你又没有把芥末酱或番茄酱洒在干净的白衬衫或白毛衣上的经历?这是一种无法隐藏的污渍——而且,如果你不得不站起来在人们面前讲话,那会很尴尬!
大卫王的污点问题要严重得多。先知拿单与他对峙,告诉他那件事需要处理(撒下 12:1-13)。和另一个男人的妻子睡觉,又谋杀了那个人,这样的污点能抹去吗?有时我们认为我们可以把责任推到别处,借此掩盖我们犯罪的污点。但污点依然存在。
在诗篇51篇中,大卫写道:“求你用牛膝草洁净我”。这里“洁净”一词的字面意思是“撤销罪”。想像一下,你可以按下“撤销”键来清除你做错的事情!牛膝草是一种灌木状的植物,在古以色列,它被用在洁净礼上。摩西把牛膝草的枝子蘸上血,洒在人身上和东西上,就表明他们洁净了(来 9:19-23)。以色列人从埃及的奴役中解放出来之前,牛膝草也被用作在房屋门框上涂血(出 12:21-23)。
这乃是指向耶稣的宝血,“洗净我们一切的罪”(约一 1:7)。作为基督徒,我们知道有一种净化剂——基督的血——能洗净我们的罪。所以,我们若悔改并祈求神的赦免,就必因耶稣得洁净。
“主耶稣,我渴慕圣洁完全....驱除仇敌,打碎心中偶像;求你洗涤我,使我比雪更白。”阿们。
诗篇 51
1神啊,求你按你的慈爱怜恤我,按你丰盛的慈悲涂抹我的过犯!
2求你将我的罪孽洗除净尽,并洁除我的罪!
3因为我知道我的过犯,我的罪常在我面前。
4我向你犯罪,唯独得罪了你,在你眼前行了这恶,以致你责备我的时候显为公义,判断我的时候显为清正。
5我是在罪孽里生的,在我母亲怀胎的时候就有了罪。
6你所喜爱的是内里诚实,你在我隐密处必使我得智慧。
7求你用牛膝草洁净我,我就干净;求你洗涤我,我就比雪更白。
8求你使我得听欢喜快乐的声音,使你所压伤的骨头可以踊跃。
9求你掩面不看我的罪,涂抹我一切的罪孽。
10神啊,求你为我造清洁的心,使我里面重新有正直的灵。
11不要丢弃我,使我离开你的面,不要从我收回你的圣灵。
12求你使我仍得救恩之乐,赐我乐意的灵扶持我。
13我就把你的道指教有过犯的人,罪人必归顺你。
14神啊,你是拯救我的神,求你救我脱离流人血的罪,我的舌头就高声歌唱你的公义。
15主啊,求你使我嘴唇张开,我的口便传扬赞美你的话。
16你本不喜爱祭物,若喜爱,我就献上,燔祭你也不喜悦。
17神所要的祭就是忧伤的灵,神啊,忧伤痛悔的心,你必不轻看。
18求你随你的美意善待锡安,建造耶路撒冷的城墙。
19那时,你必喜爱公义的祭和燔祭,并全牲的燔祭。那时,人必将公牛献在你坛上。
“Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” — Psalm 51:7
Have you ever spilled mustard or ketchup on a clean, white suit or sweater you were wearing? It’s a stain you can’t hide—and it can be embarrassing if you have to stand up and speak in front of people with that fresh stain showing!
King David had a much more serious problem with a stain. The prophet Nathan confronted him about it and told him that it needed to be addressed (2 Samuel 12:1-13). Was there any way to remove the stain of sleeping with another man’s wife and then murdering her husband? Sometimes we think we can cover up the stains of our sins by placing blame elsewhere. But the stains remain.
In Psalm 51, David writes, “Cleanse me with hyssop.” The word for “cleanse” here literally means “un-sin.” Imagine being able to push an “undo” button to wipe out something wrong you have done! Hyssop was a plant with brush-like branches, and in ancient Israel it was used for purification rites. Moses dipped a hyssop branch in blood and used it to sprinkle people and objects to declare them purified (Hebrews 9:19-23). Hyssop was also used to spread blood on the doorframes of Israelites’ houses before they were freed from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:21-23).
This pointed to the blood of Jesus, which “purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). As Christians, we know that there is one cleansing agent—the blood of Christ—that can wash away our sins. So if we repent and ask God for forgiveness, we will be cleansed, for Jesus’ sake.
“Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole... Break down every idol, cast out every foe; now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳