97. A Man troubled by His Thoughts

His thoughts troubled him. Daniel 5:6
TO many men thinking is an unusual employment.
Yet it is a distinction of man that he can think.
No wonder that when thought is forced on some men they are troubled.
This trouble from thought is salutary: by it conviction and conversion may come; and, in any case, troubled thought is as the sounding of the tocsin, arousing the mind, and warning the soul.
Let us think of Belshazzar, and of ourselves. Of us, too, it may have been said, "His thoughts troubled him." We must be in a bad way if we dare not face our own thoughts about ourselves. What must God's thoughts of us be?

I. IT DID NOT APPEAR LIKELY THAT HIS THOUGHTS WOULD TROUBLE HIM.

l. He was an irresponsible and reckless monarch. He came of a fierce nation, and was born of a father who had been punished for his haughty spirit.
2. He had hardened his heart with pride (verses 22 and 23). Daniel said, "thou hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven."
3. He was drinking wine, and it had worked upon him (verse 2).
4. He was rioting in gay company: "his princes, his wives, and his concubines." Such comrades as these usually chase all thought away, and help their leader in his recklessness.
5. He was venturing far in profanity (verse 3); daring to abuse the sacred vessels, in his banquets, as an expression of his contempt for Israel's God, whom he despised in contrast with his "gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone." Perhaps he had mentioned these in detail as the gods who had triumphed; at any rate, the prophet brings them forward with detestation in verse 4.

No man is rendered wise or thoughtful by the wine-cup.
No man is out of the reach of the arrows of God.
No conscience is so dead that he cannot arouse it.
Many other men in far lower positions exhibit equal pride of station and success; this is stimulated in much the same manner, and exhibited with much the same contempt for the things of God.
A parallel is easily drawn between Belshazzar and other proud ones.

II. YET WELL MIGHT HIS THOUGHTS TROUBLE HIM.

l. For what he saw was appalling: "fingers of a man's hand over against the candlestick" (verse 5).

• God sometimes gives men warnings which they must notice.

2. For what he could not see was suggestive. Where was the hand?

• Where was the writer? What had he written? What did it mean? A terrible mystery was involved in his vision.
• God gives men hints of something behind, which is yet to appear.

3. For what he had done was alarming.

• His own past flashed before him. His cruel wars, oppressions, blasphemies, and vices.
• What he knew of his father's career increased his terror.
• What he had himself failed to do came before him:"The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified" (verse 23).
• What he was then in the act of doing startled him. He was wantonly defying Jehovah, the God of Israel.

See him trembling before whom all trembled.
He has drunk a strange draught out of those holy cups.

III. AND MIGHT NOT YOUR THOUGHTS TROUBLE SOME OF YOU?

1. You are careless, riotous, fond of feasts, given to much wine. Does wantonness ever end well?
2. You are prosperous. Are not beasts fattened for the slaughter?
3. You are trifling with holy things. You neglect, or ridicule, or use without seriousness the things of God. Will this be endured? Will not the Lord be provoked to avenge this contempt?
4. You mix with the impure. Will you not perish with them?
5. Your father's history might instruct you, or at least trouble you.
6. The sacred writing "over against the candlestick" is against you.

• Read the Holy Scripture, and see for yourself.

7. Specially, you have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting. Conscience beholds the scales in the hand of the infallible Judge.

Take heed that you do not fall into Belshazzar's condition, to whom Daniel gave no counsel, but simply interpreted the sentences which sealed his doom.

As yet we dare preach the gospel to you, and we do. God's thoughts are above your thoughts. He bids you repent of sin, and believe in his Son Jesus; and then your thoughts will cease to trouble you.

Thoughts and Facts

Such mystery of iniquity within,
That we must loathe our very thoughts, but for the cure
He hath devised — the blessed Tree
The Lord hath shown us, that, cast in, can heal
The fountain whence the bitter waters flow.
Divinest remedy
Whose power we feel,
Whose grace we comprehend not, but we know.
— Miss Havergal

Conscience, from inaction, is like a withered arm in the souls of many; but the Lord of conscience will one day say to it, "Be thou stretched forth, and do thine appointed work."
As the ant-hill, when stirred, sets in motion its living insects in every direction, so the conscience of the sinner, disturbed by the Spirit, or judgments of God, calls up before its vision thousands of deeds which fill the soul with agony and woe. — McCosh

The Duke of Wellington once said that he could have saved the lives of a thousand men a year, had he had chaplains, or any religious ministers. The uneasiness of their minds reacted on their bodies, and kept up continual fever, once it seized upon their frames. It is our blessed office to tell of One who can "minister to a mind diseased;' whose grace can deliver from "an evil conscience," and through whom all inward fear and trouble are removed.

Charles IX of France, in his youth, had humane and tender sensibilities. The fiend who had tempted him was the mother who had nursed him. When she first proposed to him the massacre of the Huguenots, he shrunk from it with horror: "No, no, madam! They are my loving subjects." Then was the critical hour of his life. Had he cherished that natural sensitiveness to bloodshed, St. Bartholomew's Eve would never have disgraced the history of his kingdom, and he himself would have escaped the fearful remorse which crazed him on his death-bed. To his physician he said in his last hours, "sleep or awake, I see the mangled forms of the Huguenots passing before me. They drip with blood. They make hideous, faces at me. They point to their open wounds, and mock me. Oh, that I had spared at least the little infants at the breast!" Then he broke out in agonizing cries and screams. Bloody sweat oozed from the pores of his skin. He was one of the very few cases in history which confirm the possibility of the phenomenon which attended our Lord's anguish in Gethsemane. That was the fruit of resisting, years before, the recoil of his youthful conscience from the extreme of guilt. — Austin Phelps
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

97．一個被自己思想攪擾的人

「他的心思驚惶。」——但以理書 5:6 （6就變了臉色，心意驚惶，腰骨好像脫節，雙膝彼此相碰，）
對許多人來說，思想本身是一種不尋常的活動。
然而，人之所以為人，正在於他能思想。
因此，當思想被迫臨到某些人時，他們感到驚惶，並不足為奇。
這種由思想而來的驚惶，是有益的：藉此，定罪與悔改可能臨到；即使沒有如此，受攪動的思想也如同警鐘被敲響，喚醒心智，警告靈魂。
讓我們思想伯沙撒，也思想我們自己。關於我們，也可能有人如此說過：「他的思想使他驚惶。」若我們不敢面對自己對自己的思想，那我們的光景必定極其可悲。那麼，神對我們的思想又會是如何呢？

一、看來他的思想並不太可能使他驚惶

1. 他是一個不負責任、放縱的君王。他出身於一個殘暴的民族，又是那位因驕傲而受責罰之父的兒子。
2. 他以驕傲使自己的心剛硬（第 22、23 節 22伯沙撒啊，你是他的兒子（或譯：孫子），你雖知道這一切，你心仍不自卑， 23竟向天上的主自高，使人將他殿中的器皿拿到你面前，你和大臣、皇后、妃嬪用這器皿飲酒。你又讚美那不能看、不能聽、無知無識、金、銀、銅、鐵、木、石所造的神，卻沒有將榮耀歸與那手中有你氣息，管理你一切行動的神。）。但以理說：「你卻向天上的主自高。」
3. 他正在飲酒，而酒已對他產生作用（第 2 節 2伯沙撒歡飲之間，吩咐人將他父（或譯：祖；下同）尼布甲尼撒從耶路撒冷殿中所掠的金銀器皿拿來，王與大臣、皇后、妃嬪好用這器皿飲酒。）。
4. 他正在狂歡作樂，身邊有「他的首領、妻子和妃嬪」。這樣的同伴，通常會驅散一切思想，並在他們的放縱中助長他們的魯莽。
5. 他正在極度褻瀆（第 3 節 3於是他們把耶路撒冷神殿庫房中所掠的金器皿拿來，王和大臣、皇后、妃嬪就用這器皿飲酒。）；他膽敢在宴樂中濫用聖殿的器皿，以此表達他對以色列之神的輕蔑，並與他所敬拜的「金、銀、銅、鐵、木、石的神」形成對比。或許他曾詳細提到這些神，作為他們得勝的證明；無論如何，先知在第 4 節 （4他們飲酒，讚美金、銀、銅、鐵、木、石所造的神。）中帶著厭惡提及它們。

沒有一個人是因酒杯而變得智慧或善於思想的。
沒有一個人是在神箭的射程之外的。
沒有一個良心是死到不能被喚醒的。
許多地位遠不如他的人，也顯出同樣的身分驕傲與成功自滿；這些心態以幾乎相同的方式被激發，並以同樣的方式表現為對神之事的輕視。
在伯沙撒與其他驕傲之人之間，很容易畫出一條平行線。

二、然而，他的思想確實大有理由驚惶

1. 因為他所看見的極其可怕：「有人的指頭在燈臺對面的牆上寫字」（第 5 節 5當時，忽有人的指頭顯出，在王宮與燈臺相對的粉牆上寫字。王看見寫字的指頭）。
   

• 神有時會給人一些他們必須注意的警告。

2. 因為他所看不見的，更引人聯想。手在哪裡？
   

• 寫字的是誰？寫了什麼？這意味著什麼？這異象中包含著可怕的奧祕。
• 神給人一些暗示，指向背後尚未顯明之事。

3. 因為他所行的令人驚恐。
   

• 他自己的過去在眼前閃現——他的殘酷戰爭、壓迫、褻瀆與惡行。
• 他對父親生平的認識，加深了他的恐懼。
• 他自己未曾行的事浮現在眼前：「那手中有你氣息、管理你一切行為的神，你竟沒有榮耀祂。」（第 23 節 23竟向天上的主自高，使人將他殿中的器皿拿到你面前，你和大臣、皇后、妃嬪用這器皿飲酒。你又讚美那不能看、不能聽、無知無識、金、銀、銅、鐵、木、石所造的神，卻沒有將榮耀歸與那手中有你氣息，管理你一切行動的神。）
• 他當下正在行的事使他震驚：他正肆意地公然藐視以色列的神耶和華。
  

看哪，曾使眾人戰兢的那一位，如今自己卻在戰兢。
他從那些聖潔的杯中，喝下了一種奇異的酒。

三、你們中間，豈不也有人該被自己的思想驚惶嗎？

1. 你放縱、宴樂、嗜酒。放蕩的生活何曾有善終？
2. 你亨通順利。牲畜不是在肥壯之後被宰殺嗎？
3. 你輕忽神聖之事。你忽略、譏諷，或不嚴肅地使用屬神的事物。這樣的事能被容忍嗎？主豈不會為這輕蔑而追討嗎？
4. 你與污穢的人來往。難道你不會與他們一同滅亡嗎？
5. 你父親的歷史，或許能教導你，至少也該使你心中不安。
6. 「在燈臺對面牆上的字」，正是寫給你的。

• 讀聖經，自己去看吧。

7. 尤其是，你已被稱在天平上，顯出虧欠。良心看見那位無誤的審判者手中的天平。
   

要謹慎，免得你落入伯沙撒的光景——對那樣的人，但以理不再給勸告，只解釋那已封定他結局的判語。
如今我們仍然敢向你傳福音，也正如此行。神的意念高過你的意念。祂呼召你悔改罪惡，信靠祂的兒子耶穌；
如此，你的思想就不再使你驚惶。

思想與事實

罪惡的奧祕在我們裡面如此深沉，
若非祂所預備的醫治，
我們必須厭惡自己的一切思想——那蒙福的樹，
主已指示我們，一投入其中，便能醫治
那苦水湧流的泉源。
神聖的良藥，
其能力我們感受得到，
其恩典我們不能完全明白，但我們知道它是真實的。
——哈佛格爾小姐（Miss Havergal）

良心因長久不運作，在許多人的靈魂中如同一隻枯萎的手；但良心的主終有一日要對它說：「伸出來，作你所當作的工。」
罪人的良心一旦被聖靈或神的審判攪動，就如被翻動的蟻丘，無數行為同時湧現於眼前，使靈魂充滿痛苦與哀傷。——麥考什（McCosh）

威靈頓公爵曾說，若他能有隨軍的牧師或宗教人士，他每年可以挽救一千名士兵的性命。他們心靈的不安反作用於身體，一旦疾病侵襲，就使熱病持續不退。我們蒙福的職分，就是傳講那一位能「醫治心靈之病者」；祂的恩典能救人脫離「邪惡的良心」，使一切內心的恐懼與攪擾得以除去。

法國國王查理九世年少時，本有仁慈與溫柔的性情。引誘他的惡魔，卻是養育他的母親。她首次向他提議屠殺胡格諾派時，他驚恐退縮，說：「不，不！夫人，他們是我所愛的子民。」那正是他一生的關鍵時刻。若他當時保守那對流血的天然厭惡，聖巴多羅買之夜就不會玷污法國的歷史，他自己也能逃避日後使他瘋狂的可怕悔恨。臨終時，他對醫生說：「無論醒著或睡著，我都看見胡格諾派被肢解的身體在我眼前走過。他們滴著血，向我扮鬼臉，指著他們張開的傷口譏笑我。噢！但願我至少饒恕那些吃奶的嬰孩！」隨後他發出痛苦的呼喊與尖叫，血汗從皮膚的毛孔中滲出。他是歷史上少數幾個例子之一，證實了主在客西馬尼園中所經歷之極度痛苦，在人類身上確有其可能性。那正是多年以前，他壓制青年良心對極端罪惡反感的結果。——奧斯汀．斐爾普斯（Austin Phelps）

查爾斯．哈登．司布真（Charles Haddon Spurgeon）

98. Prayer for the Church

Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of they servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. Daniel 9:17
THIS true-hearted man lived not for himself. Daniel was a fervent lover of his country.
He had been personally faithful, and in consequence he had been honored, but he did not rest content with personal ease.
He had visions of God, but he was not visionary.
He had searched and studied, but now he prayed. Supplication should ever be the outcome of our meditation.
His prayer is instructive to us.
It suggests our fervent entreaties for the church of God in these days.

I. THE HOLY PLACE. "Thy sanctuary."

The temple was typical, and for our edification we shall read the text as if the spiritual house had been meant. There are many points in the type worthy of notice, but these may suffice:

1. The temple was unique; and as there could only be one temple for Jehovah, so there is but one church.
2. The temple was "exceeding magnifical"; and in the eyes of God, and of holy beings, the church is the house of God's glory.
3. The temple was the fabric of wisdom. King Solomon built it; and of the church we may say, "a greater than Solomon is here."
4. The temple was the result of great cost and vast labor: so was the church builded by the Lord Jesus at a cost which can never be estimated.
5. The temple was the shrine of God's indwelling.
6. The temple was the place of his worship.
7. The temple was the throne of his power: his word went forth from Jerusalem; there he ruled his people, and routed his foes.

The church of Jesus Christ in the latter day shall be more accurately the anti-type of the temple, as the present church is of the tabernacle in the wilderness.

II. THE EARNEST PRAYER. "Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate."

1. It rose above all selfishness. This was his one prayer, the center of all his prayers.
2. It was the child of thought (verse 2).

• He had thought over the sins, calamities, prospects of his people.
• Such prayers show the way in which a man's mind is running, and are more full of force than unprepared expressions.

3. It cast itself upon God. "O our God."
4. It was a confession that he could do nothing of himself. Honest men do not ask God to do what they can do themselves.
5. It asked a comprehensive boon. "Cause thy face to shine."

This would mean many things which we also implore for the church of God:
(1) Walls rebuilt and securely standing.
(2) Ministers in their places, faithful in their service.
(3) Worship presented with acceptance.
(4) Truth proclaimed in its clearness. God's face cannot shine upon falsehood or equivocation.
(5) Holiness displayed in its beauty. Where the holy God is smiling, his servants are holy.
(6) Delight in fellowship: the saints walking with God.
(7) Power in testimony. When God is pleased, his word is mighty, and all holy endeavors are prospered.

6. It asked needful things.

• For the church; unity, life, purity, power, joy, etc.
• For the world; enlightenment and conversion. A desolate church is a defeated church.
• For ourselves; edification. We cannot prosper in soul when Zion languishes.
• For our children; salvation. Our sons and daughters are not likely to be saved in a desolate church.

7. It asked with a mighty plea: "For the Lord's sake."

III. THE CONSISTENT CONDUCT. This is suggested by such a prayer.

1. Let us consider the state of Zion (verse 23). Let us form a careful estimate of the condition of true religion.
2. Let us lay it earnestly to heart. Whether for joy or sorrow, let the condition of the church concern us deeply.
3. Let us do all we can for her, or our prayer will be a mockery.
4. Let us do nothing to grieve the Lord; for all depends upon his smile. "Cause thy face to shine."
5. Let us pray much more than we have done. Let each one of us be a Daniel.

Incitements

During the troubles times of Scotland, when the Popish court and aristocracy were arming themselves to suppress the Reformation in that land, and the cause of Protestant Christianity was in imminent peril, late on a certain night John Knox was seen to leave his study, and to pass from the house down into an enclosure to the rear of it. He was followed by a friend, when, after a few moments of silence, his voice was heard as if in prayer. In another moment the accents deepened into intelligible words, and the earnest petition went up from his struggling soul to heaven,"O Lord, give me Scotland, or I die!" Then a pause of hushed stillness, when again the petition broke forth, "O Lord, give me Scotland, or I die!" Once more all was voiceless and noiseless, when, with a yet intenser pathos the thrice-repeated intercession struggled forth, "O Lord, give me Scotland, or I die!" And God gave him Scotland, in spite of Mary and her Cardinal Beatoun; a land and a church of noble loyalty to Christ and his crown.

"At the time the Diet of Nuremburg was held," says Tholuck, "Luther was earnestly praying in his own dwelling; and at the very hour when the edict, granting full toleration to alt Protestants, was issued, he ran out of his house, crying out, 'We have gained the victory'."

The church may be sick, yet not die. Die it cannot, for the blood of an eternal King bought it, the power of an eternal Spirit preserves it, and the mercy of an eternal God shall crown it. — Thomas Adams

Prayer was a universal habit among the heathen people of Samoa, and they manifested considerable intelligence in their conception of prayer. For example, when on their boatjourneys, those who were sitting as passengers in the boat were expected to pray for those who were plying the paddles. The passengers would repeatedly thank the rowers in these words: "Thanks for your strong strokes"; to which the rowers immediately made answer, "Thanks for your intercessory prayers," recognizing, it will be seen, the principle that their power to ply the paddles was dependent upon the prayers of the passengers. — The Congregationalist

Charles Hadden Spurgeon

98．為教會的禱告

「現在，所以我們的神啊，求你垂聽你僕人的禱告和懇求，為主的緣故，使你的臉光照你那荒涼的聖所。」——但以理書 9:17 (17我們的神啊，現在求你垂聽僕人的祈禱懇求，為自己使臉光照你荒涼的聖所。)
這位心地真誠的人並不是為自己而活。但以理是一位熱切愛國的人。
他在個人生活上是忠心的，因此也蒙了尊榮；然而他並不滿足於個人的安逸。
他得過神的異象，卻不是一個空想家。
他曾查考並研讀，現在他禱告。懇求應當永遠是默想的結果。
他的禱告對我們極有教益。
它引導我們為今日神的教會發出懇切的祈求。

一、聖所 ——「你的聖所」

聖殿是預表；為了我們的造就，我們要把這節經文當作是指屬靈的殿來讀。這預表中有許多值得注意之處，以下幾點已足夠：

1. 聖殿是獨一的；正如耶和華只能有一座聖殿，教會也只有一個。
2. 聖殿是「極其華美的」；在神和聖潔者眼中，教會乃是神榮耀的居所。
3. 聖殿是智慧的工程，是所羅門王所建；而論到教會，我們可以說：「有一位比所羅門更大的在這裡。」
4. 聖殿是極大代價與浩大勞苦的成果；同樣，教會也是主耶穌以無法估量的代價所建造的。
5. 聖殿是神居住的所在。
6. 聖殿是祂受敬拜的地方。
7. 聖殿是祂能力的寶座：祂的話從耶路撒冷發出；祂在那裡治理祂的百姓，擊敗祂的仇敵。

末後的基督教會，將更完全地成為聖殿的實體；正如現今的教會更像曠野中的帳幕。

二、懇切的禱告 ——「使你的臉光照你那荒涼的聖所」

1. 這禱告超越了一切自私。這是他唯一的祈求，也是他一切禱告的中心。
2. 這禱告是思想的產物（第 2 節）。

• 他曾思想他百姓的罪、災難和前途。
• 這樣的禱告顯明一個人心思所向，比倉促未備的言詞更有力量。

3. 這禱告完全倚靠神：「我們的神啊。」
4. 這禱告承認自己毫無能力。誠實的人不會求神去做自己能做的事。
5. 這禱告所求的是一個全面的恩惠：「使你的臉光照。」

這包含了許多我們今日也為神的教會所祈求的事：
（1）城牆重建，並且穩固站立。
（2）傳道人各安其位，在職分上忠心。
（3）敬拜蒙悅納。
（4）真理被清楚宣講；神的臉不會照在虛假或模稜兩可之上。
（5）聖潔顯出其美麗；神若喜悅，祂的僕人必然聖潔。
（6）團契中的喜樂：眾聖徒與神同行。
（7）見證中的能力：神若喜悅，祂的話就大有能力，一切聖工都得亨通。

6. 這禱告所求的是必要之事。

• 為教會：合一、生命、純潔、能力、喜樂等。
• 為世界：光照與歸正；荒涼的教會乃是失敗的教會。
• 為自己：造就；錫安衰敗時，我們的靈魂不可能興旺。
• 為兒女：得救；在荒涼的教會中，兒女不太可能得救。

7. 這禱告帶著大能的懇求理由：「為主的緣故。」

三、相稱的行動 —— 由這樣的禱告所暗示的

1. 讓我們思想錫安的光景（第 23 節 23你初懇求的時候，就發出命令，我來告訴你，因你大蒙眷愛；所以你要思想明白這以下的事和異象。 ），對真宗教的狀況作出慎重的評估。
2. 讓我們把這事放在心上；不論喜樂或憂傷，都當為教會的景況深切關懷。
3. 讓我們盡力為她而行，否則我們的禱告便成了嘲弄。
4. 讓我們不要做任何使主憂傷的事；因為一切都在乎祂的笑臉——「使你的臉光照。」
5. 讓我們比從前更多地禱告；讓我們每一個人都成為一個但以理。

激勵的事例

在蘇格蘭動亂的時期，當天主教的宮廷與貴族正武裝起來，要鎮壓該地的宗教改革，新教信仰正處於極大的危險中。某夜深更時分，人看見約翰．諾克斯離開書房，走到屋後的空地。一位朋友跟隨著他。片刻的寂靜之後，聽見他的聲音，彷彿在禱告。隨後，話語漸漸清楚而有力：「主啊，把蘇格蘭賜給我，不然我就死！」片刻靜默之後，他再次呼求：「主啊，把蘇格蘭賜給我，不然我就死！」再一次的沉默之後，帶著更深的迫切，第三次的代求掙扎而出：「主啊，把蘇格蘭賜給我，不然我就死！」神把蘇格蘭賜給了他，儘管有瑪麗女王和紅衣主教比頓的阻撓；那地與那教會，向基督和祂的王權顯出高貴的忠誠。

托魯克說：「在紐倫堡召開帝國會議的時候，路德正在家中懇切禱告；就在頒布准許所有新教徒完全寬容的詔令之時，他衝出屋外，大聲呼喊：『我們得勝了！』」

教會或許會患病，但不會死亡。她不可能死，因為永恆之王的寶血買贖了她，永恆之靈的能力保守她，永恆之神的憐憫終必加冕她。——湯瑪斯．亞當斯（Thomas Adams）

在薩摩亞的異教民族中，禱告是一種普遍的習慣，他們對禱告的理解也顯出相當的智慧。例如，在乘船旅行時，
坐在船中的乘客被期待為划槳的人禱告。乘客常對划槳者說：「謝謝你們有力的槳。」划槳者立刻回答說：「謝謝你們的代禱。」顯然，他們認識到一個原則：他們能有力量划槳，乃是倚靠乘客的禱告。
——《公理會報》（The Congregationalist）

查爾斯．哈登．司布真