Praising Scripture - Dec 15

Introduction...

12/15 Psalm 37:1-11 Praise God’s Will
（Memorization Scripture: vv. 3-6）

1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.



[Sharing]
It’s not always easy to praise God for His will. The challenge is that first we don’t necessarily know what His will is, and second that we may not truly care. By the time we get to see God’s will and start to care, it is still likely we don’t fully agree or cannot follow it. What God regards as the best may not be what we desire the most, or even if it is, we may not have the strength to obey Him, which is especially true when we fret (see how “do not fret” appears 3 times in this passage) and want to retaliate.

But here God says to His children through David that we should 1) trust in the Lord, and do good, 2) dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness, and 3) delight yourself also in the Lord -- and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Then He continues with “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” Vengeance belongs to God, for only He is righteous, and only those who do the will of God abides forever. Sometimes when God’s will is not clear to us our flesh will be tempted by the enemy as we fret, and we will sin if we fail to overcome the temptation. To delight ourselves in the Lord’s will, we have to be humble, willing to obey, and wait patiently.

Children of God, let’s all listen to God’s words and obey, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” Let’s not follow our own will, but humble ourselves under the righteous and mighty hand of God. Let’s put our faith in His judgement and leading, and honor Him as God. “The meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

【簡介】...

12/15 詩篇37:1-11 讚美 神的旨意
(背誦3-6節)

1 不要為作惡的心懷不平，
也不要向那行不義的生出嫉妒。
2 因為他們如草快被割下，
又如青菜快要枯乾。
3 你當倚靠耶和華而行善，
住在地上，以祂的信實為糧；
4 又要以耶和華為樂，
祂就將你心裡所求的賜給你。
5 當將你的事交託耶和華，
並倚靠祂，祂就必成全。
6 祂要使你的公義如光發出，
使你的公平明如正午。
7 你當默然倚靠耶和華，耐性等候祂。
不要因那道路通達的和那惡謀成就的心懷不平。
8 當止住怒氣，離棄忿怒；
不要心懷不平，以致作惡。
9 因為作惡的必被剪除，
惟有等候耶和華的必承受地土。
10 還有片時，惡人要歸於無有。
你就是細察他的住處，也要歸於無有。
11 但謙卑人必承受地土，
以豐盛的平安為樂。


【心得分享】
要讚美 神的旨意，很多時候不是一件理所當然的事。首先我們不一定知道什麼是 神的旨意，再就是我們不見得在乎神的旨意。等我們知道了，也開始在乎了，我們在很多事情上又不贊成或跟不上 神的旨意。我們覺得祂的旨意不是我認為最好的，或者無力順服。尤其是當我們心懷不平 （你看，這十一節裡就有三個 “心懷不平” 呢！），想要以牙還牙的時候。
但是 神在這裡藉著大衛對祂的兒女說，你要：1）倚靠耶和華而行善。2）住在地上，以祂的信實為糧。3）又要以耶和華為樂——祂就將你心裡所求的賜給你。然後，祂又說：「當將你的事交託耶和華，並倚靠祂，祂就必成全。祂要使你的公義如光發出，使你的公平明如正午。」申冤在 神，唯有 神是公義，也唯有 神的旨意和遵行祂旨意的人永遠長存。我們對祂的旨意一時看不清楚，有時就在憤憤不平的時候肉體被仇敵試探，以致犯罪作惡。 神的旨意，必須是謙卑、願意順服、並且耐性等候的人才能引以為樂的。
神的兒女啊，讓我們聽 神的話，「你當默然倚靠耶和華，耐性等候祂」，不要自己做主，要服在 神公義大能的手下，相信祂的判斷和帶領，尊祂為 神。「謙卑人必承受地土，以豐盛的平安為樂」！