Daily Devotion||每日靈修

YEAR 1||第一年 YEAR 2||第二年 YEAR 3||第三年 YEAR 4||第四年 YEAR 5||第五年
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書
卷
 Matthew||馬太福音 Mark||馬可福音 Luke||路加福音 John||約翰福音 Deuteronomy||申命記
Genesis||創世記 Exodus||出埃及記 Leviticus||利未記 Numbers||民數記 Ephesians||以弗所書
Acts||使徒行傳 1 Corinthians||哥林多前書 James||雅各書 1 Kings||列王紀上 Philippians||腓立比書
Joshua||約書亞記 2 Corinthians||哥林多後書 1 Samuel||撒母耳記上 2 Kings||列王紀下 Colossians||歌羅西書
Romans||羅馬書 Judges||士師記 2 Samuel||撒母耳記下 Titus||提多書 Philemon||腓利門書
Ruth||路得記 1 Thessalonians||帖撒羅尼迦前書 1 Timothy||提摩太前書 1 John||約翰壹書 1 Chronicles||歷代志上
Jonah||約拿書 2 Thessalonians||帖撒羅尼迦後書 2 Timothy||提摩太後書 2 John||約翰貳書 2 Chronicles||歷代志下
Jude||猶大書 Ezra||以斯拉記 Hosea||何西阿書 3 John||約翰叄書 Hebrews||希伯來書
Nehemiah||尼希米記 Amos||阿摩司書 Jeremiah||耶利米書 Ezekial||以西結書
Daniel||但以理書 Obadiah||俄巴底亞書 Lamentation||耶利米哀歌 Haggai||哈該書
Esther||以斯帖記 Ecclesiates||傳道書 Zechariah||撒迦利亞書
Isaiah||以賽亞書 1 Peter||彼得前書 Habakkuk||哈巴谷書
2 Peter||彼得後書 Nahum||那鴻書
Micah||彌迦書 Zephaniah||西番雅書
Joel||約珥書 Revelation||啟示錄
Malachi||瑪拉基書 Galatians||加拉太書

■Old Testament||■舊約 ■New Testament||■新約

OLD TESTAMENT||舊約 NEW TESTAMENT||新約
Genesis||創世記 Ezra||以斯拉記 Micah||彌迦書 Matthew||馬太福音 1 Timothy||提摩太前書
Exodus||出埃及記 Nehemiah||尼希米記 Nahum||那鴻書 Mark||馬可福音 2 Timothy||提摩太後書
Leviticus||利未記 Esther||以斯帖記 Habakkuk||哈巴谷書 Luke||路加福音 Titus||提多書
Numbers||民數記 Ecclesiates||傳道書 Zephaniah||西番雅書 John||約翰福音 Philemon||腓利門書
Deuteronomy||申命記 Isaiah||以賽亞書 Haggai||哈該書 Acts||使徒行傳 Hebrews||希伯來書
Joshua||約書亞記 Jeremiah||耶利米書 Zechariah||撒迦利亞書 Romans||羅馬書 James||雅各書
Judges||士師記 Lamentation||耶利米哀歌 Malachi||瑪拉基書 1 Corinthians||哥林多前書 1 Peter||彼得前書
Ruth||路得記 Ezekial||以西結書 2 Corinthians||哥林多後書 2 Peter||彼得後書
1 Samuel||撒母耳記上 Daniel||但以理書 Galatians||加拉太書 1 John||約翰壹書
2 Samuel||撒母耳記下 Hosea||何西阿書 Ephesians||以弗所書 2 John||約翰貳書
1 Kings||列王紀上 Joel||約珥書 Philippians||腓立比書 3 John||約翰叄書
2 Kings||列王紀下 Amos||阿摩司書 Colossians||歌羅西書 Jude||猶大書
1 Chronicles||歷代志上 Obadiah||俄巴底亞書 1 Thessalonians||帖撒羅尼迦前書 Revelation||啟示錄
2 Chronicles||歷代志下 Jonah||約拿書 2 Thessalonians||帖撒羅尼迦後書

ERROR: please enter search term.||錯誤：請輸入搜尋關鍵字。

DAY||日

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Ⅰ. Invocation and Adoration||Ⅰ. 禱告與敬拜

  • Invocation Prayer||開始禱告

    "A patient, a victorious mind, a life that all things casts behind, springs forth obedient to Thy call; a heart that no desire can move; but still t'adore, and praise and love, give me, my Lord, my Life, my All." Amen. (George Whitefield 1866-1944)

    「求祢賜我一個忍耐和得勝的意志；一個放下一切，並立刻順服的生命；一個不被慾念搖動，只有敬拜、讚美和愛的心。(祢是)我的主、我的生命、我的一切。」阿們。（George Whitefield 1866-1944）

  • Adoration through reflecting on the Names (or Descriptions) of God藉神的名字來敬拜

    We encourage you to choose one of the names (or descriptions) of God below to reflect on His majesty, goodness and/or grace and translate into a prayer of adoration.

    – Our leader (2 Chron.13:12)

    • Our Mighty One (Isa. 33:21)

    • Our Redeemer (Isa. 47:4)

    • My refuge and strength (Ps. 46:1)

    讓我們每日思想以下其中一個神的名稱（或形容），然後化作禱告，向祂獻上讚美。

    -率領我們的神(代下13:12)

    -威嚴的神(賽33:21)

    -救贖主(賽47:4)

    -我們的力量和避難所(詩46:1)

Ⅱ. Confession||Ⅱ. 認罪

Pause now and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you your sins and ask for forgiveness.

現在停下來，求聖靈光照你，讓你看見自己的罪，並求主饒恕。

Ⅲ. Thanksgiving||Ⅲ. 感恩

List, one by one, things for which you should give thanks.||逐一列出你當感恩的事項。

Ⅳ. Scriptural Reflection||Ⅳ. 經文默想

Ecclesiastes||傳道書 vv.1:1-11
Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below.||請慢慢細心讀經文至少兩遍，然後反復思考問題。

This week, we shall begin study of the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament.

The Book of Ecclesiastes

The title, Ecclesiastes, is taken from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the O.T.) and is a rendition of the Hebrew word, Qohelet, translated as "teacher" in 1:1. "The Greek word Ekklesiastes means 'speaker of a called-out assembly' and is derived from the word ekklesia (1711, NT) which is the NT word translated 'church'" (Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, 774).

Since 1:1 makes plain that this "teacher" is a son of David, king in Jerusalem, and based on the wisdom exhibited in this book, it is generally believed that only Solomon fits this description and hence its author. This book was included in the five Megilloth (scrolls designated to be read publicly in the feasts of Israel) and was read in the synagogue on the third day of the Feast of the Booths.

It is important to take the message of the book as a whole and not on a piece-meal basis, as the author is extremely honest with his despair of life "under the sun" and bares his soul as he observes the futility of life and, in the documentation of his search for the meaning of life, his findings often conflict with biblical conventional wisdom. However, this process of honest struggle eventually leads him back to his conclusion in chapter 12 which is firmly grounded in submission and fear of the Lord.

1:2 — The Thesis of Solomon: v. 2 is not an observation, but a conclusion or thesis of Solomon in his search for meaning under the sun

  1. The word, "meaningless or hebel: "derives from a root word that connotes a breath or a vapor" (Crenshaw, 57). What dimensions does each of these two root meaning point to?
  2. It is generally thought that King Solomon wrote this in his senior years:
    1. Why would Solomon in his senior years make such a remark about life?
    2. Do you think most people in the world would agree? Why or why not?
    3. Do you? Why?

1:3-11 — Support for his thesis

  1. The temporality of men and the permanency of the earth(vv. 3-4)
    1. V. 3 sounds like a rhetorical question, but what is your answer to his question?
    2. Does it therefore mean life is meaningless?
    3. What does Solomon seek to "gain" from his labor so that it will not be meaningless?
    4. What might v. 4 signify about what Solomon seeks to gain?
  2. The perpetual cycle of nature (vv. 5-11)
    1. If one observes the sun, the wind and the streams as Solomon does, should one not be amazed at their "faithfulness"? Should one not be thankful that they stick to their cycles?
    2. Why then would Solomon find their repetition "wearisome"? In what way(s) does Solomon find them wearisome that might echo his rhetorical question in v. 3?
    3. Given the huge strides and advancements made in science and in our discovery of nature in our generation:
      1. How could his statement in v. 10 be true? Or
      2. ii. In what sense it is always true?
    4. How does v.11 echo back to v.4 and serves as an "inclusio" for his thoughts in this section?
  3. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

本週我們會研讀舊約傳道書。

傳道書

「傳道書」之命名是根據舊約聖經的希臘文七十士譯本而來的，取材自書中1:1之希伯來字「Qohelet」，即「傳道者」之意。七十士譯本則繙作「Ekklesiastes」，意思是聚會中的講者；而這字出自「ekklesia」，即「教會」的意思(Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible,774)。

傳道書1:1清楚的指出這「傳道者」正是大衛的兒子，是繼承他作王的；加上書中亦提到他「得了大智慧，勝過……眾人」(1:16)。故此一般相信，作者就是所羅門。這書卷後來與雅歌，路得記，耶利米哀歌和以斯帖記五卷書被用來在以色列的節期公開誦讀的。傳道書是特別在住棚節的第三天被誦讀的。

在研讀傳道書時，我們要從整本書的角度來看，而非單以某小段的信息來領受。因為作者是很誠實的在他追尋「在日光之下」人生意義的過程中，把每一個片段當時的感受寫出來；這就包括當時的疑問、甚至是單從人的角度所得到的答案，誠實的道出；有時是與聖經一般的智慧相違的。但這甚誠實的尋索終於引導他，在最後一章作出順服和敬畏神的總結和肯定。

1:2 所羅門的要論——這節是所羅門在「日光之下」尋索人生意義重複的要論。

  1. 他重複的說：「虛空」——這字原文的字根是「一口氣/breath」或「蒸氣/vapor」之意(Crenshaw,57)。按這兩個字根的意思，所羅門藉此想表明什麼?
  2. 一般解經者都認為所羅門是在晚年寫傳道書的：
    1. 既是如此，為何他在晚年對人生有這樣的感受?
    2. 你認為一般的世人會同意他嗎?
    3. 你同意他嗎？為什麼?

1:3-11 要論的支持

  1. 人的短暫和地的長久(1:3-4)
    1. 他首先發出一個感歎性的問題(1:3)：你會怎樣回答他?
    2. 這是否就證明人生是虛空的?
    3. 所羅門究竟想在勞碌中得到什麼益處?(原文是指「純利」)
    4. 我們從第4節可以稍為明白所羅門要得卻得不到的是什麼?
  2. 循環不息的大自然(1:5-11)
    1. 如果我們像所羅門一樣靜察日頭、風和江河不息的運作，我們豈不因這些的「不改變」而感恩、驚訝嗎？你說對嗎?
    2. 為何所羅門卻因這些而感到「厭煩」?他感到厭煩可與第3節所發的感歎有關嗎?
    3. 今天科學極其發達，我們對大自然的發現極其進步：
      • 所羅門在第10節所說的仍是正確嗎?
      • 從那個角度仍是正確呢?
    4. 第11節怎樣回應第4節來作這小段思想的總結?
  3. 今日你得到的主要提醒是什麼?你會怎樣應用在你的生命中?

Ⅴ. Meditative Reflection: Nothing New Under the Sun||Ⅴ. 靈修默想小篇：日光之下無新事

"All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." (Eccl. 1:8-9)

I find it rather puzzling at first when I read that the perpetually repeated cycles of the sun rising, the wind-blowing and the river-flowing caused Solomon to find them wearisome, to the point that he would use these natural phenomena to justify his claim that life is meaningless. You and I, on the other hand would likely be captivated by every sunrise and are thankful that the cycle is repeated every day without fail. The same with the blowing of the wind which follows a rather seasonal pattern, and the never-depleting ocean on which our lives depend.

However, to Solomon, it appears that he bemoaned the perpetuity of these natural phenomena for two reasons:

  • It serves to remind him of his very temporal existence, and
  • He fails to make sense of such repetitions.

I believe both reasons had to do with his great wisdom.

We know that many ancient kings, because of their established power and wealth, desired longevity. In addition to these, Solomon had great wisdom, far greater than anyone on earth (1 Ki. 4:29ff). Knowing that sooner or later he would die just like anyone else, he bemoaned this very fact of life which he could do nothing to change; so he said, "What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted." (1:15) As a result, he felt that life was meaningless, a chasing after the wind, because, "Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever." (1:4).

Furthermore, as he sought to understand nature and its working, he detected

"the ceaseless activity of the natural world (1:4-7), a constant movement that has no discernible purpose or result" (Crenshaw, 62), and he was frustrated. As wise as he was, and he was able to discern why the wind circulates "round and round" (1:6), his wisdom still had its limitation. He also knew that even if he could discover its purpose and result, "it was here already, long ago; it was here before our time" (1:10). He was only discovering what was there from the beginning. In other words, his great wisdom had led him to come to understand that he was, after all, only a creature with a temporal existence, and could never be the "Eternal Creator".

The rest of the book represents his life-long struggle with these two realities, until he finally accepts his "creatureliness" and submits to "Who God is" and "What he is not".

「萬事令人厭煩，人不能說盡。眼看，看不飽；耳聽，聽不足。已有的事後必再有；已行的事後必再行。日光之下並無新事。」(傳1:8-9)

當讀到所羅門因觀察到日出日落、風的轉動和江河海洋流動的循環時，竟然感到厭煩，我覺得有點兒費解。他甚至以此來證明凡事都是虛空！按常理，當我們每看到日出日落時會感到美好；風和江河流動的規律更叫我們有安全感，知道大自然的可靠（當然該說是神的信實）。為何大自然的規律會使所羅門感到厭煩呢？所羅門作出的解釋是：

  • 這循環不息使他要面對人生短暫的事實；
  • 也叫他看到自己的智慧有限。

是的，他確是大有智慧的人(王上4:30)，更是在耶路撒冷作王的。(1:1)。古今作王的極權者，多有希望尋到長生不老的秘方。這既有極大智慧、權勢和財富的所羅門就因感到自己生命的短促，卻沒有能力去改變這事實，就說：「彎曲的不能變直」(1:15)；再看到大自然的循環不息就感歎的說：「一代過去，一代又來，地卻永遠長存。」(1:4)

不但如此，他欲求明白大自然規律的原委。他「看到大自然循環不息(1:4-7)，卻看不到其目的和結果」(Crenshaw,62)，就感到氣餒。他雖然大有智慧，卻不明白為何風要「轉行原道」(1:6)，這就叫他看到自己的智慧原本有限。他更看到，即使他發現這些大自然運作的目的和結果，他也只不過是發掘了「已有的事……並無新事」(1:10)。他只不過是發現從創世之始已有的事。換句話說，他的大智慧使他明日到自己原來是個渺小的被造物，且有極短暫的生命，決不能與「造物主」相比！

這本書繼續的篇幅就記述了他就這兩個事實的掙扎，直到最後一章才完全的接受神完全的主權，和被造者應盡的本份。

Ⅵ. A Time for Silence||Ⅵ. 靜默時刻

You have meditated much with your intellectual faculty today. Now have a moment of silence (the length is up to you, 5 or even 30 minutes), and ask God quietly, "Lord, is there any important message from you today that I might have missed? Show me, your servant is listening?"||今天你用了不少智力技能來默想。現在，就用一點時間靜下來（長、短由你決定：5或30分鐘），安靜地求問神，「主阿，有甚麼我忽略了的重要信息對我說？請說，僕人敬聽。」

Ⅶ. Supplication||Ⅶ. 代求

Use the following chart to cover people and ministries that you want to remember before the Lord:||除為自己有所求外 (在你禱告簿一一記下所求的，作蒙神應允時的對照) ，請填寫以下為人或事工代禱表格：
  Your Family||家人 Other People||其他人 Church Ministries||教會事工 Other Ministries||其他機構 City & World||本市及普世 Others||其他
SUN||星期日            
MON||星期一            
TUE||星期二            
WED||星期三            
THU||星期四            
FRI||星期五            
SAT||星期六            

Ⅷ. Benediction||Ⅷ. 祝福

"Still heavy is thy heart? Still sink thy spirits down? (May you) cast off the weight, let fear depart, (and) bid every care gone." Amen. (Hymn XI by Gerhardt, adapted)

「你的心仍沉重嗎？你的靈尚低沉嗎？願你捨下重擔，驅除懼怕，不再有任何憂慮。」阿們。(譯自Hymn XI, by Gerhardt, translated by John Wesley)

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