Psalm 116 诗篇 116

Psalm 116

I have listened to sermons from the pulpit for a long time and have the habit of jotting down notes on these sermons.  Reflecting on them is one of my favourite activities especially during these retirement years.

Today, we shall reflect on one preacher’s sermon on Psalm 116. That preacher is Pastor Paul LeBoutillier of Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon. His twenty minutes video can be watched at YouTube: https://youtu.be/8UxtA8JBq8I “The Joy of Answered Prayer”.

Let us read the passages of this Psalm before we discuss further. 

(1) I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. (2) Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. (3) The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. (4) Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” (5) The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. (6) The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. (7) Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. (8) For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, (9) that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

(10) I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; (11) in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.” (12) What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? (13) I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (14) I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. (15) Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. (16) Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains. (17) I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. (18) I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, (19) in the courts of the house of the Lord - in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

The world is currently experiencing the effects of the pandemic Omicron.  In Shanghai, where there is a complete lockdown of the entire city of over twenty-six million people, there are reports of stresses that lead to suicides.     For Christians, this is surely one of the periods that we need to pray to the Lord with faith.  We need to plea to the Lord for mercy and we need the faith to know that God is “inclining His ears” to our plea.

The Psalmist in this chapter has experienced the joy of having a prayer answered.  The blessings from our Lord to us have been rich and the sudden coming of the COVID-19 is a wake-up call from our Lord that we need to stop our daily grinds and to seek God, to ask God to intervene in curbing with this struggle.  We need to care about others.  We need to care about climate changes and about protecting natural resources.  We need to understand that the world’s population can only survive if we work together in cooperation with one another. 

Do we believe that a prayer can make a difference?  The more we believe that prayers have positive impacts, the more we want to invest our time in prayers.

When a difficulty arises in our lives, do we put our faith in God and pray to Him before we try to solve that difficulty?

God is currently reminding us that He exists, that He cares, that He knows the outcome of the present crisis.

Please, therefore, do not play His role. Just pray and have faith in our prayers. They will be answered.

诗篇 116

我在讲台上听了很长时间的布道，并有在这些布道上记笔记的习惯。反思他们是我最喜欢的活动之一，尤其是在这些退休年代。

今天，我们将反思一位传教士关于诗篇 116 的讲道。这位传教士是俄勒冈州安大略省各各教堂的保罗·勒布蒂利尔牧师。他的 20 分钟视频可以在 YouTube 上观看：https://youtu.be/WhoEkl8P8Bg (Mandarin Version) https://youtu.be/aMP9RZf-ocs (Cantonese Version)

在我们进一步讨论之前，让我们阅读这篇诗篇的段落。

1 我爱耶和华，因为他听见了我的声音；他听到了我的求饶声。 2 因为他把耳朵转向了我，所以我会在我活着的时候呼唤他。 3 死亡的绳索缠绕着我，坟墓的痛苦向我袭来；我被痛苦和悲伤所征服。 4 然后我呼求主名：“主啊，救救我！” 5耶和华是仁慈公义的；我们的神是满有怜悯的。 6 耶和华保护粗心的人；当我低落时，他救了我。 7 回到你的安息吧，我的灵魂，因为主对你很好。 8 主啊，你救了我脱离死亡，拯救我的眼睛脱离了泪水，拯救了我的脚，9 使我可以在活人之地在主面前行走。

10 当我说：“我非常痛苦”时，我信靠了主； 11 我在警报中说：“每个人都是骗子。” 12 我拿什么回报主对我的一切恩惠？ 13 我要举起救恩的杯，求告耶和华的名。 14 我要在他所有的子民面前履行我对耶和华的誓言。 15 在主眼中，他忠心仆人的死是宝贵的。 16 主啊，我真是你的仆人；我像我妈妈一样为你服务；你把我从锁链中解脱出来。 17 我要向你献感谢祭，求告耶和华的名。 18 我要在他众民面前， 19 在耶和华殿的院子里，在耶路撒冷，在你中间，履行我向耶和华所许的愿。赞美主。

世界目前正在经历大流行 Omicron 的影响。在上海，整个城市完全封锁了超过 2600 万人口，有报道称压力导致自杀。对于基督徒来说，这无疑是我们需要用信心向主祷告的时期之一。我们需要向主祈求怜悯，我们需要有信心知道上帝正在“侧耳倾听”我们的请求。

本章中的诗人经历了祷告得到回应的喜悦。我们的主对我们的祝福是丰富的，而 COVID-19 的突然到来是我们主的警钟，我们需要停止我们的日常工作并寻求上帝，请求上帝介入以遏制这种情况斗争。我们需要关心他人。我们需要关心气候变化和保护自然资源。我们需要明白，只有我们彼此合作，世界人口才能生存。我们相信祈祷可以带来改变吗？我们越相信祈祷有积极的影响，我们就越想把时间花在祈祷上。

当我们的生活出现困难时，我们是否在尝试解决困难之前先相信上帝并向他祈祷？

上帝目前正在提醒我们他存在，他关心，他知道当前危机的结果。

因此，请不要扮演他的角色。只要祈祷并相信我们的祈祷。他们将得到答复。