今天我们要集中思想诗篇七十三篇的其中一段，它告诉我们不敬虔的人继续兴盛是因为神睡着了。诗人说：「人睡醒了，怎样看梦；主啊，你醒了也必照样轻看他们的影像」（诗七十三20）。当然，事实上神并非在睡觉，但诗人使用了一个比喻，描述人类对神的行动那有限的认识。神并不睡觉，但有时祂却似乎是睡着了。

但当神从「睡觉」中醒来时有甚么事情发生呢？那些不敬虔的人本来似乎很显要和兴盛，现在却好像梦一样的消失，如同幻象或幻觉一般。今天的经文将整件事情清楚地陈列出来，它告诉我们列国对创造主来说只是「桶里的一滴水」。他们现在可能显得有能力和强大，储备了核武器，但当神兴起的时候，他们只是如同「蚱蜢」一般。

你记得在历史课听过亚历山大大帝(Alexander the Great)吗？他是其中一位最伟大的将军，几乎征服了整个世界。你知道圣经有提到他吗？圣经里面没有他的名字，但在但以理书我们可以找到提及他的话。圣经称呼他是一只「山羊」（但八5-8）。瑞士作家陆蒂（Walter Luthi）这样说：「对世界来说他是亚历山大大帝，但对神来说他只是一只公山羊。」当神兴起的时候，世界的伟大都会变成乌有。

Now we come to look at a section of the psalm which suggests that the reason why the ungodly continue to prosper as they do is because God is asleep. Listen to the psalmist's exact words: "As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies" (Psa. 73:20). The truth is, of course, that God does not sleep, but the psalmist has used a figure of speech which pictures our limited human perception of God's actions. God does not sleep, but at times He appears to do so.

But what happens when God stirs from His apparent sleep? The ungodly man, who has seemed so eminent and prosperous, vanishes as a dream. It is as if he had been a phantom or an illusion. The passage before us today puts this whole matter in context when it tells us that the nations are but "a drop in a bucket" to the Creator. Now they may look powerful and mighty, with their stockpiles of nuclear weapons, but when God arises they are as "grasshoppers".

Do you remember being told in your history class at school about Alexander the Great? He was one of the greatest generals of all time and conquered almost the entire known world. Did you know that he is referred to in the Bible? You will not see his name written in the Scriptures, but reference to him can be found in Daniel. Look at what the Bible calls him - a "goat" (Dan. 8:5-8). Walter Luthi puts it like this: "He who to the world is Alexander the Great, is to God nothing more than a he-goat." When God arises, the great become nothing.