神的異象
我們的基本任務
經文
詩篇二十九1-11
1（大衛的詩。）神的眾子啊，你們要將榮耀、能力歸給耶和華，歸給耶和華！
2要將耶和華的名所當得的榮耀歸給他，以聖潔的（的：或譯為）妝飾敬拜耶和華。 3耶和華的聲音發在水上；榮耀的神打雷，耶和華打雷在大水之上。
4耶和華的聲音大有能力；耶和華的聲音滿有威嚴。 5耶和華的聲音震破香柏樹；耶和華震碎利巴嫩的香柏樹。
6他也使之跳躍如牛犢，使利巴嫩和西連跳躍如野牛犢。 7耶和華的聲音使火燄分岔。
8耶和華的聲音震動曠野；耶和華震動加低斯的曠野。
9耶和華的聲音驚動母鹿落胎，樹木也脫落淨光。凡在他殿中的，都稱說他的榮耀。
10洪水泛濫之時，耶和華坐著為王；耶和華坐著為王，直到永遠。
11耶和華必賜力量給他的百姓；耶和華必賜平安的福給他的百姓。
信息分享
現在我們來到以賽亞的異象令人驚嘆的一段，他這樣談到撒拉弗：「……（他們）彼此呼喊說：『聖哉！聖哉！聖哉！萬軍之耶和華，他的榮光充滿全地！』因呼喊者的聲音，門檻的根基震動，殿充滿了煙雲」（賽六3-4）。
以賽亞看著撒拉弗在寶座上面急促移動和盤旋，聆聽他們彼此呼喊，以強烈到能震動聖殿的聲音敬拜神，那肯定是一個十分重要的時刻！難怪在他的預言中往後的每一章裡，幾乎都可以聽到他在聖殿裡所經歷的迴響。崇高的寶座，侍候的撒拉弗，以及他們所說的話，這一切結合起來，傳遞了一個信息：敬拜是神所有的被造物一項最大的功能。
敬拜是甚麼？這個詞在舊約和新約的主要意思都是敬畏的服事──我們從有翅膀的撒拉弗在永恆寶座上的行為可以看到這點。今天英語的「敬拜」（worship）這個詞是源自古英語的weorthscipe，意思是把價值賦予某人或某樣東西。而要理解敬拜的意思，最好的辦法就是用「值得」來解釋它，換句話說，敬拜神就是給神所配得的──也只有神才配得的──價值。
我們在地上生存的基本原因是為了要敬拜神。當我們明白這裡面包含甚麼的時候，我們的信心便會帶著新的能力跳動，證明它足以承擔任何任務。
「我們的存在是為了要敬拜神」
進深研究
詩八十四1-12，九十五1-7；代上十六29
1. 詩人說甚麼更好？
2. 我們要怎樣崇拜？
祈禱
天父，我要來到您面前自問：我的生活有多少部分是敬拜？我花多少時間思想您──單單地思想您？求您幫助我親近您，不總是祈求，只是專心的敬拜。奉主耶穌的名禱告，阿們。
The Vision of God
Our primary task
Bible reading:
Psalm 29:1-11
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf, Sirion[b] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks[c] and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
Message
We come now to a marvellous section of Isaiah's vision where he speaks of the seraphs in this way: "...they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory.' At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke" (Isa. 6:3-4).
What a moment this must have been for Isaiah as he watched the seraphs darting and hovering above the throne, and listened to them calling to one another and worshipping God with voices so strong that the sound shook the Temple! Is it any wonder that echoes of the time he spent in the Temple are heard in almost every one of the later chapters of his prophecy? The lofty throne, the attending seraphs and the words they utter all combine to spell out one message: worship is the highest function of any of God's created beings.
What is worship? The essential meaning of the word in both Old and New Testaments is that of reverential service - a truth we see illustrated by the conduct of the winged seraphs above the eternal throne. Our present-day English word "worship" has evolved from the Anglo-Saxon weorthscipe which means to give worth to someone or something. Worship can best be understood by thinking of the word in this way: worth-ship. The worship of God, then, is attributing worth to Him - and only Him.
The primary reason for our existence on this earth is to worship God. When we understand all that is involved in this then our faith will throb with a new power and prove itself sufficient for any task.
"We exist to worship God"
Prayer
Father, I ask myself in Your presence: How much of my life is spent in worship? How much time do I give to thinking of You and only You? Help me draw near to You, not to ask for things, but just to worship You In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.
Further study
Psalm 84:1-12; 95:1-7
1 Chronicles 16:29
1. What did the Psalmist say is better?
2. How are we to come in worship?
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