Praising Scripture - Dec 12

Introduction...

Psalm 132:1-9;13-18 Praise God’s Kingdom/God’s Dwelling Place
（Memorization Scripture: vv. 13-18）
1 Lord, remember David
And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the Lord,
And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
We found it in the fields of the woods.[a]
7 Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
……
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
14 “This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There I will make the horn of David grow;
I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”


[Sharing] There have been a lot of difficulties and tribulations in the many years of serving the Lord and His church, and sometimes I have felt discouraged. But God always speaks to me at a crucial moment and shows me what He wants. This psalm is one of them. Back to 2005, when we were buying the church building, God once again spoke to me through this psalm. It seemed that I could roughly understand a bit of David's misery and his urgency to find a resting place for the ark of the Lord. In order to fulfill the needs of the Lord, David would rather suffer. If our sufferings cannot be connected with the eternal purpose of God, which is Christ and the church, it will be worthless at all!

Having spent his life in war, David knew well and worry about God's ark being displaced and restless. Where is God's resting place today? Where is the shining place of God's witness cabinet? Is every church a home where God can dwell in? Can His heart rest in peace among us? Behold what manner of love is the Lord! With exceedingly precious promises, He responds to those who love Him and care about His presence and testimony. In His chosen dwelling place, He will 'abundantly bless her provision, satisfy her poor with bread; ... also clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.' The horn of David speaks of God's victory - wherever there is God's presence, God reigns and enemies will be humiliated; those who suffer for the Lord will have glorious crowns on their heads.
Do you think that this psalm is like a song, which step by step builds up into God's heart, encountering God's promise and glory! No wonder this psalm is collected in the "Songs of Ascent".

【簡介】...

12/12 詩篇132:1-9，13-18 讚美 神的國/ 神的居所
(背誦13-18節)
1 耶和華啊，求祢記念大衛所受的一切苦難。
2 他怎樣向耶和華起誓，向雅各的大能者許願，
3 說：「我必不進我的帳幕，也不上我的床榻。
4 我不容我的眼睛睡覺，也不容我的眼目打盹。
5 直等我為耶和華尋得所在，為雅各的大能者尋得居所。」

6 我們聽說 約櫃在以法他，
我們在基列‧耶琳就尋見了。
7 我們要進祂的居所，
在祂腳凳前下拜。
8 耶和華啊，求祢興起，
和祢有能力的約櫃同入安息之所！
9 願祢的祭司披上公義！
願祢的聖民歡呼！
……
13 因為耶和華揀選了錫安，願意當做自己的居所，
14 說：「這是我永遠安息之所，
我要住在這裡，因為是我所願意的。
15 我要使其中的糧食豐滿，使其中的窮人飽足。
16 我要使祭司披上救恩，聖民大聲歡呼。
17 我要叫大衛的角在那裡發生，
我為我的受膏者預備明燈。
18 我要使祂的仇敵披上羞恥，
但祂的冠冕要在頭上發光。」



【心得分享】
服事 神和祂的教會這麼多年，遇到過許多困境和磨難，有時候會覺得有些氣餒。但是 神總是在關鍵時刻，對我說話，讓我看見祂要什麼，這首詩篇是其中之一。2005年買會所的過程，在一次週六的禁食禱告會， 神又再一次用這個詩篇對我說話。我似乎約略可以體會一點大衛的苦難，和他那個要為 神的約櫃尋找安息之所的迫切。大衛為了滿足 神的需要，寧願自己受苦。如果我們的苦難，不能與 神永遠的旨意，也就是基督與教會相連，這個苦就受得太不值得了！
大衛一生在戰亂中度過，他特別能體會也焦急 神的約櫃流離失所、不得安息。今天的世代，哪裡是 神的安息之處呢？哪裡是 神的見證之櫃發光的所在呢？每一個教會，都是 神可以居住的家嗎？祂的心可以在我們中間安息嗎？看哪， 神是何等的慈愛！祂用極寶貴的應許來回應那些愛祂、在乎祂同在與見證的子民。在祂所揀選的居所，祂要「使其中的糧食豐滿，使其中的窮人飽足；…使祭司披上救恩，聖民大聲歡呼。」大衛的角，說到 神的得勝——哪裡有 神的同在，哪裡就有 神掌權，仇敵要受羞辱；為 神忍受苦難的，卻有發光的冠冕帶在頭上。
大家覺不覺得這首詩，就是一首歌？一步步爬上來，進入 神的心意，相交於 神的應許和榮耀！難怪這首詩會被收集在「上行詩」的小詩集中。