我们要继续来思考诗人虽然对神的良善充满疑惑，但却没有向人表现出来的这种行为。他小心考虑到自己的行动可能会对神的家带来的影响。我们生活中所做的一切都有后果，因此有人这样说：「每个结果都有原因，每个原因都产生结果。」

我们生命中的许多困难都是源于自己忘记了行动之后会有后果这个道理。撒旦经常诱骗我们认为自己是孤单无助的，令我们相信所做的和所说的对别人都不会起甚么作用。撒旦十分擅长令我们完全专注牠放在我们面前的一切，导致我们因为专注而忘记其他一切，包括我们的行动可能带来的结果。

诗人虽然感到困扰，但他对自己行动的后果详加考虑。今天的经文让我们看到尼希米也是如此谨慎。一个假「朋友」来告诉他说他不应该冒生命的危险，这毫无疑问是一个有相当吸引力的劝告，但尼希米考虑后果，然后决定留在原来的地方。如果他没有这样做，那么以色列的历史便要完全改写了。所以请相信我，单单是这么一个小心考虑后果的原则，就可以救我们脱离无尽的困难，只要我们接受它并持续的实践。

We continue meditating on the fact that the psalmist, though filled with doubts about the goodness of God, nevertheless refrained from expressing those doubts to others. He carefully considered what effect his action might have on the family of God. Nothing that we do in life is without consequences. Someone has put it like this: "Every effect has a cause and every cause produces an effect."

Many of our difficulties in life arise from the fact that we forget the principle that consequences follow our actions. The devil often inveigles us into thinking that the situation we are in is an isolated event, and he gets us to believe that what we do, or are about to do or say, will have little or no effect upon others. He is exceedingly skilful at getting us to become preoccupied with the thing he puts before us. This one thing on which we focus then takes up our whole attention and we become oblivious of everything else, including the results that may follow our actions.

Troubled though the psalmist was, in his heart he considered the consequences of his actions. And this is what Nehemiah did in the passage before us today. A false "friend" came to him and told him that he should not risk his life. The proposition undoubtedly appealed to him, but Nehemiah considered the consequences and stayed where he was. If he hadn't, the whole course of Israel's history would have been changed. Believe me, this one principle alone - of carefully considering consequences - would be the means of saving us from endless difficulties if we were to take it and consistently apply it.