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The difficulties and mysteries of Scripture
圣经的难点和奥秘
(William Bacon Stevens, “Follow Me!”) LISTEN to Audio! Download Audio
(威廉·培根·史蒂文斯，”跟随我！”) 听音频！下载音频
“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:28
“隐秘的事是属耶和华我们神的；惟有明显的事是永远属我们和我们子孙的，好叫我们遵行这律法上的一切话。”申命记29:28
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth—so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts!” Isaiah 55:8-9
“耶和华说：我的意念非同你们的意念；我的道路非同你们的道路。天怎样高过地，照样，我的道路高过你们的道路；我的意念高过你们的意念。”以赛亚书55:8-9
The difficulties and mysteries of Scripture, necessarily result from the relations between God and man:
圣经的难点和奥秘，必然源于上帝与人之间的关系：
God the infinite, man the finite;
上帝是无限的，人是有限的；
God the holy, man the sinner;
上帝是圣洁的，人是罪人；
God a Spirit, man a creature of flesh and blood;
上帝是灵，人是血肉之躯；
God in Heaven, man on earth;
上帝在天上，人在地上；
God inhabiting eternity, and man the creature of a day;
上帝居住在永恒中，人是朝生暮死的造物；
God the Sovereign of the universe, and man the tiny, puny rebel to His throne.
上帝是宇宙的主宰，而人是对祂宝座的微小、弱小叛逆者。
Mark these contrasts, measure their diversity. The very statement of them shows how impossible it is for man to be able to fully comprehend God or His dealings.
注意这些对比，衡量它们的差异。仅仅陈述这些就表明，人不可能完全理解上帝或祂的作为。
The question was asked of old, “Who, by searching, can find out God? Who can find out the Almighty?” And Solomon, the wisest of men, declared, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.” For if man knew as much as God, he must have the mind of God and the wisdom of God!
古时就有人问：”谁能借着寻找而找到上帝？谁能找到全能者？”而所罗门，这位最有智慧的人宣称：”将事隐秘乃神的荣耀。”因为如果人知道的和上帝一样多，他就必须拥有上帝的心智和上帝的智慧！
For eighteen hundred years the mind of man with its measuring lines, has been endeavoring to fully understand God and His ways, and compute the measurements of His great truths—and yet they are no nearer the solution now, than when first revealed.
一千八百年来，人类的头脑凭借其测量方法，一直在努力完全理解上帝及其作为，并计算衡量祂伟大真理的尺度——然而，他们现在距离解答这些问题并不比最初揭示时更近。
There they stand in the firmament of theology, the great unresolvable nebulae of Revelation; and no magnifying power of man’s optics, and no space-penetrating power of man’s devising—can unfold those mysteries, which at once challenge and test the faith of man.
它们屹立在神学的穹苍中，如同启示录中那些无法解开的巨大星云；无论人类视觉的放大能力有多强，无论人类设计的穿透空间的能力有多大——都无法揭开那些既挑战又考验人类信仰的奥秘。
There can be no revelation of God which is free from mysteries, because human language cannot embody celestial thoughts and modes of divine existence. And the human mind could not comprehend terms and phrases which would truly reflect the person, glory, and work of the Almighty.
上帝的启示不可能没有奥秘，因为人类语言无法完全体现天国的思想和神圣存在的方式。而人类的头脑也无法理解那些能真正反映全能者的本质、荣耀和作为的术语和短语。
Divine thoughts, before they can be taken into our minds—have to be diluted into human words.
Divine things have to be symbolized to us, by human or earthly types.
And divine beings have to be described to us, by terms borrowed from human existences and of purely earthly signification.
神圣的思想，在被我们的头脑接受之前——必须被稀释成人类的语言。
神圣的事物必须通过人类或尘世的类型来象征性地呈现给我们。
而神圣的存在必须用借鉴自人类存在和纯粹尘世意义的术语来向我们描述。
Hence, in the process of translation, dilution, and illustration—no one attribute of God, no one truth of God, can be fully revealed and understood.
因此，在翻译、稀释和阐释的过程中——上帝的任何一个属性，上帝的任何一个真理，都无法被完全揭示和理解。
We can only see the earthly side and the earthly terminus, the heavenly side and the heavenly starting-point, are all beyond our reach, far away out of sight! And there we must be content to let it be, ever standing with our eyes upturned to Jesus, holding in one hand the great doctrines of revealed truth, and in the other the precious assurances:
我们只能看到尘世的一面和尘世的终点，天国的一面和天国的起点都超出了我们的触及范围，远在视线之外！我们必须满足于此，永远仰望耶稣，一手握着已启示真理的伟大教义，另一手握着宝贵的保证：
“What I am doing, you do not understand now; but you shall know hereafter.” John 13:7
“我所做的，你如今不知道，后来必明白。”约翰福音13:7
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror—then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part—then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12
“我们如今仿佛对着镜子观看，模糊不清，到那时就要面对面了。我如今所知道的有限，到那时就全知道，如同主知道我一样。”哥林多前书13:12