诗二四9~10　　众城门哪，你们要抬起头来；永久的门戸啊，你们要把头抬起；荣耀的王将要进来。那荣耀的王是谁呢？万军之耶和华—祂是荣耀的王！〔细拉〕

　　启十一15　　…世上的国，成了我主和祂基督的国，祂要作王，直到永永远远。

　　以色列的历史中，有许多点与召会的历史相似。…他们进到那地，就为士师所统治；但是整个民族都生活在很低的水平上。他们不断陷在罪中。神借着他们的仇敌惩罚他们，但当他们向神呼求时，祂就兴起士师拯救他们，于是他们就得着一次复兴。这样的事一再发生。…当士师的能力很大时，就有大的拯救；当士师的能力减弱，以色列人就再次陷入仇敌的手中。…从这里我们看见一个大原则：神的子民无法管治自己；他们无法向神独立，同时又向撒但独立。…他们或是向神的权柄屈膝，或是落在撒但的能力之下；没有中间路线。因为他们若不是受神管治，就全然失去他们作神子民的地位…。但赞美神，祂的子民不会一直在撒但的能力之下，他们总是有复兴。（倪柝声文集第二辑第二十六册，六四至六五页。）

　　Psa. 24:9-10 Lift up your heads, O gates; and lift up, O long enduring doors; and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah of hosts—He is the King of glory! Selah

　　Rev. 11:15 …The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.

　　There are many points in the history of Israel that are similar to the history of the church…. Soon after [Israel] entered into the land, they were ruled by judges. Their national life was on a very low level. We see them continually falling into sin and punishment by means of their enemies. When they cried to God, He would raise up a judge to deliver them, and then there would be a restoration. This happened again and again… When the power of the judges was great, their deliverance was great, but when the power was diminished, the people fell into the hands of their enemies again…. From this we see a great principle that God’s people cannot govern themselves; they cannot be independent of God and be independent of Satan at the same time…. They either have to bow to the authority of God or be under Satan’s power; there is no middle road. When they were not under the control of God, they wholly lost their position as God’s people…. But praise God, His people were not always under Satan’s power; there was revival. (CWWN, vol. 46, p. 1177)

　　这就是以色列的历史，也是召会的历史。我们回头看，当召会到了很低的光景时，神就会预备一个祂所拣选的人，把祂的灵放在他身上，将使命给他，然后召会就得着复兴。但我们也看见，过不久召会又落下去了，我们看见兴起与败落，衰微与复兴，周而复始。我若是生活在士师时代的末期，我的心会怎么想呢？我会渴望什么呢？我会期待什么呢？已过年日的历史我都知道了；如今事情又到了低潮，我的盼望是什么，我要为着什么祷告呢？我岂不会求神兴起另一个士师，再次复兴这个国家么？如今我是召会的肢体，我看见在召会的历史中，一再地复兴，又一再地堕落。我曾读到路德带领的复兴，又读到接下来的死沉；读到借着卫斯理所带来的复兴，又读到接着的败落；读到达秘和其他弟兄们所带进的生命巨潮，又读到以后的衰败。这么多年来的召会历史，只是重复了以色列士师时期的历史。现在我盼望什么？难道不盼望新的东西么？

　　在此我们来看撒母耳记上。士师的历史不是永远的；那不是神的心意。神的心意已经朝向国度，不是要有更多士师。神想要带进国度和君王。祂使用士师作为过渡时期，但祂的心意是在大卫身上，祂的目的是要有君王。所以我们看见撒母耳记上的重要。这卷书在过渡与目标中间，是中途的，是过渡的时期。大体而言，它不是大复兴的时期，也不是大堕落的时期。今天我们的情形也是一样。…士师的时代已经过去了，那是有限度的，而国度却要存到永远。神的心意不是要召会在这样堕落复兴的循环里往前。神不是要给我们许多复兴家，祂乃是要带进祂的君王。

　　撒母耳记上代表一个职事，一个带进君王的职事。在此我们看不见士师，却看见一个同时是祭司和申言者的人。我们很容易定睛在复兴家身上；他们已过曾被神使用，那是过渡时期，但他们在神真正的旨意上没有分，在带进君王的事上没有分。神乃是要得着祂的撒母耳。（倪柝声文集第二辑第二十六册，六五至六六页。）

　　参读：真理课程一级卷一，第十课；诗篇生命读经，第十一篇。

　　This is the history of Israel, and it is the history of the church. Looking back, we can see that when the church reached a very low state, God would prepare a man of His choice, put His Spirit upon him, and commission him, and then the church would be revived. But after a period of time the church would go down again; there has been rising and falling, declension and restoration, again and again. If I was living in the period at the end of the time of the judges, what would be in my heart, what would I long after, and what would I even expect? I would know the history of the past years, and now that things were at a low ebb again, what would be my hope and what would I pray for? Would I not ask for another judge to be raised up to revive the nation again? I am a member of the church, and I have seen its history of being revived and falling again and again. I have read of the revival under Luther and of the deadness that followed, of the revival through Wesley and of the backsliding that followed, of the great tide of life brought in by Darby and the other Brethren and of the deterioration that followed. All these years the church has just been repeating the history of Israel under the judges. But what should I hope for now? Should it not be for something quite new?

　　At this point we come to the first book of Samuel. The history of the judges should not continue forever; this is not God’s thought. God’s thought is toward the kingdom and not toward having more judges. God wants to bring in a kingdom and a King. He used the judges on the way, but His thought was upon David, and His purpose was a King. So we see the importance of 1 Samuel. It comes in between the road and the goal. It comes in the middle and depicts a period of transition. For the most part, this was not a time of great revival nor of great backsliding. The same is true with us today…. The time of the judges has passed. It had its limitations, whereas the kingdom will last forever. God’s thought is not that the church should remain in a cycle of backsliding and revival. God is not going to give us many revivalists; He is going to bring in His King.

　　The first book of Samuel stands for a ministry, a ministry that brings in the King. We do not have a judge, but one who was both a priest and prophet. It is very easy for us to fix our eyes on revivalists; they were used by God in the past on the way, as it were, but they have no part in the real purpose of God, in the bringing in of the King. God wants Samuels. (CWWN, vol. 46, pp. 1177-1178)

　　Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, lsn. 10; Life-study of the Psalms, msg. 11