8利未记二十三章说,神为祂的选民每年设立了七个节期。第一个节期是逾越节(5),最后一个节期是住棚节(34)。逾越节是我们对基督之享受的起头,住棚节是我们对基督之享受的完成。逾越节是神为祂子民所设立之一切节期中的第一个节期,预表基督是我们对祂之享受的开端,使我们开始过属灵的生活。整个基督徒的生活,应当是一个节期。……基督徒的生活是受苦的生活,但我们受苦是为使我们能更多地过节。我们的受苦帮助我们享受主。至终,我们的受苦成了我们的筵席。这就是为什么诗篇二十三篇五节说,主在我们仇敌面前,为我们摆设了筵席。“仇敌”指明争战和受苦,但主使我们的争战和受苦成为筵席(李常受文集一九九四至一九九七年第四册,四九一至四九二页)。
8Leviticus 23 says that God ordained seven annual feasts for His elect. The first one was the Passover (v. 5), and the last one was the Feast of Tabernacles (v. 34). The Passover is the initiation, and the Feast of Tabernacles is the consummation of our enjoyment of Christ. The Passover, the first feast of all the feasts ordained by God for His people, typifies that Christ is the beginning of our enjoyment of Him that originates our spiritual life. The entire Christian life should be a feast…The Christian life is a suffering life, but we suffer so that we can feast more. Our suffering helps us to enjoy the Lord. Eventually, our suffering becomes our feasting. This is why Psalm 23:5 says that the Lord has prepared a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Enemies indicates fighting and suffering, but the Lord makes our fighting a feasting and our suffering a table. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” p. 388)