你將我投下深淵，就是海的深處； 大水環繞我，你的波浪洪濤都漫過我身。 我說：我從你眼前雖被驅逐，我仍要仰望你的聖殿。 You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, “I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.”
諸水環繞我，幾乎淹沒我； 深淵圍住我；海草纏繞我的頭。 我下到山根，地的門將我永遠關住。 耶和華我的神啊，你卻將我的性命從坑中救出來。 The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.
我心在我裡面發昏的時候， 我就想念耶和華。 我的禱告進入你的聖殿，達到你的面前。 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.”
你的愛惜(憐憫) vs. 神的愛惜(憐憫) (4:11) => 成為神恩典的管道 => 成為神的器皿
救恩出于耶和華 (2:9) vs. 死于罪惡過犯
葛培理牧師呼吁美國要悔改 on 7/24/2012–
On July 24, 2012, Rev. Billy Graham, 94, posted a new prayer letter on his website saying he's concerned for Americans because of their sinful lifestyle. (Washington, D.C., July 24, 2012) -- America is in grave danger. The massacre in Aurora. The child sex abuse scandal at Penn State. The scourage of abortion and pornography and runaway spending and debt in Washington. The list tragically goes on an on. In "Implosion," I try to document how serious the situation is, and how a Third Great Awakening is the only answer. In this context, I am encouraged by a new open letter to America written by Dr. Billy Graham. He makes some excellent points. Here are excerpts. Please read them, pray over them, and share them with as many as you can.
--------- BILLY GRAHAM LETTER:
Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation's moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, "If God doesn't punish America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah."
She was probably thinking of a passage in Ezekiel where God tells why He brought those cities to ruin. "Now this was the sin of … Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen" (Ezekiel 16:49-50, NIV).
I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.
Just a few weeks ago in a prominent city in the South, Christian chaplains who serve the police department were ordered to no longer mention the Name of Jesus in prayer. It was reported that during a recent police-sponsored event, the only person allowed to pray was someone who addressed "the being in the room." Similar scenarios are now commonplace in towns across America. Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone-except God.
Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control.
My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance. In Jonah's day, Nineveh was the lone world superpower-wealthy, unconcerned, and self-centered. When the Prophet Jonah finally traveled to Nineveh and proclaimed God's warning, people heard and repented.
I believe the same thing can happen once again, this time in our nation. It's something I long for, and my son Franklin recently shared a vision for perhaps the greatest challenge in the history of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association-to launch an outreach called My Hope with Billy Graham that would bring the Gospel into neighborhoods and homes in every corner of America next year.
