Weekly Devotion ( Psalm 26-30)
Psalms Chapter 26-30
Every chapter in the first volume of Psalms (Chapter 1-41) does not indicate the author, with the exception of the first and second chapters. The rest are said to be David's hymns. Some people question that not all these were written by David, but no one can deny that they are related to David. In these hymns, the author praises God’s greatness, holiness, justice, kindness, and faithfulness from the bottom of their heart, and expresses their prayer and dependence on God. This allowed us to see the intimate relationship between David and God and set an example for us to follow in our relationship with God.
>
At the beginning of Psalm 26, David prayed to God, asking God to avenge him. David was originally a warrior, meaning that he was specialized at fighting. Therefore, since the enemy is against him, why can’t he use violence to solve it? Did David ask God for help because he realized he was not strong enough? The answer is no. This is because we know that David never relied on his own strength in his life. Instead, he relied on God's protection and strength to fight against the enemy. What he said to the giant Goliath is the best proof. The reason why David prayed here was to testify that he relied on God and believed that God was with him. He strengthened his relationship with God through prayer, so that everything he is about to do will be out of God’s will instead of man’s will.
During his prayers, David told God about his many positive actions. Some people may feel like this is a bit similar to the boasting of the Pharisees, which is a little superficial. The Pharisees thought that they had done well enough and so God should reward them in return; while David, after expressing his love and his following of God, asked God to grant him grace and mercy to keep him believing that God was the Lord of Grace . This is true godliness that comes from the heart and can only be found in those who have established an intimate relationship with God. Therefore, if we want to have such godliness, we should examine whether our relationship with God is as close as David's. Without this intimacy, so-called godliness is likely to be superficial, even fake.
>
In Psalm 27 David expresses his courage and fearlessness in the face of his enemies. Who gave him the guts to believe so? Not only was he powerful enough to catch and kill lions and bears that attacked his flock with his bare hands, but more importantly, he had the assurance that Jehovah God was his protection, and his assurance was not wishful thinking. It is built from God's protection and guidance of his past. For this reason, he believed that Yahweh was his God, and he prayed to be with God all his life, pursued to know Him, and took pleasure in it. He also realized that seeking to know God is not only God’s command, but also God’s grace. Being able to establish such a relationship with God is not easy, for it requires God's grace. We should also pray for the same, and ask God to guide us, instead of asking God to do what we want. This is the true manifestation of an intimate relationship with God.
>
In Psalm 28 David begged God not to be silent with him, or he would be like a dying man. We often assume that God is our help, our shield, our refuge, which is true, but not perfectly true. Most importantly, God is our shepherd, also known as a teacher, who will lead us in the path of righteousness with his word. We will go astray and fall into the trap set by Satan if we were lacking the guidance of God's words, and we will be associated with the wicked, let it be intentional or unintentional. We will also be tempted by the world and squeezed into its image, committing evil crimes and being judged. This was what David feared most, so he begged God to guide him. We can examine ourselves, what are we most afraid of? Are we praying fervently for the guidance of God’s words like David did, or are we lukewarm and indifferent, even resisting? If it is the latter yet we still say that we are children of God, then we are deceiving ourselves and must repent and renew under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Not only do we need to understand the guiding role of God’s words to us from doctrine, but we must also learn to practice obedience in our daily life, in order to avoid being in the company of the wicked unintentionally.
What is the greatest evil of a wicked man? Deceit, greed, even cruelty are one of many evils. But the greatest evil is deliberately ignoring God and denying God's deeds. Don’t say that we never took part in such evil. When God’s words conflict with our own, can we let go of our ideas and obey God’s leading? If we stick to our ideas and refuse to obey, we are actually deliberately ignoring God and denying His words, meaning that we are partaking in evil. This is not commensurate with our status of being chosen and saved by Christ’s grace. We must repent.
In verses 6-9, David expresses praise and thanks to God, and prays for God's protection and support for God's people. This is also an essential when saints pray to God. Many times, when we pray to God, we just ask God to accomplish what we want for us, but we forget about God Himself and that God calls us into a group that is separated, that is, the church. If we see God as the responsive Santa Claus like the world does, instead of the mighty one who is holy, righteous, faithful, and merciful, we will not thank or praise Him from our hearts; and if we do not understand why God has called us into His sanctified Church, we will end up only praying for ourselves and forget to pray for others. Such prayers are incomplete and must be renewed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
>
In Chapter 29, David calls on all the sons of God to come together to praise and glorify God. Who are the sons of God? Those angels and men who are called by God to His holy congregations. They were all created, chosen, and entrusted by God to play a part in the fulfillment of His will, by His grace. Therefore, it is their duty to praise God and ascribe to him glory and power. If we claim that we are chosen and saved by God's grace, we should naturally join this group that praises God, otherwise our claim is false. In addition, this praise is not forced or to flatter anyone, but it comes from the heart, and has solid testimony. David was like this. He saw the power of God, the infinity of God, the wonder of God, and the care of God for His people, so he sincerely praised God from his heart. Can we see what David saw? Can you praise God like he did?
>
The title of Psalm 30 says that this is a poem written by David when he dedicated the temple. However, we know that David did not build the temple, so why does the title say so? Can this be used to prove that the Bible came with errors? In fact, the word "temple" does not specifically refer to the holy temple, but refers to all palaces, even those large buildings on high hills can also be called a "temple".
According to what is expressed in verses 6-7, it is likely that David built a large and magnificent palace on the hill (some English translations translate "temple" as "hill country"), and he was very proud. At this time, God moved him, and made him realize that he was showing pride which is why he quickly turned to God and wrote this hymn. Therefore, it is futile when attempting to challenge the Bible because of an error, and it only shows the ignorance and a lack of godliness of the challenger. We should not be fooled by such doubts and shake our understanding of the inerrancy of the Bible.
David first expresses his deep appreciation and praises God like in the previous chapters. These words of praise are not to flatter anyone, but a response to God’s protection and guidance. David’s life was not all smooth, opposite to what some may believe, he experienced a lot of hardships and tribulations. However, with God’s protection and guidance, along with his dependence on God, although there were times where he shed tears, he and the saints represented by him have all come through these hardships and won victories. Therefore, he thanked and praised God from the bottom of his heart. But even so, David is only a human being with weaknesses, and his spiritual life may sink in good times. He boasted that he would never be shaken. However, such boasting without the Lord is pride. Therefore, the Spirit of God moved him to let him know that God made his country stable, and if God hid his face from him, he would have no security. David was very afraid of this, so after reflecting on his pride, he begged God to protect him and not let him fall into a situation where he was separated from God. Many people believed that in verse 9, David asked God to prolong his life out of his fear of death. This should be a misunderstanding. What David really was trying to express was not only to thank God in the spirit, but also to express the grace of God in his physical life, to thank God for his protection and guidance, and to be a testimony of God’s glory. If David set examples like this, what about us? Have we truly experienced God's protection and guidance? Are we grateful for this and do we obey this guidance? When we have thoughts or behaviors that do not please God, can we feel the enlightenment and touch of the Holy Spirit, and let ourselves turn back immediately like David did? Do we pray to God for the glory of God, or only for our own earthly benefit? May the Holy Spirit lead us on the path of holiness.
***
Shop all products, journals, and devotions from LumenCollectives here.
每周灵修诗篇26-30
詩篇第一卷(1-41 篇)除第一第二篇沒有註明作者外﹐其餘都說是大 衛的詩歌。有人質疑這些詩歌並非都是大衛寫的﹐但無人能否定與大衛 有關。在這些詩歌裡﹐作者對神的偉大﹐聖潔﹐公義﹐恩慈﹐和信實從 心裡發出讚美﹐並表達了自己對神的祈求和依靠﹐讓我們看到大衛與神 之間的親密關係﹐給我們與神建立關係樹立了傚法的榜樣。
詩篇 26 篇一開頭﹐大衛就向神禱告祈求﹐求神為他伸冤。大衛本 是個勇士﹐善於爭戰。既然仇敵與他作對﹐何不以武力解決﹖是大衛發 覺自己力量不夠﹐所以才向神求助嗎﹖不是的。我們知道﹐大衛一生從 不憑己力﹐而是靠神的保守加力去與仇敵爭戰。他對巨人歌利亞所說的 話﹐就是最好的印證。大衛之所以在此祈求﹐乃是見證他仰望依靠神並 且確信神與他同在﹐是藉著祈求來堅固他與神之間的關係﹐使他所行 的﹐不是出於人意﹐而是出於神。
在祈求禱告中﹐大衛向神述說了自己不少的正面行為。有人覺得這 與法利賽人的自誇有點類似﹐這樣的認知稍微膚淺。法利賽人是認為自 己已經做得夠好了﹐神應該獎勵他﹔而大衛在述說自己對神的喜愛跟從 後﹐卻是求神施下恩典憐憫保守他﹐認定神是施恩的主。這是從內心發 出的真正敬虔﹐唯有與神建立了親密關係的人才會具有。因此﹐我們如 果也想有這樣的敬虔﹐就當省察我們與神的關係是否也像大衛那樣親密。 缺乏了這種親密關係﹐所謂的敬虔就很可能只是表面的﹐甚至是虛假的。
>
大衛在詩篇 27 篇中表達了他在仇敵前的剛強壯膽無所懼怕。為何 有這膽量﹖不止是他有過人的力氣(他能揪住並打死襲擊他羊群的獅子和 熊) ﹐更重要的﹐是他確認耶和華神是他的保障﹐而且他這個確據並非 是自作多情一廂情願的﹐乃是從神對他過往的保守引領中建立的。為 此﹐他認定耶和華是他的神﹐他祈求一生與神同在﹐追求認識祂﹐並且 以此為樂。他更認識到﹐追求認識神不但是神的吩咐﹐更是神的恩典。 能夠與神建立如此關係並非理所當然﹐需要神施恩。我們也要如此祈 求﹐而且是求神指引我們﹐而非要神按我們意思成就。這才是與神建立 親密關係的真正體現。
>
大衛在詩篇第 28 篇求神不要向他緘默﹐否則他就會像將死之人一 樣。我們常常認定神是我們的幫助﹐是我們的盾牌﹐是我們的避難所﹐ 這都是對的﹐但尚不完全。最重要的﹐神乃是我們的牧人﹐也叫導師﹐ 要以祂的話語引領我們走義路。缺乏了神的話語引領﹐我們就會走偏﹐ 會掉進撒旦設立的陷阱﹐會有意或無意地與惡人為伍﹐被世界誘惑﹐擠 壓成它的模樣﹐行惡犯罪遭審判。這是大衛最懼怕的事﹐所以他懇求神 給他指引。我們自己可以省察一下﹐我們最懼怕的﹐又是甚麼﹖我們對 神的話語指引﹐是像大衛那樣熱切祈求呢﹐還是不冷不熱無所謂﹐甚至 是抗拒呢﹖倘若是後者卻還說自己是神的兒女﹐那就自欺了﹐要在聖靈 帶領下悔改更新﹐不但從道理上明白神話語對我們的指引作用﹐更在每 天的生命生活上學習操練順服﹐免得在無意中與惡人為伍。
惡人最大的惡是甚麼﹖詭詐﹐貪婪﹐甚至凶殘等等﹐都是惡。但最 大的惡﹐乃是故意不認識神﹐否定神的作為。不要說我們絕沒有這樣的 惡﹐當神的話語跟我們的理念有衝突時﹐我們能放下自己理念順服神的 帶領嗎﹖如果我們堅持自己的理念不願順服﹐其實就是故意不認識神否 定祂的話語﹐就是在行惡﹐與我們蒙基督恩典揀選得拯救的身份不相 稱﹐要悔改。
在 6 到 9 節中﹐大衛表達了對神的讚美和感謝﹐並且為神的百姓祈 求神的保守扶持。這也是聖徒向神禱告必不可少的內容。很多時候﹐我 們向神禱告﹐只是求神為我們成就自己所要的﹐卻忘了神自己﹐也忘了 神是把我們召出來進入一個被分別出來的群體﹐就是教會中。我們如果 像世人那樣把神當作有求必應的聖誕老人﹐而不是聖潔公義信實憐憫的 大能者﹐就不會從心裡讚美感謝祂﹔而如果我們不明白神召我們進入祂 分別為聖之教會的心意﹐我們就只會為自己祈求而忘記為別人祈求。這 樣的禱告是不完全的﹐要在聖靈帶領指引下更新。
>
大衛在<<詩篇>> 第 29 篇號召神的眾子一起來讚美榮耀神﹐誰是 神的眾子呢﹖就是那些被神召聚到祂聖會中的天使和人。他們都是神創 造﹐揀選﹐並給予託付在祂旨意成就過程中作參與角色的位格體﹐蒙了 神恩典的。因此﹐讚美神﹐把榮耀能力歸給祂﹐是他們的本份。我們如 果稱自己是蒙神恩典揀選和拯救的人﹐就理所當然地要加入這個頌讚神 的群體中﹐否則我們的自稱就是假的。另外﹐這個頌讚﹐不是勉強的﹐ 也不是諂媚﹐而是從心裡發出的﹐是實實在在有所見證的。大衛就是這 樣﹐看到了神的大能﹐看到神的無限﹐看到神的奇妙﹐更看到神對祂百 姓的眷顧﹐因此從心裡向神發出真誠的讚美。我們能夠看到大衛所看到 的嗎﹖能夠像他那樣讚美神嗎﹖
>
<<詩篇>> 30 篇的標題說這是大衛在獻殿的時候所作的詩。然而,我們知道大衛並沒有建造聖殿﹐為何標題卻如此說﹖是否可以據 此說聖經有差錯﹖其實﹐這個“殿”字並非專指聖殿﹐而是是指一切宮 殿﹐甚至那些在高崗上的大建築也可以被稱為“殿”。從 6-7 節來看﹐ 可能是大衛在山崗上建立了一個大而華麗的宮室(有些英文譯本就把“殿” 翻譯為 “palace”)﹐心裡很自豪﹐這時神感動他﹐讓他省察到自己有驕傲 情緒流露而趕緊轉向神﹐於是寫了這首詩歌。因此﹐企圖以此或其他一 些似乎的矛盾質疑聖經有謬誤﹐那是徒勞的﹐只能表明質疑者對神話語 無知和缺乏敬虔。我們也不要被這樣的質疑迷惑﹐動搖對聖經無誤的認知。
***
在这里购买所有产品、期刊来自LumenCollectics的灵修。