诗歌：补438

读经：　赛四五15，三七31，太六2~4、5~15、16~18，十四22~23，诗四二7，歌四12

Scripture Reading: Isa. 45:15; 37:31; Matt. 6:2-4, 5-15, 16-18; 14:22-23; Psa. 42:7; S.S. 4:12

　　太六6　你祷告的时候，要进你的密室，关上门，祷告你在隐密中的父，你父在隐密中察看，必要报答你。

　　十四22~23　耶稣随即催门徒……在祂以先到对岸去，……既解散了群众，祂就独自上山去祷告。到了晚上，只有祂单独在那里。

　　在行了〔食饱五千人，不含妇女孩子的〕神迹后，主就独自上山去祷告（太十四23，参路六12）。

　　主没有与群众在一起留在所行神迹的结果里，乃是离开他们，在山上独自在祷告中与父在一起。我们若到一个地方去，有了极大的成功，我们会立即离开，还是会留下来享受这个大的成功？我们必须看见并跟从主耶稣的榜样。祂没有留在所行大神迹的结果里。祂独自上山去祷告。“独自”这辞很有意义。这意思是说，祂不让人知道祂去祷告；否则，他们会跟着祂。祂离开他们，独自在祷告中与父在一起。我喜欢这三句话：“在山上”、“在祷告中”、“与父在一起”。我们应当从主在这里的榜样学，操练在山上在祷告中与祂在一起。祂望着天〔太十四19〕，意思是祂不信靠自己。祂上山去，意思是祂要在祷告中与父在一起（神人的生活，一五○至一五一页）。

　　Matt. 6:6 But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

　　14:22-23 ...He compelled the disciples...to go before Him to the other side....And after He sent the crowds away, He went up to the mountain privately to pray. And when night fell, He was there alone.

　　After performing the miracle [of feeding five thousand men, apart from women and children], the Lord went up to the mountain privately to pray (Matt. 14:23; cf. Luke 6:12).

　　The Lord did not remain in the issue of the miracle with the crowds but went away from them to be with the Father privately on the mountain in prayer. If we go to a certain place and have a great success, would we leave right away, or would we remain in this big success to enjoy it? We need to see and follow the pattern of the Lord Jesus. He did not remain in the issue of the great miracle that He performed. Instead, He went up to the mountain privately to pray. The word privately is very meaningful. This means He did not let the people know that He was going to pray. Otherwise, they would have followed Him. He went away from them to be with the Father privately in prayer. I like these three phrases: to be with the Father, on the mountain, and in prayer. We should learn from the Lord's pattern here by exercising to be with Him on the mountain in prayer. His looking up to heaven [Matt. 14:19] means that He had no trust in Himself. His going up to the mountain means that He wanted to be with the Father in prayer. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” pp. 564-565)

　　属天的王，父的爱子（太三17），站在人的地位上（四4），需要独自祷告祂在天上的父，好叫祂在地上为着建立诸天之国，无论作什么，都能与父是一，并有父与祂同在。祂不是在野地，乃是在山上祷告；祂离开群众，甚至离开门徒，为要独自与父接触（圣经恢复本，太十四23注1）。

　　国度子民必须有密室祷告的经历，在隐密中接触他们的天父，经历对父隐密的享受，并从祂接受隐密的回答（太六6注1）。

　　与别人一起祷告是很好的，但通常我们需要独自祷告。我们与别人一起祷告时，无法像我们独自向主祷告时享受主那样深。甚至主耶稣也告诉我们，我们祷告时，要私下关上门，向那在隐密中察看我们的父祷告（太六6）。这样，我们就会感觉到祂与我们是何等亲，我们与祂是何等近。我们必须学习离开群众、家庭、朋友和召会里的圣徒，去到更高一层的“高山”。我们必须上得更高，远离较低一层属地的事物。我们需要达到更高一层，离开群众，独自与父在一起，隐密地与祂有亲密的交通。这就是“上山祷告”的意义。

　　祂到山上去独自祷告，指明祂是求父祝福所有得享这神迹结果的人，使他们不满足于那必坏的食物；反而寻求那存到永远生命的食物；并认识祂不仅是人子，也是神子，受父所差遣，并为父所印证，且能赐他们永远的生命〔约六〕。

　　祂独自到山上去祷告，也指明祂要得着父的指示，好知道如何照顾那借着祂的神迹而得喂养的五千人（神人的生活，一五一至一五三页）。

　　参读：神人的生活，第十四篇。

　　Standing in the position of man (Matt. 4:4), the heavenly King, as the beloved Son of the Father (3:17), needed to pray privately to His Father who was in the heavens, that He might be one with the Father and have the Father with Him in whatever He did on earth for the establishing of the kingdom of the heavens. He did this not in the deserted place but on the mountain, leaving all the people, even His disciples, that He might be alone to contact the Father. (Matt. 14:23, footnote 1)

　　The kingdom people must have some experience of praying in their private room, through which they contact their heavenly Father in secret, experience some secret enjoyment of the Father, and receive some secret answer from Him. (Matt. 6:6, footnote 1)

　　To pray with others is good, but often we need to pray by ourselves. When we pray with others, we cannot enjoy the Lord as deeply as when we pray to the Lord privately. Even the Lord Jesus told us that when we pray we should enter into our private room and shut our door and pray to the Father who sees in secret (Matt. 6:6). Then we have the sensation of how intimate He is to us and how close we are to Him. We have to learn to leave the crowds, our family, our friends, and the saints in the church to go to a higher level on a “high mountain.” We have to go higher, far away from the earthly things on a lower level. We need to get to a higher level, separated from the crowd, to be with the Father privately and secretly to have intimate fellowship with Him. This is the significance of being on the mountain in prayer.

　　His going up to the mountain privately to pray indicated His asking the Father to bless all those who had participated in the enjoyment of the issue of the miracle that they would not be satisfied with the food that perishes but that they should seek for the food that abides unto eternal life and recognize that He was not only the Son of Man but also the Son of God who was sent and sealed by the Father and who could give them eternal life [John 6].

　　His going up to the mountain privately to pray also indicated that He wanted to receive of the Father some instruction concerning how to take care of the five thousand people fed by His miracle. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” pp. 565-566)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” msg. 14

　　太六3~4　但你施舍的时候，不要让左手知道右手所作的，好叫你的施舍可在隐密中，你父在隐密中察看，必要报答你。

　　马太六章一节说，“你们要小心，不可将你们的义行在人前，故意叫他们注视；不然，在你们诸天之上的父面前，你们就没有赏赐了。”这里的义是指义行，如二至四节所说的施舍，五至十五节所说的祷告，及十六至十八节所说的禁食。毫无疑问，这些经节说到国度子民的义行。然而，实际上，这些经节暴露己和肉体。我们里面有些东西是比怒气和情欲更坏的。……在一至十八节中，主用了三个例证—施舍、祷告和禁食—启示出我们是如何充满了己和肉体。

　　人那寻求荣耀自己的肉体，总想在人前行善，得人称赞。但国度子民在国度属天的管治之下，活在倒空、谦卑的灵里，以纯洁、单一的心行事，就不可在肉体里作什么，得人的称赞；乃必须在灵里作一切，讨他们天父的喜悦（马太福音生命读经，二八七至二八八页）。

　　Matt. 6:3-4 But you, when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

　　Matthew 6:1 says, “But take care not to do your righteousness before men in order to be gazed at by them; otherwise, you have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens.” Righteousness here denotes righteous deeds, such as giving alms, mentioned in verses 2 through 4; praying, in verses 5 through 15; and fasting, in verses 16 through 18. No doubt these verses speak about the righteous deeds of the kingdom people. Actually, however, they expose the self and the flesh. We have something within us that is worse than anger and lust....In these eighteen verses the Lord uses three illustrations—the giving of alms, praying, and fasting—to reveal how we are filled with the self and the flesh.

　　Man's flesh, seeking to glorify itself, always wants to do good deeds before men to be praised by them. But the kingdom people, who live in an emptied and humbled spirit and walk in a pure and single heart under the heavenly ruling of the kingdom, are not allowed to do anything in the flesh for the praise of men, but must do all things in the spirit for the pleasing of their heavenly Father. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 257-258)

　　在〔马太六章〕这三个例证当中，主都使用了“隐密”这辞（4、6、18）。我们必须在隐密中行义，因为我们的父是在隐密中。在四节主说，我们的父在隐密中察看。国度子民是天父的儿女，必须活在父的同在里，并顾到父的同在。他们在隐密中为着父的国所作的，父都在隐密中察看。天父在隐密中的察看，必是他们在隐密中行义的激励。在这节主也说，父必要报答我们。这可能发生在今世（林后九10~11），或在来世作为赏赐（路十四14）。

　　在隐密中行义的结果乃是杀死己和肉体。今天如果不允许人在社会上显扬他们的善行，他们就不干了。……这是今天堕落基督教可悲的作法，尤其在捐款的事上。……公开的显扬越大，人就愿意捐更多的钱。当然，这样的显扬是出于肉体。……对我们国度子民而言，关于义行的基本原则是绝不要显扬自己。尽可能隐藏自己、遮盖自己并在隐密中行事。我们该隐藏到一个地步，正如主耶稣所说的，左手不知道右手所作的（太六3）。这就是说，我们不该让别人知道我们所作的。例如，你若禁食三天，不要把脸装得难看，或面带愁容。反之，要叫人看不出你在禁食，使你的禁食行在隐密中。不要在人面前禁食，乃要行在天父隐密的同在中。这样作就是杀死己和肉体。

　　我们鼓励众圣徒在召会的聚会中尽功用。然而，尽功用有一个危机，就是要显扬自己。有一个危机，就是在人面前行事。……靠着主的怜悯和恩典，我们行事必须尽可能的隐藏。总要尽力隐密地行那些讨神喜悦并对人公义的事。尽力不要让别人知道这些事。你的义行要单单行在神面前。

　　我们的父在隐密中察看。当你独自在房间祷告的时候，别人看不见你，但你的天父看见了。不要在十字街口或会堂里祷告，为要给人看见。要在隐密中祷告，给你在隐密中察看的父看见，这样你也要在隐密中从祂得着答应。……若是可能，要在隐密中行每件事，不要把机会给你的己，或把地位给你的肉体（马太福音生命读经，二八九至二九○页）。

　　参读：马太福音生命读经，第二十一篇。

　　Regarding each of the three illustrations [in Matthew 6], the Lord uses the word secret (vv. 4, 6, 18). We must do our righteous deeds in secret, for our Father is in secret. In verse 4 the Lord says that our Father sees in secret. The kingdom people as children of the heavenly Father must live in the presence of the Father and care for the Father's presence. Whatever they do in secret for the Father's kingdom, the Father sees in secret. The heavenly Father's seeing in secret must be an incentive to doing their righteous deeds in secret. In this verse the Lord also said that the Father will repay us. This may transpire in this age (2 Cor. 9:10-11) or in the coming age as a reward (Luke 14:14).

　　The effect of doing our righteous deeds in secret is that the self and the flesh are killed. If people in society today are not allowed to make a show of their good deeds, they will not do them....This is the deplorable practice of today's degraded Christianity, especially in the matter of fundraising....The greater the public show, the more money people are willing to give. Certainly such making of a show is of the flesh....As kingdom people, a basic principle concerning righteous deeds is never to make a show of ourselves. As much as possible, hide yourself, keep yourself covered, and do things in secret. We should be so hidden that, as the Lord Jesus says, our left hand does not know what our right hand is doing (Matt. 6:3). This means that we should not let others know what we are doing. For example, if you fast for three days, do not disfigure your face or show a sad countenance. Rather, give the impression to others that you are not fasting so that your fasting may be in secret. Do not fast in the presence of men, but in the secret presence of your heavenly Father. To do this is to slay the self and the flesh.

　　We encourage the saints to function in the church meetings. However, there is the danger of functioning in order to make a show of ourselves. There is the danger of doing things in the presence of man....By the Lord's mercy and grace, we must do as much as possible in a hidden way. Always try to do those things that are pleasing to God and righteous with man in a secret way. Try not to let others know of them. Simply do your righteous deeds in the presence of God.

　　Our Father sees in secret. As you are praying alone in your room, no one else can see you, but your heavenly Father sees. Do not pray on the street corner or in the synagogues to be seen by men. Pray in secret to be seen by your Father who sees in secret. Then you will also receive an answer from Him in secret....If possible, do everything in secret, not giving any opportunity to your self or yielding any ground to your flesh. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 258-260)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 21

　　太六5~6　你们祷告的时候，不可像那假冒为善的人，因为他们爱站在会堂里，并十字街口祷告，为要叫人看见。我实在告诉你们，他们已经充分地得了他们的赏赐。你祷告的时候，要进你的密室，关上门，祷告你在隐密中的父，你父在隐密中察看，必要报答你。

　　虽然主说到赏赐（太六1、5），但这里重要的事不是赏赐，乃是在生命里长大。在明处长大的圣徒，不是健康的长大。我们都需要一些生命中隐密的长大，一些对基督隐密的经历。我们需要隐密地祷告主、敬拜主、接触主并与主交通，也许连最亲近我们的人，也不知道或领会我们在作什么。我们需要这些对主隐密的经历，因为这样的经历杀死我们的己和我们的肉体。虽然怒气和情欲很丑陋，但最阻挠我们生命长大的乃是己。……己喜爱得荣耀，肉体喜爱被人注视（马太福音生命读经，二九○至二九一页）。

　　Matt. 6:5-6 And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

　　Although the Lord speaks about the matter of reward (Matt. 6:1, 5), the important thing here is not the reward, but the growth in life. [Those] who grow openly do not grow in a healthy way. We all need some secret growth in life, some secret experiences of Christ. We need to pray to the Lord, worship the Lord, contact the Lord, and fellowship with the Lord in a secret way. Perhaps not even the one closest to us will know or understand what we are doing. We need these secret experiences of the Lord because such experiences kill our self and our flesh. Although anger and lust are ugly, the thing that most frustrates us from growing in life is the self....The self loves to be glorified, and the flesh loves to be gazed upon. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 260)

　　我们该多多祷告，但不要让别人知道我们有多少祷告。……你若天天祷告而不告诉别人，或者不让别人知道，这表示你是健康的，并且你正在长大。然而，假定你一直告诉别人你有多少祷告，你若这样作，不仅要失去赏赐，你也不健康，不会在生命里长大。……你的义行若在隐密中，你就能确信自己是在生命里长大，并且是健康的。但无论何时你在义行上显扬自己，你就不健康。这样的显扬大大阻挠了你在生命里长大。

　　宇宙指明神是隐藏的，神是隐密的。虽然祂作了许多事，人却不知道祂作了那些事。我们也许看见了神所作的事，但我们没有人见过祂，因为祂总是隐藏的，总是隐密的。神的生命属于这样隐密和隐藏的性质。我们若凭着自己的生命爱人，这生命就想要在人面前炫耀自己。但我们若凭着神的爱爱人，这爱就始终是隐藏的。我们人的生命喜爱炫耀、公开显扬，但神的生命总是隐藏的。假冒为善的人就是有外面的表显，里面却空无一物的人。他所有的一切仅仅是外面的表演，里面没有实际。这完全与神的性情和祂隐藏的生命相对。虽然神的内涵极其丰富，但表显出来的只有一点点。我们若凭着这神圣的生命而活，也许会多多祷告，但别人不会知道我们祷告了多少。

　　我们基督徒捐出一百元时，最好只让别人知道我们捐了一角。我们所作的比别人所看见的多。我们在天然的生命里，绝不能实行这样的施舍，只有在神圣的生命，不喜欢显扬的生命里，才可能这样实行。这是本段话的重点。

　　我们若认真要成为国度的子民，就必须学习凭着我们父隐藏的生命而活。我们不可凭着自己天然的生命而活，这生命总是炫耀自己。我们若凭着我们父隐藏的生命而活，我们会作许多事而不公开显扬。反之，我们所作的一切都会在隐密中，从人眼前隐藏。

　　国度子民在祷告的事上，和在施舍的事上一样，不要公开显扬〔太六5〕。……要得人称赞的祷告，虽可从人得着赏赐，却不能从父得着答应，所以是徒然的祷告。

　　我们的祷告该在隐密中〔6〕。……国度子民必须有密室祷告的经历，在隐密中接触他们的天父，经历对父隐密的享受，并从祂接受隐密的回答（马太福音生命读经，二九一至二九三、二九五至二九六页）。

　　参读：马太福音生命读经，第二十一篇。

　　We should pray much, yet not let others know how much we pray....If you pray every day without telling others or letting them know about it, it means that you are healthy and that you are growing....[If] you always tell others how much you pray,...you will not only lose your reward, but you will not grow in life or be healthy....If your righteous deeds are in secret, you may be assured that you are growing in life and are healthy. But any time you exhibit yourself in your righteous deeds, you are not healthy. Such an exhibition greatly frustrates your growth in life.

　　The universe indicates that God is hidden, that God is secret. Although He has done a great many things, people are not aware that He has done them. We may have seen the things done by God, but none of us has ever seen Him, for He is always hidden, always secret. God's life is of such a secret and hidden nature. If we love others by our own life, this life will seek to make a display of itself before men. But if we love others by the love of God, this love will always remain hidden. Our human life loves to make a display, a public show, but God's life is always hidden. A hypocrite is one who has an outward manifestation without having anything within. Everything he has is merely an outward show; there is no reality inwardly. This is absolutely contrary to God's nature and to His hidden life. Although God has so much within Him, only a little is manifested. If we live by this divine life, we may pray much, but others will not know how much we have prayed.

　　When we Christians give a hundred dollars, it is better that we only let others know that we have given a dime. We do more than what is visible to others. We can never practice this kind of giving in our natural life. It is possible only in the divine life, the life that does not enjoy making a show. This is the crucial point in this portion of the Word.

　　If we are serious about being the kingdom people, we must learn to live by the hidden life of our Father. We must not live by our natural life, which is always making a display of itself. If we live by our Father's hidden life, we shall do many things without making any public show of them. Rather, all that we do will be in secret, hidden from the eyes of others.

　　In praying, as in giving alms, the kingdom people are not to make a public show [Matt. 6:5]....Prayer to seek man's praise may gain a reward from men, but it does not receive an answer from the Father. Thus, it is vain prayer.

　　Our prayer should be in secret [v. 6]....The kingdom people must have some experience of prayer in their private room, contacting their heavenly Father in secret, experiencing some secret enjoyment of the Father, and receiving some secret answer from Him. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 261-262, 264)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 21

　　赛四五15　救主以色列的神啊，你实在是自隐的神。

　　王上十九12　地震后有火，耶和华也不在火中；火后有微小柔细的声音。

　　你们曾否注意到圣经有这一个说法—“自隐的神”？我曾试过问好些弟兄姊妹这问题，就发现神的儿女几乎都不知道圣经里有这样的发表，也不真认识神是自隐的神。他们认识神是全能的神，是公义的神，是满有恩典和慈爱的神，却不认识神是一位自隐的神。

　　我们要注意以赛亚是如何表达这个思想：“以色列的神啊，你实在是自隐的神。”（赛四五15）他这一句话是非常重的。他这话不是凭空说的，也不是想像出来的；乃是他根据许多的事实所产生出来的发表。他把那些事实都看过、都研究过了，就得到一个结论：“神啊，你实在是自隐的神。”当申言者看看神所作的事，看看以色列人在神手中的遭遇，看看神百姓的经历，就叫他不能不承认，神的确是一位自隐的神。以赛亚为什么会得到这一个结论？如果你把整卷以赛亚书都读过，你就能读出那一个原因。那是因为神在以色列人中间，在以色列人身上，作了许许多多的事，但神却把自己隐藏起来。祂一直在作事，却一直是隐藏的。许多事都是祂作的，以色列人却不知道作事者是谁。所以有一天以赛亚就惊叹说，“神啊，你实在是自隐的神。”（译自CWWL一九五六年第二册，自隐的神，英文版）

　　Isa. 45:15 Surely You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

　　1 Kings 19:12 And after the earthquake, a fire—Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire, a gentle, quiet voice.

　　Have you ever noticed this statement in the Bible—“a God who hides Himself”? I have tested numbers of brothers and sisters with this question and have made the discovery that scarcely any of God's children have realized that His Word contains such an expression, nor do they really know God as a God who hides Himself. They know Him as the almighty One, as the righteous One, as One full of grace and compassion, but as the One who hides Himself, He is unknown to them.

　　Note how Isaiah expresses this thought: “Surely You are a God who hides Himself, / O God of Israel” (Isa. 45:15). This statement of his is most emphatic. He is not talking empty words, the fruit of his own imagination; his utterance is based on an accumulation of facts. He has looked at those facts, he has studied those facts, and then he has come to his conclusion: “You are a God who hides Himself, / O God.” What he has seen of God's doings, what he has observed happen to Israel under the hand of God, what he has beheld of the experiences of God's people— all these observations have forced the prophet to acknowledge that God is a God who hides Himself. Why did Isaiah come to this conclusion? If you read his book through, you will discover why. It was because God did countless things in the midst of the children of Israel and countless things in their personal lives, yet He concealed Himself. He was ceaselessly working, yet He was always hidden. Very much was being done by Him, yet the Israelites were utterly ignorant as to who the doer was. Then one day Isaiah exclaimed, “Surely You are a God who hides Himself, / O God.” (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “A God Who Hides Himself,” p. 3)

　　我们的个性与神的个性截然不同。神喜欢隐藏，我们却喜欢显扬；神不求外在的显明，但我们没有外在的显明就不满意。这神圣的性情对我们成为极大的试炼和试验。

　　 “以利亚是与我们性情相同的人”（雅五17），他受不住神这个试验。在迦密山顶，神是明显地与他同在。但神一隐退，以利亚就受不了。他就心灰意冷跑到山洞里去。当神问他说，“你在这里作什么？”他回答说，“我为耶和华万军之神大发妒忌；因为以色列人背弃了你的约，拆毁了你的坛，用刀杀了你的申言者，只剩下我一个人，他们还寻索要夺我的命。”（王上十九9~10）神知道以利亚的难处；祂知道以利亚愿意神是一位显明的神；他不晓得神是自隐的神。于是神给他一个说明。在那里“有烈风大作”（11），以利亚以为神在其中，但“耶和华却不在风中”（11）。风后有地震，以利亚以为神必定在其中，但“耶和华却不在其中”（11）。地震后有火；以利亚以为神是烈火，神该在其中了。但“耶和华也不在火中”（12）。火后有微小柔细的声音，神就在其中（12）。以利亚对神说，“只剩下我一个人。”（14）但神非常柔细地回答说，“有七千人是未曾向巴力屈膝的。以利亚，我是隐藏的神。我为自己留下了七千人，这是你所不知道的。”（参18）以利亚以为看得见的才算得数，但神是一位自隐的神。神不在风里，不在地震里，也不在火里；神乃是在微小柔细的声音里。神为祂自己留下七千人，是未曾向巴力屈膝的，但祂的活动隐藏到连申言者以利亚都不知道（译自CWWL一九五六年第二册，自隐的神，英文版）。

　　参读：自隐的神。

　　Our personalities are diametrically opposed to God's personality. He likes concealment; we like display. He does not crave out- ward manifestations; we cannot be content without them. This divine disposition constitutes a great trial and test to us.

　　“Elijah was a man of like feeling with us” (James 5:17), and he did not stand this test. On Mount Carmel God was obviously with him, but when God withheld His manifest presence, Elijah could not bear it. He became depressed and crept into a cave. When God asked him, “What are you doing here?” he answered, “I have been very jealous for Jehovah the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and slain Your prophets with the sword; and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19:9-10). God knew Elijah's difficulty; He knew Elijah wanted Him to be a God who would manifest Himself; he had not realized that God is a God who hides Himself. So God gave him a demonstration. There arose “a great, strong wind” (v. 11). Elijah thought, The Lord is in this. But “Jehovah was not in the wind” (v. 11). The wind was followed by an earthquake. Elijah thought, Surely the Lord is in this. But “Jehovah was not in the earthquake” (v. 11). Then came a fire, and Elijah thought, The Lord is a consuming fire; He will be in this. But “Jehovah was not in the fire” (v. 12). After the fire came a gentle, quiet voice—and the Lord was in that (v. 12). Elijah said to Him, “I alone am left” (v. 14), but the Lord very gently answered, “There are seven thousand persons who have not bowed down to Baal. Elijah, I hide Myself; you did not know that I had preserved those seven thousand souls” (cf. v. 18). Elijah had reckoned only with what he could see, but God is a God who hides Himself. He was not in the wind or in the earthquake or in the fire; He was in the gentle, quiet voice. He had preserved for Himself seven thousand persons who had not bowed the knee to Baal, but so hidden was His activity that not even the prophet Elijah knew anything about it. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “A God Who Hides Himself,” pp. 3-4)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “A God Who Hides Himself,” pp. 3-11

　　彼前一8　你们虽然没有见过祂，却是爱祂，如今虽不得看见，却因信入祂而欢腾，有说不出来、满有荣光的喜乐。

　　西三3　因为你们已经死了，你们的生命与基督一同藏在神里面。

　　〔愿〕神的儿女……认识神作工隐藏的性质。不要以为只有大的感动、大的异象、大的启示才是出于神的。神最确实的工作，乃是祂在我们这人的隐密处所作的。常常就是一点点的声音，或一点点的感动，微弱到很难分辨是否是我们自己的感想。这乃是神最厉害的活动。有时在我们里面最深处，隐约有一个很小的意念，或者说是一个感觉，一个声音，或一句话，在里面说，“那是你天然的生命；那属于十字架。”这些话微弱到好像不成话。但请你记得，这些几乎无法辨别的话指明神最积极的活动。你可能想，这不是神，这不过是我。但我向你保证，这是神最确定的话语和工作。在近两千年的召会历史中，神的召会就是由这样神圣的活动维持的。我们越事奉主，越住在祂里面，就越领悟神是一位太静默的神；祂静默到一个地步，人常常不觉得祂存在。祂所给我们那些最亲密的引导，都是很自然的，使我们几乎不觉得祂在引导我们，但我们就是受了引导；事情就发生了。神最重大的引导，通常都是借着神这样内里静默的活动而让我们得着的（译自CWWL一九五六年第二册，自隐的神，英文版）。

　　1 Pet. 1:8 Whom having not seen, you love; into whom though not seeing Him at present, yet believing, you exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.

　　Col. 3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

　　[May] God's children...realize the hidden nature of His working. Do not think that only mighty influences, great visions, and tremendous revelations are of Him. God's surest work is done in the secret of our beings. Often it is just a slight whisper or a slight influence—so slight we can scarcely distinguish it from our own impressions. This is God's mightiest mode of activity. Sometimes from our innermost being comes a faint suggestion (or shall I call it a feeling, a voice, or words?) saying something like this: “That is your natural life; that belongs to the cross”—saying it in words that are scarcely words. But do please take note: these almost indefinable words are indications of God's most positive activity. You may reason: This is not God; it is just me. But let me assure you, this is His most definite speaking and working. It is such divine activity that has preserved the church throughout her history of nearly two thousand years. The more we serve the Lord and the more we abide in Him, the more we realize that God is a very quiet God, so quiet that His presence is often undetected. His most intimate way of guiding us is so natural that we scarcely perceive He is guiding us at all, yet somehow we have been led; something has happened. It is often by this quiet, inward activity of God that we receive our greatest guidances. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “A God Who Hides Himself,” pp. 4-5)

　　当独生子来表明父，祂把父藏在人性生命里，并且是藏在一个“面貌憔悴”的人性生命，一个“无佳形威仪”的人性生命里（赛五二14，五三2）。祂来自无关紧要的加利利省，来自小城拿撒勒；犹太人都公认，那个地方并没有出过什么申言者或名人（约一46，七52）。所以当祂出来的时候，人难以相信神在祂里面，就是要信祂是神的申言者都不容易。可是神却藏在拿撒勒人耶稣里面。……这人是来自一个贫寒的家庭，长大了就作木匠，是一个非常平凡的木匠，一个微不足道的工人，直到祂三十岁。有谁能想到，无限的神就住在祂里面？

　　你若把圣经好好地读过，就看见神有一个脾气，就是不乐意显扬；祂不愿意在明处作事，祂喜欢在暗中作工。祂造了宇宙，祂就隐藏在宇宙中人所不知道的地方，以致人找不着祂。

　　愿我们都领悟，我们的主复活后给祂的跟从者主要的训练，就是叫他们认识祂是一位自隐的神。祂是在人的中间，却不给人看见；祂是在人的里面，却不给人察觉。

　　到彼得写他第一封书信时，他能说，“你们虽然没有见过祂，却是爱祂。”（彼前一8）这是一件奇妙的事。哪有一个人能爱一位他未曾看见的？……所信的和所爱的都是一位看不见的。

　　我们感觉最无能的时候，就是主最有力地与我们同在的时候。……不要盼望有大的异象或大的经历。不必盼望任何外面的事，因为自隐的神在你的生活中作工，并且正大大地作工。你的责任乃是与祂合作，回应祂在里面的声音，就是那“微小柔细的声音”，那声音好像不过是你自己在那里想的，你没有想到那会是主的声音。你必须对你里面最深处所感受的声音说阿们，因为自隐的神正在那里隐密地、不停地作工（译自CWWL一九五六年第二册，自隐的神，英文版）。

　　参读：自隐的神。

　　[When the] only begotten Son came for the very purpose of showing forth the Father, He hid Him in a human life—a human life whose “visage was marred,” a human life that had “no attracting form nor majesty” (Isa. 52:14; 53:2). And He came from Galilee, an insignificant province, and from the town of Nazareth, a small town of which it was said by the Jews that no prophet or person of repute ever came from there (John 1:46; 7:52). So when He appeared, people not only found it hard to believe that God was present in Him—they found it hard even to believe that He was a prophet of God. Yet God was hidden within Jesus of Nazareth.

　　This man belonged to a poor home and grew up to be a carpenter—a very ordinary carpenter, working in a very small way, until He was thirty. Whoever would have thought that He was indwelt by God, the infinite God?

　　If you study the Scriptures carefully, you will see that God has the kind of temperament that dislikes ostentation. He likes to work secretly rather than openly. He created the universe and then hid Himself in it, until we do not know where to find Him.

　　[May we] all realize that, since the resurrection of our Lord, the chief discipline for His followers has come along the line of knowing Him as a God who hides Himself. He is in the midst of men yet does not show Himself to men; He dwells within yet withholds the consciousness of His indwelling.

　　By the time [Peter] wrote his first Epistle,...he could say, “Whom having not seen, you love” (1:8). That is a marvelous thing. Where would you find a man who could love a fellow man he had never seen?...Faith and love are in an unseen One.

　　When we are most conscious of impotence, God is often most powerfully present....Do not set your expectation on some great vision or on some great experience. And do not expect anything outward, for the God who hides Himself is at work within your life, and He is working mightily. Your responsibility is to cooperate with Him by responding to His voice within—that “gentle, quiet voice,” that voice that seems so much a part of your own feelings that you scarcely recognize it as a voice at all. To that voice, registered in the deepest depths of your being, you must say Amen, for there, secretly and ceaselessly, the God who hides Himself is working. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “A God Who Hides Himself,” pp. 5-6, 9-11)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “A God Who Hides Himself”

诗四二7　 你的瀑布发声，深渊就与深渊响应；你的波浪洪涛，都漫过我身。

　　太十三5　又有的落在土浅石头地上，土既不深，立刻发苗。

　　所有的深处，只能因着深处的呼喊才能有响应。浅的东西，永远摸不着深的；在外面的，也永远摸不着里面的。……别人的深处，只能与你的深处响应。……凡不是从深处出来的，就永远不能达到深处。你如果不从深处得着益处，得着帮助，你就不能从深处有东西出来（倪柝声文集第二辑第十七册，五一页）。

　　Psa. 42:7 Deep calls unto deep at the sound of Your water spouts; all Your waves and Your billows pass over me.

　　Matt. 13:5 And others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much earth, and immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of earth.

　　Only a call from the depths can provoke a response from the depths. Nothing shallow can ever touch the depths, nor can anything superficial touch the inward parts....Others can respond deep within to only what issues from deep within us....Anything that is not from the depths will never reach the depths of others. If we have never received help or benefit in our depths, we will never have anything issuing from our depths. (CWWN, vol. 37, “Deep Calls unto Deep,” p. 37)

　　在主耶稣所说的那一个撒种的比喻里面，……有落在土浅石头地上的〔太十三5〕。……种子落在这一种的地上，长得顶快，但是，日头出来一晒，因为没有根，就枯干了。……什么是根呢？根是长在下面的。什么是叶子呢？叶子是长在上面的。换句话说，看不见的生命叫作根，看得见的生命叫作叶子。许多基督徒的难处就在这里：看得见的生命虽然有，但是看不见的生命却少得很。换句话说，人缺少隐藏在深处的生活。……如果你所有的经历都是显露的，那你所有的都是往上长的，不是往下扎根的。这样，你就是光有叶子没有根的人，你就是土浅的人。……只有显在人面前的，没有隐藏在深处的，这样的人，是没有根的，是经不起试炼、经不起试探的。……〔我的经历〕除了别人所知道的之外，我还剩下多少？也求神作工在我们身上，使我们能往下扎根。

　　〔保罗〕把什么启示都告诉人么？不。他说，“我认得一个在基督里的人，〔这一个人就是他自己，〕十四年前，这样的一位被提，直到第三层天里（或在身内，我不晓得，或在身外，我也不晓得，只有神晓得）。”〔林后十二2〕这个十四年前的经历，到今天才说。……神的召会不知道保罗这个经历；……使徒们不知道保罗这个经历。保罗是一个有根的人！

　　要有保罗的工作，就得有保罗的根；要有保罗的生活，就得有保罗的生命；要有保罗显露的能力，就得有保罗隐密的经历。今天的难处，就是在神的儿女中藏不了属灵的东西，藏不了特别的经历。只要有一点的经历，就给许多人知道了。

　　这不是说不应当作见证，是说有许多属灵的经历是需要隐藏的。……没有根，就是没有暗中的宝贝，……没有暗中的生命，……没有暗中的经历。有许多的经历，我们必须遮盖起来；一切若都不遮盖起来，就要失去一切了。

　　我们所有在神面前隐密的东西，不能都拿出来。……神在里面动，我们才能动。有的时候，神要你对弟兄说话，你可不要把它压住了；你如果压住了，你就违反了基督身体肢体的律。肢体有一个律就是交通；你一压住，就不能流通。我们要积极，不能消极，我们要将生命给人。……我们盼望一面知道什么是身体，知道身体上的流通，另一面我们在主的面前，有我们隐藏的部分，就是许多经历是人所不知道的。……没有深处，你只能用表面的工作得着人表面的感动。我们说了再说，只有“深渊……与深渊响应”（倪柝声文集第二辑第十七册，五二至五五、五八至六○页）。

　　参读：倪柝声文集第二辑第十七册，第七篇；倪柝声文集第二辑第十八册，第六十五篇；歌罗西书生命读经，第四十四、五十一至五十三篇。

　　In the Lord's parable of the sower...some seeds fell...on the rocky places [Matt. 13:5]....When the seed falls into this kind of ground, it springs up quickly, but as soon as the sun comes out, it withers because of the lack of root. What is a root? It is growth that occurs beneath the soil. What are the leaves? They are growth that occurs above the soil. In other words, roots are the hidden life, whereas leaves are the manifest life. The trouble with many Christians is that, while there is much apparent life, there is very little secret life. In other words, there is the lack of a hidden life....If all your experiences are manifested, then all your growth is upward; there is no downward growth. If this is the case, you are a person who has only leaves without root, and you are on shallow ground.

　　The Christian who parades all his virtues before men and who does not have anything in the depth of his being has no root; he will not be able to stand in the day of trial and temptation.

　　How much [of our experience] would be left if what is known by man was taken away? May God work in us so that we can take root downward.

　　Did Paul disclose all his revelations? Far from it. He wrote, “I know a man [who is himself] in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body I do not know, or outside the body I do not know; God knows) such a one was caught away to the third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2). He did not divulge this experience until fourteen years later....God's church knew nothing of it;...not one of the apostles had heard of it. Paul's roots were deep beneath the soil.

　　If you want to have Paul's work, then you need to have Paul's “root”; if you want to have Paul's outward conduct, then you need to have Paul's inner life; if you want to have Paul's manifest power, then you need to have Paul's secret experience. The trouble with Christians today is that they cannot keep any spiritual thing or any special experience undisclosed. As soon as they have a little experience, they have to tell it abroad.

　　This does not mean that we should not testify. But we must realize that many...spiritual experiences need to be hidden away and should not be exposed....To be without root is to be without any treasure; it is to be without any hidden life or hidden experiences. It is essential that some of our experiences remain covered; to uncover everything is to lose everything.

　　Whatever secrets we have with the Lord must be preserved....Only if He moves within us to reveal something, dare we reveal it. If He wants us to share some experience with a brother, we dare not withhold it, for that would be violating a law of the members of the Body of Christ. One law of the members of the Body of Christ is fellowship. Once we suppress this law, the flow stops. We must be positive, not negative, and minister life to others....I trust we shall learn what the Body of Christ is and what the flow of life among the members is; but I trust we shall also learn the need for safeguarding the hidden part we have before the Lord, the experiences which are not known to others.

　　If our life has no depth, our superficial work will only affect other lives superficially. We repeat yet again—only “deep calls unto deep.” (CWWN, vol. 37, “Deep Calls unto Deep,” pp. 37-40, 42-44)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 37, ch. 7, “Deep Calls unto Deep”; CWWN, vol. 38, ch. 66; Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 44, 51-53