僕人的眼睛怎樣望主人的手，我的眼睛也照樣望耶和華─我的神(詩一廿三2)
“As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master….. so our eyes look to the Lord our God” (Psalm 123:2)
僕人之歌（Ⅰ）
THE SERVANT SONG (1)
經文: 以賽亞書 四二 1~25
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 42: 1 - 25
釋義: 由本章開始至五三章，以賽亞寫了四首「僕人之歌」（四二、四九、五十、五二）。「僕人之歌」。有些「僕人」的描述是指先知本人，部分經文乃論以色列人、將來的彌賽亞、甚至波斯王古列。四一章介紹古列是耶和華所召而興起的僕人，為救贖以色列脫離巴比倫的拯救者；然而本章為僕人，卻要將全世界從罪的監牢裡釋放出來（7）。本章第一段應驗在基督身上（太十二18-21），所以先知所論的僕人預表神的義僕耶穌。
Insight: From this chapter on to chapter 53, Isaiah has written four ‘Servant Songs’ (chapter 42, 49, 50, and 52). In these ‘Servant Songs’, some description of the ‘servant’ refers to the prophet himself; and some of the scripture talks about the Israelites, the Messiah that is to come, and even the Persian king Cyrus. Chapter 41 talks about Cyrus being a servant that God calls and raises up to be the redeemer to deliver the Israelites from Babylon; yet the servant in this chapter will free the whole world from being a prisoner of sin (7). The first section of the chapter is fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 12:18-21); thus, the servant of whom the prophet is speaking of here is a symbol of Jesus, God’s righteous servant.
- 「他」－僕人的描述{1~9} — 本段的主詞是男性第三身單數的「他」，毫無疑問是指僕人： 言行溫柔：不強詞咄咄逼人、為人留餘地清楚蒙召：憑公義召你 (6)；明確目標：傳揚公理(1,3)；聖靈充滿(1,5)；堅強忍耐(4)。
- [He] – Description of the servant (1-9) — The subject in this passage is the singular third person pronoun for male - “he”, no doubt it’s referring to the servant:
- Gentle and soft spoken: Not pushy or aggressive, make provision for others to save face .
- Sure of being called: Called in righteousness (6)
- With a clearly defined goal: Bringing forth justice (1, 3)
- Filled with the Holy Spirit (1, 5)
- Fearless and Steadfast (4)
- 「他們」－僕人的對象(10~17) — 上段指出僕人蒙召，是要向外邦人傳福音。本段進一步說明這些外邦人分佈全世界，因聖經視海島是以色列國的西邊遠方；地極指超越亞述、巴比倫的東方地域。加上附近的曠野、基達、西拉等鄰近地方，可以說，僕人要將福音傳遍世界遠近各地。
- [They] – Service target of the servant (10-17) The passage above states that the servant is called in order to preach the Gospel to the gentiles. This passage further indicates that these gentiles are all over the world – the Bible considers coastlands on the far end west of Israel; the end of the earth refers to the region beyond Assyria and Babylon in the east; with the deserts nearby, Kedar, Sela, and the surrounding area included, we can draw the conclusion that the servant is to spread the gospel to all nations in the whole world.
- 「我」－僕人的自白(14~17) — 本段的「我」不是正在發言的以賽亞，因為僕人將要成就的作為絕非先知力所能逮。這彌賽亞僕人宣告福音的核心信息：「這些事我都要行，並不離棄他們。」
- [I] – Self-disclosure of the servant (14-17) The “I” in this passage is not Isaiah that is speaking, because what the servant is to achieve is way beyond the prophet’s capability. The servant here represents the Messiah, proclaiming the core message: “These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them”.
- 「你們」－僕人的呼籲 — 篇僕人之歌的主題，從前面「他」、「他們」、「我」三段的小結(8,10~12,17)，都很清楚說明僕人的存在，最主要的目標是以身作則，帶領世人榮耀神。
- [You] (plural) – The plead of the servant — Based on the three summaries in the “he”, “they”, and “I” passages (8, 10-12, 17), it is clear that the theme of this servant song is to point out that the primary goal for the existence of the servant is to lead by example in bringing people to glorify God.
- 本段「你們」眾多的僕人是以色列民族，他們卻不像上文介紹的那模範僕人。「他」開瞎子的眼(7), 「我」要引瞎子行不認識的道(16)，而「你們」這些僕人卻盲得無人能及(18~19)。他們眼瞎，不是功能缺陷，乃不用心：看見許多事，卻不領會(20)；而原因是不肯留心聽從神話語的訓誨(20,23~24)。
- The [you] (many servants) in this passage is referring to the people of Israel. However, they are not like the model servant introduced earlier. “He” opens the eyes that are blind (7); “I” will lead the blind in a way that they do not know (16); yet “you” (these servants) are so blind that no one is worse (18-19). They are blind, not because of functional defects but a lack of interest and attention. They see many things, but do not observe them (20), because they are unwilling to listen attentively to God’s word and teaching (20, 23-24).
大衛‧李文斯敦對格拉斯高大學(Glasgow University)的學生演講時, 提到在非洲患重病三十多次, 又和獅子搏鬥, 跟著他問: 「你們可不可以告訴我, 面對這麼多痛苦和困難, 為什麼我繼續留在非洲工作? 」他停頓一會, 自己回答: 「是主的應許: 『我就常與你們同在, 直到世界的末了』這應許支持我繼續在該地工作。」
During a speech to the students at Glasgow University, David Livingstone mentioned that he had gotten seriously ill for more than 30 times and had wrestled with lions. Then he asked, ‘Can you tell me why I continue to work in Africa despite so much suffering and difficulties?’ He paused for a moment and answered it himself, ‘It’s the Lord’s promise - “I am with you always, to the end of the age” - that supports me to continue to work there.’
神今日尋找願意這樣學效基督的僕人, 你怎樣回應?
God is looking for servants willing to imitate Christ in the same way. How will you respond?
每日讀經 by 洪同勉牧師 Rev. Tommy Hung
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