Monday, 15 June 2020

Ps Cheng Cheung

‘Clean Hands’
Psalm 26: 6 I will wash my hands in innocence;
So I will go about Your altar, O LORD,

One of the key roles of the God’s Holy Spirit is to do the work of sanctification in our lives. It’s a big word but simply means transforming every part of the “old us” that is selfish, proud, hypocritical, self-righteous and mean so that we become, from our hearts, more and more Christlike. We are being renewed daily, from the date of our conversion, into His image. No easy task. And it will take a lifetime, literally.

Integrity and consistent obedience was David’s claim in Psalm 25. Here in this Psalm he goes a step further in his journey of sanctification. He asks God “Judge, me I have walked in my integrity. Prove me, test me, try (put on trial) my innermost being and my mind (my mind and my heart). Because your lovingkindness is before me, I walk in faith and confidence” – [Verses 1 to 3 paraphrased]. In other words, David knows himself, believes he has nothing to hide and is being totally honest with the Almighty. He knows, like what Pastor Wallace said in his sermon this morning ”Secret sins on earth are open scandals in heaven!”

In another example, it is no wonder Isaiah fell before the Lord God and exclaimed “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips.” He knew before a thrice holy omniscient God, the deceitfulness and sin in his heart was laid bare. Brothers and sisters, let us always approach the Lord with the same awe, reverence and openness that He might, like David, deal with our old man with more transparency in our sanctification journey.

David also asks God to vindicate and defend him from all his enemies’ allegations. He probably knows that with an unreasonable adversary, it is pointless to try to defend yourself against baseless accusations. These are the deceitful, the hypocrites, the evildoers, and the wicked. Friends, do you sometimes experience this in your work environment and places of human interaction? Do not fret, let the Lord be your defender.
The important step is the next, where David says

6 I will wash my hands in innocence,
and I will walk about your altar, O Yahweh,

In other words, David is able to come before the Lord in all honesty after having deep introspection that he is innocent of any wrongdoing, deceit, self-righteousness and hypocrisy before God. Only thereafter is he confident his worship of God would be acceptable to the Lord God Almighty. May we do the same before we step into the Lord’s house or, indeed, partake of the Lord’s supper.

In the second part of the Psalm (verses 9 to 12), David makes two pleas to The Lord.
First he asks God:

9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with those who are bloodthirsty,

He asks for God’s mercy, that God would preserve his life. He has refused to associate with the wicked in life; but notwithstanding, he asks God to keep him faithful to Him and from the influence of sinners till death takes him. It is an amazing request from the Psalmist and shows he has not taken his salvation for granted and affirms his utter dependence on God to the end.

Then, he asks for God’s redemption and grace, keeping his stance and footing in the Lord firm and secure, so that he would always be found in the house of the Lord, praising Him.

Prayer for today

Our Heavenly Father, thank you for the example of David, truly a man after God’s heart. Give us the same amount of spiritual fortitude that he had in our walk with You. Help us realise it is the quality of our relationship with You and our utter dependence on the truth and light of your word that will see us through the storm many of us are facing now.

We pray for many who have been adversely affected by the current pandemic. May You be their help and comfort. We pray also for sensitivity on the part of the Lord’s community to reach out to these in practical ways.

We look forward to the day when we might be able to meet again in your house, O Lord, to raise our voices to sing Your praises before each other. Till then, give us patience to wait a little longer.
In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

每日灵粮
星期一，2020年6月15日
清洁的手
作者：张祯祥传道
翻译：巫惠如姐妹

诗篇 26：6 耶和华啊，我要洗手表明无辜，才环绕你的祭坛

圣灵的关键工作之一就是使我们在生活中成为圣洁。 看似深奥的词汇，其实只是意味着一个人全然地改变「老我」的自私、自豪、虚伪、自以为是、刻薄，让我们从心变得越来越像基督。 从我们信主的那一刻，我们每天都在更新，变得更像他。这不是简单的任务。 真的需要用一辈子的时间去实践。

大卫在诗篇第25提到个人正直和始终如一的顺服。 在26章，他更进一步地谈论成圣之旅。 他问上帝：「法官，我已走了正直的路。 求你察验我，试炼我，鉴察我的心思意念。你的慈爱常在我眼前，我信心十足而行。」（第1至3节意译） 换句话说，大卫自知他没有什么可隐瞒的，并且诚实地面对全能的上帝。 他知道，就如王振威传道今天上午的证道：「地球上的秘密罪行，都是天堂公开的丑闻！」

再举一个例子，难怪以赛亚倒在上帝面前，大喊：「祸哉！我灭亡了。因为我是嘴唇不洁的人。」在三位一体、无所不知的上帝面前，他知道自己心中的欺骗和罪恶将暴露无遗。 弟兄姐妹，让我们时常心存如大卫对上帝的敬畏、尊崇和坦诚，以便在成圣的旅程中，上帝也能以更透明的方式处理我们的老我，像他如何待大卫一样。

大卫也恳求上帝证明并捍卫他免受敌人的指控。 他可能知道，面对无理的对手，试图为毫无根据的指控自我辩护其实是毫无意义的。 这些是欺骗的、伪君子、恶人和奸诈的人。 朋友们，你是否在工作环境和社交场所体验过这些呢？ 别担心，让主成为你的捍卫者。

重要的下一步是，大卫说：「我要洗手表明无辜，才环绕你的祭坛 」（第六节）

换句话说，大卫之所以能够坦诚地站在上帝面前，是因为他先深刻反省自己有没有对上帝犯下任何错误、欺骗、自以为是和伪善。只有这样，他才能够确信全能的上帝接受他的敬拜。 在我们进入主家之前，我们可以做同样的事，又或者，可以守圣餐。

在诗篇26的下半段（第9至12节），大卫两次恳求主。 首先，他求上帝：「不要把我的灵魂和罪人一同除掉，不要把我的性命和流人血的一同除掉，」

他请求上帝的慈悲，求上帝保佑他的生命。 他不愿与恶人交往。他也求上帝使他忠于主，尽管受罪人的影响，直到他死去也不偏离主。 这是诗人惊人的请求，表明他并没有视救赎为理所当然的，并确认他对上帝的绝对依靠。

然后，他求上帝救赎并怜悯他，使他坚定地立足在主里，好让他永远在主家中，称颂他。

今天祈祷：

天父，我们为大卫感谢你，他的确是合神心意的人。 求主也赐给我们如大卫的属灵坚毅。 帮助我们认识到，正是我们与你关系的品质，以及我们对你话语的真理和亮光的绝对依赖，带领我们度过许多人现在面临的风暴。

我们为许多受到当前新冠病毒不利影响的人祈祷。 愿你成为他们的帮助和安慰。 我们也求主的肢体能善解人意，以实际的方式帮助有需要的人。

哦主，我们期待再次聚集在你家中，高声赞美你。 在那之前，请赐我们耐心等等待。

我们奉耶稣的名祷告， 阿门。