서론
無標題
英文原文
This psalm begins with praise and concludes with prayer, and faith is at work in both. I. David here gives thanks to God for mercies to himself, Ps 108:1-5. II. He prays to God for mercies for the land, pleading the promises of God and putting them in suit, Ps 108:6-13. The former part it taken out of Ps 57:7-11,108:1-5, etc., the latter out of Ps 60:5-12,108:6-13, etc., and both with very little variation, to teach us that we may in prayer use the same words that we have formerly used, provided it be with new affections. It intimates likewise that it is not only allowable, but sometimes convenient, to gather some verses out of one psalm and some out of another, and to put them together, to be sung to the glory of God. In singing this psalm we must give glory to God and take comfort to ourselves.
1-5
Directions for Praising God
讚美神的指引
大衛的詩歌。
¹ 神啊，我心堅定；我口（原文作：榮耀）要唱詩歌頌！ ² 琴瑟啊，你們當醒起！我自己要極早醒起！ ³ 耶和華啊，我要在萬民中稱謝你，在列邦中歌頌你！ ⁴ 因為你的慈愛大過諸天；你的誠實達到雲霄。 ⁵ 神啊，願你崇高過於諸天！願你的榮耀高過全地！
我們在此可以從一位精於此道之人的榜樣，學習如何讚美神。1. 我們必須以堅定的心讚美神。我們的心必須在這本分中投入（否則我們在其中便一無所成），並被引向這本分（詩 108:1）：「神啊，我心堅定」——然後*「我口要唱詩歌頌。」遊蕩散漫的思想必須被收聚，緊貼這工作；因為當告訴它們，這裏有足夠它們全體作的工。2. 我們必須以表達的自由讚美神：我要「用我的榮耀」稱頌他，就是用我的舌頭。我們的舌頭就是我們的榮耀，當它被用來讚美神之時，它的榮耀達到極致。當「心裏湧出」這「美辭」之時，我們的「舌頭」當如同「快筆」一般（詩 45:1）。大衛的音樂技巧就是他的榮耀，使他聞名，而這當被獻給神的讚美；所以下文說：「琴瑟啊，你們當醒起！」無論我們在哪一樣恩賜上超群，都當用以讚美神。3. 我們必須以熱切的情感讚美神，並激發自己如此行，好使這事能在活潑中、而非在漫不經心中作成（詩 108:2）：「琴瑟啊，你們當醒起」——不可用沉悶昏睡的調子來作，倒要使一切旋律都活潑。「我自己要極早醒起」來作這事，用我裏頭的一切，而這一切還嫌太少。熱切的敬拜榮耀神。4. 我們必須公開地讚美神，作為那些不羞於承認自己對神的義務、以及對他恩惠的感恩之感的人，卻渴望別人也能同樣被神的良善所感動（詩 108:3）：「我要在萬民中稱謝你」——在猶太人中；不僅如此，「在列邦中歌頌你」——在全地列國中。無論我們置身何處，都當把握一切機會稱頌神；我們也不當羞於唱詩篇，即便鄰舍聽見，因為那看來像是羞於承認我們的主。5. 我們在讚美中必須特別高舉神的慈愛與誠實（詩 108:4）——在應許上的慈愛，在成全上的誠實。諸天廣大，但神的慈愛更寬廣；雲天高遠明亮，但神的誠實更崇高、更輝煌。我們的目光不能超過諸天與雲彩；無論我們看見神多少的慈愛與誠實，在那將來的世界裏，仍有所保留，有待我們進一步看見。6. 既然我們發現自己在榮耀神的事上如此虧欠，便當求他自己榮耀自己，求他行作萬事、安排萬事，都為他自己的榮耀，為自己得尊榮、為自己立名（詩 108:5）：「神啊，願你崇高過於諸天」——高過天使以其讚美所能高舉的；「願你的榮耀高過全地。父啊，願你榮耀你的名。你已經榮耀了它，求你再榮耀它。」這當成為我們的首要祈求：「願人都尊你的名為聖。」*
英文原文
Directions for Praising God
A song or psalm of David.
¹ O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
² Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
³ I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
⁴ For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.
⁵ Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;
We may here learn how to praise God from the example of one who was master of the art. 1. We must praise God with fixedness of heart. Our heart must be employed in the duty (else we make nothing of it) and engaged to the duty (Ps 108:1): O God! my heart is fixed, and then I will sing and give praise. Wandering straggling thoughts must be gathered in, and kept close to the business; for they must be told that here is work enough for them all. 2. We must praise God with freeness of expression: I will praise him with my glory, that is, with my tongue. Our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when it is employed in praising God. When the heart is inditing this good matter our tongue must be as the pen of a ready writer, Ps 45:1. David's skill in music was his glory, it made him famous, and this should be consecrated to the praise of God; and therefore it follows, Awake my psaltery and harp. Whatever gift we excel in we must praise God with. 3. We must praise God with fervency of affection, and must stir up ourselves to do it, that it may be done in a lively manner and not carelessly (Ps 108:2): Awake, psaltery and harp; let it not be done with a dull and sleepy tune, but let the airs be all lively. I myself will awake early to do it, with all that is within me, and all little enough. Warm devotions honour God. 4. We must praise God publicly, as those that are not ashamed to own our obligations to him and our thankful sense of his favours, but desire that others also may be in like manner affected with the divine goodness (Ps 108:3): I will praise thee among the people of the Jews; nay, I will sing to thee among the nations of the earth. Whatever company we are in we must take all occasions to speak well of God; and we must not be shy of singing psalms, though our neighbours hear us, for it looks like being ashamed of our Master. 5. We must, in our praises, magnify the mercy and truth of God in a special manner (Ps 108:4), mercy in promising, truth in performing. The heavens are vast, but the mercy of God is more capacious; the skies are high and bright, but the truth of God is more eminent, more illustrious. We cannot see further than the heavens and clouds; whatever we see of God's mercy and truth there is still more to be seen, more reserved to be seen, in the other world. 6. Since we find ourselves so, defective in glorifying God, we must beg of him to glorify himself, to do all, to dispose all, to his own glory, to get himself honour and make himself a name (Ps 108:5): Be thou exalted, O God! above the heavens, higher than the angels themselves can exalt thee with their praises, and let thy glory be spread over all the earth. Father, glorify thy own name. Thou hast glorified it; glorify it again. It is to be our first petition, Hallowed be thy name.
6-13
Directions for Praising God
讚美神的指引
我們在此可以學到如何禱告，也可以學到如何讚美。1。 我們在禱告中必須有為公眾的心，在施恩寶座前擔負神教會的事（詩 108:6）。教會是神所親愛的，所以也當是我們所親愛的；所以我們必須為她的解救禱告，並認為只要神照我們所求的賜給祂的教會，便是已經應允我們——縱然祂遲延賜給我們為自己所求的。「求你拯救」你的教會，「你就應允了我」；我便得了我所要的。願神的榮耀充滿遍地，大衛的禱告便完畢（詩 72:19-20）；他不再奢求。2。 我們在禱告中必須對神的大能和應許運用信心——對祂的大能（用你的右手拯救，這右手大有能力拯救），也對祂的應許：神已經指着祂的聖潔說——就是在祂聖潔的話語中，祂又以自己的聖潔起誓，所以我必歡喜（詩 108:7）。祂所應許的，祂必成全，因為這是祂真理的話，也是祂大能的話。活潑的信心能在神所說的尚未成就之時，因這話歡喜；因為在祂，說與作不是兩件事——不管在我們看來是否如此。3。 我們在禱告中必須以神所已確保賜給我們、定意歸給我們的為安慰，縱然我們尚未實際得着。神曾應許大衛賜給他：（1）他臣民的心；所以他視全國各處為自己已有的：「示劍和疏割，基列和瑪拿西，以法蓮和猶大，都是我的」（詩 108:8）。我們也可以帶着這樣的把握，論到神應許要成就在大衛子孫身上的事：祂必毫無疑問地將列國賜給祂為產業，將地極賜給祂為田產，因為祂已指着祂的聖潔說話；不但如此，一切賜給祂的具體的人，祂也不失落一個；祂也要像大衛一樣，得着祂臣民的心（約 6:37）。（2）祂仇敵的頸項。這些也已應許，所以大衛看摩押、以東和非利士如同已經屬於自己（詩 108:9）：我要因非利士歡呼——這話解釋了詩 60:8：非利士啊，你要因我歡呼；有人以為當讀作：我的靈魂啊，你要因非利士歡呼。 照樣，被高舉的救贖主坐在神的右邊，深信祂一切的仇敵終必被作成祂的腳凳——縱然萬物尚未都服在祂腳下（來 2:8）。4。 我們必須從憐憫的開端得着鼓勵，禱告並盼望這憐憫的成全（詩 108:10-11）：「誰能領我進那尚未征服的堅固城？誰能引我到那尚未降服的以東地去？」 這問題或許要在他的樞密院或軍事會議中辯論，當採取何種方法制伏以東人、降服那地；但他把這事帶入他的禱告中，交在神手中：「神啊，豈不是你？」 你必定如此。他對以東的征服說得如此有把握，或許是因為那關乎雅各和以掃的古老神諭——將來大的要服事小的——又因為雅各的祝福，他藉此成了以掃的主（創 27:37）。5。 我們不可因禱告而灰心，也不可被挫折離開對神的把握，縱然護理在某些事上向我們皺眉：「雖然你已經丟棄了我們，你如今卻要與我們的軍隊同去」（詩 108:11）。你必在我們受苦之後再次安慰我們。* 逆境有時是為試驗我們信心和禱告的堅定而設計的；我們無論遇見甚麼困難，都當堅忍到底，不可灰心。 6。 我們當從神那裏尋求幫助，棄絕對受造之物的一切信靠（詩 108:12）：「主啊，求你從患難中賜我們幫助」——使我們的計畫亨通，又挫敗仇敵對我們的計畫。當我們談論得勝之時同時談論患難，並非不合時宜——尤其是當這話激發我們從天上尋求幫助之時；而且這是一個良好的理由：人的幫助是枉然的。「實在如此，所以你若不幫助我們，我們便滅亡了；我們認定如此，所以倚靠你來幫助，便更有理由指望得着幫助。」7。 我們必須完全倚靠神的恩寵和恩典，無論是為着我們工作和爭戰的力量，還是為着成功（詩 108:13）。（1）我們當盡自己的本分，但我們憑自己不能作甚麼；惟有藉着神，我們才能奮勇。 蒙福的保羅也承認，連他自己也靠着那加給我力量的，凡事都能作——不然便甚麼也不能作（腓 4:13）。（2）我們縱然表現得再好，也不能憑自己的功勞或力量得着亨通；是神自己踐踏我們的仇敵，否則我們一切的英勇也不能作成。我們無論作甚麼、得着甚麼，神都當得着全部的榮耀。
英文原文
Directions for Praising God
⁶ That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.
⁷ God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
⁸ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
⁹ Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.
¹⁰ Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
¹¹ Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
¹² Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
¹³ Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
We may here learn how to pray as well as praise. 1. We must be public-spirited in prayer, and bear upon our hearts, at the throne of grace, the concerns of the church of God, Ps 108:6. It is God's beloved, and therefore must be ours; and therefore we must pray for its deliverance, and reckon that we are answered if God grant what we ask for his church, though he delay to give us what we ask for ourselves. "Save thy church, and thou answerest me; I have what I would have." Let the earth be filled with God's glory, and the prayers of David are ended (Ps 72:19,20); he desires no more. 2. We must, in prayer, act faith upon the power and promise of God—upon his power (Save with thy right hand, which is mighty to save), and upon his promise: God has spoken in his holiness, in his holy word, to which he has sworn by his holiness, and therefore I will rejoice, Ps 108:7. What he has promised he will perform, for it is the word both of his truth and of his power. An active faith can rejoice in what God has said, though it be not yet done; for with him saying and doing are not two things, whatever they are with us. 3. We must, in prayer, take the comfort of what God has secured to us and settled upon us, though we are not yet put in possession of it. God had promised David to give him, (1.) The hearts of his subjects; and therefore he surveys the several parts of the country as his own already: "Shechem and Succoth, Gilead and Manasseh, Ephraim and Judah, are all my own," Ps 108:8. With such assurance as this we may speak of the performance of what God has promised to the Son of David; he will, without fail, give him the heathen for his inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession, for so has he spoken in his holiness; nay, of all the particular persons that were given him he will lose none; he also, as David, shall have the hearts of his subjects, Joh 6:37. And, (2.) The necks of his enemies. These are promised, and therefore David looks upon Moab, and Edom, and Philistia, as his own already (Ps 108:9): Over Philistia will I triumph, which explains Ps 60:8, Philistia, triumph thou because of me, which some think should be read, O my soul! triumph thou over Philistia. Thus the exalted Redeemer is set down at God's right hand, in a full assurance that all his enemies shall in due time be made his footstool, though all things are not yet put under him, Heb 2:8. 4. We must take encouragement from the beginnings of mercy to pray and hope for the perfecting of it (Ps 108:10,11): "Who will bring me into the strong cities that are yet unconquered? Who will make me master of the country of Edom, which is yet unsubdued?" The question was probably to be debated in his privy council, or a council of war, what methods they should take to subdue the Edomites and to reduce that country; but he brings it into his prayers, and leaves it in God's hands: Wilt not thou, O God? Certainly thou wilt. It is probable that he spoke with the more assurance concerning the conquest of Edom because of the ancient oracle concerning Jacob and Esau, that the elder should serve the younger, and the blessing of Jacob, by which he was made Esau's lord, Ge 27:37. 5. We must not be discouraged in prayer, nor beaten off from our hold of God, though Providence has in some instances frowned upon us: "Though thou hast cast us off, yet thou wilt now go forth with our hosts, Ps 108:11. Thou wilt comfort us again after the time that thou hast afflicted us." Adverse events are sometimes intended for the trial of the constancy of our faith and prayer, which we ought to persevere in whatever difficulties we meet with, and not to faint. 6. We must seek help from God, renouncing all confidence in the creature (Ps 108:12): "Lord, give us help from trouble, prosper our designs, and defeat the designs of our enemies against us." It is not unseasonable to talk of trouble at the same time that we talk of triumphs, especially when it is to quicken prayer for help from heaven; and it is a good plea, Vain is the help of man. "It is really so, and therefore we are undone if thou do not help us; we apprehend it to be so, and therefore depend upon thee for help and have the more reason to expect it." 7. We must depend entirely upon the favour and grace of God, both for strength and success in our work and warfare, Ps 108:13. (1.) We must do our part, but we can do nothing of ourselves; it is only through God that we shall do valiantly. Blessed Paul will own that even he can do nothing, nothing to purpose, but through Christ strengthening him, Php 4:13. (2.) When we have acquitted ourselves ever so well, yet we cannot speed by any merit or might of our own; it is God himself that treads down our enemies, else we with all our valour cannot do it. Whatever we do, whatever we gain, God must have all the glory.
本篇以讚美開始，以禱告結束，而信心在其中都運行。一、大衛在此為神向他個人所施的憐憫獻上感恩（詩一〇八1-5）。二、他為這地向神求憐憫，引用神的應許並將之呈獻於神前（詩一〇八6-13）。前半取自詩五七7-11、一〇八1-5等，後半取自詩六十5-12、一〇八6-13等，兩者幾乎無甚改動——為要教導我們：在禱告中可以使用我們從前用過的話，只要是以新的情感來作。這也表明，從一篇詩中摘出幾節、又從另一篇摘出幾節，合在一起歌唱歸榮耀給神，這不僅是許可的，有時也是合宜的。我們唱這詩時，當將榮耀歸給神，並從中得安慰。