Thursday, 1st December 2022
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
We must look at the background of Psalm 96, which is in I Chronicles, it talks about how King David brought the Ark of God and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. When King David brought the Ark of God, he danced and sang in front of the Ark, and was despised by his wife. David was not worried about how others saw him, and he was also not worried about how much issues he had in his life, because he knew his identity in the Kingdom of God, he knew he was the son of the Heavenly Father.
Can we worship God freely? Through worship and praise, we can receive freedom, healing, and peace. This is what Psalm 96 is about, a journey from an orphan’s perspective to the son’s perspective. We must live in the presence of God in the Promised Land. David learnt this lesson, he turned back to God with the identity of a son.
Section One V1-6 Proclaim the Good News of His Salvation
V2 ‘Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.’ Proclaim means to declare, to tell the people, to spread the word… day to day, we us proclaim, not to talk about teaching, but to spread the good news with our lives. We must sing a new song and use the new eyesight to see God’s creations. It’s difficult to interact with people we don’t like, but God wants us to see others from His perspective, see His Creations from His eyesight.
God lives in Heaven, and we live on this earth, but in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to live on earth as it is in Heaven. We must be lift up by God, but this process involves discipline and teaching. Nobody likes to be disciplined, but we should not feel shameful about it. David’s wife looked down on David, but he did not care about what others think, he was willing to be lift by God and to receive God’s teaching.
V5-6 ‘For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.’ How can we see the honour and majesty, the strength and beauty? King David was willing to let down of all his honour and kingship, he draw all the focus on God, and reveal the glory of God. When we expose our low point, reveal our weaknesses, testify before God, then we can live in the presence of God.
Section Two V7-10 Give to the Lord Glory and Strength
V8 ‘Give to the Lord the glory due His Name; bring an offering and come into His courts.’ What do we reveal before people? Do people see the glory and honour from us or from God? We must be willing to set apart and to worship, so through our lives and through our low points, people can see God. God is glorious and powerful, we are His children, so be His children. We don’t need to carry all the burdens by ourselves, but let God take over. Let all the glory and strength go to God, and we can be His children, enjoy living in His presence.
Section Three V11-13 Praise the Coming of God
V12-13 ‘Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth.’ What is our attitude when we face the coming of Jesus? It the path of the wilderness, the Israelites did not wear out their shoes and their garments. God has already given us everything we need to enter the Promised Land and to enter His presence. Do not think that we have nothing, God’s presence is all we need, everything else in this world will pas away. Moses saw God face to face, and he had complete faith in God. When God told Moses that he could not enter the Promised Land, he did not fight with God, he did not argue with God, instead, he accepted God’s decision and His guidance.
We must live under the Tree of Life, and not to focus on the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We will not be afraid, and we can live in the presence of God, day by day, live on earth as it is in Heaven. God calls us Jeshurun, He wants us to receive the identity as His children.
诗篇 96 – 活在神同在里
2022年12月1日 星期四
潘锡安牧师
虽然我们生命中有很多顽梗、叛逆、有许多需要调整的问题，神仍然称我们为“耶书仑”(正直人)，这就是一颗为父的心。唯有当我们与天父恢复关系，我们才不会用doing的模式去用自己的努力来赢得神的爱和赞同，而是在being中活出我们里面的能力、散发出耶书仑的力量。
诗篇96篇出自历代志上16章。当大卫将约柜请进耶路撒冷时，他兴奋开心到失态，连他的太太米甲都“轻视他”（代上15:20）。因为在这之前，大卫听说了很多有约柜的地方出现灾难。他知道自己生命中的问题，因此害怕被惩罚，这是一颗孤儿的心。然而后来大卫明白天父的心，不再担惊受怕，而是以一颗儿子的心迎接创造穹苍的主来到自己的城中，不去在乎别人如何看自己。我们真的看自己是耶书仑吗，真的能像大卫那样在神面前自由的敬拜赞美吗？从孤儿回转成为儿子，大卫不再惧怕，而是欢喜迎接神的同在。
一、v.1-6 传扬神的救恩
V1-3 “传扬”就是报消息，我们不仅要每天对别人说，也要对自己报救恩的好消息。我们说的不是道理，而是自己的生命；不是活在负面、苦毒的过去，而是要唱新的歌，用新的眼光来看神所创造的一切。若我们不愿意领受这美好的身份，不愿接受神的教导，我们就无法活在神的同在中。我们是没有办法自己活出神同在的，唯有如主祷文所说，活在地上如同在天上，就是要被神提升。当我们被提升的时候，心里是否感觉被冒犯？人看我们被提升可能会觉得丢脸，如同米甲看大卫一样；然而大卫不在乎，他愿意接受神的方法、愿意被神提升，这样才能传扬神的救恩。
V4-6 大卫的生命就是这样被展现在众人面前，他身为以色列的君王，愿意在神的约柜面前使人看到神的尊荣、威严。我们愿意在神的圣所、众人面前展现自己的低点，让神的能力和华美彰显吗？在神的国度，神高举的是低微的人。让我们不再活在自己的doing中，而是活生命树的气息里，在地如在天。
二、v.7-10 将荣耀能力归给神
V7-9 我们是否抢夺神的荣耀能力？我们彰显的是自己的能力吗，是否有将人带到神面前？是否让人从我们生命中的低点、不完全当中让人看到神的荣耀？我们习惯将自己美好的一面表现在人面前，所以一旦被提升就不开心。让我们脱离孤儿的包袱，用儿子的身份迎接神的同在，不害怕丢脸，只渴慕神的同在。
三、v.11-13 赞美神的来临
V13 神的来临不是像圣诞老人送礼物那样，而是“审判全地”。我们以什么心态来面对耶稣基督再来时的审判？很多人不想面对审判，因为害怕失去自己在这个世界上所拥有的东西，觉得跟随神很辛苦。然而，正如摩西曾提醒以色列人时说的，他们在旷野四十年，衣服没有破，鞋子也没有坏。神的供应是丰盛的，但我们看到的都是自己的缺乏而不是神的同在。摩西与神是面对面的，当他得知自己无法进入应许之地时，并没有因此跟神发脾气，当我们得不到自己想要的东西时，是否就会怨天尤人？我们要活在神的同在中，就不害怕神再来时的审判。我们是耶书仑，是神所爱的。你愿意放下孤儿的包袱，拥抱神儿女的身份吗？