博客

中文下载

It was most fitting that every word of our Lord upon the cross should be gathered up and preserved.
我们主在十字架上所说的每一句话，都被收集并保存下来，这是最为恰当的事。

As not a bone of Him shall be broken, so not a word shall be lost.
正如祂的一根骨头也不可折断，同样，祂的一句话也不可失落。

The Holy Spirit took special care that each of the sacred utterances should be fittingly recorded.
圣灵特别看顾，使每一句神圣的言语都被恰当地记载下来。

There were, as you know, seven of those last words,
正如你所知道的，那些临终的话共有七句，

and seven is the number of perfection and fullness;
而“七”是完全与圆满的数字；

the number which blends the three of the infinite God with the four of complete creation.
这是一个将无限之上帝的“三”，与完全受造界的“四”相融合的数字。

Our Lord in His death-cries, as in all else, was perfection itself.
我们的主在祂临终的呼喊中，正如在一切事上，都是完全本身。

There is a fullness of meaning in each utterance which no man shall be able fully to bring forth,
每一句话中都蕴含着丰满的意义，没有任何人能够完全阐明，

and when combined they make up a vast deep of thought, which no human line can fathom.
而当这些话合在一起时，就形成了一个思想的深渊，是任何人的线索都无法测透的。

Here, as everywhere else, we are constrained to say to our Lord, “Never man spoke like this man.”
在这里，如同在其他一切地方一样，我们不得不对我们的主说：“从来没有人像这人这样说话。”

Amid all the anguish of His spirit His last words prove Him to have remained fully self-possessed,
在祂灵魂一切的痛苦之中，祂最后的话证明祂始终完全自持，

true to His forgiving nature,
忠于祂赦免人的本性，

true to His kingly office,
忠于祂君王的职分，

true to His filial relationship,
忠于祂儿子的身份关系，

true to His God,
忠于祂的上帝，

true to His love of the written Word,
忠于祂对书面圣言的爱，

true to His glorious work,
忠于祂荣耀的工作，

and true to His faith in His Father.
并且忠于祂对天父的信靠。

As these seven sayings were so faithfully recorded, we do not wonder that they have frequently been the subject of devout meditation.
既然这七句话被如此忠实地记录下来，我们也就不奇怪它们常常成为虔诚默想的主题。

Fathers and confessors, preachers and divines have delighted to dwell upon every syllable of these matchless cries.
教父、信道者、传道人和神学家，都喜爱反复思想这些无与伦比呼喊中的每一个音节。

These solemn sentences have shone like the seven golden candlesticks or the seven stars of the Apocalypse,
这些庄严的句子，如同《启示录》中七个金灯台或七颗星一般闪耀，

and have lighted multitudes of men to Him who spoke them.
并且照亮了无数的人，使他们归向那说出这些话的主。

Thoughtful men have drawn a wealth of meaning from them,
思想深刻的人从中汲取了丰富的意义，

and in so doing have arranged them into different groups, and placed them under several heads.
并且在此过程中，将它们归纳为不同的类别，列在若干主题之下。

I cannot give you more than a mere taste of this rich subject,
我不能给你这丰富主题的更多内容，只能略尝其味，

but I have been most struck with two ways of regarding our Lord’s last words.
但我最受触动的是两种看待我们主最后话语的方式。

First, they teach and confirm many of the doctrines of our holy faith.
首先，它们教导并确证了我们圣洁信仰中的许多教义。

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” is the first.
“父啊，赦免他们；因为他们所做的，他们不晓得。”这是第一句。

Here is the forgiveness of sin—free forgiveness in answer to the Savior’s plea.
这里显明了罪的赦免——因救主的代求而赐下的白白赦免。

“Today shall you be with me in paradise”
“今日你要同我在乐园里了。”

Here is the safety of the believer in the hour of his departure,
这里显明了信徒在离世之时的稳妥，

and his instant admission into the presence of his Lord.
以及他立刻进入主同在中的事实。

It is a blow at the fable of purgatory which strikes it to the heart.
这是对炼狱虚构之说的致命一击，直刺其心。

“Woman, behold your son!”
“母亲，看你的儿子！”

This plainly sets forth the true and proper humanity of Christ,
这清楚地彰显了基督真实而完全的人性，

who to the end recognized His human relationship to Mary, of whom He was born.
祂直到最后仍承认自己与马利亚的属人关系，祂正是从她而生。

Yet His language teaches us not to worship her,
然而，祂的言语也教导我们不可敬拜她，

for He calls her “woman,”
因为祂称她为“妇人”，

but to honor Him who in His direst agony thought of her needs and griefs,
却要尊荣那一位，在最极端的痛苦中仍顾念她的需要与忧伤的主，

as He also thinks of all His people,
正如祂也顾念祂所有的百姓，

for these are His mother and sister and brother.
因为这些人就是祂的母亲、姐妹和弟兄。

“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” is the fourth cry,
“以罗伊，以罗伊，拉马撒巴各大尼？”是第四声呼喊，

and it illustrates the penalty endured by our Substitute when He bore our sins,
它说明了我们的代替者在担当我们罪时所承受的刑罚，

and so was forsaken of His God.
因此被祂的上帝所离弃。

The sharpness of that sentence no exposition can fully disclose to us:
那句话的尖锐，没有任何解释能够完全向我们揭示：

it is keen as the very edge and point of the sword which pierced His heart.
它锋利如同刺透祂心的利剑的刃与尖。

“I thirst” is the fifth cry,
“我渴了”是第五句，

and its utterance teaches us the truth of Scripture,
而这句话的宣告教导我们圣经的真实，

for all things were accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
因为万事已经成就，为要应验圣经，

and therefore our Lord said, “I thirst.”
所以我们的主说：“我渴了。”

Holy Scripture remains the basis of our faith,
圣经仍然是我们信仰的根基，

established by every word and act of our Redeemer.
并由我们救赎主的每一句话、每一个行动所坚立。

The sixth word but one is, “It is finished”
倒数第二句是：“成了。”

There is the complete justification of the believer,
这里显明了信徒完全的称义，

since the work by which he is accepted is fully accomplished.
因为使他蒙悦纳的工作已经完全成就。

The last of His last words is also taken from the Scriptures,
祂最后一句话同样取自圣经，

and shows where His mind was feeding.
并显明祂的心思所滋养之处。

He cried, before He bowed the head which He had held erect amid all His conflict, as one who never yielded,
在祂低下那在一切争战中始终高昂、从未屈服的头之前，祂呼喊说：

“Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.”
“父啊，我将我的灵魂交在祢手里。”

In that cry there is reconciliation to God.
在这呼喊中，有人与上帝的和好。

He who stood in our stead has finished all His work,
那位站在我们地位上的主已经完成了一切工作，

and now His spirit comes back to the Father,
如今祂的灵魂回到父那里，

and He brings us with Him.
并且祂把我们一同带回。

Every word, therefore, you see, teaches us some grand fundamental doctrine of our blessed faith.
因此你可以看到，每一句话都教导我们一些我们蒙福信仰中的伟大根本教义。

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
“有耳可听的，就应当听。”

A second mode of treating these seven cries is to view them as setting forth the person and offices of our Lord who uttered them.
第二种解读这七声呼喊的方式，是把它们看作彰显说出这些话的我们主的位格与职分。

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” —here we see the Mediator interceding:
“父啊，赦免他们；因为他们所做的，他们不晓得。”——在这里我们看见中保在代求：

Jesus standing before the Father pleading for the guilty.
耶稣站在父面前，为有罪的人恳求。

“Truly I say unto you, today shall you be with me in paradise” —this is the Lord Jesus in kingly power,
“我实在告诉你，今日你要同我在乐园里了。”——这是主耶稣以君王的权能，

opening with the key of David a door which none can shut,
用大卫的钥匙开启一扇无人能关的门，

admitting into the gates of Heaven the poor soul who had confessed Him on the tree.
将那在木头上承认祂的可怜灵魂引入天国的门内。

Hail, everlasting King in Heaven, You do admit to Your paradise whoever You will!
欢呼吧，天上永恒的君王，祢随己意接纳任何人进入祢的乐园！

Nor do You set a time for waiting, but instantly You do set wide the gate of pearl;
祢并不设定等待的时间，而是立刻敞开珍珠门；

You have all power in Heaven as well as upon earth.
祢在天上地下都有一切的权柄。

Then came, “Woman, behold your son!”
接着便是：“母亲，看你的儿子！”

wherein we see the Son of man in the gentleness of a son caring for his bereaved mother.
在这里我们看见人子以儿子的温柔，照顾他丧子的母亲。

In the former cry, as He opened paradise, you saw the Son of God;
在前一句中，当祂开启乐园时，你看见的是上帝的儿子；

now you see Him who was truly and truly born of a woman, made under the law;
如今你看见的是那真正由女人所生、且生在律法之下的那一位；

and under the law you see Him still,
你仍然看见祂在律法之下，

for He honors His mother and cares for her in the last article of death.
因为祂在临终之际仍尊敬母亲，并照顾她。

Then comes the “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
随后是：“我的上帝，我的上帝，为什么离弃我？”

Here we behold His human soul in anguish,
在这里我们看见祂的人性灵魂在痛苦中，

His inmost heart overwhelmed by the withdrawing of Jehovah’s face,
祂内心深处因耶和华面容的收回而被压垮，

and made to cry out as if in perplexity and amazement.
并仿佛在困惑与惊骇中呼喊出来。

“I thirst” is His human body tormented by grievous pain.
“我渴了”显明祂的人体正遭受剧烈的痛苦折磨。

Here you see how the mortal flesh had to share in the agony of the inward spirit.
在这里你看见必死的肉身如何与内在灵魂的痛苦一同分担。

“It is finished” is the last word but one,
“成了”是倒数第二句话，

and there you see the perfected Savior,
在那里你看见完全的救主，

the Captain of our salvation,
我们救恩的元帅，

who has completed the undertaking upon which He had entered,
祂已经完成了祂所承担的使命，

finished transgression,
止住了过犯，

made an end of sin,
终结了罪，

and brought in everlasting righteousness.
并带来了永远的义。

The last expiring word in which He commended His spirit to His Father,
祂临终最后一句将灵魂交托给父的话，

is the note of acceptance for Himself and for us all.
乃是祂自己并我们众人蒙悦纳的凭据。

As He commends His spirit into the Father’s hand,
当祂将自己的灵魂交在父的手中时，

so does He bring all believers near to God,
祂也照样将所有信徒带到上帝面前，

and henceforth we are in the hand of the Father,
从此我们就在父的手中，

who is greater than all,
那位比万有都大的父，

and none shall pluck us thence.
没有人能把我们从那里夺去。

Is not this a fertile field of thought?
这岂不是一片丰饶的思想田地吗？

May the Holy Spirit often lead us to glean therein.
愿圣灵常常引导我们在其中拾取麦穗。

There are many other ways in which these words might be read,
这些话还有许多其他的解读方式，

and they would be found to be all full of instruction.
而人将发现它们都充满了教训。

Like the steps of a ladder or the links of a golden chain,
它们如同梯子的阶梯，或金链的环扣，

there is a mutual dependence and interlinking of each of the cries,
每一句呼喊之间彼此依存、环环相扣，

so that one leads to another and that to a third.
以至于一句引向另一句，再引向第三句。

Separately or in connection, our Master’s words overflow with instruction to thoughtful minds.
无论单独来看，还是连贯来看，我们主的话语都向善于思考的心灵满溢着教训。

Table of Contents
目录

Introduction
引言

The First Word: FORGIVENESS
第一句话：赦免

The Second Word: SALVATION
第二句话：拯救

The Third Word: AFFECTION
第三句话：慈爱

The Fourth Word: ANGUISH
第四句话：痛苦

The Fifth Word: SUFFERING
第五句话：受苦

The Sixth Word: VICTORY
第六句话：得胜

The Seventh Word: CONTENTMENT
第七句话：安息与满足