以賽亞書41:1-20

41:1 眾海島啊，當在我面前靜默；眾民當重新得力，都要近前來才可以說話，我們可以彼此辯論。
41:2 誰從東方興起一人，憑公義召他來到腳前呢？耶和華將列國交給他，使他管轄君王，把他們如灰塵交與他的刀，如風吹的碎秸交與他的弓。
41:3 他追趕他們，走他所未走的道，坦然前行。
41:4 誰行做成就這事，從起初宣召歷代呢？就是我─耶和華！我是首先的，也與末後的同在。
41:5 海島看見就都害怕；地極也都戰兢，就近前來。
41:6 他們各人幫助鄰舍，各人對弟兄說：壯膽吧！
41:7 木匠勉勵銀匠，用鎚打光的勉勵打砧的，論銲工說，銲得好；又用釘子釘穩，免得偶像動搖。
41:8 惟你以色列─我的僕人，雅各─我所揀選的，我朋友亞伯拉罕的後裔，
41:9 你是我從地極所領（原文是抓）來的，從地角所召來的，且對你說：你是我的僕人；我揀選你，並不棄絕你。
41:10 你不要害怕，因為我與你同在；不要驚惶，因為我是你的上帝。我必堅固你，我必幫助你；我必用我公義的右手扶持你。
41:11 凡向你發怒的必都抱愧蒙羞；與你相爭的必如無有，並要滅亡。
41:12 與你爭競的，你要找他們也找不著；與你爭戰的必如無有，成為虛無。
41:13 因為我耶和華─你的上帝必攙扶你的右手，對你說：不要害怕！我必幫助你。
41:14 你這蟲雅各和你們以色列人，不要害怕！耶和華說：我必幫助你。你的救贖主就是以色列的聖者。
41:15 看哪，我已使你成為有快齒打糧的新器具；你要把山嶺打得粉碎，使岡陵如同糠秕。
41:16 你要把它簸揚，風要吹去；旋風要把它颳散。你倒要以耶和華為喜樂，以以色列的聖者為誇耀。
41:17 困苦窮乏人尋求水卻沒有；他們因口渴，舌頭乾燥。我─耶和華必應允他們；我─以色列的上帝必不離棄他們。
41:18 我要在淨光的高處開江河，在谷中開泉源；我要使沙漠變為水池，使乾地變為湧泉。
41:19 我要在曠野種上香柏樹、皂莢樹、番石榴樹，和野橄欖樹。我在沙漠要把松樹、杉樹，並黃楊樹一同栽植；
41:20 好叫人看見、知道、思想、明白；這是耶和華的手所做的，是以色列的聖者所造的。

Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;

let the peoples renew their strength;

let them approach, then let them speak;

let us together draw near for judgment.

2

Who has roused a victor from the east,

summoned him to his service?

He delivers up nations to him,

and tramples kings under foot;

he makes them like dust with his sword,

like driven stubble with his bow.

3

He pursues them and passes on safely,

scarcely touching the path with his feet.

4

Who has performed and done this,

calling the generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, am first,

and will be with the last.

5

The coastlands have seen and are afraid,

the ends of the earth tremble;

they have drawn near and come.

6

Each one helps the other,

saying to one another, “Take courage!”

7

The artisan encourages the goldsmith,

and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil,

saying of the soldering, “It is good”;

and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

8

But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

9

you whom I took from the ends of the earth,

and called from its farthest corners,

saying to you, “You are my servant,

I have chosen you and not cast you off”;

10

do not fear, for I am with you,

do not be afraid, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

11

Yes, all who are incensed against you

shall be ashamed and disgraced;

those who strive against you

shall be as nothing and shall perish.

12

You shall seek those who contend with you,

but you shall not find them;

those who war against you

shall be as nothing at all.

13

For I, the Lord your God,

hold your right hand;

it is I who say to you, “Do not fear,

I will help you.”

14

Do not fear, you worm Jacob,

you insect Israel!

I will help you, says the Lord;

your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

15

Now, I will make of you a threshing sledge,

sharp, new, and having teeth;

you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,

and you shall make the hills like chaff.

16

You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away,

and the tempest shall scatter them.

Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;

in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

17

When the poor and needy seek water,

and there is none,

and their tongue is parched with thirst,

I the Lord will answer them,

I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18

I will open rivers on the bare heights,

and fountains in the midst of the valleys;

I will make the wilderness a pool of water,

and the dry land springs of water.

19

I will put in the wilderness the cedar,

the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;

I will set in the desert the cypress,

the plane and the pine together,

20

so that all may see and know,

all may consider and understand,

that the hand of the Lord has done this,

the Holy One of Israel has created it.

***************

    上帝與人的關係是：救贖者、幫助者、供應者、支持者、…！

    所以人和上帝是脫離不了關係的！但人卻是悖逆上帝與拒絕上帝，以至於人和上帝的關係斷絕的，也因此人就陷入極其危險的處境，就是沒有救贖者、幫助者、供應者、支持者、…！

    然而人與上帝的關係如何恢復呢？當然是透過耶穌基督，這是上帝在萬世以前預備，今日要成就在我們身上的！讓我們一生叫託給上帝，成為上帝與人和好的使者！

以賽亞書40:27-31

40:27 雅各啊，你為何說，我的道路向耶和華隱藏？以色列啊，你為何言，我的冤屈上帝並不查問？
40:28 你豈不曾知道嗎？你豈不曾聽見嗎？永在的上帝耶和華，創造地極的主，並不疲乏，也不困倦；他的智慧無法測度。
40:29 疲乏的，他賜能力；軟弱的，他加力量。
40:30 就是少年人也要疲乏困倦；強壯的也必全然跌倒。
40:31 但那等候耶和華的必重新得力。他們必如鷹展翅上騰；他們奔跑卻不困倦，行走卻不疲乏。

 27

Why do you say, O Jacob,

and speak, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

and my right is disregarded by my God”?

28

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

29

He gives power to the faint,

and strengthens the powerless.

30

Even youths will faint and be weary,

and the young will fall exhausted;

31

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint.

***************

    先知在這裡勸告猶大的百姓，不要懷疑上帝，不要輕看上帝的作為，祂不是飄邈虛無的上帝，而是實實在在的上帝，雖然上帝是看不見，摸不著的！這不代表上帝是不存在的，沒有作為的上帝！

    所以先知說：「雅各啊，你為何說，我的道路向耶和華隱藏？以色列啊，你為何言，我的冤屈上帝並不查問？你豈不曾知道嗎？你豈不曾聽見嗎？永在的上帝耶和華，創造地極的主，並不疲乏，也不困倦；他的智慧無法測度。」

    也因為是這樣，先知更進一步宣告：「疲乏的，他賜能力；軟弱的，他加力量。就是少年人也要疲乏困倦；強壯的也必全然跌倒。但那等候耶和華的必重新得力。他們必如鷹展翅上騰；他們奔跑卻不困倦，行走卻不疲乏。」

    這裡的「等候」就是倚靠的意思，也因此我們必須倚靠上帝來重新得力，為上帝而活，就會如鷹展翅上騰！

以賽亞書40:21-26

40:21 你們豈不曾知道嗎？你們豈不曾聽見嗎？從起初豈沒有人告訴你們嗎？自從立地的根基，你們豈沒有明白嗎？
40:22 上帝坐在地球大圈之上；地上的居民好像蝗蟲。他鋪張穹蒼如幔子，展開諸天如可住的帳棚。
40:23 他使君王歸於虛無，使地上的審判官成為虛空。
40:24 他們是剛才（或譯：不曾；下同）栽上，剛才種上，根也剛才扎在地裡，他一吹在其上，便都枯乾；旋風將他們吹去，像碎秸一樣。
40:25 那聖者說：你們將誰比我，叫他與我相等呢？
40:26 你們向上舉目，看誰創造這萬象，按數目領出，他一一稱其名；因他的權能，又因他的大能大力，連一個都不缺。

21

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,

and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them like a tent to live in;

23

who brings princes to naught,

and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

24

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,

scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,

when he blows upon them, and they wither,

and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25

To whom then will you compare me,

or who is my equal? says the Holy One.

26

Lift up your eyes on high and see:

Who created these?

He who brings out their host and numbers them,

calling them all by name;

because he is great in strength,

mighty in power,

not one is missing.

***************

    上帝是獨一的上帝，也是掌理萬事的上帝   ！

    祂掌管大自然，正如先知所說：「上帝坐在地球大圈之上；地上的居民好像蝗蟲。他鋪張穹蒼如幔子，展開諸天如可住的帳棚。」

    祂也掌管世界的局勢，先知也向世人宣告：「他使君王歸於虛無，使地上的審判官成為虛空。他們是剛才（或譯：不曾；下同）栽上，剛才種上，根也剛才扎在地裡，他一吹在其上，便都枯乾；旋風將他們吹去，像碎秸一樣。」

    祂真的是有能有力的上帝啊！「你們向上舉目，看誰創造這萬象，按數目領出，他一一稱其名；因他的權能，又因他的大能大力，連一個都不缺。」

    所以上帝可以向人宣告：「你們將誰比我，叫他與我相等呢？」

  

    我們能做得就是透過信靠耶穌基督，來見證上帝在我們身上大能的作為！

以賽亞書40:12-20

40:12 誰曾用手心量諸水，用手虎口量蒼天，用升斗盛大地的塵土，用秤稱山嶺，用天平平岡陵呢？
40:13 誰曾測度耶和華的心（或譯：誰曾指示耶和華的靈），或作他的謀士指教他呢？
40:14 他與誰商議，誰教導他，誰將公平的路指示他，又將知識教訓他，將通達的道指教他呢？
40:15 看哪，萬民都像水桶的一滴，又算如天平上的微塵；他舉起眾海島，好像極微之物。
40:16 黎巴嫩的樹林不夠當柴燒；其中的走獸也不夠作燔祭。
40:17 萬民在他面前好像虛無，被他看為不及虛無，乃為虛空。
40:18 你們究竟將誰比上帝，用甚麼形像與上帝比較呢？
40:19 偶像是匠人鑄造，銀匠用金包裹，為它鑄造銀鍊。
40:20 窮乏獻不起這樣供物的，就揀選不能朽壞的樹木，為自己尋找巧匠，立起不能搖動的偶像。

12

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand

and marked off the heavens with a span,

enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,

and weighed the mountains in scales

and the hills in a balance?

13

Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,

or as his counselor has instructed him?

14

Whom did he consult for his enlightenment,

and who taught him the path of justice?

Who taught him knowledge,

and showed him the way of understanding?

15

Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket,

and are accounted as dust on the scales;

see, he takes up the isles like fine dust.

16

Lebanon would not provide fuel enough,

nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering.

17

All the nations are as nothing before him;

they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

18

To whom then will you liken God,

or what likeness compare with him?

19

An idol? —A workman casts it,

and a goldsmith overlays it with gold,

and casts for it silver chains.

20

As a gift one chooses mulberry wood

—wood that will not rot—

then seeks out a skilled artisan

to set up an image that will not topple.

***************

    上帝是獨一的上帝，是與所有的受造之物都不同，沒有一樣事物可以與上帝相比較，也沒有人能夠完全認識上帝，因為上帝是超乎我們的智慧，也超乎人的知識與經驗，人無法用自己的方式認識上帝！

    之所以如此，是因為上帝比人大，比人有知識、智慧、能力！祂更是永恆的上帝，不受時間和空間的限制，當然我們也無法限制上帝！因為上帝超越我們的想法、看法！就像有的講員說，我們不要用我們的想法或看法限制上帝的作為！那是不可能的，上帝怎會被我們限制呢！

    也因為如此，我們要認定上帝的作為，凡事順服上帝的引導，凡是信靠祂！不是祂來適應我們，遷就我們！我們必須謙卑來到上帝面前，藉由祂的啟示就是聖經的話來服事祂，更藉由主耶穌來與上帝建立正確與合宜的關係，享受上帝的同在！