约翰·派博 ▍温柔人的样子



温柔的人有福了！因为他们必承受地土。《马太福音》5：5

耶稣所说的温柔不是人为了自身的原因而在行为上发生的改变，或者个性上的变化。主祷文中的第一句祷文“愿人都尊你的名为圣！”体现了登山宝训的中心思想。这是我们主一生尽心竭力的目标，因此，这也应是我们一生的激情所在。我们必须要问：“温柔与荣耀上帝有何关系？”“变得温柔和成为一个温柔的人如何能让人更加尊上帝的名为圣？”

要回答这个问题，我们必须首先认识到：温柔是一种极美的德行，但温柔往往是以痛苦为代价的。

诗篇37章5-9节：5）当将你的事交托耶和华，并倚靠他，他就必成全。6）他要使你的公义如光发出，使你的公平明如正午。7）你当默然倚靠耶和华，耐性等候他。不要因那道路通达的和那恶谋成就的心怀不平。8）当止住怒气，离弃忿怒；不要心怀不平，以致作恶。9）因为作恶的必被剪除，惟有等候耶和华的必承受地土。

让我们试着把这几节经文合起来描绘出一幅温柔人的形象。

1

他们倚靠上帝

温柔的人必须先倚靠上帝。诗篇37:5“当将你的事交托耶和华，并倚靠他，他就必成全。”他们相信，当有人抵挡他们时，上帝会为他们辩护和开路。属神的温柔根植于确信，相信上帝是为你好，而非反对你。

2

他们将自己的道路交托给上帝

温柔的人将自己的道路交托给耶和华。诗篇37:5“当将你的事交托耶和华，并倚靠他，他就必成全。”希伯来文中的“交托”直译的意思为“卷拢(roll)”。温柔的人已经知道上帝是可靠的，所以他们卷拢他们的“道路”――生意、问题、关系、健康、恐惧和挫折，他们将这一切卷拢交托给耶和华。他们承认自己无力解决生命中的难题、压力和困难；他们相信上帝能够，也愿意坚固、带领和保护他们。

3

他们安静等候上帝

诗篇37:7“你当默然倚靠耶和华，耐性等候他。不要因那道路通达的和恶谋成就的心怀不平。”温柔的人在耶和华面前是安静或平稳的，他们耐心等候他。首先，他们知道上帝是可靠的；其次，他们将自己的道路交托给他；最后，他们在生活中耐心等候上帝的工作。

这并不是说他们变得懒惰，而是指他们从怒气中得解脱。由于认识了全能的上帝，他们拥有了一种平静安稳；他们的一切事物都在上帝的掌控之下；上帝是有恩慈的上帝，会给他们最好的。温柔的人可以在生活的剧变中保持平静安稳。

4

他们不对作恶的心怀不平

诗篇37:7“你当默然倚靠耶和华，耐性等候他。不要因那道路通达的和恶谋成就的心怀不平。”他们不因作恶的道路通达就心怀不平。或者，就像诗篇37:8“当止住怒气，离弃愤怒；不要心怀不平，以致作恶。”他们止住怒气，他们的家庭、工作和生活都在上帝至高无上的主权下；他们信靠上帝；他们耐心和安静地等候他，要看他的大能和良善将如何解决事情。这样，挫败、苦难和敌对者就不会在在他们生命中制造出苦毒、愤怒和狂暴――而这一切在人群中却是多么常见。

我们描绘出的温柔的形象来自圣经中与第三福最相似的描写（诗37:11“但谦卑人必承受地土，以丰盛的平安为乐。”从倚靠上帝开始；然后以信心把事交托给耶和华，相信他会用大能和怜悯为我们成就美好的事；接着，是耐心和安静地等候结果；最后，当面对反对和阻碍时不给怒气和狂暴留地步。

从《诗篇》第37章对温柔的初步描摹，我们已经可以很清楚地知道温柔与上帝非常有关系。它在脱离狂暴怒气的平静自由中，在信靠上帝的基础上，将所有的事交托给上帝，并耐心地等候他。温柔与上帝之间密不可分。

英文原文

A Portrait Of The Meek

by John Piper

【1】TheyTrust inGod

Meek people beginby trusting God (verse5b). They believe that he will work for them andvindicate them when othersoppose them. Biblical meekness is rooted in the deepconfidence that God is foryou and not against you.

【2】They CommitTheir Way to God

Next, meek peoplecommit their way tothe Lord (verse 5a). The Hebrew word for "commit"means literally to"roll." Meek people have discovered that God istrustworthy, and sothey roll their "way"—their business, their problems, theirrelationships,their health, their fears, their frustrations—they rollall this onto the Lord. They admit that they areinsufficient to cope with thecomplexities and pressures and obstacles of life,and they trust that God isable and willing to sustain them and guide them andprotect them.

【3】They Are QuietBefore God and Wait for Him

Next, according toverse 7a, meek peopleare quiet or still before the Lord and wait patiently forhim. First, theydiscover that God can be trusted. Then, second, they committheir way to him.And then, third, they wait patiently in stillness for thework of God in theirlives.

This doesn't meanthey become lazy. Itmeans that they're free of frenzy. They have a kind ofsteady calm that comesfrom knowing that God is omnipotent, that he has theiraffairs under hiscontrol, and that he is gracious and will work things out forthe best. Meekpeople have a quiet steadiness about their lives in the midst ofupheaval.

【4】They Don't Fret over the Wicked

And so the fourththing about them (inverse 7b) is that they don't fret themselves over thewicked who prosper intheir way. Or, as verse 8 says, they refrain from anger.Their family and workand life are in God's sovereign hands; they trust him;they wait patiently andquietly to see how his power and goodness will workthings out; and so thesetbacks and obstacles and opponents of life do notproduce the kind ofbitterness and anger and fretfulness that is so commonamong men.

So the portrait wehave of meekness sofar, based on the the closest biblical parallel (in Psalm37:11) to the thirdbeatitude, is that it begins by trusting God. Then itcommits its way to theLord in the confidence that he will use his power andmercy to do good for us.Then it waits patiently and quietly for the outcome.And, finally, it does notgive way to anger and fretfulness when faced withopposition and set backs.

So it is clearalready, in thispreliminary sketch from Psalm 37, that meekness has very muchto do with God. Itconsists in a peaceful freedom from fretful anger and isbased on trusting Godand rolling all our ways onto God and waiting patientlyfor God. Meekness hasvery much to do with God.

作者简介

约翰•派博（John Piper），德国慕尼黑大学神学博士，曾执教于伯特利神学院，现为明尼亚波利斯市伯特利浸信会的主任牧师。

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