牧者心聲
有福的人 以雅各的神為幫助
周曉暉牧師
2023 年 1 月 21 日／22 日
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詩篇一四六篇
| 1 | 哈利路亞 | |
| 我的心靈 讚美上主 | ||
| 2 | 讚美上主 終我一生 | |
| 一息尚存 向神高歌 | ||
| 3 | 不要信靠 有權勢者 | |
| 世上無人 能施救拯 | ||
| 4 | 氣息一走 仍歸故土 | |
| 同一日子 思謀散滅 | ||
| 5 | 有福的人 雅各的神 為他幫助 | |
| 他的期盼 盡在上主 他們的神 | ||
| 6a | 天地洋海 箇中萬有 那創造者 | |
| 6b | 長長久久 持守信實 | |
| 7 | 為受壓者 施行公正 | |
| 給饑餓者 賜予糧食 | ||
| 受捆鎖者 上主解困 | ||
| 8 | 不見光者 上主復明 | |
| 含冤屈者 上主伸張 | ||
| 一眾義人 上主眷愛 | ||
| 9 | 寄居的人 上主看顧 | |
| 孤兒寡婦 祂都供養 | ||
| 惡人巷道 祂必折曲 | ||
| 10 | 上主作王 長長久久 | |
| 錫安的神 世世代代 | ||
| 哈利路亞 |
今年譯這詩時，選擇以熟悉的「哈利路亞」作音譯。開首和結尾的「哈利路亞」，意思就是「讚美主」。「哈利路亞」首次在舊約中使用，是在詩篇一○四篇。兩篇的詩人，都在呼籲自己的心靈：要讚美上主。
為何要呼籲自己的心靈「讚美」？「讚美」本有表揚、嘉許、稱頌和推崇之意，但「讚美」有時也容易流於表面，只是順口開河。有解經者說得透澈，人們「讚美」誰，往往就代表他們想倚靠誰；有人經常「讚美」有權有勢者，期望獲得其喜愛。除了上主，世上一切權勢都不能真正「拯救」和「幫助」人，因為世人始終是有限的（4 節）。但詩人所信靠的是「雅各的神」（5 節），在人未「讚美」祂以先，祂已定意要救助人。故此，詩人是以心靈和一生「讚美」上主作為回應（2 節）。
趁著兔年，我本想搜尋有「兔」字的四字詞來應節，怎料所見，盡是兔子下場不佳的典故。想想雅各，他不像被老師蓋上可愛小白兔印章的乖學生，生平倒像「狡兔三窟」和「動若脫兔」的情節，只是，世上的聰明和敏捷，也不能真正「幫助」他。
當雅各以為⋯⋯逃去拉班那裡能「幫助」他嗎？被騙打工；巧計奪回工價，打算逃回家？以掃又帶大隊人馬湧至；靠愛妻嗎？妻妾相爭；老來打算靠兒子嗎？兒子相鬥；靠牛羊財富嗎？遭逢大旱。結果，他一生能倚靠的，都比不過早年在伯特利向他主動顯現的上主。
上主在他還不知情時，就拯救了他那被賣到埃及的愛兒，成就了「幫助」他全家脫離缺糧危難的救贖計劃。雅各的神，並不是要人以「讚美」交換「幫助」。
你說，有「雅各的神為幫助」怎會不是「有福的人」？如今，「雅各的神」也是這樣對你和我，「哈利路亞」！
Pastor's Sharing
Blessed are Those Whose Help is the God of Jacob
Rev Arnold Chow
Psalm 146
| 1 | Hallelujah. | |
| Praise the LORD, my soul. | ||
| 2 | I will praise the LORD all my life; | |
| I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. | ||
| 3 | Do not put your trust in princes, | |
| in human beings, who cannot save. | ||
| 4 | When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; | |
| on that very day their plans come to nothing. | ||
| 5 | Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, | |
| whose hope is in the LORD their God. | ||
| 6 | He is the Maker of heaven and earth, | |
| the sea, and everything in them— | ||
| he remains faithful forever. | ||
| 7 | He upholds the cause of the oppressed | |
| and gives food to the hungry. | ||
| The LORD sets prisoners free, | ||
| 8 | the LORD gives sight to the blind, | |
| the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, | ||
| the LORD loves the righteous. | ||
| 9 | The LORD watches over the foreigner | |
| and sustains the fatherless and the widow, | ||
| but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. | ||
| 10 | The LORD reigns forever, | |
| your God, O Zion, for all generations. | ||
| Hallelujah. |
In the Chinese bulletin, you will see that this year, I attempted a translation of the whole psalm into Chinese. In the English translation, I have used the familiar "Hallelujah" (哈利路亞 in Chinese) in place of the line "Praise the LORD" at the beginning and the end of the psalm. "Hallelujah" means "Praise the LORD." The word "Hallelujah" first appears in the Old Testament in Psalm 104. The psalmists of both psalms call their own souls to praise God.
Why do they call their own souls to "praise"? To "praise" means to recognize, commend, honor and exalt. However, it can also be superficial lip service. One Bible commentator has rightly said that whoever people "praise," those are often the ones they want to rely on. There are those who often “praise” the people in power in the hope of winning their approval. Other than the LORD, no powers on earth can really "save" or "help" people because man is, after all, finite (v.4). But the psalmist's trust is in "the God of Jacob" (v.5). Before man "praises" God, He is determined to save and help. That is why the psalmist responds by "praising" the LORD with his soul and life (v.2).
This being the Year of the Rabbit, I was trying to find four-word proverbs in Chinese with the word "rabbit" to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Nevertheless, what I found were stories of rabbits having bad endings. Yet, when we think of Jacob, he is unlike a good student who receives rabbit stamps from the teacher. His life was more like "a cunning rabbit with three burrows" (狡兔三窟) who "flees like a rabbit set free" (動若脫兔). Nevertheless, earthly cleverness and shrewdness could not really "help" him.
When Jacob thought maybe fleeing to Laban could "help" him, he was deceived to work. And when he did cleverly get back his wages and was planning to go home, he was met by Esau, coming with his large group of men. When Jacob thought he could rely on his wives, they vied with the concubines. When he thought about counting on his sons when old, they struggled among themselves. When Jacob thought he could rely on his possession of herds and flocks, there came a great drought. In the end, what he thought he could rely on all his life were no match for the LORD who appeared to him at Bethel back in the early days.
Before Jacob was aware, the LORD had saved his beloved son who was sold to Egypt, accomplishing the redemption plan to "help" his entire family to survive the famine. The God of Jacob is not One who wants human "praises" in exchange for "help."
"Those whose help is the God of Jacob" are "blessed," aren’t they? Now, "the God of Jacob" also treat you and me in the same way. "Hallelujah"!
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