Psalm 115 – To Really Know God 詩篇115 – 要真認識神
Thursday, 23rd February 2023
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1 God is Love and Truth 神是有慈愛和誠實的
We follow God, but do we really know God? Do we know who we are following? God has already given us Isaiah 60 at the beginning of 2023, He wants us to arise and shine, He wants us to show His Light to the people around us, and He wants us to really know Him. Knowing God will give us strength and hope, so no matter where we go, we will not doubt, and we will not fear.
V1 ‘Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.’ We should not feel tired following God, because following God should not be tired. He will give us all the strength we need and He will sustain us no matter where we go. God’s mercy and truth are real, they are from Him, and they are for us. When we really know God’s mercy and truth, which is His Name and His Promise, then we will no longer feel weary.
Section Two V2-8 God does Whatever He Pleases神是隨自己的意旨行事的
V2 ‘Why should the Gentiles say, “So where is their God?”’ The Gentiles saw the misery of the Israelites, then they asked where God is. It’s so easy to doubt where God is, it’s so easy to blame God for everything happens to us. Because we put God in a box, we want God to do what we want to do, instead of us doing what God wants us to do. God is not our slaves, God does not take instructions from us, and the more we have expectations in God according to our own mindset, the more we will feel discouraged. We will feel disappointed when God did not do what we want Him to do. Jesus taught us to pray for God’s Will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven, not the other way around.
Section Three V9-18 God Blesses 神是賜福的
V9-11 ‘O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.’ The idols may do many things, but they cannot bless us. Only God can bless us, He is our help and He is our shield. The Bible continues to remind us to trust in the Lord. We are the people following God, but somehow we don’t trust in God. We try to do things by ourselves for ourselves, we thought we can protect ourselves, but we don’t see only God can protect us. Furthermore, He will bless us and our generations.
V14-15 ‘May the Lord give you increase more and more, you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.’ Let us have a heart like Hannah, to see God’s blessings in our children, and to ask for this blessing. Let us have a godly desire to want children, physically and spiritually. Because God created us to manage the earth and be fruitful.
V16-18 ‘The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men. The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!’ God wants us to sing praises to Him loudly, we must sing out our praises to God, because when we sing and praise out loud, the darkness will go away, and the light of God will come upon us.
诗篇 115 – 要真认识神
2023年2月23日 星期四
潘锡安牧师
我们都知道神是我们的避难所和帮助，但我们还是有很多不信，因为我们虽然跟从神，却不认识他。唯有真认识神，我们在狂风暴雨中才不会被打倒。我们的生命好像一台戏, 被撒旦和世人观看，而神要我们兴起发光，他不要我们成为撒旦的笑话或他人的绊脚石。当我们真认识神，我们对环境的害怕就会离去，信心才会加增，无论遇到什么景况，都能赞美敬拜神。
一、v.1 神是有慈爱和诚实的
荣耀若归于我们，我们就要自己承担责任，结果会因不断做事而变成doing的模式。我们跟从神，若是觉得很累，说明我们都是在doing模式里，因为跟从神本来是很轻省的。我们不要倚靠自己，不要倚靠别人的赞许，只要单单倚靠神，因他是慈爱和诚实的，这是神的名字。神是诚实的，当他说我们是美好的，我们就是美好的。神也是爱我们的天父，纵使前面的路很艰辛、甚至危险，他都会保护我们。
二、v.2-8 神是随自己旨意行事的
V2-3 外邦人这样说，是因为他们只看见以色列人国破家亡，百姓四处流浪。我们自己是否也会因为发生在周遭的事而怀疑神？我们把神限制在一个框框里，希望他成为有求必应的奴隶。当神没有按照我们的期待行事时，我们就觉得他不在或不爱我们，这是因为我们不知道神是“随自己的意旨行事”的神。
V4-8 人手所做的偶像虽然有手有脚，却不能保护靠它的人；它虽然有口，说出来的话却没有权柄，而唯有我们的神才有权柄！
三、v.9-18 神是赐福的
V9-10 我们不要担心害怕，只要倚靠耶和华，因为他是我们的帮助和我们的盾牌。我们跟从神遇到最大的问题就是不相信神，不信他说话算话，所以常常想自己帮助自己。
V11-12 神所怀的意念是赐平安的意念。“亚伦的家”是神所拣选服事他的人，他必会赐福给他们。
V13 耶和华是自有永有的神，跟从神的人，无论年纪大小，他都能赐福。
V14 我们现代人会觉得有一个小孩很麻烦，因为我们没有看重无论是肉身或属灵的儿女。当我们愿意牧养关怀的时候，神给我们的活水才会不断涌流，我们里面才会不枯干。求神给我们如哈拿一般的心，看儿女是神的祝福。
V16 神要我们治理大地。
V17-18 赞美就是大声称赞，若我们不能大声赞美神，我们就是“死人”。我们都是蒙福、蒙召的人，就算经历暴风骤雨、地震、疫情，我们都能赞美神，黑暗不能遮盖我们，因为我们真认识神！