神的异象
敬拜、赞美和感恩
经文
诗篇二十二1-11
1(大卫的诗,交与伶长。调用朝鹿。)我的神,我的神!为甚么离弃我?为甚么远离不救我?不听我唉哼的言语?
2我的神啊,我白日呼求,你不应允,夜间呼求,并不住声。
3但你是圣洁的,是用以色列的赞美为宝座(或译:居所)的。
4我们的祖宗倚靠你;他们倚靠你,你便解救他们。
5他们哀求你,便蒙解救;他们倚靠你,就不羞愧。
6但我是虫,不是人,被众人羞辱,被百姓藐视。
7凡看见我的都嗤笑我;他们撇嘴摇头,说:
8他把自己交托耶和华,耶和华可以救他吧!耶和华既喜悦他,可以搭救他吧!
9但你是叫我出母腹的;我在母怀里,你就使我有倚靠的心。
10我自出母胎就被交在你手里;从我母亲生我,你就是我的神。
11求你不要远离我!因为急难临近了,没有人帮助我。
信息分享
让我们来问问自己:在圣经中,敬拜、赞美和感恩有甚么关系?
圣经所有用来指敬拜的词语,无论是希伯来语还是希腊语,都指出一种内心的态度或身体的姿势。敬拜是从心灵开始,不过也影响我们的身体。正因为这样,虔诚的犹太人祈祷的时候身体不停的向前后摆动,他们认为敬拜是身体和心灵同时进行的行为。圣经形容敬拜就好像在主面前脸伏于地,在祂面前跪下,或站立在祂面前举起双手等这些身体的姿势。赞美是与语言有关系,虽然它不限于我们的口(我们可以在心里赞美神),但一般来说都和我们口中的言语有关。至于感恩,也是关系到语言,所不同的是:我们为了神是真神而赞美祂;为了祂所做的事而感谢祂。当然,这些只是概括的分类,我们赞美、感恩或敬拜时绝对不能墨守成规。我们绝对不能这样对自己说:「我已经花了那么多的时间来赞美,现在我大概应该花同等的时间来感恩了。」
总的来说,这三个词语都与神的三种特质有密切的关系。在敬拜中我们触及神的圣洁;在感恩中我们触及神的良善;在赞美中我们触及神的伟大。虽然这三者的分别可以在圣经中清楚看到,但是它们并非一成不变,因为实际上它们是汇聚在一起形成一条大河流的三条支流。
「敬拜、赞美和感恩汇聚成河流」
进深研究
帖前五1-18;诗一百4,一零七22
1. 神对我们的旨意是甚么?
2. 我们在甚么环境下应该感恩?
祈祷
天父,我希望敬拜、感恩和赞美都能够在我生命中自然地存在。亲爱的主,求您帮助我让您能够在我身上得荣耀。奉主耶稣的名祈求,阿们。
The Vision of God
Worship, praise and thanksgiving
Bible reading:
Psalm 22:1-11
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 "He trusts in the Lord," they say, "let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother's breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
Message
We ask ourselves now: What is the scriptural relationship between worship, praise and thanksgiving?
All the biblical words for worship, whether in Hebrew or Greek, indicate an attitude of the heart or a posture of the body. Worship starts as being spiritual but also affects us physically. This is why devout Jews rock backward and forward when they pray, they regard worship as both physical and spiritual. The Bible describes such physical postures as lying face downwards before the Lord, kneeling in His presence, or standing before Him with uplifted hands as worship. Praise, on the other hand, has to do with utterance, and while it is not exclusive to our lips (we can praise God in our hearts), it is generally related to the words of our mouth. When we come to thanksgiving we come again to the thought of utterance, the difference being this: we praise God for who He is, but we thank Him for what He does. These are only general categories, of course, and we must not think in rigid terms when we praise, give thanks, or worship. Nothing could be worse than saying to yourself: "I have spent enough time in praise now. Perhaps I should spend an equal time in thanksgiving."
All three words relate very much to three characteristics of God - again, speaking generally. In worship we relate to God's holiness. In thanksgiving we relate to God's goodness. In praise we relate to God's greatness. Although the distinction between these three words can be clearly seen in Scripture, it must not be regarded as hard and fast. The three are tributaries that flow together to form one great river.
"Worship, praise and thanksgiving flow together to form one great river"
Prayer
Father, may all these three - worship, thanksgiving and praise - be present in my life not in a mechanical way but in a natural way. All I want, dear Lord, is for You to be glorified in me. Help me to do just that. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Further study
1 Thessalonians 5:1-18
Psalm 100:4; 107:22
1. What is the will of God for us?
2. In what circumstances are we to give thanks?
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