第三十九章
1 我曾說:“我要謹慎我的言行,免得我舌頭犯罪。惡人在我面前
的時候,我要用嚼環勒住我的口。”
2 我默然無聲,連好話也不出口,我的愁苦就發動了。
3 我的心在我裡面發熱。我默想的時候,火就燒起,我便用舌頭說話:
4 耶和華啊,求你叫我曉得我身之終,我的壽數幾何,叫我知道我
的生命不長。
5 你使我的年日窄如手掌;我一生的年數,在你面前如同無有。各
人最穩妥的時候,真是全然虛幻。
6 世人行動實係幻影:他們忙亂,真是枉然;積蓄財寶,不知將來
有誰收取。
7 主啊,如今我等甚麼呢?我的指望在乎你!
8 求你救我脫離一切的過犯,不要使我受愚頑人的羞辱。
9 因我所遭遇的是出於你,我就默然不語。
10求你把你的責罰從我身上免去,因你手的責打,我便消滅。
11你因人的罪惡懲罰他的時候,叫他的笑容消滅(註:“的笑
容”或作“所喜愛的”),如衣被蟲所咬。世人真是虛幻!
12 耶和華啊,求你聽我的禱告,留心聽我的呼求!我流淚,求你不要
靜默無聲,因為我在你面前是客旅,是寄居的,像我列祖一般。
13 求你寬容我,使我在去而不返之先可以力量復原。”
默想:
1.詩人在為一些問題在掙扎:生命如此脆弱,如此短暫,就像一
片過眼煙雲。我究竟還有多久的生命?究竟活著有什麼意義(
6節)?你就不能饒了我(10,13節)?但是,詩人卻仍然對
神有希望(7節),並繼續求神拯救他脫離罪惡(8節)。
2.“我就默然不語“(9節)這節經文邀請我們在神的面前“安
靜”,“讓我們的靈與任何響聲隔離,無論是噪音,音樂,還
是人的言語,好讓噪雜的內心可以安靜下來,使我們越發專注
於神”。
3.今天或是本週內,安排一段與神安靜的時間,默想這段經文,
尤其是9節。將你的經歷與感受,與小組弟兄姐妹分享。
禱告與筆錄:
繼續安靜在神面前,與神對話,並聆聽祂對我說的話。將心中的思
想(心得),或是與神的禱告,記錄在「靈程筆記簿」上面。
Chapter 39
1 I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a
muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.”
2 So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my
anguish increased;
3 my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then
I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me
know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is
as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.
6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush
about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
8 Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.
9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has
done this.
10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume
their wealth like a moth — surely everyone is but a breath.
12 “Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to
my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my
ancestors were.
13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and
am no more.”
Meditation
1. The psalmist was wrestling with a lot of anguished questions: life is
so fragile, so short, like a puff of air, a passing shadow. How long
do I have? What does it mean anyway? (v6) Can’t you back off a
bit, God? (vv10, 13). But then the singer also has hope in God (v7)
and continues to seek deliverance from sin (v8).
2. “I am silent; I do not open my mouth…”(v9) ushers an invitation
for us to be SILENT before God to close “off our souls from
‘sounds’, whether noise, music, or words, so that we may better still
the inner chatter and clatter of our noisy hearts and be increasingly
attentive to God”.
3. Plan to have a Silent Date with God today or this week. Share your
experience with your group.
Prayer & Journaling:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen
to what he wants to tell me. Then write down any thought and/or prayer
in the 2012 “Spiritual Journal” book.