第二週 · 週二

w02d02-ch

📖晨興餧養

詩二三1~3 『耶和華是我的牧者；我必不至缺乏。祂使我躺臥在青草地上，領我在可安歇的水邊。祂使我的魂甦醒，為自己的名引導我走義路。』

主耶穌認為百姓是羊，祂自己是牧人〔太九36〕。基督第一次臨到猶太人時，他們如同患痲瘋的、癱瘓的、鬼附的和各樣可憐的人，因為他們沒有牧人照顧。因此，祂不僅作醫生，也作牧人服事他們，正如以賽亞五十三章六節和四十章十一節所預言的。作為這樣一位牧人，主耶穌行神跡，為要照顧有需要的人〔參太十一5〕。…這是作牧人的主所動的慈心，為要照顧他們。作為主的執事，我們應當學習如何顧到有需要的人（新約總論第九冊，四六頁）。

📖信息選讀

〔詩篇二十三篇〕告訴我們，基督分五個階段牧養我們。第一階段是青草地和可安歇的水邊（2）。草地和水是為着我們的滋養，包括顧惜和享受。第二階段是義路（3）。義路指明我們的行事為人。我們享受基督、被基督充滿且得基督滋養以後，就走在義路上。〔在〕第三階段，…基督的牧養帶我們行過死蔭的幽谷〔4〕。第四階段是戰場（5），在那裏我們與敵人爭戰。在戰場上，基督為我們擺設了筵席。最後，末了的階段是一生一世住在耶和華的殿中（6）。

復活的基督牧養我們，首先是〔在〕起初階段。…因為祂是我們的牧者，我們必不至缺乏（腓一19下）。我們在得救以後，就進入這第一階段的享受。在約翰二十一章，主耶穌問彼得愛不愛祂。彼得說他確實愛主，主就囑咐他餧養祂的小羊（15）。我們需要像乳母一樣，顧惜、餧養在我們照顧之下的孩子（帖前二7）。

祂也領我們在可安歇的水邊（詩二三2下，林前十二13下）。青草地是基督，…那靈是可安歇的水。我們去照顧新人，不僅要用基督餧養他們，也要幫助他們喝那靈。我們必須幫助他們呼求主名並禱告，這就是幫助他們運用靈來喝那靈。

詩篇二十三篇三節說，『祂使我的魂甦醒，為自己的名引導我走義路。』這是第二階段…的復興與變化。使我們的魂甦醒就是使我們復興。甦醒也包括更新與變化。這符合新約羅馬十二章二節的教訓，這節說我們需要藉着心思的更新而變化；心思是我們魂的主要部分。基督在祂的牧養中使我們的魂甦醒，使我們的魂復興並變化。

我們喝賜生命的靈作活水，就不只要流出一道江河，乃要流出許多道江河（約七38）。有一道正確人性的江河、一道恩慈的江河、一道愛的江河、一道忍耐的江河等等。我們需要許多道江河。

祂引導我們（照着靈）走義路（以滿足義的要求—羅八4）。惟有那些照着靈而行的人，纔能成就義。我們有三部分—體、魂和靈（帖前五23）。我們不該照着我們的體行事，因為體滿了情欲。我們也不該照着我們的魂行事，因為魂滿了意見。我們乃該照着我們的靈行事。我們照着靈而行，便成就律法義的要求（詩篇生命讀經，一七二至一七五、一七七頁）。

參讀：詩篇生命讀經，第十一至十二篇；約翰福音結晶讀經，第十三篇。

WEEK 2 — DAY 2

Morning Nourishment

Psa. 23:1-3 Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside waters of rest. He restores my soul; He guides me on the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

The Lord Jesus considered the people as sheep and Himself as the Shepherd [Matt. 9:36]. When Christ came to the Jews the first time, they were like lepers, paralytics, the demon-possessed, and all manner of pitiful persons, because they had no shepherd to care for them. Therefore, He ministered to them not only as a Physician but also as a Shepherd, as prophesied in Isaiah 53:6 and 40:11. As such a Shepherd, the Lord Jesus did miracles to take care of the needy ones [Matt. 11:5]…This is the compassion exercised by the Lord as their Shepherd to take care of them. As a minister of the Lord, we should learn how to be concerned for the needy ones. (The
Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2790-2791)

Today’s Reading

[Psalm 23] tells us that Christ’s shepherding of us is in five stages. The first stage is of the pastures and the waters of rest (v. 2). Pasture and waters are for our nourishment, including cherishing and enjoyment. The second stage is the stage of the paths of righteousness (v. 3). The paths of righteousness indicate our walk. After we enjoy Christ, are filled up with Christ, and are nourished by Christ, we walk on the paths of righteousness. [In] the third stage…Christ’s shepherding leads us through the valley of the shadow of death [v. 4] . The fourth stage is the battlefield (v. 5), where we are fighting against the adversaries. At the battlefield a table, a feast, is spread for us. Finally, the last stage is to dwell in the house of God all the days of our life (v. 6).

The resurrected Christ shepherds us first in the initial stage…Because He is our Shepherd, we will lack nothing (Phil. 1:19b). Right after we were saved, we entered into this first stage of enjoyment. In John 21 the Lord Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. When Peter said that he did love the Lord, the Lord charged him to feed His lambs (v. 15). We need to be like nursing mothers to cherish and feed the little ones under our care (1 Thes. 2:7).

He also leads us to waters of rest (Psa. 23:2b; 1 Cor. 12:13b). The green pastures are Christ…The Spirit is the restful waters. When we go to take care of the new ones, we must not only feed them with Christ but also help them to drink of the Spirit. We must help them to call on the name of the Lord and to pray. This is to help them to drink the Spirit by exercising their spirit.

Psalm 23:3 says, “He restores my soul; / He guides me on the paths of righteousness / For His name’s sake.” This is the second stage of revival and transformation…To restore our soul is to revive us. Restoring also includes renewing and transforming. This corresponds with the New Testament teaching in Romans 12:2 which says that we need to be transformed by the renewing of the mind, which is the leading part of our soul. Christ in His shepherding restores—revives and transforms—our soul.

When we drink of the life-giving Spirit as the living water, we will flow out, not just one river but many rivers (John 7:38). There is a river of the proper humanity, a river of kindness, a river of love, a river of patience, etc. We need many rivers.

He guides us (to walk according to the spirit) on the paths of righteousness (to fulfill the requirement of righteousness—Rom. 8:4). Righteousness can be fulfilled only by those who walk according to their spirit. We have three parts—body, soul, and spirit (1 Thes. 5:23). We should not do things according to our body, because it is full of lusts. We should not do things according to our soul, because it is full of opinions. Instead, we should do things according to our spirit. When we walk according to the spirit, we fulfill the righteous requirement of the law. (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 139-143)

Further Reading: Life-study of the Psalms, msgs. 11—12; CWWL, 1994- 1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” ch. 13