能像地米斯托克利對忘恩負義的同胞所說的那樣對你們說：「怎麼？你們竟厭煩從一個人領受這麼多的恩惠嗎？」但你們說，我究竟在何事上傷害過你們？在哪裡使你們厭煩、成為你們的重擔？難道不是我天天以慈愛厚恩裝滿你們（詩 68:19），又忍耐你們的惹動嗎？「請饒恕我這不義吧！」（林後 12:13）——特拉普

「我的百姓啊……」若臣民離棄他們的君王，常會像十個支派背叛羅波安時那樣，聲稱他的軛太重；但你們能這樣說嗎？我向你們做過甚麼不公不義、不仁不慈之事？在哪裡我以事奉的要求或貢賦的徵收使你們厭煩呢？我曾使你們為供物服事我嗎？（賽 43:23 23你沒有將你的羊帶來給我作燔祭，也沒有用祭物尊敬我；我沒有因供物使你服勞，也沒有因乳香使你厭煩。）——馬太．亨利

查爾斯．哈登．司布真