Psalm 122 – The City of Peace 诗篇122 – 和平之城
Wednesday, 22nd March 2023
星期三 2023年3月22日
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
潘锡安牧师
The Name of Jerusalem means ‘the city of peace’. But we know from the history that Jerusalem has hardly been a city of peace. There have been many battles fought in Jerusalem. Yet, Israelites still come up to Jerusalem, to the Temple of God, three times a year. It is a difficult challenge for them, to put down their families and their work, go back to Jerusalem and to worship God. We are the followers of God, we know God provides, and are we willing to be like the Israelites, to follow God no matter what, to worship God in His Temple no matter what.
耶路撒冷这个名字的意思是“和平之城”。但我们从历史中知道，耶路撒冷并不是一座和平之城。在耶路撒冷发生过多次战争。然而，以色列人仍然一年三次上耶路撒冷，上到神的圣殿。放下家庭和工作，回到耶路撒冷敬拜神，对他们来说是一个艰巨的挑战。我们是神的跟随者，我们知道神会供应，但是我们是否愿意像以色列人一样，无论如何都跟随神，无论如何都在他的殿中敬拜神？
After the pandemic, it became more difficult for Christians to come to church, we are used to watching sermons online. But today God is talking to His people through Psalm 122, to come to the city of peace. Everyone wants to receive peace, we want to have peace in our family, our marriage, our church, our workplace, our city… but what does it mean to have peace? There will always been challenges and problems in life, in our relationships with others, but life does not work like that. So how can we receive this peace from God?
疫情过后，基督徒来教会越来越难了，我们习惯了在网上看讲道。但今天神通过诗篇 122 篇对祂的子民说话，要他们来到和平之城。每个人都想获得平安，我们希望在我们的家庭、我们的婚姻、我们的教会、我们的工作场所、我们的城市中拥有平安……但是拥有平安意味着什么？在生活中，在我们与他人的关系中，总会有挑战和问题，但生活并非如此。那么，我们如何才能从神那里得到这种平安呢？
Section One V1-2 We All Must Go Up 我们都要上去
V1 ‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”’ God has given us Jerusalem, God has prepared the peace for us, it’s not just for the pastors, it’s not just for the cell group leaders, but it’s for everyone. Everyone of us must go up to Jerusalem, and we will not be by ourselves when we go up to the Temple of God, because we will have company. We cannot stop gathering, we cannot stop coming to the House of God, but we must go together. When we stop going with our brothers and sisters, then our hearts will grow cold, and we will easy to backslide.
神给了我们耶路撒冷，神为我们预备了平安，这不仅仅是为了牧师，不仅仅是为了小组组长，而是为了每一个人。我们每个人都必须上耶路撒冷去，我们上神殿的时候不会独自一人，因为我们会有同伴。我们不能停止聚会，不能停止来到神的殿，我们必须一起去。当我们不再与弟兄姊妹同行时，我们的心就冷了，我们就容易冷淡退后。
It’s much easier to stay in our home to pray, to worship, to read the Bible… so why do we come to church? Because this is God’s heart for us to encourage each other, to support each other, and on this path to Jerusalem, we will not feel alone.
留在家里祷告、敬拜、读圣经要容易得多……那我们为什么要来教堂呢？因为这是神的心意，让我们互相鼓励，互相扶持，在通往耶路撒冷的这条路上，我们不会感到孤单。
V2 ‘Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!’ We must go together to Jerusalem, we are not just looking up to Jerusalem from the bottom of the mountain, but we will go up together with our brothers and sisters.
我们一定要一起去耶路撒冷，我们不只是在山脚下仰望耶路撒冷，而是要和我们的弟兄姐妹一起上去。
Section Two V3-5 Praise God in Unity 合一称赞
V3-4 ‘Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together, where the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to the Testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.’ When we come together, we are not talking gossip, we are not competing, but to seek unity. Jerusalem, the city of peace, was built in unity, by all the tribes of Israel. The Israelites laid down themselves, their differences, and came together to make David their king, and built the Temple of God.
我们在一起，不是说八卦，不是竞争，而是寻求团结。耶路撒冷是和平之城，由以色列所有支派团结一致建造而成。以色列人放下他们自己的不同，他们的分歧，并聚集在一起让大卫成为他们的王，并建造了神的圣殿。
V5 ‘For thrones are set there for judgment, the thrones of the house of David.’ When we are in unity, then we can rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which protect us from the attack of the enemy. It’s not easy to have unity, it’s not easy to work together with others, because we often think that it’s faster and easier to get things done by ourselves. We don’t like to spend time teaching others and correcting others, but God wants us to humble ourselves, to have unity, and to stop being prideful, then God will be among us.
当我们团结一致时，我们就可以重建耶路撒冷的城墙，保护我们免受敌人的攻击。团结不容易，和别人一起工作不容易，因为我们常常认为自己把事情做好更快更容易。我们不喜欢花时间教导别人，纠正别人，但神要我们谦卑自己，合一，不要骄傲，神就会在我们中间。
Section Three V6-9 Pray for Peace in the City 城内求平安
V6-7 ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.”’ God wants us to ask for peace in the city He has prepared for us. When we are willing to pray for peace of Jerusalem, then the prosperity will be with us. So often when we see our church, when we see our cell groups, when we see our brothers and sisters, we may see problems, but God wants us to pray for peace. We don’t come to church just to seek love, but we are also to love and to pray for peace. Jerusalem is not a peaceful city, and that’s why we must pray for peace, it’s not when we receive prosperity then we pray for peace, but when we first pray for peace then we will be prospered.
神要我们在祂为我们预备的城里祈求平安。当我们愿意为耶路撒冷的和平祷告时，繁荣就会与我们同在。很多时候，当我们看到我们的教会、我们的小组、我们的兄弟姐妹时，我们可能会看到问题，但神要我们为平安祷告。我们来教堂不只是为了寻求爱，我们也应该去爱并为平安祷告。耶路撒冷不是一个平安的城市，这就是为什么我们必须祷告有平安，不是当我们看到繁荣时才祷告，而是当我们首先为平安祷告时我们就会繁荣。
V8-9 ‘For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.” Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.’ We must believe that no matter if we are in the church or if we are in the cell group, God’s presence is with us, we must come with fear and trembling, to know that God is with us. If God is not with us then why do we come to church and why do we come to cell group? God is pleased with our heart to seek Him, when we wake up early in the morning to seek God, He will be pleased with us.
我们要相信，无论是在教会里，还是在小组里，神的同在都与我们在一起，我们要敬畏地来，知道神与我们同在。如果神不与我们同在，那我们为什么要来教会，为什么要来小组？神喜悦我们寻求祂的心，当我们清晨醒来寻求神时，祂会喜悦我们。
When we listen to the Word of God, when we listen to the teaching of our authority, when we stop doubting and simply follow, then God’s peace will be with us and be in our city. We are not here to judge our city but to pray for peace. God has gathered people to come to this city from all directions, from people’s lives we know God is real. We must believe God has prepared the city of peace for us, our church has the presence of God, and our lives has the prosperity of God.
当我们聆听神的话语，当我们聆听我们权柄的教导，当我们停止怀疑并单纯地跟随时，神的平安就会与我们同在，并在我们的城中。我们来这里不是为了评判我们的城市，而是为了我们城市的平安代求。神召集人从四面八方来到这座城市，从人的生命中我们知道神是真实的。我们要相信神已经为我们预备了平安城，我们的教会有神的同在，我们的生命有神的兴盛。