Monday, June 8 2020
Psalm 25 (II)
9 The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
12 Who is the man that fears the LORD?
Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
If you recall, last week I mentioned one of the themes in Psalm 25 was the consequence of obedience or disobedience of the national covenant (also known as the Sinai covenant) which God made with his people Israel. In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, God emphasized the specific terms of that covenant: obedience will lead to blessing from God, including abundance and prosperity for His people, security, victory over their enemies and God’s own abiding Presence.
However, God warned that disobedience and violation of His covenant will lead to disease amongst the Israelites, fruitless harvests, defeat by their enemies, pestilence, sevenfold discipline by the Lord and scattering of God’s people amongst the nations.
We saw how David, recalling this covenant, recognises the need to get his spiritual life in order before the Lord, by confessing his sins. – Psalm 25 verses 7, 11 and 18.
Verses 1-7 appears to be one unit of thought in this Psalm. It begins with David affirming his trust in God and he asks that he not be put to shame before his enemies. What could be behind this request? He had probably committed a sin – a misstep with serious consequences or an impulsive act. He appeals sincerely to God to show him the way back. He waits. He cries out, he appeals, as we saw last week, that God be faithful to His covenant of old and that God not remember the sin of his youth.
He will teach the humble
David then asks the Lord to “Teach me your paths” (verses 4, 5, 9 and 12)
9 The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
David declares ”Good and upright is the Lord; . . he instructs sinners in the way” and explains how the Lord patiently deals personally with His beloved children in His way.
His children, on their part, need to humble themselves and the Lord will surely teach them His ways. The humble, the submissive, the contrite, the teachable – these God will take in hand and teach. The proud and perverse he will leave to their own devices, but the meek he will guide in the paths of righteousness, and the meek will He teach them his way.
The way of mercy and the way of truth. He will not bring out His rod of correction and punishment, for he is gentle. But He will reveal to His children the truth of their innermost beings, those areas of their lives that need to be transformed to the image and character of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps “John, you need to be more patient with your son. Don’t correct him so harshly” or “Kathy, your subordinate is a slow learner. Explain the procedure again, she will appreciate it”
10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth
This is the way of our God. He deals with us in this way, teaching us to imitate Him in all His ways. Many years later, the Lord Jesus echoed this same gentle spirit when He invited the unrepentant townsfolk of Chorazin and Bethsaida to come to Him.
29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 29-30
He will teach the God-fearing
In addition to the humble, verse 12 says the Lord shall teach the God-fearing man ”in the way He chooses”. The humble, reverent person can expect the gift of God’s guidance and instruction. The Lord shall shape him and mould him in such a manner that he will be an instrument fit for the Master’s use. Moreover, God will reward and bless him spiritually. Every such man shall have favour shown him by the Lord. See what else verses 13 and 14 say:
13 ”He himself shall dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants shall inherit the earth”
14 “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.”
The phrase “dwell in prosperity” should strike a chord with what was said above in relation to blessings which accompany those who keep God’s covenant. In other words, the humble, God-fearing man is the man whom the Lord God Almighty will prosper. In addition, his descendants shall inherit the earth. The Lexham English Bible (LEB) translates verse 14a thus:
14 “Intimate fellowship with Yahweh is for those who fear him,”, which is quite amazing. For a person to know the Living God is truly a blessing, but to have intimate fellowship with Him is astounding!
May these truths stir our hearts to strive harder to glorify our Lord Jesus. Let us desire to know our God intimately!
PRAYER FOR TODAY
O Lord, let our souls rise up to meet you, as the dawn emerges to meet the sun. We commit ourselves to you at the start of this week. May we experience You in very real ways daily this week.
We pray for our loved ones, for the church family, for those who have lost family, for those who have lost friends. We pray for those adversely impacted by the pandemic. Your grace and mercy be upon them.
Our Heavenly Father, thank you for the life of David. Thank you that despite the sins he committed, he repented sincerely and when he sought forgiveness from you, you granted it to him.
We are confident that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank you that your anger is but for a moment, and your favour is for a lifetime. Help us learn true humility; help us learn what it means to be God-fearing, that we may seek to do Your will in our lives always.
In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.
Ps Cheng Cheung
每日灵粮
星期一，2020年6月8日
诗篇 25(II)
作者：张祯祥传道
翻译：胡斐弟兄
25:9 祂必按公平引领谦卑人、将祂的道教训他们。
25:12 谁敬畏耶和华、耶和华必指示他当选择的道路。
如果你们还记得，上周我提到了诗篇25篇中的其中一个主题，那就是上帝与祂的百姓以色列人服从或不服从立约（也称为西奈之约）的后果。在利未记26章和申命记28章中，上帝强调了该约的具体条件：顺服将带来上帝的祝福，这包括了给予祂子民丰盛与繁荣，战胜他们的敌人，以及上帝永久的同在。
但是，上帝警告说，不服从和违反祂的约将导致以色列人面临疫情的问题，如收成未果、被敌人击败、瘟疫、主的七次管教以及在最终民族分裂。
我们看到当大卫回想起这个约时，他意识到若要回到主面前，他必须认罪，整理好自己的属灵生活。（参诗篇25章7、11和18节）
在本篇中，第1-7节似乎传达着统一的想法。首先，大卫肯定了他对上帝的信靠，并恳求主不要在仇敌面前羞辱他。此请求的背后是什么原因呢？他可能犯了罪—犯了有严重后果的失误或一个冲动的行为。他真诚地向上帝呼求祂指示如何归向上帝。他在等，他在呼喊。正如我们上周看到的那样，他求上帝忠于祂的旧约，并且恳求上帝忘了他年轻时的罪过。
祂必引领谦卑人
然后，大为求主“将祢的道指示我”（4、5、9和12节）
诗篇25:9 祂必按公平引领谦卑人、将祂的道教训他们。
大卫宣告，“耶和华是良善正直的。所以祂必指示罪人走正路。”，并且解释了主如何以祂的方式耐心地对待自己心爱的孩子。
对上帝的孩子而言，他们需要谦卑自己，那主肯定会指示他们当选择的道路。那些谦卑的、顺从的、降服的、可教的—上帝都会指示与教导。那些骄傲自大的，上帝就任他们放纵自己，但那谦卑降服的上帝就会指示他们走向义人的道路。
仁慈的方式和真理的方式。神不会拿出管教的杖，因祂是温柔。但祂会向祂的儿女揭示他们内心深处的真相，即他们生活中那些需要活得更像耶稣的地方。也许就如，“约翰，你需要对你儿子有更多的耐心。不要对他太苛刻”或“凯西，你的下属是个学习缓慢的人。再次说明程序，她会感激不尽。”
诗篇25:10凡遵守祂的约和祂法度的人、耶和华都以慈爱诚实待他。
这是我们上帝的方式。祂以这种方式对待我们，好叫我们可以活的更像祂。多年以后，当主耶稣邀请不愿悔改的哥拉汛和伯赛大城的乡亲来到他身边时，他也有着同样的柔和精神。
马太福音 11：29-30节
我心里柔和谦卑、你们当负我的轭、学我的样式、这样、你们心里就必得享安息。
因为我的轭是容易的、我的担子是轻省的。
祂必引领敬畏耶和华的
除了谦卑外，第12节还说，“耶和华必指示他当选择的道路”教导敬畏神的人。谦卑、虔诚的人可以得到上帝的指导和指示。主将塑造他，使他成为神可重用的仆人。此外，上帝会在属灵上奖励并祝福他。每个这样的人都应蒙主的恩宠。看看第13和14节还怎么说：“他必安然居住，他的后裔必承受地土。耶和华与敬畏他的人亲密，他必将自己的约指示他们。“
“安然居住”一与上述遵守上帝的约之人的祝福有关。换句话说，谦卑敬畏上帝的人就是全能的主上帝会祝福的人。此外，他的后代将继承地土。第14上节说：“耶和华与敬畏祂的人亲密” 这真是太奇妙了。一个人能认识永生的上帝确实是一个福气，但是能与能祂亲密的团契真是令人震惊！ 愿这些真理激起我们内心，更加努力地荣耀我们的主耶稣。让我们渴望能够更加亲密地认识我们的上帝！
今日祷告
上帝啊，就如黎明升起，让我们的心也能迎接祢。在这来临的一周，我们将自己献上。愿我们本周的每一天真正地经历祢。我们为亲人、教会家庭、失去家庭的人们、失去朋友的人们祷告。我们为受到疫情影响的人们祷告。愿祢的恩典和怜悯临到他们。
我们的天父，我们因着大卫的一生感谢祢。谢谢祢，尽管他犯了罪，但他仍然真诚地悔改，当他向祢寻求宽恕时，祢原谅了他。
我们相信，如果我们承认自己的罪过，那么祢是信实公义的，祢会原谅我们的罪过，并赦免我们所有的不义。谢谢祢的愤怒只是暂时的，但祢的厚爱是一生的。帮助我们学习真正的谦卑；帮助我们了解敬畏上帝的真真含义，使我们可以一生活出祢的旨意。
我们奉主耶稣的名祷告，阿们。