四月七日[mp3_embed playlst=”/downloading/audio/evening/04/0407.mp3″]
经文: 上帝啊,祢是拯救我的上帝。求祢救我脱离流人血的罪。我的如头就高声歌唱祢的公义。(诗篇五十一:14)
大卫在此严肃的认罪中道出了他的罪。他并不称此罪为杀人罪,或视之为在不幸的意外中误杀了一个好人的罪。反之,他用了真正的名称──流人血的罪。虽然他并没有亲手杀害拔示巴的丈夫,但是却暗中策划,使乌利亚被杀。因此,大卫在上帝的面前仍然是谋杀者。我们要学习向上帝诚实。不要将邪恶的罪冠以好听的名称。不论你如何称呼罪,罪都不会变得甜蜜。以上帝的眼光来看你自己的罪,敞开心门,承认罪的真实本质。显然,大卫被自己的罪之严重性压倒了。要用言语表达尚且容易,但要感受到其深沉的意义却是困难的。诗篇第五十一篇是痛悔心灵的写照。让我们寻求有同样的心灵破碎。虽然我们的话可能表示懊悔,我们的心若不警觉到罪的代价是地狱,就不能期望得到宽恕。本节经文是向救恩之上帝恳切祈求的代表。祂有赦罪的特权。祂应许凡寻求祂面的可以获救。祂是我的救赎主。诗人以称颂之誓言结束他的恳求。上帝若拯救祂,他必高声歌唱。在如此浩大的怜悯之前,谁能以别的形式代替歌唱?请注意歌的主题──上帝的公义。我们必高唱宝贵的救主所作成之工。获得最大宽恕之爱的人,其歌声必是最宏亮的。
Evening, April 7
Scripture: “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.”(Psalm 51:14)
In this SOLEMN CONFESSION , it is pleasing to observe that David plainly names his sin. He does not call it manslaughter, nor speak of it as an imprudence by which an unfortunate accident occurred to a worthy man, but he calls it by its true name, bloodguiltiness. He did not actually kill the husband of Bathsheba; but still it was planned in David’s heart that Uriah should be slain, and he was before the Lord his murderer. Learn in confession to be honest with God. Do not give fair names to foul sins; call them what you will, they will smell no sweeter. What God sees them to be, that do you labour to feel them to be; and with all openness of heart acknowledge their real character. Observe, that David was evidently oppressed with the heinousness of his sin. It is easy to use words, but it is difficult to feel their meaning. The fifty-first Psalm is the photograph of a contrite spirit. Let us seek after the like brokenness of heart; for however excellent our words may be, if our heart is not conscious of the hell-deservingness of sin, we cannot expect to find forgiveness.
Our text has in it AN EARNEST PRAYER -it is addressed to the God of salvation. It is his prerogative to forgive; it is his very name and office to save those who seek his face. Better still, the text calls him the God of my salvation. Yes, blessed be his name, while I am yet going to him through Jesus’ blood, I can rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The psalmist ends with A COMMENDABLE VOW : if God will deliver him he willsing-nay, more, he will “sing aloud.” Who can sing in any other style of such a mercy as this! But note the subject of the song-“THY RIGHTEOUSNESS .” We must sing of the finished work of a precious Saviour; and he who knows most of forgiving love will sing the loudest.