Discipline and Comfort | Psalm 23:4
By Rev. Jeremiah Cheung
The first verse of Psalm 23 says, “Lord is my Shepherd.” This is a faith relationship, a life relationship. The second verse tells us that as long as the Lord is our Shepherd, we will not lack in our physical needs as well as in our spiritual needs. The third verse reminds us that sometimes our souls fall asleep such that we go through the motions of life without even knowing what we are doing. When this happens, God will use different circumstances to rouse us, so that we can turn back to the path of righteousness. We can call the current coronavirus pandemic a wake-up call which prompts us to ask ourselves, “Do I really have control over this life?”
Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Sheep who have a shepherd looking after them will not perish in the darkest valley. While we can’t say the same about a lost sheep, we do know that, when a sheep gets lost, its shepherd will surely go look for the lost sheep.
It is just as Jesus explained in Luke 15 through the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Lost Son. In the first parable, the shepherd has a flock of a hundred sheep and one sheep lost its way. Although he still had 99, the shepherd searched for that one lost sheep because a shepherd and his sheep are inseparable. When a sheep falls into the valley of the shadow of death, it need not fear evil because the shepherd will come and use his staff and rod to comfort the sheep.
In this instance, the staff and the rod are both instruments of discipline. When a child has been naughty, his parents will have to correct him. But if he refuses to heed no matter how many times they talk to him, if he persists in doing wrong, his parents would bring out the rod and the staff to discipline him. So why does the psalmist say that he is comforted by the rod and the staff? When a person receives discipline and is willing to receive it, he understands that it is out of love that he is being disciplined. If he is not loved, he would not receive any discipline. When a child understands that his father has not forsaken him and that it is love that drives the discipline, his heart will be moved and it will bring a sense of comfort.
Often on Father’s Day, my children would write me letters. Once, I received a letter from my son and in it, he wrote, “Papa, thank you for disciplining me. I know it is because you love me; that is why you discipline me.” God also uses different situations and events to discipline those he loves. May we receive his discipline willingly so that we will experience comfort in our hearts. Only in this way can we face today’s challenges with our hearts and souls at peace.
管教與安慰 | 詩篇 23:4
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。第二節告訴我們只要和華是我們的牧者, 我們必不至缺乏。不單在肉身上,在性靈上也不會缺乏。第三節提醒我們有時候我們的靈魂會沉睡的,不知道自己在作什麼;神會藉著不同的環境使我們醒起來, 使我們繼續行在義路上。這次我們遇到Coronavirus,可以說是一個警鐘,讓我們醒過來,我們對生命有真正的把握嗎?
詩篇23:4「我雖然行過死蔭的幽谷, 也不怕遭害; 因為你與我同在, 你的杖, 你的竿, 都安慰我。」有牧人帶領的羊是不會落在死蔭的幽谷, 那一定是一隻迷途的羔羊, 雖然是這樣, 牧人是不會不理會的, 牧人會去尋找那迷失的羊。
正如耶穌在路加福音十五章講了三個失的比喻, 失羊，失錢，失人; 在牛羊的比喻中, 牧人有一百隻羊,失去一隻, 雖然牧人還有99隻, 但他卻要找回那一隻失去的, 因為牧人與羊是分不開的。所以當羊在死蔭幽谷的時候, 不怕怕遭害; 因為牧人來了, 牧人用他的杖, 他的竿, 都安慰羊。
其實杖與竿是管教用的, 好像孩子不乖的時候, 作父母當然要管教, 但如果怎樣講也不肯聽, 一次又一次重複所作的錯事, 我們就要用杖與竿來管教他們。那為什麼詩人說是安慰呢? 當一個人被管教, 也願意接受管教, 他會從心裡感受到愛, 因為他明白沒有愛, 是不是有管教的。當他明白父親沒有放棄他, 因為父親愛他, 他心裡會有一種說不出的感動, 成為他心裡的安慰。
在父親節的時候，孩子們常常會寫一些給我, 有一年我收到我兒子的一段話, 他說: 「爸爸, 謝謝你對我的管教, 因為我知道你愛我, 所以你才會管教我。」神也藉著不同的環境, 情況來管教祂所愛的, 願我們從心裡接受, 我們才會有一種說不出安慰在心裡, 這樣我們才能以安靜的心靈來面對現今的情況。