Manna74-How Great Thou Art ?真偉大
Based on a sermon by Barnabas Chong—Singapore
來源：新加坡 Barnabas Chong 張巴拿巴傳道 講道
翻譯/Nina
UNDERSTANDING GOD’S GREATNESS 認識神的偉大
For You are great, and do wondrous
things; You alone are God.
(Ps 86:10)
因?為大，且行奇妙的事；唯獨你是神。（詩86：10）
These words were penned by
David and came from the bottom of
his heart, for throughout his life, he
personally experienced the greatness
of God. Such experiences allowed
him to understand that it was God
who had led him all along. Had it not
been for the help of God, he would
have fallen under the clutches of his
enemies.
這些話為大衛所寫，且由他內心深處發出，因為在他一生中，親身體驗了神的偉大，
這樣的體驗使他明白，神一直帶領著他，
若不是神的幫助，他就已落在敵人的手中了。
◎clutch爪子；手；掌握
Importantly, David did not just
appreciate God’s greatness and
help in times of distress; he was
fully aware and appreciative of His
Creator’s almightiness in times of
peace as well.
重要的是，大衛不只有在痛苦憂傷時感謝神的偉大和幫助，
他也在平安時，完全的認識和感謝造物主的全能。
◎distress悲痛，憂傷◎ appreciative讚賞的，感謝的◎almightiness全能
The heavens declare the glory of
God; [a]nd the firmament shows
His handiwork. Day unto day utters
speech, [a]nd night unto night
reveals knowledge. There is no
speech nor language [w]here their
voice is not heard.
(Ps 19:1–3)
諸天述說神的榮耀；穹蒼傳揚他的手段。
這日到那日發出言語；這夜到那夜傳出知識。
無言無語，也無聲音可聽。(詩19：1–3)
◎firmament天空﹐蒼穹
David had been a shepherd since
young and had spent much time
alone in the fields. Perhaps, while
tending the sheep, he would gaze
at the skies, appreciate the clouds,
admire the beautiful rainbows, and
marvel at the many stars in heaven.
And as David pondered, he would be
astounded by the greatness of God,
the Creator of this universe.
大衛從小就是個牧羊人，很多時間都獨自在原野度過，
也許，當他在照料羊群時，他會凝視著天空，欣賞著雲，欽佩著美麗的彩虹，驚嘆著天上滿滿的星星，
當大衛去思索的時候，他會因天地萬物的創造者、神的偉大而震驚。
◎astound使震驚◎universe宇宙；天地萬物
In 1996, astronomers at the Space
Telescope Science Institute used the
Hubble space telescope to study a
patch of the sky that appeared to be
utterly empty, devoid of any planets,
stars, or galaxies. Some critics
dismissed their endeavor as a waste
of resources.
在1996年時，太空望遠鏡科學協會的天文學家使用哈伯太空望遠鏡去觀察宇宙的某個區塊，
裏頭似乎完全是空的，沒有任何行星、恆星、星系，而一些評論家視他們的努力為資源的浪費。
◎astronomer天文學家◎telescope單筒望遠鏡◎galaxy星系◎endeavor努力
But the telescope went on to
capture profound images. Every
single spot, smear, and dot that we
see from earth was actually an entire
galaxy, each containing hundreds of
billions of stars. These results point
to a simple fact: no matter how
impressive our accomplishments in
this world, man is minute compared
to the size of the universe and
infinitesimally insignificant before the
Almighty God.
但望遠鏡繼續捕捉深入的影像，
每個我們從地球上看到的斑點和小點點其實都是一整個星系，都含有數千億的星星，
這些結果表明了一個顯而易見的事實：
不管我們在世上的成就有多麼令人欽佩，相比宇宙之大小，人類是極微小的，且在全能的神面前是非常微不足道的。
◎profound深切的；深度的◎accomplishment成就
◎infinitesimally極小地；微不足道地◎insignificant 小的；無足輕重的
As His beloved children, we may
have enjoyed special experiences
that help us understand God’s
greatness. However, even without
such experiences, we have no excuse
to be ignorant of our awesome God.
All we need to do is raise our head
and look up to the starlit night sky—
we shall then be presented with
irrefutable proof of how great our
Creator and heavenly Father is.
作為祂心愛的兒女，我們能享有特別的體驗去幫助我們認識神的偉大，
然而，就算沒有這種體驗，我們也沒有理由不認識我們令人敬畏的神，
我們所需要做的就是抬起頭、仰望星光閃耀的夜空─
我們應會馬上看到對我們造物主、天父的偉大之無可辯駁的證據呈現在眼前。
◎irrefutable不能反駁的；不可否認的
STAND IN AWE BEFORE GOD 敬畏的站在神面前
Indeed, God is great, for He
created all the stars in a single day
(Gen 1:15) and fashioned everything
out of nothing. He made all these
things for each and every one of us.
Therefore, we ought to stand in awe
before God’s greatness.
確實，神是偉大的，因他在一天內創造了眾星(創1：15)，
無中生有創造了一切，他為我們每一個人造了這些事物，因此，在神的偉大前，我們應敬畏的站著。
Awe is not just about being afraid
of God but also having respect and
reverence for God. We may fear
those in power because they can
pose a danger to our lives; just as
people living under tyrannical rulers
feared but did not revere these
despots. Our God, however, is to be
both feared and revered. He has the
power and authority to take away
our lives any time, and yet He is a
God who takes care of us throughout
our lives.
敬畏不是只有對神感到畏懼，還要對神有崇敬的心，
我們可能會害怕那些當權者，因為他們會危及我們的生活；
就像生活在暴君統治下的人民一樣，害怕、但不尊敬這些暴君，
然而，我們的神是該被畏懼和崇敬的，
他有力量和權力在任何時候取走我們的生命，但他卻是看顧著我們一生的神。
◎awe敬畏◎reverence崇敬；敬畏◎tyrannical暴君的；專制君主的
KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS 謹守祂的誡命
Let us hear the conclusion of the
whole matter: Fear God and keep
His commandments, [f]or this is
man’s all. For God will bring every
work into judgment, [i]ncluding
every secret thing, [w]hether good
or evil. (Eccl 12:13–14)
這些事都已聽見了，總意就是：
敬畏神，謹守他的誡命，這是人所當盡的本分。
因為人所做的事，連一切隱藏的事，無論是善是惡，神都必審問。(傳12：13-14)
A king famed for his wisdom
succinctly tells us how we should fear
God. The answer is easily articulated:
keep His commandments. However,
the more important and difficult
issue is whether we have truly
kept His commandments. We may
not have broken any of the Ten
Commandments, but have we set
out to observe these commandments
with all our hearts, or do we only do it
minimally and superficially? Have we
kept the spirit of the commandments?
一位因智慧聞名的國王簡潔扼要的告訴我們該怎麼敬畏神，
答案簡單闡明：遵守祂的誡命。
然而，更重要且困難的問題是，我們是否真的遵守了他的誡命？
我們可能沒有違反十誡中的任何一條誡命，但我們有否用心開始去遵守這些誡命？
或只是勉強遵守、表面上遵守？我們有遵守誡命的本意嗎？
◎articulate明確有力地表達◎superficially淺薄的
Take the example of the Sabbath
day. We are commanded to “keep
the Sabbath holy” (Ex 20:8). What
does this mean to us? To some, this
commandment is fulfilled as long as
we have sat in a chapel for one and
a half hours on Saturday morning
(or afternoon), sung a couple of
hymns, prayed twice, and listened
to a sermon. And if we have an
engagement on Saturday, we attend
the Friday evening service instead as
“replacement.” At other times, Friday
night is for socializing with friends,
catching a movie, or unwinding at
home by watching TV. Then there are
others who may not reserve Friday
evenings for social activities, but
they still do not attend any church
services, preferring to use this time
to finish their school assignments or
attend to business and work matters.
舉安息日的例子來說，
神命令我們要「守安息日為聖日」(出20：8)
這對我們來說是什麼意思呢?
一些人認為，只要星期六早上(或下午)坐在教會一個半小時、唱幾首詩、禱告兩次、聽講道，就是遵守這個誡命了，
如果星期六有約會，我們便參加星期五晚間的聚會當作「代替」，
而平常時候，星期五晚上是用來與朋友交流、看電影、在家看電視放鬆的時間，
而有些人不會用星期五晚上的時間來作社交活動，但他們還是不參加任何教會聚會，寧可用來完成學校作業或處理業務和工作事項。
◎the Sabbath day安息日◎chapel教堂◎engagement約會
◎replacement代替，取代
The Bible teaches us that we should
not work from the beginning to the
end of the Sabbath day (Ex 20:8–11;
Lev 23:3). It is true that we are no
longer subject to the rigid demands of
observing Sabbath under the Mosaic
Law (cf. Lk 13:14–15). However, the
Book of Isaiah reminds us that if we
were to turn our feet from doing
what we ourselves delight in, and
did the things that God delights in,
then we would have truly kept the
Sabbath (Isa 58:13–14).
聖經教導我們安息日整日什麼工都不可做(出20：8-11；利23：3)，
但確實，我們現在已不再受制於摩西律法下遵守安息日的硬性規定(參見 路13：14-15)，
然而，以賽亞書提醒我們，我們若掉轉(或譯：謹慎)我們的腳步，不做自己所喜悅的事，而做神所喜悅的事，那麼，才是真正遵守安息日。(賽58：13-14)
◎the Mosaic Law摩西律法
We must honestly ask ourselves
whether we have truly kept the
Sabbath. Have we honored the
Sabbath as a holy day or merely
observed a “holy hour”? The Lord
gave us six days to spend on our own
matters. Even as we give Him thanks
for His care and blessings through
the six days, are we aware that the
seventh day, the Sabbath day, rightly
belongs to our Creator and that
we ought to dedicate our lives and
thoughts to the matters of God on
this day?
我們必須誠實的問自己，是否有真正遵守安息日？
我們有尊安息日為聖日嗎？還是只是遵守聖「小時」？
主給我們六天時間用來處理自己的事，
即使我們有在六天之中感謝祂的看顧和祝福，我們是否知道第七日─安息日理應屬於造物主，而我們應該奉獻我們的生命且思想神的事？
◎dedicate奉獻
The above example of the Sabbath
illustrates the attitude that we must
take towards God’s commandments.
We must ensure that we do not keep
the mere letter of the commandment
but its spirit. This is the first but crucial
manifestation of a heart of reverence
and fear for God—we delight in His
commandments, meditate on them,
and keep them willingly.
上述安息日的例子說明了我們對神的誡命應有的態度，
我們必須確定我們不是只守誡命的文字，而也守其本意，
這是敬畏神的心首先但重要的表現─喜愛祂的誡命、思想祂的誡命，並甘心樂意遵守。
◎illustrates說明，闡明◎manifestation表明；表現◎meditate沉思，思考
GIVE THANKS 感謝
God’s greatness should also inspire
a heart of thanksgiving in us. The
Book of Genesis tells us that our God
created the universe and the earth
before He made Adam and Eve.
From this we know that He made
all these things for the sake of man,
and that He specially takes care of
us. Realizing this should make us feel
extremely grateful to God.
神的偉大也應激發我們感謝的心，
創世紀告訴我們，神在造亞當、夏娃之前，就創造了宇宙和地球之後，
從這裡可以知道，祂為了人類而創造了這所有東西，祂特別照顧我們。
了解這個之後，我們會對神極其地感謝。
For thus says the High and Lofty
One who inhabits eternity, whose
name is Holy: “I dwell in the high
and holy place, with him who has
a contrite and humble spirit, to
revive the spirit of the humble, and
to revive the heart of the contrite
ones.” (Isa 57:15)
因為那至高至上、永遠長存（原文是住在永遠）、名為聖者的如此說：
我住在至高至聖的所在，也與心靈痛悔謙卑的人同居；要使謙卑人的靈甦醒，也使痛悔人的心甦醒。(賽57：15)
◎lofty高聳的，極高的◎contrite悔罪的；痛悔的◎revive使甦醒
Isaiah describes God as the High
and Lofty One, the One who inhabits
eternity. Although He is the High and
Lofty One, He is willing to dwell
amongst man, with those who have
a contrite and humble spirit, and with
those who have the desire to worship
Him.
以賽亞形容神為至高至上、永遠長存(住在永遠)的，
雖然祂是那至高至上的，祂卻願意與心靈痛悔謙卑的人、與想要敬拜祂的人同居。
In particular, God wants to dwell
in our hearts. Actually, given how
dirty and disorderly our hearts are,
we are no worthy dwelling for a
holy God. Nevertheless, He is willing
to tolerate our unholiness and to
dwell in us. Such great love from our
God deserves not just a momentary
outburst of gratitude, but perpetual
and overwhelming thanksgiving.
尤其是，神想要住進我們的心。
事實上，考慮到我們的心多麼汙穢、髒亂，我們的心不值得住進聖潔的神，
然而，祂願意寬恕我們的不聖潔並住進我們裏頭，
這樣從神而來的偉大的愛，不只是值得一時湧出的感謝，而是長久、滿溢的感恩。
◎disorderly凌亂的; 無秩序的◎tolerate忍受；寬恕
◎outburst(情感、力量等的)爆發，迸發◎gratitude感謝
◎perpetual永久的；長期的◎overwhelming感情流露的
Many of us already recognize
that God’s greatness deserves
thanksgiving, but how often do we
actually give thanks to God, whether
in prayer or quiet reflection? For
some, saying “Thank God!” has
become second nature. But do we
really mean it? Very often, unless
something special happens or we
experience grace from God, we
may not thank Him or thank Him
as whole-heartedly as we ought to.
Moreover, even after experiencing
God’s amazing grace, human beings
are wont to be forgetful after the
first gush of gratitude. The memory
of God’s blessings is often and easily
crowded out by the anxieties of daily
life.
我們許多人已經知道應感謝神的偉大，但無論是在禱告或安靜的反省中，我們有多常真正的感謝神？
對一些人來說，說「感謝神」已變成習慣，但我們真的有感謝嗎？
大多數時候，除了某些特別的事發生或是我們經歷了神所賜的恩典，我們不會感謝祂或沒有做到全心全意的感謝祂。
此外，即使經歷了神的奇妙恩典，人類慣於在第一次感激湧出後就忘記了，日常生活中的憂慮常常容易佔走對神的祝福的記憶。
◎reflection深思；反省◎second nature習性、老習慣
◎whole-heartedly全心全意的◎anxiety焦慮，掛念
Hence, we should make it a point
to consciously count our blessings
every day. We shall then begin to
see and appreciate the multifarious
ways in which God cares for and
guides us in our daily lives. This
draws us closer to Him. Conversely,
the less frequently we give thanks to
God and the more we take Him for
granted, the more easily we will fall
to grumbling about our poor lot in
life. And like the stubborn ungrateful
Israelites of yore, we will eventually
draw away from Him.
因此，我們應該要留意每天數算我們得到的祝福，
然後我們應該開始去看、感謝神每天看顧指引我們的各種方式，這樣會與他更親近；
相反的，我們若很少感謝神，把祂所做的視為理所當然，我們會更容易跌倒並抱怨我們人生的可憐命運，
然後就像從前頑固、忘恩負義的以色列人一樣，我們最終會離開神。
◎multifarious多種的；繁雜的◎conversely相反的
Apostle Paul exhorts us to always
give thanks to God (Eph 5:20;
1 Thess 5:18). Our awesome God is
willing to dwell amongst us and, more
importantly, dwell in us. Moreover, to
ensure that one day we can dwell in
the heavenly kingdom with Him, He
willingly gave up His life on the cross.
His love surpasses even the greatest
human love.
使徒保羅勸勉我們，要常常感謝神(弗5:20；帖前5:18)
我們令人敬畏的神願意住在我們中間，更重要的是，住在我們裏頭，
而且，為了確保有一天我們能與祂同住在天國，祂甘願放棄生命在十架上，
祂的愛甚至超越了人類中最偉大的愛。
◎exhort規勸；告誡◎surpass勝過；大於；多於
LIVE FOR CHRIST 為主而活
For the love of Christ compels
us, because we judge thus: that
if One died for all, then all died;
and He died for all, that those
who live should live no longer for
themselves, but for Him who died
for them and rose again.
(2 Cor 5:14–15)
原來基督的愛激勵我們；
因我們想，一人既替眾人死，眾人就都死了；
並且他替眾人死，是叫那些活著的人不再為自己活，乃為替他們死而復活的主活。(林後5:14-15)
Paul deeply understood and
felt the love of Christ for him. This
understanding compelled him to
resolve to live for the One who died
for him. And indeed Paul lived his
entire life for God, from the time he
believed to the time he was martyred.
His life and conduct is truly worthy of
our admiration, for it shows us how
we ought to live for Christ.
保羅深深的認識及感受到基督對祂的愛，
這樣的認識激勵他立志為那替他死的而活，
而確實，從保羅相信的時候到他受難殉道，他用全部的生命為主活，
他的生命和行為真正值得我們的敬佩，因它們告訴我們應該怎麼為主活。
◎martyr殉道 ◎admiration欽佩，讚美
What does it really mean to live for
Christ? If we were attending services
regularly and participating in church
work, does it mean we are already
living for Christ?
什麼是為主活真正的意思？
我們定期參加聚會、參與教會工作，這就代表我們已經有為主活了嗎？
Consider the example of a family
with a disabled person who is unable
to care for himself. In a sense, this
person cannot live for himself, so the
other family members need to live
for him. The design and layout of the
family home, career moves, holiday
plans, future plans, etc. would all have
to be developed with consideration
for this family member. Yet we are
willing to not only give consideration
but priority, to this disabled family
member because we love him or her.
This is the attitude we see in a person
who lives for another.
想想一個例子：有一個家庭，家庭中有個無法照顧自己的殘障人士，就某種意義上來說，他不能為自己活，所以其他家人必須為他活，
家的設計和布局、職業的改換、假日計畫和未來計畫等都必須考慮到他才能訂出來。
然而，因為我們愛這位殘障的家人，我們願意體貼他並優先考慮他，
這是我們從 「一個人為他人而活」所看見的態度。
◎In a sense在某種意義上◎consideration考慮；體貼◎priority優先；優先權
Of course, Christ is greater than we,
and He is not a sick man who needs
us to take care of Him. But when we
are resolved to live for Christ, we will
have similar considerations and give
first priority to Him. Would God be
pleased with what I do? If I do this
particular thing, would I live up to
God’s standard? Would it benefit
the church? If I choose to relocate
overseas for work, who would bring
my non-believing family members to
Christ? If I emigrate, can I sustain the
faith of myself and my family?
當然，基督比我們偉大，他也不是一個需要我們照顧的病人，
但是，當我們立志為基督而活時，我們會同樣的體貼祂並優先考慮祂：
神會喜悅我所做的嗎？如果我做了這件事，是否會遵守神的規範？
會對教會有益嗎？
如果我選擇為工作搬遷海外，誰會帶我未信主的家人來到基督裏？
如果我移居外國，我能維持住自己和家人的信仰嗎？
◎emigrate移居外國(或外地區)
In short, if we are determined to
live for Christ because we are awed
and moved by His great love for us,
faith—ours and that of our family—
would be our central concern.
總之，如果因為敬畏且感動於祂對我們偉大的愛，所以下定決心要為主活，
信仰 ─我們的和我們家人的─
會是我們主要注重的事。
FROM AWE TO ACTION 從敬畏到行動
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
我靈歌唱，讚美救主我神；
?真偉大，何等偉大！
In the well-known and well-loved
hymn, “How Great Thou Art,” the
lyricist describes the wonder of
nature, the moving magnificence of
Christ’s sacrifice, and the glorious
hope of eternal life. These then lead
to the soaring refrain—our soul can
do naught but to tell our Savior how
great He is.
在這首眾所皆知、深受喜愛的詩歌“?真偉大”中，
作詞者描述了大自然之奇妙、基督犧牲之感動人心的高尚和永生的榮耀盼望，
然後進入高昂的副歌─我們的靈魂不能做什麼事，但能告訴我們的救主，祂是多麼偉大。
◎lyricist歌詞作者◎magnificence高尚；莊嚴
This should be the constant refrain
of our days on earth—praising Him
for great and wonderful grace. More
importantly though, when we see and
remember the greatness of God, let us
also fear Him, keep His commandments
with all our heart, give thanks always
to Him, and most importantly, live for
Him.
這應作為我們在世上日子持續不斷唱出的副歌
─讚美祂偉大、奇妙的恩典。
然而，更重要的是，當我們看見並記住神的偉大時，我們也要敬畏祂，用盡全心遵守祂的誡命，常常感謝祂。
而最重要的是，為祂而活。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
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