4 月 5 日 预苦期第四周 星期六

(罗雅各牧师 信望堂)

经文:诗篇 107:33-43

33 他使江河变为旷野，叫水泉变为干渴之地，

34 使肥地变为碱地，这都因其间居民的罪恶。

35 他使旷野变为水潭，叫旱地变为水泉。

36 他使饥饿的人住在那里，好建造可住的城邑；

37 又种田地，栽葡萄园，得享所出的土产。

38 他又赐福给他们，叫他们生养众多，也不叫他们的牲畜减少。

39 他们又因暴虐、患难、愁苦，就减少且卑下。

40 他使君王蒙羞被辱，使他们在荒废无路之地漂流。

41 他却将穷乏人安置在高处，脱离苦难，使他的家属多如羊群。

42 正直人看见就欢喜，罪孽之辈必塞口无言。

43 凡有智慧的，必在这些事上留心，也必思想耶和华的慈爱。

经文反思

当我读到这些文字时，我在想，上帝为什么要做这些事呢？他把河流变成沙漠，又把沙漠变成水潭；

祂使丰饶的土地变成荒地，然后又使它肥沃；祂使人谦卑，又使人升高。

上帝喜欢折腾东西和人吗？

不，上帝不会玩弄我们。祂的行动是为了让人们承认自己的罪恶、不忠和邪恶。想想看，说实话：当我们的生活中发生不好的事情时，大多数时候，我们内心深处都知道事情发生的原因。

上帝的管教不是漫无目的的，而是有目的的。祂用审判来纠正，用恢复来显示祂的怜悯。祂使骄傲的谦卑，使卑微的升高。如果我们被降卑了，明智的做法是关注并深刻反思自己的过错，悔改并相信神会在祂的时候恢复我们。

祷告

亲爱的主，你的审判是公正的，你的修复是仁慈的。 我们承认你的公义，赞美你坚定的爱。当你使我们谦卑时，我们感谢你提醒我们自我检查和自我反省；我们感谢你给我们悔改和改正的机 会；你改变了我们的心，使我们永远不会硬着心肠对抗你的善意和爱。天父，请用您的恩典提升我们，教导我们从您的管教中学习，相信您的怜悯。赐给我们智慧，让我们认识到您的作为，并顺从您而行。我们奉耶稣的名祷告，耶稣是无罪的，却为我们承担了罪的惩罚。阿门.

应用

在这个预苦期，你可以学会:

- 省察自己的内心--面对困难时，寻求上帝的智慧，分辨祂是否在纠正你。

- 悔改和回转--不要抗拒上帝的管教，而是谦卑地悔改，回转向祂。

- 相信神的恩典--正如神带来审判，祂也带来更新。等待祂完美的时机。

- 在智慧中成长--从神在你生命和圣经中的处置中学习，在顺服和信心中前行。

5 April The Saturday in the Fourth Week of Lent

(Rev Jacob Law Hope Methodist Church)

Scripture - Psalm 107:33-43

33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, 34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.

35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.

36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;

37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.

38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,

40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;

41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.

42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

Reflections on the Scripture

When I read these words, I was wondering, why did God do all these:

He turned rivers into a desert, and then made them into pools of water again; He made fruitful land into wasteland, and then made it fertile again;

He humbled people, and then He lifted them up again. Is God enjoying tossing things and people around?

No, God doesn’t toy with us. His action was to cause people to acknowledge their sinfulness, infidelity, and wickedness. Think about it, and let's be honest: when bad things happen in our lives, most of the time, we know deep down in our hearts why it happened.

God’s discipline is not aimless but purposeful. He brings judgment to correct and restoration to show His mercy. He humbles the proud and lifts the lowly. If we are being humbled, it would be wise for us to pay attention, deeply reflect on our part, repent, and trust Him to restore us in His time.

Prayer

Dear Lord, You are just in Your judgments and merciful in Your restoration. We acknowledge Your righteousness and praise You for Your steadfast love. When You humble us, we thank You for the reminder of self-examination and self-reflection; we thank You for the opportunity of repentance and correction; You changed our hearts so that we may never harden ourselves against Your goodwill and love. Father, lift us up by Your grace, and teach us to learn from Your discipline and trust in Your mercy. Give us the wisdom to recognise Your works and walk in obedience. We pray in the name of Jesus, who knew no sin and yet took the punishment of sin for us. Amen

Application

In this season of Lent, you can learn to:

• Examine Your Heart – When facing hardship, seek God’s wisdom to discern whether He is correcting you.

• Repent and Return – Do not resist God’s discipline; instead, humbly repent and turn back to Him.

• Trust in God’s Grace – Just as God brings judgment, He also brings renewal. Wait on His perfect timing.

• Grow in Wisdom – Learn from God’s dealings in your life and in Scripture, walking in obedience and faith.