詩篇不僅僅是一本讚美之書，也是一本實驗的輔導手冊。今天你會學到從黑暗進入光明(詩36)，如何處理心懷不平(詩37)，喪失權勢的落寞(詩38-39)，如何仰賴上帝的信實(詩40)，以及對一個不忠信的朋友應有什麼反應(詩41)。

        詩篇四十一篇為詩篇第一卷劃下休止符。它結束這一段的方式和詩篇第一篇開始的方式相同：都提到與上帝連結的人有福了！
        把詩篇四十一篇視為痛苦煎熬中的「讚美金字塔」，看看「人病重在榻，上帝怎樣祝福他」？
                我的仇敵…用腳踢我(5－9)
耶和華啊，求祢憐恤我(4)        耶和華啊，求祢憐恤我(10-12)
眷顧貧窮的有福了(1－3)        耶和華……是應當稱頌(13)
        詩人寫詩的當時正遭疾病或傷口未癒的折磨(詩4l：3)，一開始以第三者描述自己憐憫貧窮和有困難的人(詩4l：l-3)，迅即成為這個灰心喪膽、重病在床的聖徒的懇求：「求祢憐恤我，醫治我」(詩4l：4)，詩人愈默想上帝，就對在困苦時刻中上帝的力量愈有信心。
        如果你今天正好不適或者甚至臥病在床，雖然還沒有完全康復，卻也能經歷到上帝的祝福，用這段令你鬱鬱寡歡的時間默想上帝的恩典，在最近幾個禮拜中，祂是怎樣拯救你、保全你、賜力量給你、扶持你的？不妨和一位親人或醫院的室友分享一些使信心增長的經驗，也許這人正需要你幫助他和你一同讚美上帝呢！

信靠上帝的「要」與「不」！
        詩篇三十七篇中有「八要」和「四不」。你全部能找到嗎？然後用現代的話改寫每一句。(比方說：不要心懷不平＝不要憤怒！倚靠＝完全信賴。)

順境中的讚美是自然的，逆境中的讚美則是珍貴的。

English

        Psalms is not merely a book of praise; it is also a book of practical counsel. Today you will learn how to from darkness to light (36). And how to deal with fretfulness (37) and failing strength (38-39): how to rest in God's faithfulness (40) and respond to a friend's unfaithfulness (41).

        Psalm 41 marks the end of Book 1 of he Psalter It concludes the section in the same way Psalm 1 :ommences it: by talking about the blessed (happy) person who s rightly related to God. Think of Psalm 4 1 as a pyramid of praise in the midst of mguish, a sort of "Hew to Bless the Lord While Bedridden."
                "Mine enemies. . come" (5-9)
"LORD, be merciful" (4)        "LORD, be merciful" (10-12)
"Blessed is he" (1-3)        "Blessed he the LORD" (13)
         The psalmist is suffering from some physical ailment or injury (v. 3). What begins as a third-person description of the man who takes pity on the poor and needy (w. 1-3) soon becomes the plea of a discouraged, bedridden saint: "Be merciful unto me: heal my soul" (v.4). The longer the psalmist meditates on the Lord, the more confident he becomes of God's strength in his hour of need. If you are sick or bedridden today, you can experience God's blessing even in the midst of your recuperation. Instead of moping about your condition, use the time to meditate on the mercies of God. How has God delivered you ... preserved you ... strengthened you ... upheld you in recent weeks? Share a few of those faith-stretching experiences with a family member or hospital roommate. It may be just the encouragement that person needs to help him praise the Lord with you.

Dos and Don'ts of Counting on Cod —
        Psalm 37 contains 8 das and 4 don'fs. Can you find all 12 and give each a modem-day paraphrase? (Example: "Fret not" = Don't get steamed up! "Trust in" = Lean on totally.)

Praise is more spon-taneous when things go right; but it is more precious when things go wrong.