Green Pastures and Quiet Waters | Psalm 23:2
by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung
Psalm 23:1 declares, “The Lord is my shepherd.” This is a faith relationship, a life relationship. The King who created the universe is our shepherd. His name is the Lord. Two Sundays ago, I said that, in times of peace, our faith is very superficial, but in times of adversity, our faith is reformed. Right now, we are facing the Coronavirus pandemic. This is a moment where our faith is being reformed. May we not waste this precious time.
David said that The Lord is his shepherd and that he shall not lack. What will he not lack? In verse 2, he says that the Lord “makes me lie down on green pastures and leads me beside quiet waters.” David lived in the land of Judah, which is located south of the Holy Land. To the north of the Holy Land is Galilee, where the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and water from Mount Hermon can be found. There are many meadows with plenty of grass for sheep to graze. However, to the south is the wilderness of Judah. There is little rain in the south, thus not many grasslands and water sources can be found. Sheep are dumb animals. As long as the lead sheep goes forward, the sheep behind follow blindly. They do not know at all where they are going. That is why many sheep lose their way. Sheep need a shepherd to lead them; that is how they can find meadows to graze in and water sources to drink from.
Because of the coronavirus outbreak, the government decided to lock down the city for a month to prevent the situation from worsening. This is a very wise decision. As citizens, we must obey and cooperate. No one can live on an isolated island. Everything we do affects others around us in good or bad ways. Because of the lockdown, the food supply will eventually become a problem. When we see that there is food on the table, we really have to give thanks from our hearts and stop taking these blessings for granted. Food in the house will continue to dwindle but because the Lord is our shepherd, He will supply all our needs.
Church, if God has blessed you abundantly, do not forget to be a blessing to others. Let us go through this difficult time together and let us remember to receive God’s blessings with gratitude every day. This situation also reminds us that everything we have, we owe to God’s grace — our Sunday worship, our fellowship life, our group gatherings, our social life, and even our freedom to go out, etc. It is when we lose these things that we realize how precious these all are.
Let us learn to cherish all God’s gifts to us and live a grateful life from now on.
青草地和可安歇的水邊 | 詩篇 23:2
張國強牧師
詩篇23篇第一節告訴我們，耶和華是我的牧者，這是信仰的關係，這是生命的關係； 這位創造宇宙的君王成為了我們的牧者，祂名叫耶和華。在平順的日子，我們的信仰都是很表面的，只有逆境的時候，我們的信仰才會重整。這次我們面對Coronavirus 這個疫情，正是我們信仰重整的時刻，不要浪費這段寶貴的時間。
大衛說耶和華是我的牧者。他必不至缺乏。不缺乏什麼呢？V2 祂使我躺臥在青草地上，領我在可安歇的水邊。大衛是住在猶大地的，是屬聖地的南部；聖地的北部是加利利，那裡因為有加利利湖，也有約旦河，還有從黑門山流下來的冰水，所以北方有很多草地，羊群也容易找到草吃；但南方是猶大的曠野，雨水比較少，草地與水源也不多，很不容易找到。羊是一種很蠢的動物，只要領頭羊向前走，後面的羊就跟隨，牠們根本不知往那裡去的，所以才會出現很多所謂的迷途羔羊，羊必須有牧羊人在帶領，牠們才會有草吃，有水喝。
在這次疫情中，政府為要防止情況惡化，決定要封城一個月，這是非常有智慧的決定，我們作為公民，要順服配合，沒有一個人可以活在孤島裡的，我們所作的每一件事都會影響身邊的人，是好是壞卻是另外一回事。因為封城的原因，食物的供應自然會成為一個問題，每當看見桌上還有豐富的食物，真是要從心裡獻上感恩; 不再以為是理所當然的,英文是 take it for granted; 當家中的食糧會越發減少，但因為耶和華是我的牧者，祂必會供應我們一切的需要。
教會，如果神賜你比別人更豐盛，你也不要忘記要成為別人的祝福，讓我們一同經過這個困難的時刻，也不要忘記每天用感恩的心來領受神所賜的祝福。這段時間也讓我們明白，我們所有擁的，我們的主日崇拜，我們的團契生活，我們小組聚會，我們的社交生活，甚至我們出門的自由等等都是神的恩典，當我們失去的時間才感到寶貴。
讓我們學會珍惜一切神所賜的，過一個感恩的人生。