Saturday, 3 October 2020
Title: God cares for the insignificant
Author: Pastor Johnson
Translator: Shirley Moo

Psalm 8:4 What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Among all things in the universe and before God, man often forgets who he is, so he often deceives himself. Not seeing the true meaning of life clearly, not seeking eternal life, he fades away in a blink of an eye. In the eternal process of the universe, he does not live as long as an atom, nor as a photon flying to a distant place. There are good explanations and instructions in the Bible for what man actually is.

Mankind is nothing but dust, at most a mass of mud. However, when compared to everything in the universe, the world is just like a drop in a bucket. Even if it is as dust in the sky, in the eyes of God, it seems to be nothingness or even void. The world is like grass, and its beauty as flowers that soon withered.

Psalm 90:5-6 “Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death – they are like the new grass of the morning. In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.”

Verses 9-10: “All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”

We finish our years with a groan. The seemingly most secure time is completely illusory. All actions are like phantoms, and all the busyness is in vain. Human life is as mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Life is just as a breath of air, a dream, and a night’s sleep.

But man is not so aware of the length of his short life, thinking that his years are long, faraway from death. He toils all day long, contemplating, rushing about, coveting, accumulating, and considering that his possessions will last forever, and that his home will remain for all generations. Not awakened, as animals in general, even like insects such as moths, he will be destroyed sooner or later, dead in the middle of the night, at most a few years more to be on the road of no return. Even the rest of his remaining life he will live as extinct rotten things and moth-eaten clothes. Once he passes away, his appearance changes immediately and will no longer rise up.

Dear brothers and sisters, it is important to know what kind of people we are. A person is not considered good when he is good occasionally; A person who does good deeds occasionally is confounding and imperfect. He seems to have two kinds of character, which contradict each other. This shows that he has not yet developed a certain special character in him that is to become the characteristic of his life and temperament.

A wavering and confounding man is also immature and unformed. He is worthless before God. Unfortunately, many of the apostles were like that. They behaved as the Corinthians who were regarded as carnal even though they had many spiritual gifts and knowledge, let alone some who were sinful & evil men. God works in us, edifies us, guides and disciplines us to make us to be a people after God’s own heart. He does not wish that we continue to be confounding, childish, weak, immature, and unshaped. Psalm 4: 3: “know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself “(NASB). In particular, it is mentioned here that the godly man is set apart for Himself. Anyone who does not reach this level cannot be considered as belonging fully to God, and God is not pleased, because it is not consistent with God’s requirements and God Himself.

Prayer：
Dear Abba Father, you are the Great God. You are the God worthy of praise. Thank you that you reveal to us through this psalm for us to understand and to see our insignificance. Just as David looked up at the stars in the sky intently, he couldn’t help but to feel awe. “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” O Lord, your majestic name fills the earth, and yet you care for the insignificant. Lord, We thank you and praise you for always remembering and caring for us. Let those who believe and trust in you be blessed with grace, from humbleness to honor! We pray in the holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Saturday，3 October， 2020
题目：神竟然看顾微不足道的人
作者：张胜牧师

詩篇8：4  “人算甚麽，袮竟顾念他，世人算甚麽，袮竟眷顾他。” 

人常忘记自己是甚麽，在宇宙万有之中，在神面前算甚麽，因此常欺骗自己。没有看清人生的真正意义，没有寻求永远的生命，转眼之间消逝而去。在宇宙永世的过程中，还不如一颗原子存在的久长，不如一粒光子飞逝远方。人究竟是甚麽，算甚麽，圣经中有很好的说明和指示。

人本来不过是尘土，顶多是一团泥，可是比起宇宙万有来，万民不过像水桶的一滴，就算是天空上的微尘，在神眼中看来如属虚无，甚至虚空。世人尽都如草，美容也尽如花，不久就被割下枯干，如诗篇90：5~6节；你叫他们如水冲去；他们如睡一觉。早晨，他们如生长的草，早晨发芽生长，晚上割下枯干。9~10节；我们经过的日子，都在你震怒之下；我们度尽的年岁好像一声叹息。我们一生的年日是七十岁，若是强壮可到八十岁；但其中所矜夸的，不过是劳人一生的年日最多不过七、八十岁，但其所矜夸的，不过是劳苦愁烦，转眼成空，我们便如飞而去。所度尽的年岁好像一声叹息，最稳妥的时候也全然虚幻。所有行动皆像幻影，一切忙乱真是枉然。人的生命不过是片云雾，出现少时就不见了。生命仅是一口气，一场梦，如睡一觉而已。

然而人并不如此觉悟，以为他的年日尚久，离死非止一步，终日经营劳碌，思虑，奔走，贪恋，积蓄，以为他们的家业必永存，住宅留万代。这样不醒悟，都如畜类一般，甚至如虫如蛀一样，不知早晚之间就被毁灭，半夜之中就要死亡，最多不过几年就要走那往而不还之路。就是活着的残年，也已经像灭绝的烂物，虫蛀的衣衫。一旦去世，容貌立即改变，将不再起来。

亲爱的弟兄姊妹，我们究竟是一个甚麽样的人，这关系很重要。一个人可能时好、时坏，有时作些好事，有时作些坏事，这就不能算是一个好人，而是一个混杂人，一个不完全的人。他似乎有两种品格，自相矛盾，这表明某种特殊的品格在他身上还没有完全贯通，掌握他全人，成为他生命、性情的特点。

一个摇动、混杂的人，也是一个未成熟、未定形的人，他在神面前毫无价值。可惜许多使徒就是这样，像哥林多信徒一样，虽然有不少属灵的恩赐和知识，却仍然只能当作是属肉体的。更不用说有些人是罪人、恶人了。

神在我们身上的工作、造就、引导、管教，就是要我们成为神所喜悦的人，不愿我们一直作一个混杂、幼稚、软弱、不成熟、不定形的人。诗篇4：3节； “你们要知道耶和华已经分别虔诚人，归祂自己。” 在这里特别提到分别虔诚人，归祂自己，凡没有达到这种程度，则不能算为完全属神的，神也不喜悦，因为与神的要求和神自己都不相合。

祷告：

亲爱的阿爸天父，您是伟大的神，您是配得称颂赞美的神。感谢你透过这诗篇向我们世人启示，让我们明白和看见自己的卑微，所以当大卫专心仰望星空的时候，就不能不生发敬畏之心。“人算甚麽，袮竟顾念他，世人算甚麽，袮竟眷顾他。” 满有尊贵的神，您竟然眷顾微不足道的世人。主啊！我们感谢你赞美你，常常纪念和看顾我们。让凡相信和倚靠你的人都蒙恩典，从卑微进入尊荣！

奉主耶稣基督的圣名祷告，阿门。