今天教會最需要什麽? What Does the Church Most NeedToday?
作者: W. Robert Godfrey 譯者: Maria Marta
今天教會最需要什麼？在回答這一重要但相當普通的問題上，詩篇八十一篇具有獨特的重要意義，對我們非常有幫助。這篇詩篇顯然包含了能夠幫助上帝子民的美麗應許和明確方向。但对這篇詩篇的仔細研讀，會加深我們對它的欣賞，增長它對我們的價值，並且向我們展示它對教會的幫助是何等的獨特。
我們研讀詩篇，很快会了解到詩篇的中心句往往是解釋詩篇的關鍵。例如，詩篇八十一篇中間的一行是這篇詩篇的核心，我們聽到上帝哀愁的呼求：「以色列啊！但願你肯聽從。」（8b；《聖經新譯本》） 詩篇八十一篇的核心------實際上整篇詩篇 ----- 是施瑪（譯註：Shema，希伯來文的意思是『聽』，是指申命記六章4至9節）的反映。
當我們認識到詩篇八十一篇位於詩篇歌本《聖詠集》的第三卷時，這一行詩句的中心地位及其重要性就得到了強調。第三卷（譯註：詩篇分成五卷-----一至四十一篇；四十二至七十二篇；七十三至八十九篇；九十至一○六篇；一○七至一五○篇）的主要內容涉及以色列因聖殿遭毀壞而引致的危機（詩篇七十四篇），大衛兒子永遠坐在他的寶座上的應許顯然失效了（八十九篇）。 此中心詩篇的這行中心詩句包含了這場危機的一些成因和特徵。
由於第三卷是五卷聖詠集的中心卷，所以詩篇八十一篇8b節實際上是整部詩篇中間的一行詩句。 它位於以色列詩歌本的中心。 它呼籲以色列深刻反思她與上帝之間的關係。
這篇詩篇看來似乎也是以色列禮儀日曆的中心。在月朔和滿月讚美上帝只能是指一年中第七個月的吹角節（利廿三24; 民十10）和住棚節（利廿三26-32）。贖罪日出現在這兩個節日之間（利廿三27）。 正如上帝命令以色列慶祝祂作為創造主和拯救者的偉大護理，所以祂也就命令祂的百姓聽祂的說話。
施瑪是妥拉（Torah，摩西五經）的關鍵，因此它是聖詠集和基督徒生活的核心。 上帝的子民必須聽上帝的話語，特別在拒絕外族人的神（9節）和遵行祂的道（13節）方面。他們不能隨著自己的計謀行事（12節）。苦思苦想上帝會賜下我們自認為有益於我們的事，是多麽的可悲。
上帝提醒祂的百姓，祂一直是歷史的拯救者，現在更應許說，當我們開口禱告，祂會垂聽我們，滿足我們的需求(10節)。祂是一位為祂自己的需要，保守和護理的神。
以色列人在聽從上帝話語上的失敗，由上帝的兒子彌補。耶穌自始至終聽從並尊榮上帝的聖言。父上帝因此喜悅祂：「這是我的愛子，我所喜悅的，你們要聽他！」 (太十七5)。耶穌徹底聽從並遵循天父的說話，以致祂的子民可獲得完全和完美的救恩。父上帝不斷命令祂的子民要聽，現在更引導他們聽祂兒子的話：「你們要聽他」 (太十七5)。 教會的救恩和健康取決於教會持續地聽上帝的聖言。
詩篇八十一篇似乎反映被擄時期，由於以色列懷疑和抱怨上帝（第7節），上帝對以色列施以失去聖殿、國王、應許之地的懲罰。 在米利巴（出十七章），以色列試探上主，懷疑祂與祂的子民同在，所以上帝試驗以色列，發現她的不足。 同樣，我們可以回顧教會歷史，從多方面多次看到教會未能聽從上帝的話語。
當然，宗教改革時期是教會回歸上帝聖道的最偉大時期之一。 教會發生宗教改革的原因是因為基督徒重新開始仔細研讀聖經。 改教家們研讀希臘文和希伯來文，為教會提供新的聖經譯本，利用印刷機的新技術印刷聖經，並預備了教會歷史上一些最優秀的註釋書籍和神學書籍。
在我們這個時代，必須再次乎籲教會聆听上帝的說話。 美國教會往往似乎有興趣跟聽從其他聲音而非上帝的聲音。 幾十年來，一些教會教導聖經不是完整、真正的上帝聖言。 其他教會雖然公開承認聖經，但似乎對這些方面的宣講和教導失去了信心：聖經使不信者歸信，和聖經使教會得以建立。 今天許多基督徒似乎在實踐上忽視聖經，結果他們就像他們不信的鄰居那樣世俗。
今天上帝對我們說，正如祂曾對以色列、祂的每一代子民說：「以色列啊！但願你肯聽從我。」 讓我們祈求聖靈在我們的教會和全地打開人的雙耳。 讓我們仔細聆聽並相信。 這樣的聆聽是教會今天最需要的。
本文原刊於Tabletalk雜誌。在Robert Godfrey 博士編著的，標題為《Learning To Love the Psalms》的書和教學系列中，可以了解更多有關詩篇的內容。
What
Does the Church Most Need Today?
FROM
W. Robert Godfrey
What
does the church most need today? In answering this important but rather general
question, Psalm 81 is uniquely important and helpful. This psalm obviously
contains beautiful promises and clear directions to help the people of God. But
careful study of this psalm will deepen our appreciation of it, increase its
value for us, and show us how distinctive it is for helping the church.
As we
study psalms, we soon learn that the central verse of a psalm is often
significant as a key to its interpretation. The central line of Psalm 81 is the
heart of that psalm, as the plaintive cry of God is heard: “O Israel, if you
would but listen to me!” (v. 8b). The center of Psalm 81—indeed the whole
psalm—is a reflection on the Shema.
The
centrality of this line and its importance are underscored when we recognize
that Psalm 81 is the central psalm of Book 3 of the Psalter. Book 3 (Psalms
73–89) principally concerns the crisis in Israel caused by the destruction of the
temple (Ps. 74) and the apparent failure of God’s promises that David’s sons
would forever sit on his throne (Ps. 89). Something of the cause and character
of this crisis is contained in this central line of the central psalm.
Since
Book 3 is the central book of the five books of the Psalter, Psalm 81:8b
actually is the central line of the whole book of Psalms. It stands at the very
heart of Israel’s songbook. It calls Israel to deep reflection on her
relationship to her God.
This
psalm also appears to be central to Israel’s liturgical calendar. The praise at
new moon and full moon can refer only to the seventh month of the year, the
Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:24; Num. 10:10) and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev.
23:26–32). Between these two feasts occurred the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27).
As God called Israel to celebrate His great provisions as Creator and
Deliverer, so He called His people to hear Him.
As
the Shema was crucial to the Torah, so it is central to the Psalter and to the
Christian life. God’s people must hear His Word, particularly to reject false
gods (v. 9) and to walk in His ways (v. 13). They must not follow their own
wisdom (v. 12). How sad to contemplate that God might give us what we think is
good for us.
The
Lord reminds His people that in history He has been the Deliverer and now
promises that when we open our mouths in prayer, He will hear us and meet our
needs (v. 10). He is the God who preserves and provides for the needs of His
own.
The
failure of Israel to hear the Word of God was rectified by God’s own Son. Jesus
always heard and honored God’s Word. His Father delighted in Him for that
reason: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5).
Jesus perfectly listened and followed so that His people would have a complete
and perfect salvation. The Father continues to call His people to listen, now
directing them to the words of His Son: “listen to him” (Matt. 17:5). The
salvation and health of the church depend on it continuing to listen to God’s
Word.
Psalm
81 seems to reflect the time of exile, when God punished Israel with the loss
of the temple, its king, and the land of promise. It also reminds us of an
earlier time, when Israel doubted God and grumbled about Him (v. 7). At Meribah
(Ex. 17), Israel tested the Lord, doubting that He was with His people, so the
Lord tested Israel and found her wanting. Similarly, we can look at the history
of the church and see many times and ways in which the church failed to listen
to the Word of the Lord.
The
time of the Reformation, of course, was one of the greatest times in which the
church returned to the Word of God. The Reformation of the church occurred
because Christians began again to study the Bible carefully. The Reformers
studied Greek and Hebrew, provided the church with new translations of the
Bible, used the new technology of the printing press to print Bibles, and
prepared some of the finest commentaries and theologies in the history of the
church.
Again
in our time, the church must be called to listen to the Word of God. The
churches of America too often seem interested in following other voices than
the voice of God. For decades, some churches have taught that the Bible is not
fully and truly the Word of God. Other churches formally recognize the Bible,
but seem to have lost confidence that preaching and teaching the Bible is what
will convert unbelievers and build the church. Many Christians today seem to
practically ignore the Bible, and as a result, they are as worldly as their
unbelieving neighbors.
God
says to us today, as He said to Israel of old and says to every generation of
His people: “O Israel, if you would but listen to me!” Let us pray that the
Holy Spirit will open ears in our churches and throughout our land. And let us
listen carefully and believingly. Such listening is what the church most needs
today.
This
post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine. Learn more about the
Psalms in Dr. Godfrey’s book and teaching series titled Learning to Love the
Psalms.
