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。

　　约四23　　时候将到，如今就是了，那真正敬拜父的，要在灵和真实里敬拜祂，因为父寻找这样敬拜祂的人。

　　在约书亚六章，以色列人战胜取得了耶利哥，但在攻取艾城时却失败了。因着亚干保留了一件巴比伦的衣服（七21），神的子民就被击败。任何属巴比伦的东西都给撒但有立场来击败神的子民。所以，我们必须弃绝一切属巴比伦的东西。我们若要作神纯洁的子民来事奉祂，首先需要彻底清理一切属巴比伦的东西（以赛亚书生命读经，二二九页）。

　　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.

　　John 4:23 But an hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truthfulness, for the Father also seeks such to worship Him.

　　In Joshua 6 the children of Israel gained the victory over Jericho, but in fighting against Ai they were defeated. Because Achan kept a Babylonian garment (7:21), God’s people suffered a defeat. Anything that is Babylonian gives Satan the ground to defeat the people of God. Therefore, we must forsake everything Babylonian. If we would serve God as His pure people, we first need to have a thorough clearance of all Babylonian things. (Life-study of Isaiah, p. 180)

　　以色列人进入迦南之后，第一个犯罪的是亚干。亚干所犯的是什么罪呢？他说，“我在所夺的财物中，看见一件美好的示拿衣服，…我贪图这些物件，便拿去了”（书七21）。巴比伦是在示拿地。…一件巴比伦的衣服，就使亚干犯了罪。什么叫作美好的衣服？美好的衣服就是为着好看而穿的衣服。穿上一件美好的衣服，就是把自己装饰一下，让自己体面一点，光彩一点。贪爱巴比伦的衣服，就是要装饰，要体面，要有光彩。这个就是亚干所犯的罪。

　　到新约里召会起头的时候，第一个犯罪的是谁？圣经给我们看见是亚拿尼亚和撒非喇。他们犯什么罪？他们欺骗了圣灵。他们没有那么爱主，却要显出是那么爱主的；他们装假。他们没有甘心乐意把一切都奉献给神，但他们在人的面前却假冒是完全奉献的。这一个就是示拿的衣服。…所以巴比伦的原则就是装假；实际上没有那样，在人面前却装作那样，为要得着人的荣耀。神的儿女有一个危险，就是要在外表上装作属灵的样子。许多所谓属灵的态度都是假装的，许多祷告的长短也是假装的，许多祷告的声音也是假装的。实际不是那样，外面装得那样，这就是巴比伦的原则。什么时候我们穿上一件与自己实际光景不相称的衣服，我们就是在巴比伦的原则里。

　　神的儿女因为要得着人的荣耀，不知道有多少的假冒。这是与新妇完全不同的。假冒的事，是凭着妓女的原则作的，不是凭着新妇的原则作的。神的儿女能被拯救脱离在人面前的装假，就是一件大事。巴比伦的原则就是在人面前装假，要得着在人面前的荣耀。在召会里要得着人的荣耀，要得着人的地位，这就是示拿衣服的罪，这就是亚拿尼亚、撒非喇所犯的罪。假的奉献是罪，假的属灵是罪。凡是真实的敬拜，都得在灵和真实里。

　　神最恨恶巴比伦的原则。我们在神的面前要注意，到底在我们里面有多少不是绝对的？一切不绝对的，一半一半的，就是巴比伦。我们要求神给我们光，让我们在光中审判自己一切不绝对的东西。当我们这样审判自己的时候，就是承认我们也恨恶巴比伦的原则。求主赐恩给我们，不让我们在基督之外求荣耀，不让我们在基督之外求尊贵（倪柝声文集第二辑第十四册，一二○至一二一、一二四页）。

　　参读：以赛亚书生命读经，第二十六篇；倪柝声文集第二辑第十四册，荣耀的教会，第五章。

　　When the Israelites entered into the land of Canaan, the first person to commit sin was Achan. What was the sin which Achan committed? He said, “When I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle of Shinar, …I coveted them and took them” (Josh. 7:21). A Babylonian garment seduced Achan to commit sin…. A beautiful garment is worn for the sake of appearance. When one puts on a beautiful garment, it means that he adorns himself to improve his appearance and to add a little luster to himself. Achan’s coveting of the Babylonian garment meant that he was seeking to improve himself, to make himself look better. This was Achan’s sin.

　　Who were the first ones to commit sin in the New Testament, after the church began? The Scriptures reveal that they were Ananias and Sapphira. What was the sin that they committed? They lied to the Holy Spirit. They did not love the Lord very much, but they wanted to be looked upon as those who greatly loved the Lord. They were just pretending. They were not willing to offer everything cheerfully to God. Before man, however, they acted as if they had offered all. This is the Babylonian garment. The principle of Babylon, therefore, is hypocrisy. There is no reality, yet people act as if there is in order to obtain glory from man. Here is a real danger to God’s children—pretending to be spiritual. There is a great deal of spiritual behavior which is acted out in falsehood…. Many long prayers are counterfeit; many prayerful tones are unreal. There is no reality, but it is made to appear as if there is. This is the principle of Babylon. Whenever we put on a garment which does not match our actual condition, we are in the principle of Babylon.

　　God’s children do not know how much falsehood they have put on in order to receive glory from man. This is entirely opposite from the attitude of the bride. Everything done in falsehood is done in the principle of the harlot, not in the principle of the bride. It is a great matter for God’s children to be delivered from pretending before man. The principle of Babylon is to pretend in order to receive glory from man. If we set our sight upon man’s glory and man’s position in the church, we are participating in the sin of the Babylonian garment and the sin committed by Ananias and Sapphira. False consecration is sin, and false spirituality is also sin. True worship is in spirit and truthfulness.

　　God hates the principle of Babylon more than anything else. We must note in His presence how much of our being is still not absolute for Him. Anything which is halfway and not absolute is called Babylon. We need God to enlighten us so that in His light we may judge everything in us which is not absolute toward Him. Only when we judge ourselves in this way can we confess that we too hate the principle of Babylon. By His grace, may the Lord not allow us to seek any glory and honor outside of Christ. (CWWN, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” pp. 102-103, 105-106)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 26; CWWN, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” ch. 5