Wake Up and Return to Righteousness | Psalm 23:3
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. The second verse tells us that as long as the Lord is our Shepherd, then we will not lack, even if we’re in a place of scarcity like the wilderness of Judah. Man not only has physical needs, but he also has spiritual needs because man was made in the image and likeness of God.
The next verse, Psalm 23:3, says “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” The opposite of one who is restored is someone who is in a stupor. When our souls fall into a stupor, we go through the motions of living but we don’t actually know what we’re doing.
God does not allow those who belong to him to lie unconscious or sleep in their sin forever.
David’s experience is the best way to explain this. David was a man who loved God very much. In fact, God referred to him as “a man after His own heart.” Today, he is considered a role model for everyone. God had, in fact, set David as a standard. In the “Book of Kings”, kings who followed David’s example were regarded as good kings. David became a model for all.
Yet there was a period in his life when his soul fell into a stupor. The things he did during that period were the deeds of a man who did not know God, who did not fear God — he committed adultery with Bathsheba and, in order to conceal his sin, he schemed to have Uriah (the husband of Bathsheba) killed by the Ammonites. When David did all these things, his spirit was in a deep slumber. But God is abundant in love and grace, He does not allow those who belong to him to lie unconscious or sleep in their sin forever. God sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke David and his soul awakened from its deep slumber. The first thing David uttered was, “I have sinned against God.”
David returned to God. Although he had to live with the consequences of his sin, David turned back. God guided him back to the path of righteousness. The Bible thus says about him: “For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.”
Let us awaken!
Church, there are times we inadvertently fall into a stupor, but as long as the Lord is your Shepherd, He will not let you stay asleep forever. He will awaken your soul and guide you to the path of righteousness. We know that the coronavirus is a wake-up call. Let us awaken! We can lose all that we have accumulated and all that we have accomplished in one moment, in one tragedy. Our lives are not in our hands. We have no control over our lives at all. Brothers and sisters, God so loved the world the He gave His one and only Son; whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. Do you have the hope of eternal life? Are you ready to meet your God today?
醒悟起來，歸回義路 | 詩篇 23:3
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。第二節告訴我們雖然在猶大曠野, 一個缺水缺草的地方, 只要和華是我們的牧者, 我們也必不至缺乏。人不單有肉身上的需要,也有屬靈上的需要,因為人是有神的形象與樣式的。
詩篇23篇第三節「他使我靈魂甦醒,為自己的名引導我走義路。」甦醒的相對就是沉睡,有時候我們的靈魂會沉睡的,根本不知道自己在作什麼?
神不允准屬祂的人永遠沉睡在罪裡
大衛本身的經驗是最好的解釋。大衛是一位非常愛神的人,神也稱為他合乎他的心意的人,大衛甚至成為眾人的榜樣，在列王記裡,神定了一個準則,那一個王效法大衛所行的,就是好王; 大衛成為了眾人的模範。
但是在大衛一生中,他有一段時間他的靈沉睡了,他所作所為好像一個完全不認識神的人,一個不敬畏神的人，那就是他與拔示巴犯淫亂的罪,後來為要遮掩他的罪,甚至借刀殺人, 藉亞捫人的手殺死了烏利亞(拔示巴的丈夫);當大衛行這一切事的時候,他的靈真是沉睡。但神有豐盛的慈愛與恩典,神不允准屬祂的人永遠沉睡在罪裡,神差派先知拿單來責備他,大衛在沉睡中醒過來,大衛說的第一句話是:我犯罪唯獨得罪了神。
大衛再次回到神那裡去,雖然大衛需要付出罪的後果,但是他回來了,神再次引導他行在義路上。聖經為大衛一生作評論是說:大衛除了在赫人烏利亞的事上,他作的都蒙神所喜悅。
讓我們醒過來!
教會,在我們一生中難免會有沉睡的時候,但只要耶和華是你的牧者,祂不是讓你永遠沉睡的,祂會使你的靈魂甦醒,祂會引導行在義路上。這次我們遇到< a href="https://cbcp.org/blog/2020/03/22/the-coronavirus-a-wake-up-call/">Coronavirus,可以說是一個警鐘,讓我們醒過來,我們所作的一切,所積存的一切,會在一個災難裡可以完全失去的,更重要的是:生命不在我們的手中,我們對生命有真正的把握嗎? 神愛世人,將祂獨生子賜給他們,叫一切信祂的人,不至滅亡,反得永生。你真的有永生的盼望與把握嗎? 如果今天我與你都感染上COVID-19,你預備好迎見你的神嗎?