＜愚顽人心里说没有神＞

霞步思

＜愚顽人心里说没有神＞
读经「诗53: 1-6」“（大卫的训诲诗，交与伶长。调用麻哈拉。）愚顽人心里说：没有神。他们都是邪恶，行了可憎恶的罪孽；没有一个人行善……。”诗篇五十三篇是大卫的训诲诗，也是大卫第二次论到愚顽人的诗，第一篇是诗篇十四篇。而在圣经中被重复记载的都是非常重要的，神要再次或多次的警诫人不要作愚顽人！那么什么人是愚顽人呢？大卫说：“愚顽人心里说，没有神。他们都是邪恶，行了可憎恶的罪孽；没有一个人行善…。”可见愚顽人并不是无知识的人，而是“心里说，没有神”的人，就是全面的否定有神。这些“愚顽人”否定独一真神的存在，并非根据客观事实，而是一厢情愿地不希望有审判人的独一真神。因为既然没有神，在人以上再没有更高的权威，人只要对自己有利，什么事都可作。所以尽管科技进步了，犯罪的方法也随着进步，人的道德，人心每下愈况，现代人变成文明的野蛮人，行在都市的街上，比在深山丛林更危险。所以愚顽人的行为，必须要求他们说没有神，他们的道德，不准他们说天地之间有一位神。就像一个土匪，他想最好没有警察，一个作恶的人，他想最好没有法律。因此人如果心中没有神，就必败坏邪恶，他的行为是行了可憎恶的罪孽，这样的人是没有任何“行善”的可能！他们也不相信有神的审判，但当他们见到某人含冤而终，就希望恶人将得报应。如果没有神的审判，又何来报应? 这就是人心里的愚顽。当人心中没有神时，他们心中就只有自己，只知为自己，于是就作出损人利己的事。可是这些损人利己的事，到头来不仅害人也害了自己，这样的人不是愚顽是什么？

然而当人心里不信有神，并不表示神就不存在，相反“神从天上垂看世人，要看有明白的没有，有寻求他的没有”。这里的“明白”，是指明白神、认识神，明白自己是罪人。那有没有人明白？没有，一个都没有，甚至没有寻求神的。“他们各人都退后，一同变为污秽，并没有行善的，连一个也没有。”这里的“退后”就是“沉沦”，因他们继续不断的犯罪。拒绝神的人，就偏离正路变为污秽。因此大卫发问：“作孽的没有知识吗？他们吞吃我的百姓如同吃饭一样，并不求告神。他们在无可惧怕之处就大大害怕，因为神把那安营攻击你之人的骨头散开了。你使他们蒙羞，因为神弃绝了他们。”愚顽人没有知识吗？他们有，他们可能知道得很多，很有学问，甚至有许多人拥有极高的学位。然而他们空有丰富的知识，因为他们心中不信有神的时候，就什么也不顾，也不怕，于是什么也敢作，甚至吞吃神的百姓如同吃饭一样。他们虽然有短暂的胜利与得意，但当神弃绝他们的时候，转瞬之间他们就惧怕，因为他们遭受被神弃绝的惩罚是：“骨头散开”，就是曝骨于野，也就是死亡。而且尸体得不到体面的埋葬，这在东方人的心目是非常耻辱的，这就是愚顽人的结局，因为神弃绝了他们。而愚顽人被神弃绝，是因为他们心里说没有神，不寻求神，他们自绝于神之外，结局极其悲惨可怕！因此愚顽人的结局，要作为人永远的警钟！

最后大卫说：“但愿以色列的救恩从锡安而出。神救回祂被掳的子民那时，雅各要快乐，以色列要欢喜。”大卫的这篇诗谴责愚顽人，但神的百性因为“救恩从锡安而出。神救回他被掳的子民、那时、雅各要快乐、以色列要欢喜。”然而到底有没有神，这是每个人都不能不关心的重大问题。尽管在现今的这个时代，似乎越来越多的人都不再关心这个问题。人变得很浅薄、很浮躁，只关心吃喝玩乐。但是，这个问题不会因为你不关心，对你就不重要。如果有一位创造宇宙和人类的神，那么，不管你愿不愿意，我们每个人将来都要面对他的审判。今天如果你闭着眼睛不去管他，就变成掩耳盗铃的自欺了。今天我们若只是口里说相信有神，而心里却不顺服神，在生活大小事上不遵行神的话，不让神作主，也不寻求神的旨意，这样我们相信有神只是空谈。在神的眼中，我们仍与愚顽人无异！为此，愿我们今天都要求神教我们察觉并除去心里的愚顽，并要让神在我们生命中作主、掌权、引导，这样我们就能活出相信有神的生命！阿们！

火上冰

神却曾应许 生活有力
行路有光亮 作工得息
试炼得恩勖 危难有赖
无限的体谅 不死的爱

许多时候羡慕要休假的人。能够从烦躁甚至错乱的压力中抽离出来。能够享受一丝恬静与安息。

基督徒都是软弱的普通人，再“追求”的属灵人也得面对自己最真实的软弱，时刻回到神同在的安息之中。

昨天读到NIV圣经注释的一段话。联系到工作与休假。

希望姐妹假期愉快。

. Early in my teaching ministry, I read and benefited from a little book by the nineteenth-century novelist George MacDonald entitled The Curate’s Awakening.17 The story illustrates in a graphic manner the lesson of this text: Appearances can be deceiving, especially regarding spiritual reality. Matters of the heart—the most important issues with which we deal—are often obscured because of physical impressions. MacDonald describes a young Anglican curate settling into his first parish.18 Like so many ministers of our day, the young Thomas Wingfold had chosen the ministry merely as a profession. While he was still trying to find his way in his new assignment, he met a skeptic in the community who shook his confidence with one little question about the Christian gospel he had been teaching: “Tell me honestly, do you really believe one word of all that?” Realizing he had nothing to answer, Wingfold begins to face genuinely the fact that he does not know what he believes. Through much soul-searching and agony, he considers finishing out his year with the congregation and then leaving the ministry. But before this happens, he experiences another crisis. Wingfold’s shallowness and spiritual malaise lead him to plagiarize his sermons. One day he receives a letter from a parishioner who has recognized one of his sermons as that of another clergyman, and the letter exposes him to potential shame. Wingfold writes back, acknowledging the truth and asking to meet the man in order to confess and ask for help. The astute parishioner turns out to be a certain Joseph Polwarth, a tragically deformed dwarf whose ghastly appearance draws mostly pity from the community and even disdain from a few. But as Wingfold gradually comes to know his unfortunate-looking new friend, he discovers that in reality he is a giant of faith. Polwarth has insight and wisdom that comes only from years of reading Scripture and loving God. His conversations with Polwarth astound the young curate and cause Wingfold to consider the bankruptcy of his own soul. Eventually he comes to envy Polwarth instead of pitying him. Early in their relationship, the two men share their stories in complete honesty. Mr. Polwarth narrates his painful childhood, of his being sent away to boarding school because he was an embarrassment to his family, and of the ways he learned to cope with the derision and jokes of the other children. As an adult he learned to deal with his deformities and get on with his life. But he remained dissatisfied with himself. Through a series of painful experiences, Polwarth confesses that he discovered his heart was filled with envy, vindictiveness, and conceit. He concludes: “I began to be aware that, heavy affliction as it was to be made so different from others, my outward deformity was but a picture of my inward condition.”19 That summer, Polwarth committed himself to a thoughtful reading of the New Testament, through which he became acquainted with the man Jesus. By contrast, Wingfold confesses his miserable condition to his new friend:I was brought up for the church. I passed all my examinations with decency, distinguishing myself in nothing. I went before the bishop and became a deacon, after a year was ordained, and after another year or two of false preaching and parish work, suddenly found myself curate in charge of this grand old abbey church.20 The young clergyman confides that Christianity seems useless to him and he is utterly without direction, though he finds himself now pastoring this good little flock. In complete despair, he commits himself to meeting with Mr. Polwarth regularly for the purpose of reading and studying together. As the novel unfolds, the handsome young minister comes to respect and appreciate Joseph Polwarth more than anyone he has ever known. With his help, Wingfold moves from faith in an idea of God to faith in the living God.21 This fascinating novel illustrates the fundamental principle of our text: The truth about a person is a matter of the heart and not the eyes. The community in which Wingfold and Polwarth live accept the new minister as a spiritual leader with considerable commitment to Christian truth. But they continue to pity the misshapen dwarf as someone who should live alone quietly because he has so little to offer the world. How little they knew!

（撒母耳记上十六章前半段注释）