Some more reflections on Psalm 62: When the Psalmist waits in silence, what gets confirmed to him isn’t what God’s going to do for him, or it isn’t how God’s gonna answer his prayer requests. What the Psalmist discovers in the stillness of the soul before God is that he is able to see God more clearly for who he really is.
A.W. Tozer once said ““What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.”
What Tozer is saying is what we think about God affects how we respond to him and act towards him and, by extension, how we live. It reveals what our souls move towards when we think about God. For example, if we think of primarily of the love of God, we will tend to think he will only do good things for us or make us feel better. We might also tend to think of our relationship with God as mainly an emotional experience: “If I feel God that’s when I’m closest to him”. On the other hand, if we think of God as primarily our provider, we might approach him as the one who gives us what we need and what we want. A God who blesses us with good gifts and makes our lives more smooth and easy and happy.
But what comes to mind for the Psalmist? It is not that thinking primarily of the love of God or the provision of God is wrong, but they are not the things that are helping him get through this struggle he is facing in his life in that moment. What he discovers instead is that “He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress, I shall not be shaken.”
In his moments of seeking the Lord, of his soul waiting in silence, this is what he hears in verse 11: “Once God has spoken, twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.”
In those moments when our world seems like it is about to fall apart, Psalm 62 teaches us to preach to ourselves just like the Psalmist did: “O my soul, wait in silence for God alone.” Trust in Him more than man. Trust in his wisdom more than your own. Trust in his power over our own strength. Trust in His love. Let him show you who He is, how great he is. Let him be your guide and confidence, your protection in times of danger.
讓我們進一步的思想詩篇第六十二篇:當詩人在沉默中等待時,他確知的不是神要為他做什麼,也不是神會如何回應他的禱告祈求。詩人在神面前靈裏安靜下來時,他發現他能夠更清楚地看到神究竟是誰。
陶恕曾經說道:「當我們想到神時,我們腦海中浮現的事情就是對我們來說最重要的『神』。我們思想上有的神的形象傾向於以我們靈魂深處的隱密法則所引領的方向而構成的。」
陶恕要說明的是我們對神的看法會影響我們如何回應祂和對祂作出的行為,進而影響我們的生活形式。這表明了當我們想到上帝時,我們的心思就會朝著什麼方向發展。例如,如果我們首先想到神的愛,我們會傾向於認為祂只會為我們成就美事或讓我們感覺更美好。我們也可能傾向於認為我們與神的關係主要是一種情感的體驗 - 我感覺到神就是我與祂最親近的時候。另一方面,如果我們認為上帝主要是我們的供應者,我們靠近祂可能因為祂滿足我們所想所求,是一位以美物祝福我們的神,使我們的生活更加順暢、輕鬆和快樂。
但是,詩人想到了什麼?不是說想到神的愛或者神的供應就是最重要的「神」是錯誤,但對詩人來說,這些都不能幫助他度過那一刻他在生命中所面對的掙扎。相反,他發現的是「唯獨祂是我的磐石、我的拯救,祂是我的高臺,我必不動搖」。
在他尋求主的時刻,他的靈魂在沉默中等待,這是他在第十一節聽到的:「神說了一次兩次,我都聽見,就是能力都屬乎神。主啊,慈愛也是屬乎祢。」
當我們的世界似乎即將要四分五裂的時候,詩篇六十二篇教導我們要像詩人一樣向自己傳講:「我的心哪,祢當默默無聲,專等候神。」信靠祂勝於信靠人,信靠祂的智慧勝過信靠自己的聰明,信靠祂的能力強如相信自己的力量。相信祂的愛,讓祂向你展現祂是誰,祂是多偉大。讓祂成為你危難中的導引﹑信靠和保障。