Weekly Devotion Psalm 1-4
Thank the Lord, our reading has come to the reading of the 150 psalms. In a nutshell, the main authors of the Psalms are Moses, David, Solomon, the descendants of Korah and many other authors, written around 1440-400 BC. The Psalms are prayers and praises to the Lord of hosts.
The Psalms is a school of prayer. The Psalms are divided into 5 volumes, Volume 1 (1-41), Volume 2 (42-72), Volume 3 (73-89), Volume 4 (90-106), and Volume 5 (107-150 articles). According to the classification of style, it can be divided into 1: hymn, 2: lament (complaint or petition), 3: thanksgiving, 4: trust (or entrust or beg for mercy), 5: royal, 6 wisdom. The entire Old Testament, including the Psalms, reveals Christ. Jesus himself and the New Testament writers repeatedly quoted the Psalms to express themes such as Jesus' suffering (Matt. 27:46) and his glorification (Matt. 22:41-46).
Psalm 1 is a psalm of wisdom, an introduction to the entire Psalms, and begins by pointing out the difference between good and evil. Before we believed in the Lord, we were all wicked (Romans 5:8-10). There are only two paths in life, one is through the gospel of God, the path of eternal life through faith in Jesus, and the other is the path of perishing and eternal death by rejecting God (Matthew 7:13), there is no middle path. A wicked person is someone who is God’s enemy, who is hostile to God’s people, and who violates God’s covenant.
Let us reflect and ask ourselves: how many voices and messages from the world do we listen to and are influenced by in a day? . The poet uses a metaphor: the grains mixed with chaff are lifted up by the wind, the grains fall heavily on the field, and the chaff is light and is blown away by the wind. When we reflect on ourselves, if we as Christians sin and stumble, our behavior is often the same as that of a wicked person. How much of our working life is left as chaff in the sight of God (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)? Verses 2-3, 6: the righteous are also covenant keepers, they love God and obey God, love the law of Jehovah, think about it day and night (soaked in the Lord’s words) and obey it. God favors such righteous people and keeps them fruitful despite drought, heat and storm (Romans 3:24-26, 1 Peter 1:5-8).
Everything he does goes well, which can be understood as that everything he does pleases God, and he experiences the great peace and joy of suffering and being glorified with the Lord.
Psalm 2 is a royal psalm also known as a Messianic psalm. The Messiah in Hebrew is also the Christ in Greek, which is used for the enthronement of the new king or the worship ceremony during the enthronement celebration. Written before the exile of the Jews, it is traditionally believed to have been written by David. This psalm describes the Christ predicted by the prophets. The New Testament repeatedly quotes this psalm on Jesus Christ. He is the "anointed one" and the great "Son of David" (cf. Acts 4:26, 13:33 , Heb. 1:5, 5:5, Rev. 2:27, 19:16). In this chapter, God warns the nations that He is the Messiah who transcends time and space. Only by relying on Jehovah can we avoid perishing, and the fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. When we serve the King of kings and Lord of lords with reverence, how can we not serve them with joy? But in reality, we are indeed not always like this.
Our Christian status: the children of the King of kings, and Lord of lords is never enough acknowledgement and honor. May the Lord help us to know Him more deeply, love Him, experience Him, and trust Him. Many times we are so burdened with worries that we cannot serve joyfully. Serving here is a broad concept. No matter what we do, as a general manager in a company, as a cleaner, at home washing dishes, changing diapers, in church, in school... as long as it is a process of giving glory to God, to live out the faith is to serve God (1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 31).
May the Lord bless us; may we see God's promise and what we should do, and move forward with joy: you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels …
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. We have entered into the unshakable kingdom of God (cf. Hebrews 12:22-29, Revelation 21:1-7).
Psalm 3
The third and fourth Psalms are linked together because of their similarity in content and their reference to the glory of God. The third Psalm focuses on the psalmist's prayer to the LORD in faith, despite the terrible situation of betrayal by family and friends and the threat of many enemies, as he flees the rebellion of his son Absalom. "The LORD is his shield, his glory, that he may lift up his head ......". David had an intimate relationship with God. He knew God, and especially after experiencing God's discipline on him in the Bathsheba incident, he firmly believed in God's holy justice and loving mercy, and this is where David's faith lay. So no matter what the danger, no matter how many enemies were around him, David believed that salvation comes only from the Lord and that God will be gracious to those who fear Him. He lies down or awakens, God is with him and is the God who saves him!
In verses 7-8, the psalmist prays to God, asking Him to save him and punish the wicked man who struck him. The psalmist does not use evil for personal gain, does not repay evil with evil, does not "take personal revenge" on his enemies in his own strength, but entrusts himself to God for redress of grievances. Similarly, it reminds us that in real life, do we live out God's justice and mercy? Are our "enemies" God's enemies? Do we look to God for redress of grievances or do we seek revenge in our own strength? Pray that we will not follow the lusts of the flesh, but obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit and live a life pleasing to God.
Pslam 4 is the evening prayer, which complements the morning prayer in the third psalm. The psalmist calls God a God of justice (NIV), a God who hears his prayers (v. 1), and who has saved and comforted the psalmist in his trouble and hardship (v. 2). For God is so righteous and just that the wicked will not stand before him. The psalmist tells us that it is from this that peace and joy come to the heart of those who fear God. As Psalm 89:13-14 says, "You have a mighty arm; Your hand is strong, and Your right hand is exalted. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and honesty go before You." In the fourth Psalm, in a joyful tone, the psalmist declares, "Thou hast made my heart glad above the harvest of new wine. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, the Lord, make me dwell in peace." How many people in the world think that having a harvest of new wine is the only way to have peace and joy. They try to build their soul's peace and joy on visible material possessions, but end up with constant worries and sleeplessness. The psalmist reminds us that man was not created for and does not depend on money and wealth, which are also created, but out of and in dependence on the mercy and love of God and His faithfulness. It is written: It is from the LORD's all-sufficient love that we do not perish, because His mercy does not cease. This is new every morning, and Your honesty is exceedingly great. I said in my heart, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will look to Him." (Lamentations 3:22-24) Give us a heart that trusts in Him tightly!
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每周灵修诗篇1-4
感谢主，我们的阅读来到了这150篇诗篇的阅读，简单来说，诗篇的主要作者是摩西、大卫、所罗门、可拉的后裔和许多其他作者，写于1440-400BC左右，诗篇是对万军之耶和华的祈祷和赞美。
《诗篇》是一个祷告的学校。《诗篇》分为5卷，第1卷（1-41）、第2卷（42-72）、第3卷（73-89）、第4卷（90-106）、第5卷（107-150篇）。按文体分类，可分为1：赞美诗、2：哀叹（抱怨或请愿）、3：感恩、4：信任（或托付或乞求怜悯）、5：皇家、6智慧。包括《诗篇》在内的整个《旧约》都揭示了基督。耶稣本人和《新约》作者反复引用《诗篇》来表达耶稣受苦（马太福音27章46节）和他的荣耀（马太福音22章41-46节）等主题。
诗篇1篇 是智慧的诗篇，是对整篇诗篇的介绍，开篇就指出善与恶的区别。在信主之前，我们都是恶人（罗马书5:8-10）。人生只有两条路，一条是通过神的福音，通过信耶稣而得永生的路，另一条是通过拒绝神而得灭亡和永生的路（马太福音7:13），没有中间的路。恶人就是与神为敌，与神的子民敌对，违反神的约的人。 让我们反省并问自己：一天中，我们听了多少来自世界的声音和信息，并受到多少影响？。诗人用了一个比喻：掺了糠的谷粒被风吹起，谷粒沉重地落在田野上，糠很轻，被风吹走。当我们反省自己时，如果我们作为基督徒犯罪，跌跌撞撞，我们的行为往往与一个恶人的行为一样。我们的工作生活有多少在上帝面前被留下作为糠（哥林多前书3:11-15）？第2-3节，第6节：义人也是守约的，他们爱神顺服神，爱耶和华的律法，昼夜思念（浸泡在主的话中）并顺服，神眷顾这样的义人，使他们在干旱、炎热和暴风雨中仍保持丰产（罗马书3:24-26，彼得前书1:5-8）。 他所做的每一件事都顺利，可以理解为他所做的每一件事都讨神喜悦，他经历了受苦受难和与主荣耀的大平安和喜乐。
诗篇2篇 是皇家诗篇，也被称为弥赛亚诗篇。希伯来语中的弥赛亚也是希腊语中的基督，用于新国王登基或登基庆典期间的敬拜仪式。写于犹太人被流放之前，传统上认为是大卫写的。这篇诗篇描述了先知预言的基督。新约反复引用这篇关于耶稣基督的诗篇。他是“受膏者”和伟大的“大卫之子”（参见使徒行传4:26,13:33，希伯来书1:5,5:5，启示录2:27,19:16）。在这一章中，上帝警告列国，他是超越时空的弥赛亚。只有依靠耶和华，我们才能避免灭亡，敬畏上帝是一切智慧的开始。当我们怀着崇敬的心侍奉万王之王和万主之主时，我们怎么能不满怀喜悦地侍奉他们呢？但在现实中，我们确实并不总是这样。 我们的基督徒身份：万王之王的儿女，以及万王之主永远是不够的承认和尊荣。愿主帮助我们更深刻地认识祂、爱祂、经历祂、信靠祂。很多时候，我们背负着忧愁，无法喜乐地事奉。在这里事奉是一个宽泛的概念。无论我们做什么，在公司里作为总经理，作为清洁工，在家里洗碗、换尿布，在教堂、在学校……只要是荣耀归给神的过程，活出信心就是事奉神（哥林多前书10:23-24,31）。 愿主赐福给我们；愿我们看见神的应许和我们应该做的事，欢喜前行：你已经来到锡安山和永生神的城，天上的耶路撒冷，并无数的天使… 因此，让我们感激接受一个不能动摇的王国，因此让我们带着崇敬和敬畏向上帝献上可接受的敬拜，因为我们的上帝是烈火。我们已经进入了上帝不可动摇的王国（参见希伯来书12:22-29，启示录21:1-7）。
诗篇3 第三和第四篇诗篇因为内容相似，又提到神的荣耀，所以连在一起。第三篇诗篇集中在诗篇作者在逃避儿子押沙龙的叛逆时，不顾亲友背叛的可怕处境，面对许多仇敌的威胁，仍凭信心向耶和华祷告。“耶和华是他的盾牌，是他的荣耀，叫他可以抬起头来……”。大卫与神有亲密的关系。他认识神，特别是在拔示巴事件中经历神对他的管教后，坚信神的圣洁公义和慈爱怜悯，而这正是大卫的信心所在。所以无论有什么危险，无论他周围有多少敌人，大卫都相信救恩只来自主，上帝会恩待敬畏他的人。他躺下或醒来，上帝与他同在，是拯救他的上帝！ 在第7-8节中，诗篇作者向上帝祈祷，请求他拯救他，惩罚袭击他的恶人。诗篇作者不以恶谋取私利，不以恶还恶，不凭自己的力量向敌人“个人报复”，而是把自己托付给上帝以平反冤屈。同样，它提醒我们，在现实生活中，我们是否活出上帝的正义和怜悯？我们的“敌人”是上帝的敌人吗？我们是仰望上帝以平反冤屈，还是凭自己的力量寻求报复？祷告我们不随从肉体的私欲，而顺服圣灵的引导，过神喜悦的生活。
诗篇第4篇 是晚祷，与诗篇第三篇中的晨祷相辅相成。诗篇作者称神为公义的神（NIV），是听他祷告的神（1节），是在诗篇作者患难困苦中拯救和安慰他的神（2节）。因为神是如此公义和公义，恶人必不站在他面前。诗篇作者告诉我们，敬畏神的人，平安和喜乐就是由此而来。正如诗篇89:13-14所说：“你有大能的臂膀；你的手是强壮的，你的右手是高举的。公义和正义是你宝座的基础；爱和诚实在你面前。在第四篇诗篇中，诗篇作者以快乐的语气宣称，“你使我的心比收获新酒更快乐。我将躺下安然入睡，因为只有你，耶和华，使我安息。“世界上有多少人认为收获新酒是拥有和平与快乐的唯一途径。他们试图将灵魂的和平与快乐建立在可见的物质财富上，但最终却总是担心和失眠。诗篇作者提醒我们，人不是为钱财而造的，也不依靠钱财，钱财也是被造的，乃是出于神的怜悯和爱，以及他的信实，并靠着神的怜悯和爱。经上记着：我们是从耶和华的全备的爱而不灭亡的，因为他的怜悯永不停息。这是每天早晨新的，你的诚实极其伟大。我心里说：“耶和华是我的分，所以我要仰望他。”（哀歌3:22-24）求你赐给我们一颗紧紧信靠他的心！