詩篇五十六篇

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非利士人在迦特拿住大衛。那時，他作這金詩，交於伶長。調用遠方無聲鴿。

1 神啊，求祢憐憫我，因為人要把我吞了，終日攻擊欺壓我。
2 我的仇敵終日要把我吞了，因逞驕傲攻擊我的人甚多。
3 我懼怕的時候要倚靠祢。
4 我倚靠神，我要讚美祂的話。我倚靠神，必不懼怕，血氣之輩能把我怎麼樣呢？
5 他們終日顛倒我的話，他們一切的心思都是要害我。
6 他們聚集、埋伏，窺探我的腳蹤，等候要害我的命。
7 他們豈能因罪孽逃脫嗎？神啊，求祢在怒中使眾民墮落！
8 我幾次流離，你都記數，求祢把我眼淚裝在你的皮袋裡。這不都記在祢冊子上嗎？
9 我呼求的日子，我的仇敵都要轉身退後。神幫助我，這是我所知道的。…….

在大衛逃亡的日子裡，有兩次逃到非利士人的迦特，第一次是在逃亡的初期，第二次是在快要結束逃亡時。第一次到迦特時，非利士人對他有很強的敵意，因為他們還記得大衛殺了歌利亞，所以大衛查覺到他們的敵意和殺機勝騰騰，因此扮瘋逃離。第二次再去迦特時，可能非利士人都己經知道他是個流亡之人，正被掃羅追殺，所以亞吉把大衛留下來，他們也不再反對。

這詩篇裡所記載的，大家一般都認為是第一次在迦特的經歷。我覺得畢德生牧師的信息聖經翻譯得特別傳神：take my side, God— I’m getting kicked round,  stomped on every day. Not a day goes by but somebody beats me up; They make it their duty to beat me up. When I get really afraid  ，I come to you in trust. I’m proud to praise God;    fearless now, I trust in God. What can mere mortals do? 神啊，請祢站在我這邊。我終日被人踢來跺去。每一天都有人打我，以打我為己任。當我萬分恐懼時，我憑信心來到祢的面前，我驕傲地讚美祢，毫不膽怯。我倚靠神，必不懼怕，血氣之輩能把我怎麼樣呢？

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Seek Jesus While You Are Young

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 34:1-13.  Let’s go!

2 Chronicles 34:1-3 (NIV) 
1  Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.
2  He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
3  In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images.

On verses 1-3:  At eight years old, Josiah becomes king of Judah in place of his murdered father Amon. At 16, “while he was still young”, Josiah begins to seek the Lord (v3).  At 20, Josiah is initiating a nation wide campaign to cleanse his kingdom of idols.

What can we learn from this?  It is good to seek the Lord while you are still young.  The earlier you seek hard after God, the earlier and the longer God can use your life to impact this world for His glory.  The apostle Paul would have been proud of Josiah, for Paul once wrote to another young leader Timothy, “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).  Josiah did just that.

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詩篇五十五篇

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大衛的訓誨詩，交於伶長。用絲弦的樂器。

1 神啊，求祢留心聽我的禱告，不要隱藏不聽我的懇求。
2 求祢側耳聽我，應允我。我哀嘆不安，發聲唉哼，
3 都因仇敵的聲音，惡人的欺壓。因為他們將罪孽加在我身上，發怒氣逼迫我。
4 我心在我裡面甚是疼痛，死的驚惶臨到我身。
5 恐懼戰兢歸到我身，驚恐漫過了我。
6 我說：「但願我有翅膀像鴿子，我就飛去，得享安息。
7 我必遠遊，宿在曠野。（細拉）
8 我必速速逃到避所，脫離狂風暴雨。」
9 主啊，求祢吞滅他們，變亂他們的舌頭，因為我在城中見了強暴爭競的事。
10 他們在城牆上晝夜繞行，在城內也有罪孽和奸惡。……

讀完這詩篇，你心裡可能會開始搜索，那個曾經是大衛的同伴，可以當上大衛知己的朋友，可以和大衛經常彼此談論，後來又背叛大衛的人會是誰呢？我第一個想到的就是亞西多弗。他曾經是大衛的總參謀長，聖經上說那時亞希多弗所出的主意好像人問神的話一樣。他和大衛曾經在一起多年，大衛靠他的計謀打了不少勝仗。但是大衛從來沒有想到，自己得罪了這個智謀雙全的老伙伴。

原來亞希多弗是拔示巴的祖父，大衛和拔示巴通姦，又和元帥約押設計謀殺了拔示巴的丈夫烏利亞，然後娶了拔示巴為妻。這件事看在亞希多弗的眼裡，必然十分憤怒，而想找機會報復。因此押沙龍一叛變，他就投靠過去了。令大衛痛不欲生。當然，大衛有錯，神也懲罰他了；但是死罪可免，活罪難逃。大衛的家中開始有了刀劍的陰影，血光的瀰漫。大衛開始感到恐懼戰兢，被驚恐所罩。他的心在他裡面疼痛，死的驚惶也抓住大衛不放。一個曾經高高在上的王，叱吒風雲的英雄，此時彷彿過街老鼠，人人喊打。

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God’s Grace Is Greater than Your Mistakes

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 33:1-25.  Let’s go!

2 Chronicles 33:12-13 (NIV) 
12  In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 
13  And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.

On verses 1-20:  Manasseh takes over from his father Hezekiah as king of Judah. Unlike his God-fearing father, Manasseh throws himself headlong into idol worship and witchcraft (v2).  He rebuilds places for idol worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed (v3).  Manasseh even sacrifices his own children in the fire (v6) and erects altars inside the temple of the Lord to worship other gods (v4-8).  Under Manasseh’s leadership the people of Judah do more evil than the nations that the Lord had previously driven out of their land (v9). Despite warnings from God (v10), Manasseh and the people of Judah refuse to listen until Assyria invades Judah and takes Manasseh prisoner (v11).  At that time, Manasseh cries out to God in his distress (v12).  God is moved by his plea and allows Manasseh to return to Judah and restores Manasseh to power (v13).  At that point verse 13 says that “Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God”.  Upon his return to Judah, Manasseh cleanses his land of idol worship (v15-17) and begins to live a humble life before God (v19). 

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詩篇五十四篇

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西弗人來對掃羅說：「大衛豈不是在我們那裡藏身嗎？」那時，大衛作這訓誨詩，交於伶長。用絲弦的樂器。

1 神啊，求祢以你的名救我，憑祢的大能為我申冤。
2 神啊，求祢聽我的禱告，留心聽我口中的言語。
3 因為外人起來攻擊我，強暴人尋索我的命，他們眼中沒有神。（細拉）
4 神是幫助我的，是扶持我命的。
5 祂要報應我仇敵所行的惡，求祢憑你的誠實滅絕他們。
6 我要把甘心祭獻給祢，耶和華啊，我要稱讚祢的名，這名本為美好。
7 祂從一切的急難中把我救出來，我的眼睛也看見了我仇敵遭報。

西弗是猶大支派的一個山區，當大衛和跟隨他的人從基伊拉出來，就到了西弗曠野藏身。西弗城在希伯倫東南約7公里，是分給猶大支派，屬於猶大山地之城，城建在一個海拔高878公尺的小山頂上，形勢險峻與死海西岸的隱基底相對峙，附近之地就是西弗曠野，是多岩石，無人居住，荒涼空曠的地區。(撒上23)

沒想到當地有些西弗人知道了這個消息就去報告掃羅。他們為何這樣做，我們不知道，但有可能掃羅有下“通輯令”或放出風聲，若有誰通知他大衛在何處就可以有獎。因此大衛的處境就更加危險，因為不管他到了哪裡都有人去告訴掃羅，所以他只好過著東躲西藏的日子。

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The Right Way to Respond to God’s Grace

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 32:23-33.  Let’s go!

2 Chronicles 32:24-26 (NIV) 
24  In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the LORD, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. 
25  But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 
26  Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the LORD’s wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.
 
On verses 24-26:  What can we learn from this?  How we respond to God’s grace is crucial.  If your heart is proud like Hezekiah’s was in verse 25, you will not respond to God when He treats you well and you will forfeit the blessing that God otherwise wants to give you.  But if you repent of your pride and humble yourself before the Lord, as Hezekiah later does in verse 26, you give God room to bless you again. 

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