46. Good Cheer for the Needy

For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. Psalm 9:18
The practical value of a text very much depends upon the man to whom it comes The song of the troubadour was charming to Richard Coeur-de-Lion because he knew the responsive verses. The trail is full of meaning to the Indian, for his quick eye knows how to follow it; it would not mean a tithe as much to a white man. The sight of the lighthouse is cheering to the mariner, for from it he gathers his where- abouts. So will those who are spiritually poor and needy eagerly lay hold on this promise, prize it, and live upon it with content.
It is literally true that the needy are remembered of God, and though they may be overlooked by man's laws, the Lord will rectify that error at the last. In better times also he will so order governments that they shall look with peculiar interest upon the poor. Using the text spiritually we see:

I. TWO BITTER EXPERIENCES ENDED.

1. "The needy shall not always be forgotten." You have been forgotten —

• By former friends and admirers.
• In arrangements made, and plans projected.
• In judgments formed, and in praises distributed.
• In help estimated, and reliance expressed.

In fact, you have not been a factor in the calculation; you have been forgotten as a dead man out of mind. This has wounded you deeply, for there was a time when you were consulted among the first.
This will not be so always.

2."The expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever" You have been disappointed, —

• In your natural expectation from justice, gratitude, relationship, age, sympathy, charity, etc.
• In your confidence in man.
• In your judgment of yourself.
• In your expectations of providence.

This disappointment shall only be temporary. Your expectation shall not perish for ever: you shall yet receive more than you expected.

II. TWO SAD FEARS REMOVED, FEARS WHICH ARE NORMALLY SUGGESTED BY WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED.

1. Not for ever shall you be forgotten, —

• You shall not meet with final forgetfulness
• In the day of severe trouble.
• In the night of grief and alarm for sin.
• In the hour of death.

2. Nor shall your expectation perish, —

• Your weakness shall not frustrate the power of God.
• Your sin shall not dry up the grace of God.
• Your constitutional infirmities shall not cause your overthrow.
• Your future trials shall not be too much for you.

III. TWO SWEET PROMISES GIVEN.

1. "Not always be forgotten;" you shall not be overlooked:

• In the arrangements of providence.
• At the mercy-seat, when you are pleading.
• From the pulpit, and in the Word, when your soul is hungering.
• At the Breaking of Bread, when you long for communion with your Lord.
• In your sufferings and service, when to be thought of by the Lord will be your main consolation.
• By the angels, or by any other spiritual agencies.
• By the Father, Son, or Holy Ghost.

2. "Expectation shall not perish for ever." You shall not be disappointed —

• Peace shall visit your heart.
• Sin shall be vanquished without and within.
• Mercy shall deliver in trial and out of trial.
• Assurance shall be gained, and all its strong confidence.
• Eminent joys shall be obtained, and an abundant entrance into glory.
• Let the poor man hope in God.
• Let him feast on the future if he find the present to be scant.
• Above all, let him rest in the promise of a faithful God.

Illuminators

The pain of being forgotten is forcibly expressed in the words ascribed by Cowper to Alexander Selkirk in his solitude,—
My friends, do they now and then send
A wish or a thought after me?
O tell me I yet have a friend
Though a friend I am never to see.
An aged Christian, lying, on his death-bed in a state of such extreme weakness that he was often entirely unconscious of all around him, was asked the cause of his perfect peace. He replied,"When I am able to think, I think of Jesus; and when I am unable to think of him, I know he is thinking of me."

Thirty years ago, before the Lord caused me to wander from my father's house and from my native place, I put my mark upon this passage in Isaiah: "Thou shalt know that I am the Lord" (Isa. 49:23.) Of the many books I now possess, the Bible that bears this mark is the only one that belonged to me at that time. It now lies before me, and I find that, although the hair which then was dark as night has meanwhile become as sable silvered, the ink which marked this text has grown into intensity of blackness as the time advanced, corresponding with, and in fact recording, the growing intensity of the conviction that "they shall not be ashamed" who wait for Thee. I believed it then, but I know it now, and I can write "Probatum est" with my whole heart over against the symbol which that mark is to me of my ancient faith .... Under many perilous circumstances, in many most trying scenes, amid faintings within and fears without, and under tortures that rend the heart, and troubles that crush it down, I have waited for Thee, and lo I stand this day as One not ashamed — Dr. John Kitto

In choosing a minister, and in all other church acts, let us be sure to remember the poor of the flock; they should, in fact, have double consideration, for the Lord would not have them to be overlooked. Do not let them suppose that they are forgotten.

Let us beware of disappointing a needy person. He sets great store by a promise when he greatly needs the help, and if it does not come in due time it causes him sharp distress. Let us never disappoint one of the Lord's poor, for the Lord will never do so himself.
What recompenses there will be in the eternal state, and what changes of position! Reputations will have a resurrection as well as bodies. Dishonor and neglect shall be rewarded with glory and honor. Disappointment through unjust withholding shall be doubly repaid by surprises of unlooked-for happiness. The wheel will turn, and that part of it which touched the dust shall mount aloft. Those words, "not always;' are a wonderful abatement to present ingratitude, and those, "not for ever," are an equal solarium under this life's trials.
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

46. 給貧乏者的好消息

「因為困苦人必不永久被忘；貧乏人的指望必不永遠落空。」——詩篇 9:18 (18窮乏人必不永久被忘；困苦人的指望必不永遠 落空。)
一節經文的實際價值，在很大程度上取決於它臨到的是什麼樣的人。吟遊詩人的歌曲對獅心王理查而言格外動聽，因為他懂得其中的對唱；印第安人看見地上的足跡，便覺得意味深長，因為他敏銳的眼睛知道如何追蹤，但對白人而言，卻未必有十分之一的意義。燈塔的景象能使水手振奮，因為他能藉此判斷自己的方位。同樣地，那些在靈性上貧乏、困苦的人，必會急切地抓住這個應許，珍惜它，並心滿意足地靠它而活。
從字面來看，神確實記念貧乏的人；即便他們被人的制度忽略，主終必在末後糾正這一錯誤。在較好的時期，祂也會安排政府，特別關注貧窮人。若從屬靈角度來看這節經文，我們便看見：

一、兩個痛苦的經歷將要結束

1.「困苦人必不永久被忘。」你曾被忘記——

• 被從前的朋友與仰慕者忘記；
• 在安排與計畫中被忽略；
• 在判斷與稱讚中被遺漏；
• 在援助的估算與信任的表達上被排除。
  
  事實上，你已不再是計算中的一個因素；你彷彿成了「心中已死的人」，被完全遺忘。這深深刺痛了你，因為曾幾何時，你是最先被徵詢的人之一。
  但這情況不會永遠如此。
  
  2.「貧乏人的指望必不永遠落空。」你曾經失望——
  
  
• 在你對公義、感恩、親情、年歲、同情、慈惠等方面的自然期待中；
• 在你對人的信任中；
• 在你對自己的判斷中；
• 在你對神護理的期待中。
  
  然而，這些失望只是暫時的。你的指望不會永遠落空；你將來所得的，甚至超過你所期待的。

二、兩個憂傷的恐懼被除去

這些恐懼，往往是你過往經歷所自然引發的。

1. 你不會永遠被忘記——

• 你不會遭遇最終的被遺忘：
• 在極重的患難之日；
• 在因罪而憂傷、驚恐的黑夜；
• 在臨終的時刻。

2. 你的指望也不會落空——

• 你的軟弱不會使神的能力失效；
• 你的罪不會枯竭神的恩典；
• 你天生的缺陷不會導致你的傾覆；
• 你將來的試煉不會超過你所能承受的。

三、兩個甘甜的應許賜下

1.「不永久被忘」——你不會被忽略：

• 在神護理的安排中；
• 在你於施恩座前懇求時；
• 在講台上、在神的話語中，當你的心靈飢渴時；
• 在擘餅聚會中，當你渴望與主相交時；
• 在你的受苦與服事中，當被主記念成為你最大的安慰時；
• 在天使或任何屬靈使者的關顧中；
• 在父、子、聖靈的記念中。

2.「指望不永遠落空」——你不會再失望：

• 平安將臨到你的心；
• 罪惡在外在與內在都要被勝過；
• 憐憫要在試煉中、也在試煉之外拯救你；
• 確據將被賜下，並帶來堅固的信心；
• 崇高的喜樂將臨到你，並有豐盛地進入榮耀。
• 讓貧乏的人仰望神。
• 若現在覺得缺乏，就讓他以將來為宴席。
• 最重要的是，讓他安息在那位信實之神的應許中。

啟示

被遺忘的痛苦，在考珀（Cowper）歸於亞歷山大·塞爾柯克（Alexander Selkirk）孤居時的詩句中，被迫切地表達出來——
我的朋友啊，他們是否偶爾 仍向我送來一個祝願或一個念頭？ 哦，告訴我，我仍有一位朋友， 雖然那位朋友，我永遠無法再見。 有一位年老的基督徒，臥於臨終病榻，虛弱至極，常常對周遭一切全然無知。有人問他，為何他心中仍有完全的平安。他回答說：「當我能思想的時候，我就思想耶穌；當我不能思想祂的時候，我知道祂正在思想我。」

三十年前，在主使我離開父家、離開本鄉之地以前，我在以賽亞書中的這句話上作了記號：「你必知道我是耶和華」（賽49:23 23列王必作你的養父；王后必作你的乳母。他們必將臉伏地，向你下拜，並舔你腳上的塵土。你便知道我是耶和華；等候我的必不致羞愧。）。如今我所擁有的許多書中，只有那本帶著這記號的聖經，是當年屬於我的。它此刻正放在我面前；我發現，雖然那時黑如夜色的頭髮，如今已變成銀黑相間，而標記這節經文的墨跡，卻隨著歲月的推移愈加深黑，與我心中那日益增強的確信相呼應，並且實際上記錄了這信念的增長——「等候祢的，必不致羞愧。」那時我相信它，如今我知道它；我可以用全心在這記號旁寫下「Probatum est（已被證實）」，因為它對我而言，是我古老信心的象徵……在許多險惡的境況中，在無數極其艱難的場面裡，內有昏弱，外有懼怕；在撕裂人心的痛楚與壓垮人的患難之下，我仍等候祢；看哪，今日我站立在此，並不蒙羞。——約翰·基托博士

在揀選牧者，以及一切教會事務上，務要記念羊群中的貧窮人；事實上，他們應當得到加倍的顧念，因為主不願他們被忽略。不要讓他們以為自己被遺忘了。

讓我們謹慎，不要使有需要的人失望。當人迫切需要幫助時，他會極其看重一個承諾；若未能按時兌現，便會帶來尖銳的痛苦。讓我們永不使主的貧窮人失望，因為主自己從不如此。 在永恆的國度裡，將有何等的報償，又將有何等的位置轉換！名聲也要像身體一樣復活。羞辱與忽視，必以榮耀與尊貴來回報；因不義的扣留所造成的失望，必以出人意料的喜樂雙倍償還。輪子必然轉動，曾觸及塵土的那一部分，將要升到高處。那句話——「不總是如此」，對眼前的忘恩負義是何等奇妙的緩解；而那句——「不至永遠」，對今生的試煉同樣是一帖甘美的安慰。
——查爾斯·哈登·司布真

47. Revelation and Conversion

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7
Trees are known by their fruit, and books by their effect upon the mind. It is not the elegance of its diction but the excellence of its influence by which a book is to be estimated.
By "the law of the Lord" David means the whole revelation of God, as far as it had been given in his day; but his remark is equally true of all that God has since been pleased to speak by his Spirit.
This holy law may be judged of by its effect upon our own selves; It touches man's very soul, with the best conceivable result; and hence the Psalmist speaks of it in the most eulogistic manner as both perfect and sure. Its effects prove it to be complete and certain.

I. THE WORK OF THE WORD OF GOD IN CONVERSION.

Not apart from the Spirit, but as it is used by the Spirit for diverse ends, all needful to salvation.
1. To convince men of sin: they see what perfection is, that God demands it, and that they are far from it.
2. To drive men from false methods of seeking salvation, to bring them to self-despair, and to shut them up to God's method of saving them.
3. To reveal the way of salvation, by grace, through Christ, by faith.
4. To enable the soul to embrace Christ as its all in all. By setting forth promises and invitations, which are opened up to the understanding and sealed to the heart, etc.
5. To bring the heart nearer and nearer to God. Emotions of love, desires for holiness, devotion, self-searching, love to men, humility, etc. — these are all excited, sustained, and perfected in the heart by the Word of God.
6. To restore the soul when it has wandered. Renewing tenderness, hope, love, joy, etc., by its gentle reminders.
7. To perfect the nature. The highest flights of holy enjoyment are not above or beyond the Word. Nothing is purer or more elevated than Holy Scripture. The Word also slays all sin, promotes ffery virtue, prepares for every duty, etc.

II. THE EXCELLENCE OF THIS WORK DONE BY THE WORD.

The operations of grace by the Word are altogether good and not evil; and they are timed and balanced with infinite discretion. The Word of the Lord works marvelously, perfectly, and surely.
1. It removes despair without quenching repentance.
2. Gives pardon, but does not create presumption.
3. Gives rest, but excites the soul to progress.
4. Breathes security, but engenders watchfulness.
5. Bestows strength and holiness, but begets no boasting.
6. Gives harmony to duties, emotions, hopes, and enjoyments.
7. Brings the man to live for God, before God. and with God; and yet makes him none the less fitted for the daily duties of life.

III. THE CONSEQUENT EXCELLENCE OF THE WORD.

l. We need not add to it if we would secure conversion in any special case, or on the largest scale.
2. We need not keep back any doctrine for fear of damping the flame of a true revival.
3. We need not extraordinary gifts with which to preach it: the Word will do its own work.
4. We have but to follow the Word to be converted. It would be useless to run after new doctrine in the hope of being more powerfully affected. The old is better, and nothing better than the old Gospel can be imagined. It fits a man's needs as a key fits a lock.
5. We have but to keep to it to become truly wise: wise as the aged, wise as necessity requires, wise as the age, wise as eternity demands, wise with the wisdom of Christ.

• Cling to the Scripture.
• Study the whole revelation of God.
• Use it as your chief instrument in all holy service.

Modern Instances

A remarkable proof that the Bible is its own witness is given by a writer from Oporto, who records the following reply of a man he met crouching in a ditch, to an inquiry as to what book he was reading:-"Well, if you won't betray me, I acknowledge that this is a New Testament. I bought it of a man who was selling such books, and determined to know something of its contents. I dare not tell anybody that I have it, not even my wife. So I have no one to teach me. Yet it is not difficult to understand, for as I read it makes itself plain to me."
"The process of enlightenment in many Romanist minds," says an observer, "is shadowed forth by the experience of one whom I saw but last week. He sat down to read the Bible an hour each evening with his wife. In a few evenings he stopped in the midst of his reading, and said 'Wife, if this book is true, we are wrong.' He read on, and in a few days longer, said, 'Wife, if this book is true, we are lost.' Riveted to the book, and deeply anxious, he still read, and in a week more joyfully exclaainled, 'Wife, if this book is true, we may be saved.' A few weeks more reading, and taught by the Spirit of God through the exhortations and instructions of a City Missionary, they both placed their faith in Christ, and are now rejoicing in hope." — Christian Treasury

I have many books that I cannot sit down to read; they are, indeed, good and sound, but, like halfpence, there goes a great quantity to a small amount; there are silver books, and a very few golden books; but I have one book worth them all, called the Bible. — John Newton

It is the Book of God. What if I should
Say, God of Books?
Let him that looks
Angry at that expression, as too bold,
His thoughts in silence smother Till he find such another.
— Christopher Harvey

The longer I live the higher is my estimate of an expository ministry, embracing the whole Word of God. I have on purpose tried certain truths to see if they will produce conversion, and I have not failed in any case. Outlying doctrines meet with certain outlying minds which could not be reached by the usual range of teaching. What would seem to be the eccentricities of truth are all needed for impressing eccentric conditions of thought and heart. I prayerfully preached the Resurrection and many were raised to spiritual life; I preached divine sovereignty when a revival was in full swing and it deepened and continued the work. The omission of certain truths from certain ministries may account for their barrenness. O that ministers would believe that the Word needs no improving, but is already perfect, "converting the soul"; and that it requires no suiting to the times, for it still makes wise the simple.

If there is any knowledge fully in our possession, it is certainly that which comes to us by experience. That a certain material will float in the water may be proved by a knowledge of its specific gravity; but we will feel more fully assured of the fact if we have seen it tried, and we will regard our answer to an objector, "1 have seen it floating in water frequently," as simply sufficient to silence all objections. Ay, we will regard such a statement as fully more conclusive than, "It must float, for its specific gravity is lighter than water." On this same principle-and it is the principle of common sense-how fully we can prove that the Bible is the Word of God! Yes, every Christian carries the proof with him in his own experience. A poor Italian woman, a fruit-seller, had received the Word of God in her heart, and became persuaded of the truth of it. Seated at her modest stall at the head of a bridge she made use of every moment in which she was unoccupied in her small traffic, in order to study the sacred volume. "What are you reading there, my good woman?" said a gentleman one day, as he came up to the stall to purchase some fruit. "It is the Word of God;' replied the fruit-vendor. "The Word of God! Who told you that? .... He told me so Himself." "Have you ever spoken with Him, then?" The poor woman felt a little embarrassed, more especially as the gentleman insisted on her giving him some proof of what she believed. Unused to discussion, and feeling greatly at a loss for arguments, she at length exclaimed, looking upward, "Can you prove to me, sir, that there is a sun up if the sky? .... Prove it!" he replied. "Why, the best proof is that it warms me, and that I can see its light." "So it is with me," she replied joyously; "the proof of this Book's being the Word of God is that it warms and lights my soul" — Bertram's Homiletic Encyclopedia

McCheyne somewhere says "Depend upon it; it is God's word, not man's comment on God's word, which converts souls." I have frequently observed that this is the case. A discourse has been the means of conviction or of decision; but usually upon close inquiry I have found that the real instrument was a scripture quoted by the preacher. A large fruit may contain and nourish a tiny seed; when the fruit falls into the ground and the shoot springs up, the real life was in the central pip, and not in the juicy fruit which encompassed it. So the divine truth is the living and incorruptible seed: the sermon is as needful as the apple to its pip; but still the vitality, the energy, the saving power, was in the pip of the Word, and only in a minor sense in the surrounding apple of human exposition and exhortation.
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

47. 啟示與歸正（重生）

一、神的話語在歸正（重生）中的工作

這一切不是離開聖靈，而是聖靈使用神的話語，為著各樣拯救所必需的目的而成就的。

1. 使人知罪：人藉此看見什麼是完全，也明白神對完全的要求，並認清自己與之相距何等遙遠。
2. 使人放棄錯誤的得救途徑：神的話驅使人對自己絕望，使人不再倚靠虛假的方法，而單單被引到神所預備的救恩之路上。
3. 啟示救恩之道：就是藉著基督、本乎恩、因著信而得的救恩。
4. 使靈魂能擁抱基督為一切：藉著應許與邀請，光照人的悟性，並將真理印證在人的心中。
5. 使人心越來越親近神：愛神的情感、追求聖潔的渴望、敬虔、內省、愛人、謙卑等，都是神的話在心中激發、維持並成全的。
6. 使偏離的靈魂得著復興：神的話以溫柔的提醒，使人重新得著柔軟、盼望、愛與喜樂。
7. 使人的生命達到完全：最高境界的聖潔喜樂，從不超越神的話。沒有任何事物比聖經更純淨、更高尚。神的話也治死一切罪，促進各樣美德，並裝備人行各樣善事。

二、神的話所成就之工作的卓越性

藉著神話語所施行的恩典，全然是善而非惡，並且在時間與分寸上，都顯出無限的智慧與平衡。耶和華的話奇妙地、完全地、確實地作工。

1. 除去絕望，卻不熄滅悔改
2. 賜下赦免，卻不滋生放縱
3. 帶來安息，卻推動生命前進
4. 賜下安全感，卻培養警醒
5. 賜力量與聖潔，卻不引人自誇
6. 使責任、情感、盼望與喜樂和諧一致
7. 使人為神而活、在神面前而活、與神同行而活，卻絲毫不妨礙他履行日常生活的責任

三、由此顯出的神話語本身的卓越性

1. 若要在任何個別情況，或在最大範圍內帶來歸正，我們無需加添神的話。
2. 我們無需因害怕削弱復興的火焰而隱藏任何真理。
3. 我們不需要非凡的恩賜來傳講它；神的話自會完成它的工作。
4. 人只需跟隨神的話，就能被歸正；追逐新奇教義，並不會帶來更深的感動。舊的福音才是最好的，再沒有比這更好的了。它完全契合人的需要，如同鑰匙配合鎖。
5. 人只需持守神的話，就能真正得著智慧——有老練人的智慧，有應付現實需要的智慧，有適應時代的智慧， 也有面對永恆所需的智慧， 就是基督的智慧。

• 當緊緊抓住聖經。
• 研讀神全部的啟示。
• 在一切聖工上，以神的話為主要器皿。

當代見證

一位來自葡萄牙波多的作者記載，他遇見一名蹲在溝邊讀書的人，問他在看什麼。那人回答說：
「若你不出賣我，我承認這是一本新約。我從一個賣書的人那裡買來，決意要了解其中內容。我不敢告訴任何人，連我妻子也不知道，所以沒有人教我。但它並不難懂，因為我讀的時候，它自己向我解明。」
一位觀察者說：
「許多天主教徒心靈被光照的過程，可以從我上週見到的一個例子中看出來。他與妻子每天晚上讀聖經一小時。幾晚後，他忽然停下來說：『妻子啊，如果這本書是真的，我們就錯了。』又過幾天，他說：『如果這本書是真的，我們是滅亡的。』再過一週，他喜樂地喊道：『如果這本書是真的，我們可以得救！』再經過幾週，在聖靈藉城市宣教士的教導下，他們雙雙信靠基督，如今滿有盼望的喜樂。」
——《基督徒寶庫》

「我有許多書，卻無法靜坐細讀；它們誠然不錯，卻像小銅錢，需要很多才能湊成一點價值。有銀書，也有極少數金書；但我有一本書勝過一切，那就是聖經。」
——約翰．牛頓（John Newton）

「這是神的書。若我稱祂為『眾書之神』，
有人若因這稱呼而動怒，
就讓他默想，直到找出另一位。」
——克里斯多福．哈維（Christopher Harvey）

我越活越看重逐卷講解、涵蓋整本聖經的講道事奉。我刻意傳講某些真理，為要看看是否能帶來歸正，結果從未失敗。某些看似偏鋒的教義，正好對應某些偏鋒的心靈狀態。復活的信息使多人得著屬靈生命；在復興中傳講神的主權，使工作更加深化並持續。忽略某些真理，往往是事工貧乏的原因。願傳道人相信：神的話無需改良，因它本是完全的，「能甦醒人心」；也無需迎合時代，因它仍能使愚人得智慧。

如果說有哪一種知識是完全掌握在我們手中的，那無疑就是從經驗而來的知識。某種材料能浮在水面上，固然可以藉著它的比重來證明；但若我們親眼見過它被實際試驗過，心中就會更加篤定。而當我們回答反對者說：「我曾多次看見它浮在水面上」，這樣的回答本身就足以使一切反對噤聲。是的，這樣的陳述，在我們看來，甚至比「它一定會浮起來，因為它的比重比水輕」還要更具決定性。 正是基於同樣的原則——這也是常識的原則——我們可以何等充分地證明《聖經》是神的話！是的，每一位基督徒都在自己的經驗中隨身攜帶著這樣的證據。 有一位貧窮的義大利婦人，是個賣水果的，她把神的話領受在心裡，並深信其真實。她坐在一座橋頭的小攤前，只要生意稍有空檔，便抓緊每一刻研讀這本神聖的書卷。有一天，一位先生走到攤前買水果，對她說：「好心的婦人，你在讀什麼呢？」 「這是神的話。」水果販回答。 「神的話！誰告訴你那是神的話呢？」 「是祂自己告訴我的。」 「那麼，你曾與祂說過話嗎？」 這位貧窮的婦人感到有些局促，尤其是那位先生堅持要她拿出證據，證明她所相信的。她不習慣辯論，也深感缺乏論據，最後抬頭望著天空說道：「先生，你能向我證明天上有太陽嗎？……證明給我看！」 他回答說：「為什麼，最好的證明就是它溫暖了我，而且我能看見它的光。」 「對我也是一樣！」她歡喜地回答說，「這本書是神的話的證據，就在於它溫暖並照亮了我的靈魂。」 ——《伯特蘭講道百科全書》（Bertram's Homiletic Encyclopedia）

麥琴（McCheyne）在某處曾說過：「你要確信：使靈魂得以歸正的，乃是神的話，而不是人對神話語的註解。」我屢次觀察到，情形確實如此。一篇講道或許成了人被定罪、或作出決志的契機；但通常在仔細追溯之後，我發現真正的工具，其實是傳道人所引用的一節經文。 一顆巨大的果實，裡面可能包藏並滋養著一粒極小的種子；當果實落入土中、嫩芽長出來時，真正的生命是在那中心的小核裡，而不在包裹它的多汁果肉中。照樣，神的真理就是那活潑、不能朽壞的種子；講道對這種子而言，如同蘋果之於其核，是同樣需要的；然而，那生命力、那能力、那拯救的權能，乃是在「話語」的種子裡，而僅在次要的意義上，存在於人為的闡釋與勸勉——那包圍著它的「果肉」之中。
——查爾斯．哈登．司布真

48. Salus Jehovae
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Psalm 37:39
Salvation is a very large term, and describes the whole life of true believers-their whole experience, from their first consciousness of the ruin of the fall to their entrance into glory. They feel their need of being perpetually saved from self, sin, Satan, and the world. They trust in God for preservation, and their end is peace (verse 37).
The prosperous sinner is on another tack, and comes to another conclusion: he disowns all need of salvation, and considers his success to be of his own winning. Alas, there comes to him a turning of the tables before long; according to the preceding verse: "The transgressors shall be destroyed together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off." God is not with the unrighteous; they have neither safety, nor strength, nor salvation in their time of trouble.
Our text contains a broad statement, of which we may say,—

I. THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF SOUND DOCTRINE.

The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord, even of the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Holy Ghost in:
1. The planning.
2. The providing.
3. The beginning.
4. The carrying on.
5. The completion.

II. THIS IS A NECESSARY FACT. The saints recognize it; for

1. Their inward conflicts make them know that God alone must work salvation. They are too fickle and feeble to save themselves.
2. Their outward temptations drive them to the same conclusion. They are well kept whom God keeps, but none else.
3. The world's hate drives them away from all hope in that quarter. God is greater than a world in arms.
4. Their daily trials and afflictions would crush them if Omnipotence did not sustain them. Only God's grace can be all-sufficient.
5. The perishing of hypocrites is a sad proof of how little man can do. Temporary believers perish like blossoms which never knit to fruit, and therefore fall from the tree.

III. THIS IS A SWEET CONSOLATION. This truth, that unto God the Lord belongeth the salvation of his saints, acts graciously,:

1. Leading them to solid trust.
2. Exciting them to believing prayer.
3. Urging them to look out of self.
4. Inspiring them with great thoughts of God, and
5. Leading them to offer adoring praise unto their Redeemer.

IV. THIS IS A REASON FOR HUMILITY.

1. It strips the righteous of all pride in the fact of their being saved.
2. Of all exultation in self because they continue in their integrity.
3. Of all undue censure of the fallen; for they themselves would have failed, had not the Lord upheld them.
4. Of all self-confidence as to the future, since their weakness is inherent and abiding.
5. Of all self-glorying, even in heaven, since in all things they are debtors to sovereign grace.

V. THIS IS A FRUITFUL GROUND OF HOPE.

1. In reference to our own difficulties: God can give us deliverance.
2. In reference to our tried brethren: the Lord can sustain, sanctify, and deliver them.
3. In reference to seeking souls: we may leave their cases in the Savior's hands. He is able to save to the uttermost.
4. In reference to sinners: they cannot be too degraded, obstinate, ignorant, or false; God can work salvation even in the worst.

Golden Bells

"Salvation is of the Lord." This is the sum of Jonah's discourse; one word for all; the very moral of his history. The mariners might have written upon their ship, instead of Castor and Pollux, or the like device, "Salvation is the Lord's," the Ninevites in the next chapter might have written upon their gates, "Salvation is the Lord's," and all mankind, whose cause is pitted and pleaded by God against the hardness of Jonah's heart, might have written in the palms of their hands, "Salvation is the Lord's." It is the argument of both the Testaments, the staff and support of heaven and earth They would both sink, and all their joints be severed, if the salvation of the Lord were not. The birds in the air sing no other note, the beasts in the field give no other voice than Salus Jehovah, Salvation is the Lord's .... And "what shall I more say?" as the Apostle asked (Heb. 11 ) when he had spoken much, and there was much more behind, but time failed him. Rather, what should I not say? for the world is my theater at this time, and I neither think nor can feign to myself anything that hath not dependence upon this acclamation, Salvation is the Lord's. — King on Jonah

Thus the saints hold heaven. Not by conquest, but by heritage. Won by another arm than their own, it presents the strongest imaginable contrast to the spectacle in England's palace that day when the King demanded to know of his assembled nobles by what title they held their lands? What title! At the rash question a hundred swords leapt from their scabbards. Advancing on the alarmed monarch, "By these," they said, "we won, and by these will keep them?' How different the scene which heaven presents! All eyes are turned on Jesus with looks of love; gratitude glows in every bosom, and swells every song; now with golden harps they sound his praise; and now, descending from their thrones to do him homage, they cast their crowns in one glittering heap at the feet which were nailed on Calvary. From this scene, learn in whose name to seek salvation, and through whose merits to hope for it; and with a faith in harmony with the worship of the skies, be this your language: "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." — Dr. Guthrie

"This brook will soon run dry," said one. "Nay," quoth his fellow, "it flows from a living spring, which was never known to fail in summer or in winter?' A man was reputed to be very rich by those who saw his expensive houses, and horses, and charges; but there were others who judged that his name would soon be in the Gazette, for he had no capital. "There is nothing at the back of it,"
said one, and the saying meant much. Now, the believer has the eternal deep for his spring of supply, and the all-sufficiency of God as the substance of his wealth. What cause has he to fear?

If salvation were partly of God and partly of man it would be as sorry an affair as that image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, which was part of iron and part of clay. It would end in a break-down. If our dependence were upon Jesus in a measure, and our own works in some degree, our foundation would be partly on the rock and partly on the sand, and the whole structure would fall. O to know the full meaning of the words, "Salvation is of the Lord"?

Experience alone can beat this truth into men's minds. A man will lie broken at the foot of the precipice, every bone dislocated by the fall, and yet hope to save himself. Piles of sin will fall upon him and bury him, and yet his self-trust will live. Mountains of actual transgression will overwhelm him, and yet he will stir himself to self-confident effort, working like the Cyclops with Etna heaped upon them. Crushed to atoms, every particle of our nature reeks with conceit. Ground to powder, our very dust is pungent with pride. Only the Holy Ghost can make a man receive that humbling sentence — "Salvation is of the Lord."
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

48. Salus Jehovae（救恩出於耶和華）

「但義人的救恩是從耶和華而來的。」——詩篇 37:39 （39但義人得救是由於耶和華；他在患難時作他們的營寨。）
「救恩」是一個極其廣泛的詞，涵蓋了真信徒整個屬靈生命──從人第一次意識到墮落所帶來的敗壞開始，直到進入榮耀為止。他們深深感到自己需要不斷地被拯救，脫離自我、罪惡、撒但和世界。他們倚靠神得保守，而他們的結局乃是平安（參第 37 節）。
至於亨通的罪人，則走在另一條道路上，也得出完全不同的結論：他否認自己需要救恩，並認為自己的成功完全是靠自己贏得的。唉！不久之後，局勢就要翻轉；正如前一節所說：「至於犯法的人，必一同滅絕；惡人的結局必被剪除。」神不與不義的人同在；在患難的時候，他們既沒有安全，也沒有力量，更沒有救恩。
我們的經文提出了一個廣泛而確定的宣告，我們可以這樣說：

一、這是健全教義的精髓

義人的救恩是出於耶和華──也就是三一真神：父、子、聖靈，在以下各方面都是如此：

1. 在救恩的計畫中
2. 在救恩的預備中
3. 在救恩的開始中
4. 在救恩的持續進行中
5. 在救恩的最終完成中

二、這是不可或缺的事實

聖徒親身承認這一點，因為：

1. 內心的爭戰使他們知道，唯有神才能成就救恩；他們自己既善變又軟弱，無法拯救自己。
2. 外在的試探也迫使他們得出同樣的結論；惟有神所保守的，才是真正被保守的。
3. 世界的仇恨使他們不再對世界存任何盼望；神比武裝起來的全世界還要大。
4. 每日的試煉與苦難若非全能者扶持，早已將他們壓垮；唯有神的恩典才是「夠用的」。
5. 假冒為善者的滅亡成了可悲的證據，顯明人自己能做的是何等有限；暫時的信徒如同不能結果的花朵，終究從樹上凋落。

三、這是甘甜的安慰

「救恩屬乎耶和華」這個真理，在信徒身上產生溫柔而有力的作用：

1. 引導他們建立穩固的信靠
2. 激勵他們憑信心禱告
3. 促使他們轉眼不看自己
4. 使他們對神懷有宏大、崇高的認識
5. 引導他們向救贖主獻上敬拜與讚美

四、這是謙卑的根據

1. 剝奪義人一切因「自己得救」而生的驕傲
2. 剝奪他們因「自己能持守正直」而有的自誇
3. 剝奪他們對跌倒之人的苛責，因若非主扶持，他們自己也早已失敗
4. 剝奪他們對未來的自信，因他們的軟弱是本質的、持續的
5. 剝奪他們一切的自我榮耀，即便在天上也是如此，因為在萬事上他們都是主權恩典的欠債人

五、這是盼望極其肥沃的土壤

1. 關於我們自己的困境：神能賜下拯救
2. 關於受苦的弟兄姊妹：主能扶持、成聖並拯救他們
3. 關於尋求中的靈魂：我們可以把他們交託在救主手中；祂能拯救到底
4. 關於罪人：他們不會敗壞到一個地步，頑梗、無知或虛假到神不能施行拯救；即使是最壞的人，神也能動工

金鈴（講道補充）

「救恩出於耶和華。」這一句話就是約拿信息的總綱；一語道盡一切；也是他一生經歷的真正主題。那些水手本可以在他們的船上，不是寫上卡斯托耳與波魯克斯（Castor and Pollux）或其他徽記，而是寫上：「救恩出於耶和華。」下一章中的尼尼微人，也可以在他們的城門上寫上：「救恩出於耶和華。」而所有的人類——其案件被神拿來與約拿心中的剛硬相對質、相辯護的——都可以把這句話寫在自己的掌心上：「救恩出於耶和華。」這是新舊兩約共同的論證，是天地的杖與支撐；若不是「耶和華的救恩」，天地都要沉淪，所有關節都要斷裂。空中的飛鳥所唱的沒有別的音調，田野的走獸所發出的也沒有別的聲音，唯有 Salus Jehovah——「救恩出於耶和華」……於是，我還要再說什麼呢？正如使徒在說了許多、卻仍有許多未說而因時間不足而止住時所問的那樣（來11章）。不如說，我有什麼不該說的呢？因為此刻全世界就是我的舞臺，我既不能、也不會設想任何不依賴於這一宣告的事：救恩出於耶和華。——金氏《論約拿》（King on Jonah）

因此，聖徒得著天國。不是靠征戰，而是憑著承受的產業；不是由他們自己的膀臂贏得，而是由另一位的膀臂為他們贏來的。這與英格蘭王宮中那一天的景象形成了最強烈的對比——當時國王向聚集的貴族們質問：他們是憑著什麼權利擁有自己的土地？什麼權利！這個魯莽的問題一出口，立刻有上百把寶劍從劍鞘中躍出。貴族們向受驚的君王逼近，說道：「憑著這些，我們得來；也要憑著這些守住！」天上所呈現的景象是何等不同啊！眾人的目光都以愛慕注視著耶穌；感恩在每一個胸懷中燃燒，也充滿每一首詩歌；此刻，他們以金色的豎琴奏出讚美；下一刻，他們從寶座上下來向祂致敬，把自己的冠冕拋下，堆成一片閃耀的光輝，放在那曾被釘在各各他的腳前。從這幅圖景中，學習當奉誰的名尋求救恩，又當憑誰的功勞來仰望得救；並且以一個與天上敬拜相和諧的信心，讓你的口說出這樣的話：「耶和華啊，不是歸於我們，不是歸於我們，乃是歸於祢的名得榮耀。」——古德里博士（Dr. Guthrie）

「這條小溪很快就會乾涸，」有人說。「不然，」他的同伴回答，「它是從一個活泉流出來的，無論夏天或冬天，從未聽說過會枯竭。」有些人看見某人豪華的住宅、名貴的馬匹和龐大的開銷，便以為他極其富有；但也有人判斷，他的名字不久就會登上《公報》，因為他其實沒有資本。「後面沒有根基，」有人這樣說，而這句話意味深長。然而，信徒卻以永恆的深淵作為供應的泉源，以神全然的豐足作為他財富的實質。這樣的人，還有什麼可懼怕的呢？

若救恩一部分出於神，一部分出於人，那就會像尼布甲尼撒夢中的那個像一樣——一半是鐵，一半是泥，結局必然是崩塌。若我們在某種程度上倚靠耶穌，又在某種程度上倚靠自己的行為，那麼我們的根基就一部分在磐石上，一部分在沙土上，整個建築終必傾倒。噢，真願我們明白這句話全部的意義：「救恩出於耶和華！」

唯有經驗，才能把這個真理深深敲進人的心中。一個人即便跌落懸崖，躺在谷底，全身骨頭盡皆脫臼，仍然妄想自救；成堆的罪惡壓在他身上，把他埋葬，他的自信卻仍然活著；實際的過犯罪山壓倒他，他卻仍然鼓起自恃的努力，如同獨眼巨人一般，在埃特納火山壓頂之下仍然掙扎。即使被碾成原子，我們本性的每一個微粒都散發著自負；即使被磨成粉末，我們的塵土也仍帶著驕傲的刺鼻氣息。唯有聖靈，才能使人真正領受那句使人謙卑的宣告——「救恩出於耶和華。」——查爾斯·哈登·司布真

49. Sparrows and Swallows

Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars,
O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. Psalm 84:3
DAVID, as an exile, envied the birds which dwelt around the house of the Lord. So the Christian, when debarred the assembly of the saints, under spiritual desertion, will pine to be once more at home with God.
These birds found in the sanctuary what we would find in God.

I. HOUSES FOR THEMSELVES.

That they should find houses in and around the Lord's house is remarkable, and David dwelt on it with pleasure.
1. Consider what they were. Sparrows.

• Worthless creatures. Five for two farthings.
• Needy creatures, requiring both nests, food, and everything else.
• Uninvited guests. The temple did not need them; it might have been all the better without them.
• Numerous creatures; but none were driven away.

2.Consider what they did: "Found a house," a comfortable, suitable, permanent abode.

• They looked for it, or they could not have been described as having found it.
• It was there already, or they could not have found it.
• They appropriated it. Their right lay in discovery; they found a house and occupied it without question. O for an appropriating faith!

3. Consider what they enjoyed?

• Safety.
• Rest.
• Abode.
• Delight.
• Society.
• Nearness.

All this in the house of God, hard by his altars. Thus do believers find all in Christ Jesus.
And so, secondarily, they find the same things in the assembly, of the saints, in the place where God's honor dwelleth.

• We come to the house of the Lord with joy.
• We remain in it with delight.
• We sit and sing in it with pleasure.
• We commune with our fellow-songsters with much content.

It is not every bird that does this. The eagle is too ambitious. The vulture too foul. The cormorant too greedy. The hawk too warlike. The ostrich too wild. The barn-door fowl too dependent upon man. The owl too fond of darkness. These sparrows were little and loving.

II. NESTS FOR THEIR YOUNG.

Some persons are not so much in need of a house for themselves, for, like swallows, they live on the wing, and are active and energetic; but they need a nest for their young, for whom they are greatly anxious. They long to see the young people settled, happy, and safe in God.
Children should be housed in the house of God. The sanctuary of God should be the nursery of the young.
1. They will be safe there, and free there. The swallow, the "bird of liberty," is satisfied to find a nest for herself near the altars of God. She is not afraid of bondage there either for herself or her young.
2. They will be joyful there. We should try to make our little ones happy in God, and in his holy worship. Dull Sabbaths and dreary services should not be mentioned among us.
3. They are near the blessing, when we bring them near the house of the Lord.
4. They are in choice society; their companions will be the companions of Jesus.
5. They are likely to return to the nest as the swallows do; even as the young salmon return to the rivulet where they were hatched. Young folks remember their first impressions.
6. Children truly brought to Christ have every blessing in that fact.

• They are rich: they dwell in God's palace.
• They are educated: they abide in the Lord's temple.
• They are safe for time and eternity.

The second blessing of a nest for our young often follows on the first, or getting a house for ourselves.

• But it needs prayer, example, and precept. Children do not take to religion as ducks to water; they must be led and trained with earnest care.
• Are you sighing after Christ for yourself and your children?
• Are you content without Christ? Then you are not likely to care about your children.
• Do you already possess a home in Jesus? Rest not till all yours are housed in the same place.

Fragments

Sir Thomas More used to attend the parish church at Chelsea, and there, putting on a surplice, he would sing with the choristers at matins and high mass. It happened, one day, that the Duke of Norfolk, coming to Chelsea to dine with him, found him at church thus engaged As they walked home together arm-in-arm after service, the duke exclaimed, "My Lord Chancellor a parish clerk! A parish clerk! You dishonor the King and his office!" "Nay," he replied, smiling, "your Grace cannot suppose that the King, our master, will be offended with me for serving his Master, or thereby account his office dishonored:"
"I'm only a little sparrow,
A bird of low degree;
My life is of little value,
But the dear Lord cares for me."

Tennyson plaintively refers to the song of the linnets: —
"I do but sing because I must,
And pipe but as the linnets sing,
And one is glad — her note is gay —
For now her little ones have ranged;
And one is sad — her note is changed —
Because her brood is stolen away.

The feeling of the linnets may serve as an analog. Christian parents have a gay note when their little ones have ranged at their sweet will in the paths of duty; but their note must be one of sadness when the brood is stolen away from truth and righteousness. — W. Norris.

"God fails not," as one has beautifully said, "to find a house for the most worthless, and the nest for the most restless of birds." What confidence this should give us! How we should rest! What repose the soul finds that casts itself on the watchful, tender care of Him who provides so fully for the need of all His creatures! We know what the expression of "nest" conveys, just as well as that of "a house." Is it not a place of security, a shelter from storm, a covert to hide one's self in, from every evil, a protection from all that can harm, "a place to rest in, to nestle in, to joy in?" — Things New and Old

A custom, existing among several nations of antiquity, is deemed capable of illustrating the present passage. For birds whose nests chanced to be built on the temples, or within the limits of them, were not allowed to be driven away, much less to be killed, but found there a secure and undisturbed abode. — W. K. Clay

As a rule, the children of godly parents are godly. In cases where this is not the case there is a reason. I have carefully observed and detected the absence of family prayer, gross inconsistency, harshness, indulgence, or neglect of admonition. If trained in God's ways, they do not depart from them.
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

49. 麻雀與燕子

「萬軍之耶和華、我的王、我的神啊，在你祭壇那裡，麻雀為自己找著房屋，
燕子為自己找著菢雛之窩。」——詩篇 84:3
大衛在流亡之時，羨慕那些住在耶和華殿周圍的飛鳥。
同樣地，當基督徒因屬靈的荒涼、或被攔阻而不能與聖徒聚集時，也會渴望再次回到神的家中，與神同住。
這些鳥在聖所裡所找到的，正是我們在神裡所能找到的。

一、為自己找到房屋

這些鳥竟然能在耶和華的殿裡與殿旁找到居所，實在令人驚奇；大衛想到這一點，心中充滿喜悅。

1. 看看牠們是什麼樣的鳥——麻雀

• 微不足道的生物：五個只值兩個小錢。
• 貧乏的生物：需要巢穴、食物，以及一切所需。
• 不請自來的客人：聖殿並不需要牠們；沒有牠們，殿似乎也不會少了什麼。
• 數量眾多的生物：卻沒有一隻被趕走。

2. 看看牠們做了什麼——「找著房屋」是舒適、合宜、長久的居所。

• 牠們必然是尋找過，否則不能說是「找著」。
• 那房屋早已存在，否則牠們也不可能找到。
• 牠們據為己有：牠們的權利就在於「發現」；一找著就住進去，毫不猶豫。
  ——哦，何等需要這樣一種「據為己有的信心」！

3. 看看牠們享受了什麼

• 安全
• 安息
• 居所
• 喜樂
• 團契
• 親近

這一切都在神的殿中，在祂的祭壇旁。照樣，信徒在基督耶穌裡也找到了這一切。
進一步說，他們也在聖徒的聚會中、在神榮耀所居之處，經歷到同樣的福分：

• 我們喜樂地進入耶和華的殿；
• 我們歡然地停留其中；
• 我們坐下歌唱，滿心愉悅；
• 我們與同聲歌唱的人相交，心滿意足。

但並非所有的鳥都如此：鷹太有野心；禿鷹太污穢；鸕鶿太貪婪；鷹隼太好戰；鴕鳥太野性；家禽太依賴人；貓頭鷹太愛黑暗。

唯有這些微小而親近的麻雀，找到了神的家。

二、為牠們的幼鳥找到巢穴

有些人對於為自己找房屋的需要並不那麼迫切；他們像燕子一樣，常在空中飛翔，忙碌而有活力。但他們迫切需要為兒女找一個巢穴，因為他們深深關心年輕的一代，盼望他們在神裡得著安定、喜樂與安全。孩子應當住在神的殿中。神的聖所，應當成為年幼者的搖籃。

1. 在那裡他們是安全、自由的

燕子──那「自由之鳥」，竟然甘心在神的祭壇旁築巢。
她不怕自己或幼鳥在那裡失去自由。

2. 在那裡他們是喜樂的

我們應當努力，使孩子們在神裡、在敬拜中感到快樂。
沉悶的安息日、枯燥的聚會，不該成為我們的寫照。

3. 靠近神的殿，就靠近祝福

4. 他們身處最美好的同伴之中

他們的同伴，將是耶穌的同伴。

5. 他們很可能會回到這個巢穴

就像燕子回到舊巢，
也像幼鮭魚回到出生的小溪。
年輕人往往記得他們最初的屬靈印象。

6. 真正被帶到基督面前的孩子，已經擁有一切祝福

• 他們是富足的：住在神的宮殿中；
• 他們是受教的：居住在主的殿裡；
• 他們是安全的：直到今生與永恆。

為自己得著「房屋」之後，往往會接著得著為兒女預備的「巢穴」。

• 但這需要禱告、榜樣與教導。孩子並不像鴨子下水那樣自然就親近信仰；他們需要被引導、被培育，需要懇切而耐心的栽培。
• 你是否正在為自己與兒女渴慕基督？
• 你若對沒有基督感到滿足，你也不太可能真正關心你的孩子。
• 你若已經在耶穌裡得著了家，就不要歇息，直到你所有的家人都同樣住進這個家中。

片段補充

托馬斯．莫爾爵士常在切爾西的堂會敬拜，穿上詩班服，與唱詩童一同唱早禱與彌撒。有一天，諾福克公爵見到此景，責備他說：「大法官竟成了堂會書吏！你羞辱了國王與你的職分！」莫爾微笑回答：「殿下不會以為我們的君王，會因我事奉祂的主而被冒犯吧？」「我不過是一隻小麻雀，地位卑微，毫不起眼；我的生命微不足道，但親愛的主仍然眷顧我。」

丁尼生（Tennyson）曾帶著哀婉的情懷提到紅雀（linnet）的歌聲—— 「我不過因為不得不唱才歌唱， 也只像紅雀那樣吹奏， 有一隻歡喜——她的聲音輕快—— 因為她的小鳥如今自由飛翔； 有一隻憂傷——她的音調改變—— 因為她的一窩幼鳥被奪走了。」

紅雀的情感，正可以作為一個比喻。基督徒父母，當他們的孩子甘心樂意地行走在本分與責任的道路上時，心中自然會唱出歡快的音符；但當這一窩孩子被引離真理與公義時，他們的歌聲就不得不轉為憂傷。——W. 諾里斯（W. Norris）

正如有人優美地說過：「神從不缺少地方，去為最無用的鳥找房屋，為最不安分的鳥找巢穴。」這句話何等能給我們信心！我們該何等安息！當靈魂完全投靠在那位警醒、溫柔、並且周全供應萬物之主的看顧之下時，會得著何等的安寧！我們明白「巢」這個詞所傳達的意義，正如我們明白「房屋」一樣清楚。它不正是一個安全之所、避風之處、可以藏身遠離一切邪惡的遮蔽、免受所有傷害的保護嗎？是一個「可以歇息、可以依偎、可以安享喜樂的地方」。——《新舊雜談》 （Things New and Old）

在古代若干民族中，曾有一項習俗，被認為能夠說明這段經文的含義：凡是把巢築在廟宇之上，或在廟宇範圍之內的鳥類，都不准被驅趕，更不准被殺害；牠們在那裡找到了一個安全、安靜、不受干擾的居所。——W. K. 克萊（W. K. Clay）

一般而言，敬虔父母的兒女也是敬虔的；若有例外，必定有其原因。我仔細觀察過，並且發現其中往往缺少家庭禱告，或有嚴重的不一致，或過於嚴厲，或過分放縱，或忽略勸戒。若他們在神的道中受教養，便不會偏離這些道路。 ——查爾斯·哈登·司布真

50. Angelic Protection in Appointed Ways

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Psalm 91:11
The Lord gave his people shelter in the time of pestilence, for he had promised, "There shall no evil befall thee; neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." The former verses celebrate the Passover of those who dwell in God.
After the Passover came a journey to Canaan; and the promise of the covenant angel and his keeping them in all their ways, fitly follow upon the rescue from the plague.
We, too, are pilgrims on our way to Canaan. He who set us free by the Passover deliverance also provides for our journey to the land which floweth with milk and honey. All the way to the promised land is covered by this divine safe conduct.

I. THERE ARE WAYS WHICH ARE NOT IN THE PROMISE.

"Skil thy ways" are mentioned; but some tracks are not to be followed by children of God, and are not their ways.
1. Ways of presumption. In these men court danger, and, as it were, defy God. "Cast thyself down," said Satan to our Lord, and then urged this promise (Matt. 4:6).
2. Ways of sin, dishonesty, lying, vice, worldly conformity, etc. We have no permit to bow in the house of Rimmon (Eph. 5:12).
3. Ways of worldliness, selfishness, greed, ambition. The ways by which men seek personal aggrandizement are usually dark, and crooked, and are not of God (Prov. 28:22; 1 Tim. 6:9).
4. Ways of pride, self-conceit, boastful promisings, pretended perfection, etc. "Pride goeth before destruction."
5. Ways of will worship, willfulness, obstinacy, fancy, day-dreaming, absurd impulse, etc. (Jer. 2:18?).
6. Ways of erroneous doctrine, novel practice, fashionable ceremonial, flattering delusion, etc. (2 Tim. 3:5).

II. THERE ARE WAYS IN WHICH SAFETY IS GUARANTEED.

l. The way of humble faith in the Lord Jesus.
2. The way of obedience to divine precepts.
3. The way of childlike trust in providential guidance.
4 The way of strict principle, and stern integrity.
5. The way of consecrated service, and seeking God's glory.
6. The way of holy separation, and walking with God.

III. THESE WAYS LEAD US INTO VARIED CONDITIONS.

1. They are changeful and varied: "all thy ways."
2. They are sometimes stony with difficulty: "foot against a stone."
3. They may be terrible with temptation.
4. They may be mysteriously trying. Devils may throng the path, only to be met by holy angels.
5. They are essentially safe, while the smooth and easy roads are perilous.

IV. BUT WHILE WALKING IN THEM ALL BELIEVERS ARE SECURE.

1. The Lord Himself concerns Himself about them: "He shall give his angels charge over thee." He will personally command those holy beings to have an eye to His children. David charged his troops to spare Absalom, but his bidding was disregarded. It is not so with God.
2. Mysterious agencies protect them: angels bear them up in their hands, as nurses carry little children. Wonderful tenderness and power! Angels acting as servants to men!
3. All things are on their side, both visible and invisible. Command is laid on all to protect the saints. "Thou hast given commandment to save me" (Ps. 71:3).
4. Each one is personally watched over. "Charge over thee to keep thee (Isa. 13:6?; Gen. 28:15).
5. That watchfulness is perpetual "All thy ways" (Ps. 121:3-4? Psm 91:11).
6. This guard also confers honor. How noble a thing to have the courtiers of heaven for a corps de garde!
7. All this comes to them by Jesus, whose the angels are, and whom they serve (Isa. 43:4?).

• See how the lowest employment is consistent with the highest enjoyment. Keeping guard over the Lord's stumbling children is no discredit to angels.
• How cheerfully we should watch over others! How vigorously should we hold them up whenever it is in our power! To cast off a stumbling brother is not angelic, but the reverse.
• How safe we ought to feel, how fully trustful we ought to be! Alexander slept soundly, "for;' said he, "Parmenio wakes."
• How holy we should be with such holy ones for watchers! Great privileges involve heavy responsibilities.

Garnishing

Whilst King William, at a battle in Flanders, was giving orders in the thickest of the fight, he saw to his surprise among his staff one Michael Godfrey, a merchant of London, and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, who had thus exposed himself in order to gratify his curiosity. The king, riding up to him, said, "Sir, you ought not to run these hazards; you are not a soldier, you can be of no use here)' "Sire;' answered Godfrey, "I run no more hazard than your majesty)' "Not so," said William, "I am here where it is my duty to be, and I may, without presumption, commit my life to God's keeping; but you — " The sentence needed no completion, for at that very moment a cannon ball laid Godfrey lifeless at the king's feet. He had been wise had he restricted himself to the ways of his calling and duty.

Old Humphrey has a good paper against wandering from the path of duty, suggested by a notice at the entrance of a park: "Take notice. In walking through these grounds, you are requested to keep the footpath." Bunyan has supplied the same theme for solemn warning, in the pilgrim straying into Bye-path meadow. — Bowes

Angels our servants are,
And keep in all our ways;
And in their watchful hands they bear
The sacred sons of grace:
Unto that heavenly bliss
They all our steps attend;
And God himself our Father is,
And Jesus is our Friend. — Wesley

A dying saint asked that his name should be put upon his tombstone with the dates of his birth and death, and the one word, "Kept."

Our protection is in other hands than our own. In the way of duty we are as safe as in heaven. Not alone in great dangers, but in little ones we are secure if we are in the right way, for we are kept from stumbling-stones as well as from fiery darts. Our guards are such as no enemy, can resist, for they are strong; such as no evil can escape, for they are swift; such as no weariness can tire, for they are never weary. We have a body-guard of Immortals, each one of them invincible, unflagging, loyal, loving, and full of fire. Each angel may truly say, "A charge to keep I have."

Keep it he will till the Lord Himself shall receive our spirit. No angel will give in his account with sorrow, saying, "I could not keep him; the stones were too many, his feet too feeble, the way too long." No, we shall be kept to the end; for in addition to angels, we have the safeguard of their Lord: He keepeth the feet of His saints (1 Sam. 2:9).
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

50. 在神所定道路中的天使保守

「因他要為你吩咐他的使者，在你行的一切道路上保護你。」——詩篇 91:11
主在瘟疫流行之時賜給祂的百姓遮蓋，因祂曾應許說：「禍患必不臨到你，災害也不挨近你的帳棚。」前面的經文頌讚那住在神裡之人的逾越節。
逾越節之後，便是前往迦南的旅程；而立約的使者與祂在「一切道路上」的保守，正好接續在脫離瘟疫的拯救之後。
我們同樣也是前往迦南的客旅。那位藉著逾越節的拯救使我們得自由的主，也同樣為我們預備了通往那流奶與蜜之地的旅程。這份屬天的安全護送，覆蓋了我們走向應許之地的整條道路。

一、有些道路不在應許之中

經文提到「你的道路」，但有些路並不是神兒女該走的，也不屬於他們的道路。

1. 僭越妄行之路

人在這樣的路上主動招致危險，彷彿試探、挑戰神。
撒但對主耶穌說：「你若是神的兒子，可以跳下去！」隨後還引用這節應許（太 4:6 6對他說：「你若是神的兒子，可以跳下去，因為經上記着說：主要為你吩咐他的使者用手托着你，免得你的腳碰在石頭上。」）。

2. 罪惡之路

不誠實、說謊、放縱、惡習、與世界妥協等。我們並沒有許可在臨門廟（Rimmon）的殿中屈膝（弗 5:12 12因為他們暗中所行的，就是提起來也是可恥的。）。

3. 屬世、私慾、貪婪與野心之路

人追求個人高升的道路，往往幽暗、彎曲，並不屬神（箴 28:22 22人有惡眼想要急速發財，卻不知窮乏必臨到他身。；提前 6:9 9但那些想要發財的人，就陷在迷惑、落在網羅和許多無知有害的私慾裏，叫人沉在敗壞和滅亡中。）。

4. 驕傲之路

自負、誇口、假冒完全等等。「驕傲在敗壞以先。」

5. 任意敬拜與固執己意之路

任性、頑梗、幻想、白日夢、荒謬的衝動等。

6. 錯謬教義與虛假敬虔之路

新奇教訓、流行作法、華麗儀式、諂媚的迷惑等
（提後 3:5）。

二、有些道路是蒙保證得安全的

1. 謙卑信靠主耶穌的道路
2. 順服神誡命的道路
3. 孩童般信靠神引導的道路
4. 嚴守原則、持守正直的道路
5. 獻身事奉、尋求神榮耀的道路
6. 分別為聖、與神同行的道路

三、這些道路引領我們進入各樣境況

1. 多變而多樣──「你一切的道路」
2. 有時崎嶇艱難──「免得你的腳碰在石頭上」
3. 有時充滿試探
4. 有時神祕而嚴峻的考驗
   魔鬼可能充斥道路，但迎面而來的是聖潔的天使。
5. 本質上是安全的
   反倒是那些看似平坦、輕鬆的路，才真正危險。

四、凡在這些道路上行走的信徒都得保守

1. 神親自關心他們

「他要為你吩咐他的使者。」神親自命令那些聖潔的使者看顧祂的兒女。大衛吩咐軍兵饒恕押沙龍，卻未被遵守；但神的命令絕不落空。

2. 神祕的能力保護他們

天使用手托住他們，如同乳母抱著孩童。何等奇妙的溫柔與大能！天使竟成為服事人的僕役！

3. 萬有都站在他們一邊

無論可見或不可見，都奉命保護聖徒。「你已經命定要救我」（詩 71:3 3求你作我常住的磐石；你已經命定要救我，因為你是我的巖石，我的山寨。）。

4. 每一個人都被個別看顧

「吩咐他的使者保護你」（詩 91:11 11因他要為你吩咐他的使者，在你行的一切道路上保護你。；創 28:15 15我也與你同在。你無論往哪裏去，我必保佑你，領你歸回這地，總不離棄你，直到我成全了向你所應許的。」）。

5. 這看顧是持續不斷的

「你一切的道路」（詩 91:11）。

6. 這護衛本身就是尊榮

天上的廷臣竟成為我們的親衛隊，何等榮耀！

7. 這一切都因耶穌而來

天使是屬於祂的，服事祂的。

• 看看吧：最低微的服事，竟與最高的喜樂並不衝突。看顧主那些容易跌倒的孩子，並不貶低天使的尊榮。
• 我們也當如此樂意看顧他人！凡在我們能力之內，就當竭力扶持跌倒的人！丟棄跌倒的弟兄不是天使的行為，而是相反。
• 我們該何等安然、何等信靠！亞歷山大大帝能安睡，因他說：「帕曼尼歐在守夜。」
• 我們既有如此聖潔的守望者，就當活得何等聖潔！大特權，帶來重責任。

補充見證與片段

當威廉王在佛蘭德戰場上，在最激烈的戰鬥中下達命令時，他驚訝地發現隨行軍中的一位名叫麥可·戈弗雷（Michael Godfrey）的倫敦商人、英格蘭銀行副總裁，也冒險來此，只為滿足自己的好奇心。國王騎馬走近他，說道：「先生，你不應該冒這樣的危險；你不是士兵，在這裡也幫不上忙。」戈弗雷回答：「陛下，我所冒的危險並不比您多。」威廉說：「不是的，我在這裡是履行我的職責，可以無妄地把生命交託給神；但是你——」這句話不必再說下去，因為就在那一刻，一枚砲彈擊中了戈弗雷，使他當場倒在國王腳下身亡。他若能守在自己職責和本分的範圍內，本會更為明智。

老漢弗里（Old Humphrey）曾引用公園入口的一則告示，警戒人們不要偏離本分的道路：「注意！在這片園地行走時，請遵守小徑。」班揚（Bunyan）也以同樣的題材，為嚴肅的警告提供了例證：朝聖者若偏入旁道的草地，便險象環生。——鮑斯（Bowes）

天使是我們的僕人，
守護我們行走的一切道路；
在他們警醒的手中，承載著
恩典之子的尊貴：
通向那天上的福樂，
他們伴隨我們每一步；
神本身是我們的父，
耶穌是我們的朋友。——衛斯理（Wesley）

一位臨終的聖徒曾要求，在他的墓碑上刻下生卒年月，並加上一個字：「被保守（Kept）」。

我們的保護掌握在比自己更高的手中。在本分之路上，我們如同在天堂一般安全。不僅在巨大危險中，甚至在小小險境裡，只要我們走在正道上，也能得以安全；因為我們會被保護，免受絆腳石，也免於烈火箭矢的傷害。我們的守護力量，敵人無法抗拒；邪惡無法逃脫；疲憊無法使其疲乏——因為他們永不倦怠。我們擁有一支不朽的護衛隊，每一位都是無敵、堅定、忠誠、慈愛、充滿火熱的天使。他們每一位都可以真心說：「我有責任保護。」

他們必定守護我們，直到主親自接納我們的靈魂。沒有任何天使會懊悔地說：「我無法保護他；路上石多，他腳軟，路途太長。」不，我們必被保守到底；因為除了天使，我們還有他們的主的保障：祂保守聖徒的腳步（撒母耳記上 2:9 9他必保護聖民的腳步，使惡人在黑暗中寂然不動；人都不能靠力量得勝。）。

——查爾斯·哈登·司布真

51. Living Praise

The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord. Psalm 115:17-18
The living God should be adored by a living people. A blessing God should be blessed by a blessing people. Whatever others do, we ought to bless Jehovah. When we bless him we should not rest till others do the same: we should cry to them, "Praise the Lord." Our example and our persuasion should rouse them to praise.

I. A MOURNFUL MEMORY. "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence."

This reminds us:

1. Of silenced voices in the choirs of Zion. Good men and true who neither sing nor speak among us any longer.

2. Of our own speedy silence: so far as this world is concerned, we shall soon be among the dead and silent ones.

3. Of the ungodly around us, who are already spiritually dead, and can no more praise the Lord than if they were dumb.

4. Of lost souls in hell. Never will these bless the Lord.

II. A HAPPY RESOLUTION. "But we will bless the Lord."

In heart, song, testimony, action, we are resolved to give the Lord our loving praise, because—

1. We live. Shall we not bless him who keeps us in being?

2. We live spiritually, and this demands perpetual thanksgiving.

3. We are blessed of the Lord: shall we not bless him?

4. He will bless us. More and more will he reveal his love to us: let us praise him more and more. Be this our steadfast vow, that we will bless the Lord, come what may.

III. AN APPROPRIATE COMMENCEMENT. "We will bless the Lord from this time forth."

1. When the heathen ask, "Where is now their God?" (verse 2), let us reply courageously to all atheistic questions, and meet infidelity with joyous adoration.

2. When under a sense of mercy, we are led to sing "The Lord hath been mindful of us" (verse 12), let us then bless him.

3. When spiritually renewed and comforted. When the four times repeated words, "He will bless? have come true in our experience, and the Lord has increased us with every personal and family blessing (verses 12-14), then let all that is within us bless the holy name of the Lord.

4. When led to confess Christ. Then should we begin the never-ending life-psalm. Service and song should go together.

5. When years end and begin New Years' days, birthdays, etc., let us bless
God for:

• Sin of the year forgiven.
• Need of the year supplied.
• Mercy of the year enjoyed.
• Fears of the year removed.
• Hopes of the year fulfilled.

Let us from this very moment magnify the name of the Lord. Let our hearts turn each beat into music as we inwardly bless him. We have robbed him of his glory long enough.

IV. AN EVERLASTING CONTINUANCE. "From this time forth and for evermore."

1. Weariness shall not suspend it. We will renew our strength as we bless the Lord.

2. Final falling shall not end it: the Lord will keep our soul in his way, and make us praise him all our days.

3. Nor shall death so much as interrupt our songs, but raise them to a purer and fuller strain.

4. Nor shall any supposable calamity deprive the Lord of our gratitude. "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
One by one the singers in the consecrated choir steal away from us, and we miss their music: let us feel as if baptized for the dead.

Will no one here engage in the choir, and rehearse on earth the sonnets of heaven?

Joy-Notes

Praise is the highest function that any creature can discharge. The Rabbis have a beautiful bit of teaching buried among their rubbish about angels. They say that there are two kinds of angels, the angels of service and the angels of praise, of which two orders the latter is the higher, and that no angel in it praises God twice; but having lifted up his voice in the psalm of heaven, then ceases to be. He has perfected his being, he has reached the height of his greatness, he has done what he was made for; let him fade away. The garb of legend is mean enough, but the thought it embodies is that ever true and solemn one, without which life is naught: "Man's chief end is to glorify God." — Dr. Maclaren

There is no heaven, either in this world, or in the world to come, for people who do not praise God. If you do not enter into the spirit and worship of heaven, how should the spirit and joy of heaven enter into you? Selfishness makes long prayers, but love makes short prayers, that it may continue longer in praise. — Pulsford

King of glory, King of peace,
I will love thee:
And that love may never cease,
I will move thee.
Seven whole days, not one in seven,
I will praise thee.
In my heart, though not in heaven,
I can raise thee.
Small it is, in this poor sort
To enroll thee:
Even eternity is too short
To extol thee.
— George Herbert

On Thursday evening, March 29th, 1883, for above an hour all who had occasion to use the telephone in Chicago found it vibrating to musical tones. Private and public telephones, and even the police and fire-alarm instruments, were alike affected. The source of the music was a mystery until the following day, when it was learned that a telegraph wire, which passes near most of the-telephone wires, was connected with the harmonic system, that tunes were being played over it, and that the telephone wires took up the sounds by induction. If one wire carrying sweet sounds from place to place could so affect another wire by simply being near to it, how ought Christians, in communication with their Father in heaven, to affect all with whom they come in contact in the world! The divine music of love and gentleness in their lives should be a blessing to society. — The Pulpit Treasury, New York

When we bless God for mercies we prolong them, and when we bless him for miseries we usually end them. When we reach to praise we have compassed the design of a dispensation, and have reaped the harvest of it. Praise is a soul in flower, and a secret, hearty blessing of the Lord is the soul fruit-bearing. Praise is the honey of life, which a devout heart sucks from every bloom of providence and grace. As well be dead as be without praise: it is the crown of life.
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

51. 活著的讚美

「死人不能讚美耶和華，下到寂靜中的也都不能；但我們要稱頌耶和華，從今時直到永遠。你們要讚美耶和華！」——詩篇 115:17–18
永活的神，當得永活之民的敬拜。
施恩的神，當得蒙福之民的稱頌。
無論別人如何，我們都當稱頌耶和華；而且當我們稱頌祂時，不該停在自己身上，乃要呼召別人一同來：「你們要讚美耶和華！」
我們的榜樣與勸勉，都當喚醒他人加入讚美。

一、令人哀傷的記憶

「死人不能讚美耶和華，下到寂靜中的也都不能。」
這句話提醒我們：

1. 錫安詩班中沉默的聲音

那些良善、忠信的人，曾在我們中間歌唱、作見證，如今卻不再與我們同聲。

2. 我們自己也將很快歸於沉默

就今生而言，不久我們也要進入那死而無聲的行列。

3. 周圍不敬虔的人

他們在靈性上早已死去，不能讚美神，就如同啞巴一般。

4. 地獄中失喪的靈魂

他們永永遠遠不會稱頌耶和華。

二、喜樂的決志

「但我們要稱頌耶和華。」在心中、詩歌中、見證中、行動中，我們立志向主獻上愛的讚美，因為：

1. 我們還活著

那保守我們生命的主，豈不當得我們的稱頌？

2. 我們在靈裡活著

屬靈的生命要求不住的感恩。

3. 我們是蒙福的人

既然祂賜福給我們，我們豈不當稱頌祂？

4. 祂還要繼續賜福

祂將越來越向我們顯明祂的愛；讓我們也越來越多地讚美祂。無論遭遇什麼，這都要成為我們堅定不移的誓言：我們要稱頌耶和華。

三、合宜的開始

「從今時起。」

1. 當外邦人問：「他們的神在哪裡？」（第2節）

讓我們勇敢回應一切無神論的質疑，用喜樂的敬拜迎戰不信。

2. 當我們感受憐憫

唱出「耶和華顧念了我們」（第12節）時，就當稱頌祂。

3. 當我們在靈裡被更新、得安慰

當那四次重複的應許——「祂要賜福」在我們經歷中成為真實，當主在個人與家庭中加增我們各樣福分（12–14節），就讓我們全心全意稱頌祂的聖名。

4. 當我們被引導承認基督

那時就當開始那永不止息的生命詩篇。事奉與歌唱，應當同行。

5. 當歲月交替

在新年、生日、年終時，讓我們為以下事情稱頌神：

• 這一年罪得赦免
• 這一年的需要得供應
• 這一年的憐憫得享受
• 這一年的懼怕被除去
• 這一年的盼望得成就

就從此刻開始，尊主為大！讓我們的心跳都化為樂音，在裡面稱頌祂。我們虧欠祂的榮耀，已經太久了。

四、直到永遠的持續

「從今時直到永遠。」

1. 疲倦不能使讚美止息

我們在稱頌主時，反而得力更新。

2. 終極的跌倒不能使讚美終止

主必保守我們的靈魂，使我們一生讚美祂。

3. 死亡也不能中斷讚美

只會把我們的歌聲提升到更純淨、更豐滿的境界。

4. 任何災難都不能奪去我們的感恩

「賞賜的是耶和華，收取的也是耶和華；耶和華的名是應當稱頌的。」（伯 1:21）一位一位奉獻的詩班成員離開我們，他們的歌聲不再；讓我們彷彿為死人受了洗一般，接續他們的位置。這裡，是否有人願意加入詩班，在地上預習天上的頌歌？

喜樂的音符（Joy-Notes）

讚美，是受造之物所能履行的最高職分。拉比有一段關於天使的美麗教導：他們說有兩類天使——事奉的天使與讚美的天使；而後者更為尊貴，且每一位只讚美一次。當他唱完天上的詩篇，便歸於寂靜，因為他已完成受造的目的。傳說雖樸拙，但真理深刻：「人活著的首要目的，就是榮耀神。」——麥克拉倫博士

不讚美神的人，在今世或來世都沒有天堂。若你不進入天上的敬拜之靈，天上的喜樂怎能進入你？自私使人禱告冗長，愛卻使禱告簡短，好讓讚美更長久。——普爾斯福

喬治．赫伯特詩歌：
榮耀之王，平安之君，
我要愛你；
願這愛永不止息，
我要感動你。
非一週一日，
而是七日全然，
我要讚美你。
雖不在天，
卻在心中，
我仍能高舉你。
這樣讚美仍嫌微小；
即便永恆，
也不足以述盡你的榮耀。

1883年3月29日夜晚，芝加哥的電話忽然傳出音樂聲，原因竟是附近一條電報線正在傳送樂音，電話線因靠近而被感應。若一條線僅僅因接近就能傳遞音樂，那麼，與天父相通的基督徒，其生命的愛與溫柔，豈不更當影響世人？當我們為恩典讚美神，恩典就被延長；當我們為苦難讚美神，苦難往往就結束。當我們進入讚美，就完成了神在那段經歷中的旨意，也收割了它的果實。讚美是靈魂的花朵，內心誠摯的稱頌，是靈魂的結果。讚美是生命的蜂蜜，敬虔的心能從每一朵
神的護理與恩典之花中吸取。沒有讚美，活著如同死了；讚美，是生命的冠冕。
——查爾斯．哈登．司布真

52. What Is Your Comfort?

This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. Psalm 119:50
IN some respects the same event happens to us all: to good men, to great men, to well-instructed men, as well as to the wicked, the obscure, and the ignorant. Each of these can speak of "my affliction." "The heart knoweth his own bitterness" (Prov. 14:10).
It is a grand matter when "my affliction" is in each case balanced by "my comfort." It was so in David's case, and he is a fair representative of all believers. How is it with each one of our hearers?

I. BELIEVERS HAVE THEIR PECULIAR COMFORT. Each tried child of God can say, "This is my comfort."

1.This, as different from others. Worldly men get their drops of comfort from such sources as they prefer; but the godly man looks to his experience of the Word, and says, "This is my comfort" (Ps. 4:6).

2.This, as understanding what it is. He knew his consolation as well as he knew his tribulation. He was not like Hagar, who could not see the well which was so near her (Gen. 21: 19).

3.This, as having it near at hand. He does not say that, as if he pointed it out in the distance; but this, as grasping it.

4.This, as pleading in prayer that which he had enjoyed; urging upon the Lord the mercy already received.

II. THAT COMFORT COMES FROM A PECULIAR SOURCE. "Thy word hath quickened me."

1. In part it is outward.
·  The word of God, full of promises, is our comfort (Rom. 15:4).
·  The word of God, full of records of his goodness, is the confirmation of our confidence (Ps. 77:5-10).
·  The word of God, full of power, is our strength (Eccles. 8:4).

2. In part it is inward: "Thy word hath quickened me?"
In past experience he had felt the power of the word in raising him,—

• Into life from death (Ps. 116:8).
• Into energy from lethargy (Song of Sol. 6:12).
• Into higher life from lower (Ps. 119:67).

In all things it had been a source of quickening to him.

• In present experience he was then feeling its power in making.
• His mind less worldly.
• His heart more prayerful.
• His spirit more tender.
• His faith more simple.

If the word has done and is doing all this, we may expect it to do more, and to magnify its power in our complete rescue.

III. THAT COMFORT IS VALUABLE UNDER PECULIAR TRIALS.

1. Hope deferred. Study the context. "Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope" (verse 49). Quickening enables us to hope on.

2. Trial endured (verse 50). Comfort is most needed in trouble, and there is no comfort like quickening.

3. Scorn suffered. "The proud have had me greatly in derision" (verse 51 ). We care nothing for mockers when we are lively in spiritual things.

4. Sin of others. "Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked" (verse 53). More grace will enable us to bear up under abounding sin.

5. Changes. Read carefully verse 54. The Bible has a song for all seasons, and a psalm for all places.

6. Darkness: "in the night" (verse 55). There is no night-light like the Word, enlightening and enlivening the heart.

IV. THAT THE FORM OF OUR COMFORT IS A TEST OF CHARACTER.

1. Some look to wealth: when their corn and their wine are increased, they say, "This is my comfort?' They mind the main chance: they are worldly (Luke 12:19).

2. Some seek to dreams and visions, omens and fancies, impressions and presentiments: they are superstitious.

3. Some run to sin, drink, gaming, worldly company, dissipation, opium: they are wicked.

4. Some resort to their fellow men for advice and assistance: they are unwise, and will be disappointed (Jer. 17:5).

• What is your comfort?
• Has this blessed volume quickened you?
• If so, look to it under all trials, for it will never fail you.

The Rev. E. Paxton Hood says, "When I visited one day, as he was dying, my beloved friend Benjamin Parsons, I said, "How are you today, sir?" He said, "My head is resting very sweetly on three pillows — infinite power, infinite love, and infinite wisdom." Preaching in the Canterbury Hall in Brighton, I mentioned this some time since; and, not many months after, I was requested to call upon a poor but holy young woman, apparently dying. She said, "I felt I must see you before I died. I heard you tell the story of Benjamin Parsons and his three pillows; and when I went through a surgical operation, and it was very cruel, I was leaning my head on pillows, and as they were taking them away, I said, 'Mayn't I keep them?' The surgeon said, 'No, my dear, we must take them away. "But,' said I, 'you can't take away Benjamin Parsons' three pillows: I can lay my head on infinite power, infinite love, and infinite wisdom.'"

"My word" —
"The best relief that mourners have,
It makes our sorrows blest;
Our fairest hope beyond the grave,
And our eternal rest."

"Speak to me now in Scripture language alone," said a dying Christian. "I can trust the words of God, but when they are the words of man, it costs me an effort to think whether I may trust to them."
I would, when dying comforts fly, As much as when they present were, Upon my living joy rely: Help, Lord, for here I daily err. — Ralph Erskine

I was questioning my spiritual life, I who have so long been a preacher to others. I entered a little rustic assembly. An unlettered man preached the gospel, he preached it heartily; my tears began to flow; my soul leaped at the very sound of the Word of the Lord. What a comfort it was to me! How frequently have I thought of it since! The Word did revive me; my heart was not dead to its influence; I was one of those happy people who know the joyful sound. Assurance was bright in my soul — the Word had quickened me.

What energy a text will breathe into a man' There is more in one divine sentence than in huge folios of human composition. There are tinctures of which one drop is more powerful than large doses of the common dilutions. The Bible is the essence of truth; it is the mind of God, the wisdom of the Eternal. By every word of God men are made to live and are kept in life.
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

52. 你的安慰是什麼？

「我在患難中，因此得安慰；因為你的話將我救活了。」——詩篇 119:50 （50這話將我救活了；我在患難中，因此得安慰。）
在某些方面，同一件事臨到我們所有人：不論是善人或惡人、偉大或卑微、受教或無知的人，都能說出「我的患難」。「人心憂苦，自己知道。」（箴 14:10 10心中的苦楚，自己知道；心裏的喜樂，外人無干。）
然而，極其重要的是：在每一個人的生命中，「我的患難」是否都能被「我的安慰」所平衡？
大衛是如此，他也是眾信徒合宜的代表。那麼，我們每一位聽眾的情形又如何呢？

一、信徒有他們特有的安慰

每一位受試煉的神兒女，都能說：「這是我的安慰。」

1. 「這是」——與別人不同

屬世的人，從自己所喜愛的來源中尋找零星的安慰；但敬虔的人仰望自己在神話語中的經歷，說：「這是我的安慰。」（詩 4:6 6有許多人說：誰能指示我們甚麼好處？耶和華啊，求你仰起臉來，光照我們。）

2. 「這是」——他明白自己所擁有的是什麼

他對安慰的認識，和對患難的認識同樣清楚；不像夏甲，井就在眼前，卻看不見（創 21:19 19神使夏甲的眼睛明亮，她就看見一口水井，便去將皮袋盛滿了水，給童子喝。 ）。

3. 「這是」——近在手中

他不是指著遠方說這是他的安慰，而是緊緊抓住它，親身擁有它。

4. 「這是」——可在禱告中憑此祈求

他把自己曾經享受過的恩典，
作為向神懇求的理由，
以已得的憐憫向主陳明。

二、這安慰來自一個特別的源頭

「因為你的話將我救活了。」

1. 在某一方面，它是外在的

• 神的話充滿應許，成為我們的安慰（羅 15:4 4從前所寫的聖經都是為教訓我們寫的，叫我們因聖經所生的忍耐和安慰可以得着盼望。）。
• 神的話記載祂的良善作為，堅固我們的信心（詩 77:5–10 5我追想古時之日，上古之年。6我想起我夜間的歌曲，捫心自問；我心裏也仔細省察。7難道主要永遠丟棄我，不再施恩嗎？8難道他的慈愛永遠窮盡，他的應許世世廢棄嗎？9難道神忘記開恩，因發怒就止住他的慈悲嗎？（細拉）10我便說：這是我的懦弱，但我要追念至高者顯出右手之年代。）。
• 神的話滿有權能，成為我們的力量（傳 8:4 4王的話本有權力，誰敢問他說「你做甚麼」呢？ ）。

2. 在另一面，它是內在的：「你的話將我救活了」

在過去的經歷中，他曾感受到神話語使人復甦的能力——

• 從死亡進入生命（詩 116:8 8主啊，你救我的命免了死亡，救我的眼免了流淚，救我的腳免了跌倒。）
• 從麻木遲鈍進入活力（歌 6:12 12不知不覺，我的心將我安置在我尊長的車中。）
• 從較低的生命進入更高的生命（詩 119:67 67我未受苦以先走迷了路，現在卻遵守你的話。）

在各方面，神的話都曾成為他得生命的泉源。

• 而在當下的經歷中，他正感受到神話語的能力，使——
• 心思不再那麼屬世
• 心更傾向禱告
• 靈更柔軟敏銳
• 信心更單純

若神的話已經成就、並正在成就這一切，我們就可以期待它繼續工作，直到完全拯救我們。

三、這安慰在特殊的試煉中顯得極其寶貴

1. 盼望遲延

留意上下文：「求你記念向你僕人所應許的話，叫我有盼望。」（49節）生命的更新，使我們能持續盼望。

2. 試煉臨到（50節）

人在患難中最需要安慰，而沒有什麼安慰比「得生命」更真實。

3. 遭受譏誚

「驕傲的人甚是譏笑我。」（51節）當我們在屬靈生命中活潑時，就不在乎譏諷我們的人。

4. 看見他人的罪惡

「我見惡人離棄你的律法，就甚發怒。」（53節）更多的恩典，使我們在罪惡泛濫時仍能站立得住。

5. 環境變遷

細讀第54節。聖經為各樣季節預備詩歌，也為各種處境預備詩篇。

6. 黑夜之中（55節）

沒有任何夜燈，能比神的話更能照亮、更新人心。

四、我們所選擇的安慰，是品格的試金石

1. 有些人倚靠財富

當五穀新酒加增時，便說：「這是我的安慰。」他們只顧眼前利益，是屬世界的（路 12:19 19然後要對我的靈魂說：靈魂哪，你有許多財物積存，可作多年的費用，只管安安逸逸地吃喝快樂吧！』）。

2. 有些人追求異夢異象

徵兆、幻想、感覺、預感——他們是迷信的。

3. 有些人逃向罪惡

酒、賭博、宴樂、放縱、鴉片——他們是邪惡的。

4. 有些人倚靠人

向人尋求忠告與幫助——他們是不智慧的，終必失望（耶 17:5 5耶和華如此說：倚靠人血肉的膀臂，心中離棄耶和華的，那人有禍了！）。那麼，你的安慰是什麼？這本蒙福的聖經，是否曾使你得生命？若是如此，在一切試煉中仰望它吧，因為它永不使你失望。

胡德牧師（E. Paxton Hood）記述：「我有一天探望我親愛的朋友本傑明．帕森斯，他正臨終。我問他：『今天感覺如何？』他說：『我的頭正甜美地靠在三個枕頭上——無限的能力、無限的愛、無限的智慧。』」我後來在布萊頓的坎特伯雷會堂講到這件事。不久之後，有人請我探望一位貧窮卻聖潔、看似將死的年輕女子。她對我說：「我一定要在死前見你一面。我聽你講過本傑明．帕森斯和他那三個枕頭。當我接受一個極其痛苦的手術時，我的頭靠在枕頭上；醫生要把枕頭拿走時，我說：『我不能留著它們嗎？』醫生說：『不行，我們必須拿走。』但我說：『你們拿不走本傑明．帕森斯的三個枕頭；我仍能把頭靠在無限的能力、無限的愛、無限的智慧上。』」

「你的話——
是憂傷之人最好的安慰，使苦難成為祝福，成為墳墓之外最美的盼望，也是我們永恆的安息。」
一位臨終的基督徒說：「現在只用聖經的話對我說吧。神的話我能完全信靠；若是人的話，我還得費力思量是否可信。」

拉爾夫．厄斯金（Ralph Erskine）寫道：
當死亡使安慰飛逝，正如它仍在我身旁時，我願倚靠我活著的喜樂；主啊，幫助我，因我在此常常失誤。

司布真自述：
「有一次，我這個多年向人傳道的人，竟開始懷疑自己的屬靈生命。我走進一個鄉村的小聚會，一位沒有學問的人熱切地傳講福音；我的眼淚流下來，我的靈因神話語的聲音而跳躍。那對我是何等的安慰！此後我常常想起這件事。神的話復甦了我；我的心對它的影響並未死去；我正是那些認識喜樂之聲的幸福之人。確據在我心中閃耀——因為神的話使我得了生命。」
一節經文能給人何等大的能力！一個神聖的句子，勝過成堆的人為巨著。有些藥劑，一滴勝過大量稀釋的藥水。聖經是真理的精華，是神的心意，是永恆者的智慧。人因神口裡所出的一切話而活，也靠這話得以存活。
——查爾斯．哈登．司布真

53. Open Praise and Public Confession

I will praise Thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee. I will worship towards Thy holy temple, and praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy truth: for Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name. In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. Psalm 138:1-3
DAV1D was vexed with rival gods, as we are with rival gospels. Nothing is more trying to the soul of a true man than to be surrounded with vile counterfeits, and to hear these cried up, and the truth treated with contempt.
How will David act under the trial? For so should we act. Our text informs us. He will:

I. SING WITH WHOLE-HEARTED PRAISE. "I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee."

1. His song would openly show his contempt of the false gods: he would sing whether they were there or no. They were such nothings that he would not change his note for them.

2. It would evince his strong faith in the true God. To the teeth of the adversary he glorified Jehovah. His enthusiastic wholehearted song was better than denunciation or argument.

3. It would declare his joyful zeal for God: he sang to show the strong emotion of his soul. Others might be pleased in Baal; he greatly rejoiced in Jehovah.

4. It would shield him from evil from those about him; for holy song keeps off the enemy. Praise is a potent disinfectant. If called to behold evil, let us purify the air with the incense of praise.

II. WORSHIP BY THE DESPISED RULE. "I will worship toward thy holy temple."

1. Quietly ignoring all will-worship, he would follow the rule of the Lord, and the custom of the saints.

2. Looking to the Person of Christ, which was typified by the Temple. There is no singing like that which is directed towards the Lord Jesus, as now living to present it to the Father.

3. Trusting in the one finished Sacrifice, looking to the one Great Expiation, we shall praise aright.

4. Realizing God himself; for it is to God he speaks, "towards thy holy temple.'' Music which is meant for the ear of God is music indeed.

III. PRAISE THE QUESTIONED ATTRIBUTES. "I will praise thy name for thy loving kindness, and for thy truth."

1. Loving kindness in its universality.

• Loving kindness in its specialty.
• Grace in everything. Grace to me. Grace so much despised of Pharisees and Sadducees, but so precious to true penitents.
• Concerning the grace of God, let us cling close to the doctrine and spirit of the gospel all the more because the spirit of the age is opposed to them.

2. Truth.

• Historic accuracy of Scripture.
• Absolute certainty of the gospel.
• Assured truthfulness of the promise
• Complete accuracy of prophecy.

It is ours in these evil days to hold to the infallible inspiration of the Word, and to affirm it in unmistakable terms. No wonder that men rush off to find an infallible church in Popery, or rely upon their own infallible reason, when once they doubt the plenary inspiration of the Bible.

IV. REVERENCE THE HONORED WORD. "Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."

God has magnified His sure word of testimony beyond all such revelations as we receive through creation and providence, though these declare God's name. The Gospel word is:

1. More clear. Words are better understood than nature's hieroglyphs.

2. More sure. The Spirit Himself sealing it.
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3. More sovereign. Effectually blessing believers.

4. More complete. The whole of God is seen in Christ.

5. More lasting. Creation must pass away; the Word endures for ever.

6. More glorifying to God. Especially in the great Atonement.

V. PROVE IT BY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. "In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me;' etc.
He had used his knowledge of God derived from the Word:

1. By offering prayer. "I cried." What do men know of the bud, and grace of God and the virtue of His Word if they have never prayed?

2. By narrating the answer. "Thou answeredst me," etc. We are God's witnesses, and should with readiness, care, frequency, and courage testify what we have seen and known.

3. By exhibiting the strength of soul which was gained by prayer. This is good witness-bearing. Show by patience, courage, joy, and holiness what the Lord has done for your soul.

• Our Lord is above all others.
• Our joy in Him surpasses all other joy.
• Therefore will we delight in Him and extol Him beyond measure.

Jottings

Singing unto Jehovah before the gods was good for David's own soul It is perilous to attempt a secret fidelity to God, it is so apt to degenerate into cowardice. A converted soldier tried at first to pray in bed, or in some secret corner, but he found it would not do; he must kneel down in the barrack-room before the others, and run the gauntlet of the men's remarks; for until he had done so he had not taken his stand and he felt no peace of mind. It is needful for our spiritual health that we come out distinctly upon the Lord's side.

The effect of whole-heartedness is very manifest. Even prejudiced persons put up with a great deal in a service when they see that those engaged in it are enthusiastic. "It was very singular;' said one who attended a Revival Service, "and I should have laughed outright, only I saw the tears running down an old sailor's cheeks as he sung the hymn with all his might."

Observe carefully the little points in a divine command: worship "towards the holy temple." Nothing is little when God's will is concerned. I knew a youth who had wished to be baptized, but his friends kept him back. When he fell ill, he fretted because he had not confessed his Lord according to the Scripture. "But Isaac," said his mother, "you know baptism will not save you." "No, mother," he replied, "of course it will not, for I am saved. But when I see Jesus in heaven I should not like Him to say, 'Isaac, it was a very little thing I asked of you; did you not love Me enough to do it?'" It is the non-essentiality of the precept which makes it such an important test of obedience.

We do not intend to place Scripture on a lower level than science; on the contrary, we claim for it the chief place. By science the name and character of the Lord may be dimly read; but His Word is magnified above all other manifestations, for therein the revelation is more full and clear. Observations made by sunlight are not to be revised by moonlight glances: the reverse is the correct process. You tell me what you gather from my Father's works; but I have His mind in His own words, written with His own pen, and I prefer my information to yours.
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

53. 公開的讚美與公開的承認

「我要一心稱謝你；在諸神面前歌頌你。我要向你的聖殿下拜，稱讚你的名；因你的慈愛和誠實，因你使你的話顯為大，過於你一切的名。 我呼求的日子，你就應允我，鼓勵我，使我心裡有能力。」——詩篇 138:1–3 (1我要一心稱謝你，在諸神面前歌頌你。2我要向你的聖殿下拜，為你的慈愛和誠實稱讚你的名；因你使你的話顯為大，過於你所應許的（或譯：超乎你的名聲）。3我呼求的日子，你就應允我，鼓勵我，使我心裏有能力。)
大衛為那些競爭的假神所困擾，正如我們今日為那些競爭的「假福音」所困擾一樣。對一個誠實敬虔的人而言，沒有什麼比被卑劣的仿冒品包圍、聽見它們被高舉、而真理卻被藐視，更加令人痛苦的了。
那麼，大衛在這樣的試煉中會如何行？我們也當如此行。本段經文告訴我們，他要：

一、以全心的讚美歌唱

「我要一心稱謝你；在諸神面前歌頌你。」

1. 他的歌聲要公開顯明他對假神的蔑視：不論它們是否在場，他都要歌唱；因它們算不得什麼，他不會因此改變自己的旋律。
2. 這也顯出他對真神堅定的信心：他當著仇敵的面榮耀耶和華。這種熱切、全心的歌唱，比責備或辯論更有力。
3. 這宣告了他對神喜樂的熱忱：他歌唱，是為了表達靈魂深處的情感；別人或許以巴力為樂，他卻在耶和華裡大大歡喜。
4. 這也保護他不受周圍邪惡的侵害；因為聖潔的歌聲能驅退仇敵。讚美是極有能力的潔淨劑。若被迫目睹邪惡，就讓讚美的香氣潔淨空氣。

二、照著被人輕看的規範敬拜

「我要向你的聖殿下拜。」

1. 他安靜地忽略一切自我發明的敬拜方式，遵行主的法則與聖徒的常規。
2. 他仰望基督的位格——聖殿正是基督的預表。當歌唱指向如今活著、將讚美呈給父的主耶穌時，那歌聲是最美的。
3. 倚靠那一次完成的祭，仰望那偉大的贖罪，我們才能正確地讚美。
4. 他真實地面向神；因為他是對神說話——「向你的聖殿」。唯有為神耳朵而唱的音樂，才是真正的音樂。

三、讚美被質疑的屬性

「我要因你的慈愛和誠實稱讚你的名。」

1. 慈愛（恩典）

• 在其普遍性中
• 在其特殊性中
• 恩典在萬事中；恩典臨到我。這恩典被法利賽人與撒都該人所輕視，卻為真心悔改的人所珍愛。
  論到神的恩典，我們因世代的精神反對它，更要緊緊持守福音的教義與精神。

2. 誠實（真理）

• 聖經歷史的準確性
• 福音絕對的確定性
• 應許的完全可信
• 預言的完全準確

在這邪惡的世代，我們當持守聖經無誤的默示，並以清楚明確的方式宣告它。難怪人一旦懷疑聖經完全的默示，就轉而去尋找羅馬教皇制度中的「無誤教會」，或倚靠自己所謂「無誤的理性」。

四、敬畏被尊崇的話語

「因你使你的話顯為大，過於你一切的名。」
神使祂確實的見證之道，被高舉超過祂在創造與護理中所顯明的一切啟示，雖然這些也宣告神的名。福音的話語是：

1. 更清楚——言語比自然界的象形符號更易明白。
2. 更確定——有聖靈親自印證。
3. 更具主權——有效地祝福信徒。
4. 更完全——神的一切在基督裡顯明。
5. 更長存——創造必過去，話語卻永遠長存。
6. 更榮耀神——特別是在偉大的代贖之工中。

五、以個人經驗來證明

「我呼求的日子，你就應允我……」
他把從神話語得來的認識實際運用：

1. 藉著禱告：「我呼求。」若從未禱告，人對神的恩典與話語的能力能知道多少呢？
2. 述說蒙應允的經歷：「你就應允我。」我們是神的見證人，當樂意、謹慎、經常、勇敢地述說自己所看見、所知道的。
3. 顯明因禱告而得的心靈力量：藉著忍耐、勇氣、喜樂與聖潔，顯明主在你心中所成就的工。

• 我們的主超乎萬有之上。
• 我們在祂裡面的喜樂勝過一切喜樂。
• 因此，我們要在祂裡面歡喜，無限地高舉祂。

隨筆札記（Jottings）

在諸神面前向耶和華歌唱，對大衛自己的靈魂大有益處。試圖秘密地忠於神是危險的，因為它極容易墮落為懦弱。一位悔改的士兵起初只敢在床上或角落禱告，卻發現這行不通；他必須在兵營裡當著眾人跪下，承受嘲諷，才能真正站穩立場，心得平安。為了屬靈的健康，我們必須清楚地站在主的一邊。

全心投入的果效非常明顯。即使是帶著偏見的人，也會因看見服事者的熱忱而忍耐許多事。一位參加復興聚會的人說：「那真是很奇特；若不是看見一位老水手唱詩時滿臉流淚，我早就笑出來了。」

請留意神聖命令中那些看似微小的細節：「向著聖殿敬拜。」凡涉及神的旨意，沒有一件是微不足道的。 我認識一位年輕人，曾渴望受洗，但他的朋友們一直攔阻他。後來他病倒了，便為自己沒有按著聖經承認主而深感懊惱。 「可是，艾薩克，」他母親說，「你知道受洗並不能救你。」 「不，母親，」他回答，「當然不能，因為我已經得救了。但當我在天上見到耶穌時，我不願祂對我說：『艾薩克，我向你要的只是一件很小的事；難道你不夠愛我，連這件事也不肯做嗎？』」 正因為這條誡命看似非必要，它反而成了順服最重要的試驗。

我們並非要把聖經放在比科學更低的層次；恰恰相反，我們主張它應居於首要的地位。藉著科學，人或許能朦朧地讀出主的名與祂的性情；但祂的話語卻被高舉在一切其他啟示之上，因為其中的啟示更加完全、更加清楚。 在陽光下所作的觀察，不應被月光下的瞥見所修正；正確的程序正好相反。你可以告訴我你從我父親的作為中所得到的認識；但我卻在祂親口所說、親筆寫下的話語中得著祂的心意，因此我寧可採信我的信息，而非你的推論。

查爾斯．哈登．司布真（Charles Haddon Spurgeon）

54. Flight to God
I flee unto thee to hide me. Psalm 143:9
WHAT a mercy it is for us all that David was not an untried man! We have all been enriched by his painful experience. He was
A man so various that he seemed to be
Not one, but all mankind's epitome.
May it not be a blessing to others that we also are tried? If so, ought we not to be right glad to contribute our quota to the benefit of the redeemed family?
David may be our example; let us flee unto God as he did. We shall profit by our foes if we imitate this prudent warrior in his habitual way of escaping from his enemies.
The great point is, however, not only to see what David did, but to do the like promptly, and constantly. What, then, is essential in order to our copying the man of God?

I. A PERCEPTION OF DANGER. No man will flee if he is not afraid; there must be a knowledge and apprehension of danger, or there will be no flight.

1. Men perish in many instances because they have no sense of danger. The noxious air is not observed, the sunken reef is not seen, the train rushes to collision unwarned. Ignorance of danger makes the danger inevitable.

• Men will dare to die without fear of hell.
• Men will sin and have no dread of any ill consequences.
• Men will play with an evil habit and will not believe in its power to enslave them.
• Men will toy with a temptation and refuse to see how certain it is to lead them into actual wrong-doing.

2. Every man is really in danger. The sinner is asleep on the top of a mast. Young and old are both in jeopardy. Even the saints are in peril of temptation from many sources.

3. Some dangers are slowly perceived. Those connected with sweet sin, those which grow out of a boastful mind, those which are countenanced by the example of others, etc. The more dangerous the serpent, the less likely to be seen.

4. The spiritual man is led to perceive dangers by inward monitions, by a spiritual sensitiveness which is the result of devotion, by experience, by perceptible declensions, or by observing the effect of certain things upon others.

II. A SENSE OF WEAKNESS. 

No man will flee for hiding if he feel able to fight the matter through in his own strength.
1. We are all weak and unable to cope with sin.
2. Some think themselves mighty men of valor, but these are among the very weakest of the weak.
3. Past failure should teach us not to trust our own strength.
4. In a deep sense of weakness we are made strong; in fancied strength lies the worst form of weakness.

III. A PRUDENT FORESIGHT. "I flee unto thee to hide me."

1. He would not venture into the danger or wait till it overtook him; but he took time by the forelock and fled. Often this is the highest form of courage.

2. Escape through fear is admirable prudence. It is not a mean motive; for Noah, "moved by fear, prepared an ark"

3. While we can flee we should, for time may come when we shall be unable. David says, "I flee"; he means, "I am fleeing, I always do flee unto thee, my God."

A man should not live like a beast, who sees no further than the meadow in which he feeds. He should foresee evil and hide himself; for this is common prudence (Prov. 22:3).

IV. A SOLID CONFIDENCE. "To thee to hide me. He was sure

1.That there was safety in God.
2.That he might flee to God.
3.That he might flee there and then.

V. AN ACTIVE FAITH. He did not lie passive, but aroused himself.

This may be clearly seen
1. In his fleeing to God. Directness, speed, eagerness.
2. In his after-prayers. "Teach me to do thy will; lead me; quicken me." See verses following the text.

• Expect your share of enemies, and prepare for them.
• Secure your best friend. Be reconciled to Him in Christ Jesus
• Make constant use of Him. Flee to Him at all times.

Feathers for Wings

From some sins there is no safety but in flight. Our French school book represented Mentor as saying to his pupil in the court of Calypso, "F1y, Telemaque; there remains no other mode of conquest but by flight!" "Flee youthful lusts"; they are not to be wrestled with, but fled from. Flight being thus needful, whither shall we flee but to our God? Who will so surely welcome, so securely defend, so permanently entertain? As the bird to its nest, and the coney to its rock, let us flee unto our God that we may be secure from every foe.

God's people often find by experience that the places of their protection are places of destruction. Well, when all other places fail, Christ will not fail. See how it was with David, Psalm 142:4-5. But when his hiding place at Ziklag was gone, yet his Savior was not gone; "He encouraged himself in the Lord his God" (1 Sam. 30:6). It is a mighty encouragement to believers that Christ is a hiding place: (l) he is a safe and strong hiding place (Isa. 33:16); Christ is a rock, and he that is in Christ is in the munitions of rocks; (2) he is a large hiding place; there is room enough for his elect; his skirt is large; (3) he is a hiding-place to the soul as well as to the body; (4) he hath undertaken to hide us; God hath committed all his elect to Christ, that He should hide them. — Ralph Robinson

Under the influence of great fear the most timid creatures have sometimes fled to men for security. We have heard of a dove flying into a lady's bosom to escape from a hawk, and even of a hare running to a man for shelter. The confidence of the feeble secures the guardianship of the strong. He would be brutal indeed who would refuse protection to such simple reliance. Surely, if in our need we fly into the bosom of our God, we may be sure that love and majesty will unitedly smile upon us. There can be no question of that man's security who challenges by his faith the protection of the God of love. "He has trusted me and I will not fail him" has been the resolve of many an honorable man; how much more will it be the determination of the Lord!
A little party assembled in a shepherd's house in Nithsdale to hear Mr. Peden expound the Word of God. While thus engaged, the bleating of a sheep was heard. The noise disturbed the little congregation, and the shepherd was obliged to go out and drive the sheep away.

While so engaged, he lifted up his eyes and saw, at a distance, horse soldiers coming towards his cottage. He hastened back to give the alarm. All instantly dispersed and hid themselves. Mr. Peden betook himself to the Cleft of the Rock, the Gave of Garrickfells, and soon the clatter of horses' hoofs and the ring of armor told him that his foes were at hand. But safe in the Cleft he sat unmoved, and through an opening saw them gallop past, without any suspicion that he whose life they sought was so near. — From "Sunday Readings," by James Large
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

54. 逃向神

「我投奔你，要藏身於你。」——詩篇 143:9 (9耶和華啊，求你救我脫離我的仇敵！我往你那裏藏身。)
我們實在當為此感恩：大衛並不是一個未經試煉的人！他的痛苦經驗，使我們眾人得著豐富的益處。他真可說是——一個如此多面的人，彷彿不是一人，而是全人類的縮影。
若我們自己也經歷試煉，是否也能成為別人的祝福呢？若是如此，我們豈不當甘心樂意，為蒙救贖的大家庭略盡一分心力嗎？
大衛可以成為我們的榜樣；讓我們像他一樣逃向神。若我們效法這位謹慎的勇士，在面對仇敵時常常如此逃避，我們甚至能從仇敵身上得益處。
然而，關鍵不只是看見大衛怎樣行，而是立刻並持續地照樣去行。那麼，要效法這位屬神之人，必須具備什麼呢？

一、對危險的察覺

若人不感到害怕，就不會逃跑；若沒有對危險的認知與警覺，就不會有逃避。

1. 許多人滅亡，正因為毫無危險意識。
   有毒的空氣未被察覺；暗礁未被看見；列車毫無警告地衝向相撞。對危險的無知，使危險變得不可避免。

• 人敢於死而不懼地獄。
• 人犯罪，卻不怕任何後果。
• 人戲弄惡習，不信它會奴役自己。
• 人把玩試探，拒絕承認它必然導致實際的罪行。

2. 每一個人其實都在危險之中。罪人好像睡在桅杆頂端；不論老少，都在險境中。即使是聖徒，也面臨從多方而來的試探。
   
3. 有些危險不易察覺：那些與甜美的罪有關的危險；那些源自自誇之心的危險；那些因別人榜樣而被合理化的危險。蛇越毒，越不容易被看見。
4. 屬靈的人能察覺危險，是藉著：內心的警告、敬虔生活所培養的屬靈敏銳、經驗、明顯的靈性退步，或觀察某些事對他人造成的影響。

二、對自身軟弱的體認

若人覺得自己能憑己力應付，就不會逃去尋求藏身之處。

1. 我們都軟弱，無法與罪惡抗衡。
2. 有些人自以為英勇善戰，其實正是最軟弱的人。
3. 過去的失敗應當教導我們，不可倚靠自己。
4. 真正深刻的軟弱感，反而使人剛強；虛假的自信，才是最致命的軟弱。

三、謹慎而有遠見

「我投奔你，要藏身於你。」

1. 他不等危險臨到，也不冒險涉入其中，而是先發制人地逃避；這往往是最高形式的勇敢。
2. 因懼怕而逃避，乃是可稱許的智慧；這不是卑劣的動機——因為挪亞「因著敬畏，預備了一隻方舟」。
3. 趁我們還能逃，就當逃；因為時候可能會來到，我們再也無法逃避。
   大衛說：「我投奔你」，意思是：「我正在逃向你；我一向如此，常常逃向你，我的神。」

人不該像野獸一樣，只看見腳下的草地；他應當預見災禍而藏身，這才是常識的智慧（箴 22:3 3通達人見禍藏躲；愚蒙人前往受害。）。

四、穩固的信心

「到你那裡藏身。」他確信：

1. 在神裡面有安全。
2. 他可以逃向神。
3. 他可以立刻、當下逃向神。

五、積極行動的信心

他不是消極地躺著不動，而是振作起來。這清楚表現在：

1. 逃向神——直接、迅速、迫切。
2. 隨後的禱告——「求你教導我遵行你的旨意；引導我；使我甦醒。」（見本節後文）

• 你要預期自己也會有仇敵，並為此預備。
• 確保你有最好的朋友——在基督耶穌裡與神和好。
• 並且不斷使用這位朋友：隨時逃向祂。

插上翅膀的羽毛（Feathers for Wings）

有些罪，除了逃避，別無安全之道。法文課本曾描寫導師孟陀在卡呂普索宮廷中對學生說：「快逃吧，泰勒瑪科斯！唯一的得勝方式就是逃跑！」「要逃避少年的私慾」——這些不是用來摔跤的，而是用來逃避的。既然必須逃，我們還能逃向誰呢？除了我們的神，還有誰如此歡迎我們、如此保護我們、如此永久地接納我們？如飛鳥歸巢，如石狸奔向磐石，讓我們逃向我們的神，使我們免於一切仇敵。

神的子民常從經驗中發現，他們原以為是保護之處的地方，反成了毀滅之所；然而，當一切別的藏身處都失效時，基督永不失效。看看大衛的經歷（詩 142:4–5 4求你向我右邊觀看，因為沒有人認識我；我無處避難，也沒有人眷顧我。5耶和華啊，我曾向你哀求。我說：你是我的避難所；在活人之地，你是我的福分。）：洗革拉的藏身處失去了，但他的救主沒有失去；「他倚靠耶和華他的神，心裡堅固起來」（撒上 30:6  6大衛甚是焦急，因眾人為自己的兒女苦惱，說：「要用石頭打死他。」大衛卻倚靠耶和華－他的神，心裏堅固。）。對信徒而言，基督是藏身之處，這是極大的安慰：祂是安全而堅固的藏身處（賽 33:16 16他必居高處；他的保障是磐石的堅壘；他的糧必不缺乏（原文是賜給）；他的水必不斷絕。）。祂是寬廣的藏身處，足夠容納祂所有的選民。祂不只遮蔽身體，也遮蔽靈魂。祂親自承擔了藏匿我們的責任；神已將祂的選民交託給基督，叫祂保護他們。——拉爾夫．羅賓遜（Ralph Robinson）

在極度恐懼中，最膽小的生物有時也會逃向人尋求保護。我們聽過鴿子為躲避鷹而飛入女子懷中，甚至野兔奔向人求庇護。軟弱者的信任，會喚起強者的保護。若有人拒絕這樣單純的信靠，那真是殘酷至極。更何況，若我們在患難中逃入神的懷中，豈不更能確信慈愛與威嚴必一同向我們微笑？凡因信心而向慈愛之神尋求保護的人，其安全是毫無疑問的。

在尼茲戴爾，一小群人聚集在一位牧羊人的屋中，聽佩登先生講解神的話。忽然聽見羊叫聲，牧羊人出去驅趕羊群，卻遠遠看見騎兵正向屋子而來。他急忙回來報信，眾人立刻四散躲藏。佩登先生躲進磐石裂縫——加里克菲爾斯洞穴。不久，馬蹄聲與盔甲聲傳來，仇敵就在附近；但他安然坐在裂縫中，透過縫隙看見他們策馬而過，毫無察覺所尋之人近在咫尺。
——摘自詹姆斯．拉吉《主日閱讀》
查爾斯．哈登．司布真