Praising Scripture - Dec 26

Paising Month Introduction...

Psalm 118:19-29
（Memorization Scripture :22-24,28-29）
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected, Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord, And He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.
29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

【Reflection】 Are there any words truer and more precious than these - “You are my God, and I will give thanks to You; You are my God; I will extol You. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!”

This psalm is rich in Messianic imagery and many of the lines are familiar to us from Jesus using these words about Himself and the people’s shouts of joy at His triumphal entry taken from this very psalm. Psalms 113-118 are six “Hallel” psalms recited during the three major festivals (Passover, Pentecost, Feast of Tabernacles). Psalm 118 could have even been the final psalm in the mind of Jesus as He celebrated Passover with His disciples (Mark 14:26).

Surrounding this psalm is the history of the Passover - God delivering His people from the slavery of Egypt to bring them into His presence so that they could worship Him. “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” We too can sing this today because in such great faithfulness God has answered our deepest need in the ultimate Exodus. Jesus has delivered us from our enemies, our hard times, and also from sin within through His once-and-for-all atoning sacrifice.

And today this should be truly marvelous in our eyes. Though we deserved nothing and while mankind rejected Jesus, in amazing grace by God’s great doing, Christ’s victory has transformed our lives of despair into ones of rejoicing worship before the Lord. “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!”

【讚美月簡介】...

詩篇 118:19-29
(背誦經文:22-24,28-29)
19 給我敞開義門，我要進去稱謝耶和華。
20 這是耶和華的門，義人要進去。
21 我要稱謝祢，因為祢已經應允我，又成了我的拯救。
22 匠人所棄的石頭，已成了房角的頭塊石頭。
23 這是耶和華所做的，在我們眼中看為稀奇。
24 這是耶和華所定的日子，我們在其中要高興歡喜。
25 耶和華啊，求祢拯救！耶和華啊，求祢使我們亨通！
26 奉耶和華名來的是應當稱頌的！我們從耶和華的殿中為你們祝福。
27 耶和華是 神，祂光照了我們。理當用繩索把祭牲拴住，牽到壇角那裡。
28 祢是我的 神，我要稱謝祢；祢是我的 神，我要尊崇祢。
29 你們要稱謝耶和華，因祂本為善，祂的慈愛永遠長存！

【心得分享】 有什麼話比這樣的讚美還真實、且滿有榮耀？ ── 「祢是我的 神，我要稱謝祢；祢是我的 神，我要尊崇祢。你們要稱謝耶和華，因祂本為善，祂的慈愛永遠長存！」

這首詩歌充滿了彌賽亞的形象，主耶穌用了其中好幾句來描述祂自己，當祂榮耀地騎著驢駒子進入耶路撒冷的時候，人們歡呼地頌讚也是從這首詩來的。詩篇113-118 常被人當作是猶太人三個大節（逾越節，五旬節，住棚節）唱的詩，118篇這一首也很有可能是主耶穌在與門徒們一起慶祝逾越節後，往橄欖山去的時候，心裡思想的最後一首詩歌。（馬可福音 14:26）
這首詩其實是在述說逾越節的歷史 ── 神拯救祂的子民脫離埃及為奴的生活，帶領他們進入祂的同在，使他們能夠敬拜祂。因著救恩唱到（第1節及第29節）：「你們要稱謝耶和華，因祂本為善，祂的慈愛永遠長存！」 同樣的，今天我們也能如此稱頌 神，因為偉大信實的 神已經把終極的答案給了我們，領我們永遠地出了埃及。耶穌基督不僅僅使我們脫離那些做我們仇敵的艱難環境，更是用祂一次而永遠的犧牲做了挽回祭，使我們脫離了罪的轄制。
今天，這首頌歌應該在我們的眼中無比的超凡。儘管我們不配， 神卻在人還拒絕耶穌的時候，藉著祂的驚人恩典和祂在基督身上偉大的得勝，把我們的生命從絕望轉變成歡喜的敬拜。噢！「你們要稱謝耶和華，因祂本為善，祂的慈愛永遠長存！」