慈绳爱索、东方行、大使命 ──《亿万华民》诗选(袁玚╱选译)

袁玚╱选译

本文原刊于《举目》45期

一、慈绳爱索 THE BANDS OF LOVE

Miss Emily Blatchley, China’s Millions, No.1 Vol. July, 1875

白爱妹──《亿万华民》1875年7月创刊号

I hear Thee passing by; — Oh! Savior, turn,
Touch these blind eyes, and let me see Thy face:
Me, clinging to Thy skirts, Thou will not spurn,
Or cast me from Thee, suppliant for Thy grace.

Mine eyes Thy touch unlocks; Thy face I see;
My winter’d heart is melted by its rays:
Oh! Lord, that I might follow Thee,
To satisfy my soul’s impassioned gaze.

Following, I watch Thee daily speaking so
As never man spake, till the words take hold
Upon my spirit; and I burn to know
The Fountain whence such gracious streams have roll’d.

“Can’st thou receive My baptism?” Yea, sweet Lord,
Thy grace sufficing to uphold me through:
The love that draws will needed strength afford;
Nor Satan’s prowess shall my soul undo.

The shadow of a cross falls deep and broad:
With Thee I enter, tremblingly, the shade: —-
Whence this new light which brightens round me, Lord?
“The fellowship of suffering,” He said.

O Christ! Thou hast so bound me, that my heart
In vassalage is held by one desire; —-
To know Thee more, to see Thee as Thou art,
Till Thy sweet eyes shall holy thoughts inspire,
And purify my heart more than refining fire.

我听到你经过,哦!救主,求你回身,
触摸我的盲眼,让我看见你脸上的荣光:
我,依附着你的衣裾,你不弃绝我,
也不抛弃我,容我祈求你的恩典。

你的触摸打开我眼中的枷锁;我看见了你的荣面;
我冰冷的心被你的荣光所熔化:
哦!主,让我来跟随你,
来满足我灵魂的热望。

跟随你,看着你每日宣讲,
没有人曾这样宣讲,直到那些话在我灵中扎根;
直到我热切地想知道
恩典的生命之源来自何方?

“你愿接受我的洗礼吗?”好,甜蜜的主,
你的恩典足够托住我经历一切:
那吸引人的爱会提供所需的力量;
撒但的威力也无法使我的灵魂放弃。

十字架的影子既深且阔:
与主同行我才颤抖地进入那死荫:──
主,那围绕我周身的耀眼新光从何而来?
“来自苦难的团契”,祂说。

哦,基督!你包围了我,我的心
隶属于这种的渴望──
更多地认识你,明白你的伟大,
直到你那胜过精炼之焰的美目,
使我的心被圣洁的思绪所感动、所涤净。

二、东方行 Eastward Ho!
H. Grattan Guinness, China’ s Millions, No. 8, Feb 1876
格雷顿.金尼斯──《亿万华民》1876年2月号

O Land of the sunrise, and uttermost isles,
Where morning in Asia the earliest smiles;
The eldest of countries, the greatest, the last;
Enchanted, enchained, as the slave of the past;

Where idols, dumb idols are worshipped alone
In temples of error, and Christ is unknown;
I mourn for thy millions, all, all but ignored,
Still living and dying afar from the Lord.

O children of light in the isles of the West,
With the knowledge of Jesus distinguished and blessed,
To whom the dear record of life has been given
To bear it to all that are found beneath heaven;

Up, up with the sail! To the Eastward away!
No languor, no lingering, no selfish delay;
Haste, haste to the rescue, swift traverse the seas;
Give, give ye the words of salvation to these!

They wait for the message, neglected they wait, —-
Shall it come? But for millions, alas, ‘tis too late;
They droop, they despair, they descend to the grave,
They perish, though Jesus is mighty to save.

They perish – they perish! Their blood at thy hands,
O preacher, O Christian, the Saviour demands;
For yet at His coming, for soon at His seat
The neglector of souls the neglected shall meet.

But their children are yonder! Hark! Hear you their cry?
Come over and help us, come soon or we die!
‘Tis you they are calling, ‘tis you and ‘tis me,
Let us go to them brother; their brothers are we!

O land of the Bible and sweet Sabbath bell,
O land of our fathers, we bid thee farewell;
To follow the Saviour, and publish His word
To the heathen who never of Jesus have heard.

啊,那日出之地,群岛之滨,
那亚细亚清晨最早展开的微哂;
那最古老、最伟大、也是最终的国度;
那被昔日的辉煌所迷惑、所捆锁、所奴役的黎庶。

在那里,偶像、哑巴偶像被奉为至尊,
在谬误之庙中,基督乃未识之神;
我为妳亿万之众而哀哭,那至今仍被忽视的国土,
因妳的子民,或生或死都仍远离上主。

啊,西方诸岛的光明之子们,
认识耶稣的人们、分别为圣的人们、承受祝福的人们
生命册上的代价何等昂贵,
既蒙恩惠便当与普天下人共同追随。

起来、起来去远航!前往东方!
不再软弱,不再迟疑,不再有自私的推搪;
急忙、急忙投入拯救之旅、飞越重洋;
汝等将救恩之道与彼岸的人们共享、共享!

他们等候这信息,虽被忽视,他们仍在伫立,
福音会不会来?对亿万之众来说,唉,纵来也已太迟;
他们凋萎,他们绝望,他们走向坟茔,
他们灭亡,虽然耶稣有全能的救恩。

他们灭亡─他们灭亡!他们的血在你手心,
啊,传道人;啊,基督徒,救主如此命令;
不论是祂尚未再来之时,或将来祂的座前,
忽视灵魂的和那被忽视的灵魂终将见面。

但他们的后裔远在天边!听!你可曾听到他们的哭声?
“前来帮助我们,莫叫死神赶在你们之前临门!”
他们呼唤的是你,是你、是我,
弟兄们,让我们前往他们那里去;他们的弟兄就是我们,是你与我!

啊,圣经之国,主日优美的钟声,
啊,列祖之地,我们与妳辞行;
为要去跟随救主,宣告祂的福音,
向那些从未听到过耶稣的异乡人。

三、大使命
The Last Words Uttered by Our Lord on Earth
F. E. G., China’s Millions, No. 10, Apr, 1876
F. E. G──《亿万华民》1876年4月号

“To the uttermost parts of the earth,”
The risen Saviour said,
Speed forth, O friends, as My witnesses;
Proclaim that I’ve left the dead,
And ascended up on high
Remission of sins to give,
And repentance too, and faith,
That perishing men may live.

“To the uttermost parts of the earth,”
Speed forth, O friends, and tell
Of the need of a new, a second birth,
To save mankind from hell;
Tell men I was lifted up
On Calvary’s cursed tree,
Go, tell what ye have seen and heard
And draw all men to Me.

“To the uttermost parts of the earth,”
O mark ye well the bound;
The distant isles of the Gentiles all
Must hear the joyful sound!
To My murderers preach it first,
At Jerusalem begin,
But linger not at that starting-point,
For the world lies dead in sin.

For “the uttermost parts of the earth,”
Eternal life I’ve won,
On the gloom of universal death
Shines now the risen sun:
Go forth, let every creature hear,
Let all the world be told,
That the woman’s suffering seed has crush’d
The head of the serpent old.

“To the uttermost parts of the earth,”
Friends! ‘tis my last command,
My parting charge that ye bear the words
Of salvation to every land.
Let every erring child of man
Be assured that God is love,
And freely offer’d to each and all
Be a home with Me above.

“To the uttermost parts of the earth,”
O Lord, the words unfold,
Thy heart how large! Thy love, how warm!
Our hearts how cramp’d and cold!
Full eighteen hundred years have pass’d
Since Thy final accents fell,
But “the uttermost parts of the earth” are left
In death and darkness still.

“直到地极,”
复活的主说,
快速前进,啊,朋友,将我的见证传播。
宣告我已升天,
并从死里复活。
赐下赦罪、
悔改与信心的福音,
本该灭亡的人哪,得救在我。

“直到地极,”
快速前进,啊,朋友,向全地倾说,
生命需要重生,
人类因我远离地狱之祸。
告诉万民我曾被挂在
诅咒之木上代你们受过;
去,告诉世人你们的所见所闻,
吸引万民来归我。

“直到地极,”
啊,列土封疆,
外邦人遥远的诸岛上
必要听到喜乐的欢唱!
先向我的谋杀者布道,
自耶路撒冷泛觞;
但不可逗留在起跑线上,
因为整个世界都在罪中死亡。

我已为“地的四极”,
赢得永生之路,
在人人难逃的死荫幽谷,
初生的太阳光芒四布。
向前去,让受造之物都听见,
向整个世界来倾诉,
女人的后裔已经打碎了,
古蛇的头颅。

“直到地极,”
朋友!这是我最后的话,
我离别时的指令要由汝等谋划,
如何将救恩之道,传遍沃土与荒沙。
让人类每个犯罪的后裔,
都获得“神是爱”的救法;
使所有的世人都白白拥有
一个与我同住的天家。

“直到地极,”
啊,主,你的命令显明,
你心何等宽广!你爱何等温馨!
我们的心却如此狭窄与冰冷!
一千八百年如飞而纵,
你最后的话音犹在半空;
但“地的四极”,
仍被遗忘在死亡与黑暗之中。

           译者按:“China’s Millions”(中译名《亿万华民》,或译《中国亿兆》)是近代中国最大的西方差会“中国内地会”(China Inland Mission)的会刊,取意自“A million a month in China are dying without God”(中国每月有一百万未得之民死去)。换言之,每一期新月刊出版之际,即又有一百万灵魂已在没有永生盼望中失丧。这份月刊自1875年7月创刊,发 行长达77年,犹如一部宏伟的史诗,用真实而细腻的方式系统地记录了中国内地会拓荒与发展的过程。有不少家庭因为订阅《亿万华民》而奉献自己的子女;也有 不少读者,因为订阅《亿万华民》而将自己的一生献给了中国。笔者在编译这些百多年前的史料时,被其中一些诗作所感动,便选译了数首。这些诗篇的感人之处, 不仅在于文字本身,更在于诗人的生平。

           如流露出对主耶稣基督深沉的委身之爱的《慈绳爱索》一诗的作者白爱妹(Emily Blatchley),原为孤女,被戴家收养,1865年与戴德生夫妇等人坐“兰茂密尔”号船前往中国时,才20出头,乃极少数单身女性宣教先驱之一。内 地会在杭州拓荒期间,她担任戴家4个儿女的家庭教师,使戴德生夫妇能够更好地投入宣教事工。扬州教案中,她与戴夫人玛丽亚一同跳楼逃难,左臂多处骨折。不 久,白爱妹患上肺病,返回英国养病,并成为内地会伦敦办事处的实际负责人。这首刊登在1875年创刊号上的诗,乃是白爱妹的遗诗,因她已于前一年因肺痨而 谢世。

            又如,对远东糅合著伤感与希望的《东方行》一诗的作者格雷顿·金尼斯(Dr. H. Grattan Guinness, D.D.),乃是与司布真齐名的著名布道家,有“银舌”之誉。他受“亿万华民”之宣教异象的感召,一度希望能前往中国,但戴德生认为他更适合留在英国培 训、勉励准宣教士们。这首诗发表之际,金尼斯创办东伦敦宣教士培训学院(East End Training Institute)已有3年。一年后,他又成立了利文斯顿内地会(Livingstone Inland Mission),12年后,刚果宣教会(Congo-Baolo Mission),22年后,未及之地宣教联会(Regions Beyond Missionary Union)。金博士不仅用神的话激励别人的子弟,也如此教育自己的儿女。他的女儿Geraldine和儿子Whitfield后来都以医疗宣教士的身分 加入内地会,并取了地道的中文名:金乐婷和金纯仁。

           内地会还有太多无名的英雄,《大使命》一诗的作者就因只署了名字的缩写(F. E. G.),让笔者至今未能破解他的身世之谜。但这首犹如进行曲般的诗作,必在当时激励了很多敬虔爱主的青年投身宣教运动。也正是这些无名英雄,将福音的种子 撒遍了世界每一个角落。一个多世纪过去了,但这些催促的声音仿佛还在耳边回响。主复活升天的日子,离无名诗人约1800年,离我们约2000年,但宣教的 需要在任何的时代都是极其迫切的,作为福音与宣教的受益人,我们当如何回应?

作者来自上海,现旅居新西兰。

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