聖書

 

Psalms 18

勉強

   

1 I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.

8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.

15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.

23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;

26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?

32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

33 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.

36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.

39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

40 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.

41 They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.

44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.

45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.

46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.

48 He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

   

解説

 

Exploring the Meaning of Psalms 18

作者: New Christian Bible Study Staff, Julian Duckworth

Psalm 18, a lengthy psalm of fifty verses, has the pervasive theme all of the many activities of the Lord in the work of salvation. It is intensely and remarkably personal. The speaker describes, in very many ways, how strongly and often the Lord has acted for him, to guard and protect and secure him.

The first two verses bring this forward: “I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.” The momentum created here is kept up right to the end of this psalm.

This is a very good psalm in which to recognise that the Lord is particularly defensive of us when we are experiencing doubts, confusion, terror, fears, temptations, or whatever throws us into the grief of our spirit. It's also a good psalm to remind us again of the Lord’s own states while he was in the world, during his deep temptations. Surely, a psalm like this would have been a comfort and strength to him, too, with its total understanding and empathy for the sufferer.

Verse 3 puts this extremely clearly: “I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies”. This is like a great spiritual equation. When we have fear and distress, and we call upon the Lord to be with us, bringing him to mind, our whole world alters. (Arcana Caelestia 2724)

From verse 4 to verse 19, there is a litany of cosmic proportions. The psalmist feels death all around him and cries out to the Lord, who hears and comes. This is followed by Divine activity and wrath, with smoking nostrils and a fiery mouth, as he rides upon a cherub and thunders from heaven. The spiritual idea here is that the Lord's so-called ‘anger’ (verse 7) is not an anger directed to a person or with those who intend evil, but with evil itself, because it is this which prevents a person from experiencing the life which the Lord wants for us all. (Arcana Caelestia 3614)

Verses 20 to 27 gives another idea, which is that the Lord does reward us for our faithfulness and our obedience in life. This is followed by powerful words of equivalence, that to merciful states in us God appears merciful, to blameless states God seems blameless, to pure states, God seems pure, and finally, to devious states God seems shrewd. (See Arcana Caelestia 1838)

Verses 28 to 45 catalogue things that the psalmist says the Lord has done for him, because he has been faithful to the Lord and so the Lord is faithful in return. These are such things as: enlightenment, courage, energy, strength, speed, victory and leadership. All these and more, the author has experienced, but every one of them he attributes not to himself but to the Lord, which then brings them to him all the more. (Spiritual Diary 3973)

It is clear why the psalm ends jubilantly, “The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock!” and the rest of the closing words. This is not just a neat literary technique to end on a high note; it is also expressing our personal experience, however that has been, that the Lord does these saving things for us and shows us the power of his glory and his power right there in our lives. ‘The Lord lives!’

聖書

 

Psalms 20:3

勉強

       

3 remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah.