太五13　 你们是地上的盐；盐若失了味，可用什么叫它再咸？既无任何用处，只好丢在外面，任人践踏了。

　　路十七32 你们要回想罗得的妻子。

　　大卫那次的停下，在宇宙中树立了一个见证：宇宙中的事，只能出于神，不能出于人；这是第一。第二，不是在乎人为神作什么，乃是在乎神为人作什么。大卫要造一个圣殿给神；神说，祂要为大卫建立一个家，从那个家要兴起一个国来。神对大卫说了这话后，大卫竟然两次跌倒：一次杀了乌利亚，霸占了乌利亚的妻子（撒下十一2~17、26~27）；一次是数点以色列人（二四1~10）。奇妙的是，大卫杀了乌利亚，与拔示巴生了一个儿子，就是所罗门；大卫因数点百姓被神惩治后，就在神指示的一块地上献祭，那块地就是后来建造圣殿的基地（18~25，代下三1）。

　　盖造圣殿的儿子和基地，都是大卫犯罪得赦免而得着的。……所有看见的人，都要低头敬拜说，“不是人为神作了什么，乃是神为人作了什么。”……神只需要我们与祂配合，神不需要我们为祂作什么。……你要停下你的主张，停下你的定规，停下你的看法，让祂说话，让祂进来，让祂发号施令；你只需要与祂配合（李文集一九五三年第一册，三八六页）。

　　Matt. 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men.

　　Luke 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife.

　　David’s stopping established a twofold testimony in the universe. First, all the work in the universe should come from God, not from man. Second, all that matters is what God does for man, not what man does for God. David wanted to build a temple for God, but God said that He would build a house for David from which a kingdom would come forth. Even after God spoke this word to David, he fell twice. First, he murdered Uriah and usurped his wife Bath-sheba (2 Sam. 11:2-17, 26-27). Second, he numbered the children of Israel (24:1-10). It is amazing that after the murder of Uriah, Bath-sheba bore David a son, Solomon, and after David was chastised by God for numbering the people, he offered sacrifices on a piece of land, as instructed by God, which later became the site for the building of the temple (vv. 18-25; 1 Chron. 21:1; 2 Chron. 3:1).

　　The son and the site for the building of the temple both came out of David’s being forgiven of his sins. Those who can see this will bow their head and worship God, saying, “It is not we who can do something for You, but You who does something for man.”…God wants only our cooperation; He does not need us to do anything for Him…We must stop all our opinions, decisions, and ideas; we need to let Him speak, let Him come in, and let Him command. All we need to do is cooperate with Him. (CWWL, 1953, vol. 1, “Knowing Life and the Church,” p. 284)

　　马太五章十三节的“你们”，专指在国度生活里得胜的信徒。不仅如此，作地上的盐是团体的事，不是个别的事。……国度子民这个团体的实体是地上的盐。我们若是离开召会生活，就无法作这样的盐。

　　我们是地上的盐，意思是我们防止地完全败坏。……神所创造的地堕落了。就一面说，地成了腐化且败坏的。但是盐能够杀菌、防腐，将东西保存在原初的光景里。……因此，盐的功用是要保存神所创造的。全地越来越腐化。……对败坏的地，诸天之国的子民就是这个元素，防止地完全败坏。他们有盐杀菌、防腐的功能，而将东西保守在原初的光景里，或将东西带回神所创造的光景里。

　　千年国来临时，全地都要被盐腌。地上一切的病菌都要彻底被消杀。全地不仅要被基督复得，也要被带回神所创造的光景。这工作要由国度子民来完成。国度子民无论在哪里，都该对他们周围的人运用盐的影响力。在我们的邻舍中，我们该运用我们杀菌的功用。……我们若灵里贫穷、哀恸、温柔、公义、怜悯并清心寻求神，我们就有盐的功用。不需要责备别人，或指出他们的错误和短处。他们会被我们的同在所腌。这就是作盐消杀这败坏之地病菌的意义（新约总论第五册，一一三至一一四页）。

　　罗得的妻子变成一根盐柱，是因她留恋所多玛，回头观望；这指明她贪爱并宝贝神即将审判并彻底毁灭的邪恶世界。她虽被救出所多玛，却没有到达罗得所到的安全地方（创十九15~30）。她没有灭亡，也没有完全得救。她就像失了味的盐（路十四34~35），被撇在蒙羞之地。这对贪爱世界的信徒，是个严肃的警告（路加福音生命读经，三八七页）。

　　参读：路加福音生命读经，第三十三、三十九篇。

　　The “you” in Matthew 5:13 refers to the overcoming believers in the kingdom life. Furthermore, being the salt of the earth is a corporate matter, not an individual matter…It is as a corporate entity that the kingdom people are the salt of the earth. If we separate ourselves from the church life, we cannot be such salt.

　　For us to be the salt of the earth means that we keep the earth from being fully corrupted…The earth, which was created by God, has become fallen. In a sense, it has become rotten and corrupted. But salt kills germs, eliminates rottenness, and preserves things in their original condition…Hence, the function of salt is to preserve what God has created. The entire earth is becoming more and more rotten…To the corrupted earth the people of the kingdom of the heavens are the element that keeps the earth from being fully corrupted. They have the salting function of killing germs, eliminating rottenness, and keeping things in their original condition or bringing them back to their God-created condition.

　　When the millennial kingdom comes, the whole earth will be salted. All the germs on earth will be utterly killed, and the whole earth will be not only regained by Christ but also brought back to its God-created condition. This work will be done by the kingdom people. Wherever the kingdom people are, they should exercise a salting influence over those around them. In our neighborhoods we should exercise our function of killing germs…If we are poor in spirit, mourning, meek, righteous, merciful, and pure in seeking God, we shall have a salting function. There will be no need to rebuke others or point out their mistakes and shortcomings. They will be salted simply by our presence. This is what it means to be the salt that kills the germs of this corrupted earth. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1157-1158)

　　Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt because she took a lingering look backward at Sodom. That look indicated that she loved and treasured the evil world that God was about to judge and utterly destroy. She was rescued from Sodom, but she did not reach the safe place that Lot reached (Gen. 19:15-30). She did not perish; neither was she fully saved. Like the salt that becomes tasteless (Luke 14:34-35), she was left in a place of shame. This is a solemn warning to world-loving believers. (Life-study of Luke, p. 328)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Luke, msgs. 33, 39