Longing to Get Out of a Mess

Study Notes

Modern Longings – Ancient Words  Longing to Get Out of a Mess

Psalm 40

     In my final sermon series as your Sr. Pastor, I’ve been turning to Bible texts and to topics that have had a significant formative effect on my life.  That is most certainly true of Psalm 40.  For over 25 years, that Psalm has provided a general guide for how I seek to deal with those times in my life when I feel I’m in a situation in which I just don’t know what to do next.  Maybe you’re in one of those right now.

     As Psalm 40 opens, we find the powerful King David of Israel remembering back to a time when, using his words, he had been in a “slimy pit”, one filled with “mud and mire” (v. 2a). This picture I found might help you envision his situation

     This phrase translated “slimy pit” was one that referred to a desperate situation in which people don’t know what to do or where to go. And, even if they do think they know where to go next, they have no power to go there.  They’re stuck!  Powerful and influential people like a king usually don’t want to admit that they’re in places like that.  Many of us have learned to put on a show to those around us that makes it seems to others that we’re in control, often because we don’t want to look like we’re weak.  But, even Israel’s most influential king had found himself in “slimy pit situations” over and over again in his life.      

     I’m glad that David did not tell us what the specific situation was that he remembered in this Psalm because it gives us freedom to apply it to many situations we find ourselves in. Here are some of his slimy-pit-situations:

• Being in the wrong place at the wrong time – like when David was a young man playing a harp to serve King Saul -- and the king irrationally turned against him and tried to kill him; or,
• Messes of his own making – like last week’s message from Ps 51 that Pastor Jeff preached. It was written when David had sinned grievously by committing adultery, by lying and even by taking a human life. David had been found out and didn’t know whether God would restore him; or,
• A target of unscrupulous enemies – like the times when David’s sons and his closest advisors turned against him and tried to overthrow him; or,
• Serious sickness – Like David wrote about in Ps 38. He didn’t know if he would ever recover; or,
• Perplexing life-decisions – like when David was old and in 1 Kings 1-2 had to decide whether to turn over his crown to his son Absalom.

     Have you ever found yourselves in any of those kinds of slimy pit situations – or, in maybe in more than one of them at one time or another?  I have.  And, I have found practical guidance in Ps 40 about how God would have us to seek him in the midst of those times.

     David often wrote Psalms while he was in those situations.  In most of those Psalms, David started with the mess he was in and then wrote about how he turned to the Lord. But, in Ps 40, David started by writing about an earlier time in his life when he had been in a deep mess and had experienced the deliverance of God.  That’s vv. 1-10.  Only after remembering God’s salvation in the past did David write about the mess he currently was in.  That’s vv. 11-17. So, let’s start where he started, remembering what God had done in the past:

The God Who Delivers People from Slimy Pits (40:1-10) The LORD turned to me, heard my cry, lifted me out, set my feet on a rock, and put a new song in my mouth…

     Do you see the point of these first 3 verses? What the powerful and influential king could not do on his own, God did.  And David’s gratitude for God’s rescue changed his life .  Look at David’s words:

• He recognized that the rescue was all God’s work – David owned up to the fact that he could not rescue himself. Apart from God, he was in a helpless and hopeless situation.  “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord” he declares in v. 4 – not in proud people who think they are powerful; not in any kind of false god, not in a self-help book.  “Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done (v. 5)!”
• He grasped an essential lesson about God – He learned that God is a God of grace. So, David neither had to be perfect to warrant God’s salvation nor did he have to bring tribute to God to earn it .  No, what God wanted was to have David entrust himself in faith to Him.  Listen to David’s words and make them your own:

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire — Burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.

Then I said, “Here I am, I have come — I desire to do your will, my God (40:6-8).”

• He gave witness to God being his Savior -- I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly…; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help ( 40:9-10).

     When you read vv. 4-10, you may think, “This man has gotten it!  David has become a devoted man of faith in God.  David surely will never be shaken by any slimy pit situations that might happen in his life again!”  Well, if you think that, then think again.  This brings us to the second half of the Psalm.

The Human Being Who Finds Himself in Another Slimy Pit (40:11-17).  Troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me… They are more than the hairs of my head… Save me, LORD!

     In the slimy-pit-situation of vv. 1-10, we don’t know exactly what David’s problem was.  But, in the present tense situation that led to him writing Ps 40, we know the problem, i.e., David had sinned again. In fact, the way he put it in v.12 was that his sins had caught up with him. Some scholars think that in Ps 40:1-10, David remembered back to the time when he had sinned with Bathsheba and felt all was lost but then experienced God’s forgiveness – and that in 40:11-17, he tells of a time later in life when he had fallen into sin yet again. 

     I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that David confesses in v. 12 that his sins again are serious.  And, even as David was wrestling with his own moral and ethical failure, he was at the same time being attacked by enemies who mocked him, wanted to ruin his life and even to take his life -- as you can read about in vv. 14-15.

     What I want you to notice this weekend is that there is a way that David approached being in the slimy pit situation in Ps 40 that ultimately led to him finding his way back to God. This is what I saw when I read this Psalm back in 1992 as I was in a hospital bed not knowing what was next.  As I read what David did in Ps 40, I saw that he 1) slowed down, 2) remembered what God had done in a similar situation in the past and then 3) asked, i.e., David asked God again to, like in vv. 1-3, turn to him, to hear his cry, to lift him out of the mess, to set his feet one more time on a rock, and to put a new song in his mouth. 

     That formula is what I have found to be life-directing in slimy-pit-situations.  With that in mind, I want to put before you this formula that I’ve labelled –

What to Do in a Slimy Pit

Step 1: Slow Down –

     A person who gets caught in quicksand often frantically struggles to get out – and discovers that frenetic struggling only makes things worse. 

     The same is true of a slimy-pit-situation. When David was in the time of trouble we read about in vv. 11-17, he may have wanted to run, or to panic or to hide. But, rather than reacting in those ways, he slowed down to do all the things we read about in vv. 1-10. 

     Slowing down when a crisis hits does not come naturally to most of us – certainly not to me.  For some, the normal tendency in slimy pit times an intense emotional reaction like: panic, anxiety, paranoia or angry outbursts.  Those kinds of emotional reactions rarely help get you out of the mess.

     For others, we try to fix things fast – with our own wit and strength.  I know that’s what I tend to try to do.  But, as was the case with David, tough human predicaments rarely fix fast.  I think we learn from David that there is a time to slow down – even stop for a while – until you can gain perspective on the situation and seek wisdom for what to do.  Personally, I find that to slow down, I need to find a time – at least a moment or two – to be silent and, if possible, to find a place of solitude – in order to calm my soul.

     When I take the time to slow down, I often find that Pastor’s Jeff’s first point from last week’s sermon become a part of my thinking, i.e., what he called self-awareness.  I realize that my problem is not only things happening to me but things happening in me.  That’s what happened to David in v. 12. It happens to me too.  I open my eyes to my own sins and failures and confess those to the Lord.  I make sure I am right with Him.

     But, after you slow down, then what?

Step 2: Remember (Hebrew, “zakar”)

     There is a very important Hebrew word that I do not want you to forget.  It is the word “zakar”, meaning to remember.  So, please don’t forget to remember. 

     In all the difficult times of Israel’s life, God had shown up and had rescued them.  When he did, what God would tell them to do is to remember that he was always present – and to remember that he is a God who rescues people out of slimy pits.  In Ps 40, from the midst of a slimay pit of his own making, David remembered God and what God had done in his life – and applied what he remembered to his current difficult situation.

     So, “zakar” is more than just bringing something to mind.  “Zakar” is taking a memory, meditating on it, and then applying it to your current situation. Pastor Jeff mentioned that too last weekend when, in his 2^nd point, he called us to bring to mind the knowledge of God and God’s ways, i.e., both who God is and what he asks of us.  Remember that he is the one who forgives sinners, who lifts failures out of slimy pits, who puts our feet on a rock and gives a new beginning and restores joy to our inner beings.  That’s what David did.  Learn to do it.

Step 3: Ask

     With your mind remembering who God is and what he does, then you are indeed ready to pray.  And, let me tell you, you will pray as you rarely have – with fervor, and specificity and hope.  Your prayer  will be like Jesus’s was when he was in a time in which, in human eyes, there was no way out.  He prayed, “Father, my prayer is that this cup of crucifixion will pass from me.  But, your will, Father.  Not mine (Lk 22:42).” 

     The Book of James tells us that sometimes we do not have because we do not ask.  I’ll tell you, when you remember that God does what Ps 40:1-3 says he does, you will not fail to ask.  Here is David’s “ask”:  Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me (40:13).

(Wait, Wait)

     One striking thing about Ps 40 is that, when it ends, David is still in the slimy pit.  Did you notice the last verse?  “You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay (40:17)”. David still had to wait to receive God’s provision.  I imagine it was hard for him to wait.  When we human beings ask, we often want immediate answers – even immediate gratification.  However, that’s not what we should expect from the Lord.

     Learning to wait on God’s timing is an important part of genuine faith.  In fact, the three Psalms leading up to Ps 40 call us to learn to wait.  And, the opening verse of Ps 40 is a testimony to a time when David had waited for the Lord – and found it to be worth the wait.  Indeed, a paraphrase of the Hebrew in v. 1 might be something like, “Back when I was in another slimy pit and desperately wanted out, I waited, waited, waited upon the Lord. And, in his perfect time, he reached to me, heard me, and rescued me.”

     As a long-time follower of Jesus, I tell you that this has often been my experience.  In slimy pit situations, I want you to learn to wait in faith – to wait with hope and to live in obedience to God as you wait.

Step 4: Act

     I have found that, when I’m in those slimy-pit-situations, I want to know everything about getting out of it.  But, my experience is that in those times I often am aware of at least one small thing I should be doing as I wait.  I find that, when I do that small thing, I almost always discover at least one more small step God would have me take.  And, with his help, I do that too – and continue to until I see more fully how he will lift me out of the pit.

     I confess to you that following these steps does not come naturally to me. Because of that, in that step 1 of slowing down, I find that, for me, doing what David did has to be an intentional, consciously chosen spiritual discipline.  I imagine that was true for David too.  As I was discussing this with several colleagues this past week, they encouraged me to share a story of how this spiritual discipline has played out in my life.  So, I will. I’ve decided to take you back to that hospital bed when this Psalm took on new meaning for me.

     It happened 25 years ago, after I had experienced repeated episodes of pancreatic attacks over a 3-year period.  So, it was a time not unlike what David wrote about in Ps 38 (which I encourage you to read).  The attacks were becoming more frequent and more debilitating.  When the worst hit in August 1994, I was pretty sure that there was no medical solution for my condition.  Our church had also prayed fervently for me – and we had called for what James 5 tells a church to do when someone is seriously sick, i.e., the elders of my church came to the hospital, anointed me with oil and prayed for God to heal me.   

     I recall that, in the midst of the pancreatic pain, I was quite anxious, and I remember crying out to the Lord for relief.  It was in one of those moments that I read Ps 40 and told the Lord I was in a slimy pit and did not know what to do.  I decided to do what David did, i.e., to remember other difficult times in my life when God made his presence real to me. I could remember many times when I had lost hope, but that God had come – and changed things.  I asked him to do it again.  Like David did, I told God that I would seek to give witness to him in the hospital as I waited on him and that I would trust him no matter what transpired. I remember specifically asking God to show me one step he would have me take.

     I knew that the team of gastroenterologists treating me was going to meet together to discuss my case.  One of them, the doctor I had become closest to, came in to confer with Chris and me after their meeting.  He told me that the team could not agree on what to do in my case.  But, he said that they all agreed that my body would not withstand another attack.  Then, he said that he had discovered an experimental treatment.  He told us that his colleagues would not recommend it to us – but that he felt it might be my best hope.  He said, “Are you willing to take one step in that direction and talk with the doctor who is doing these procedures?” “One step?” I asked.  “One step,” he said.  So, I took that one step. 

     That first step led to many other steps – and it involved a lot of waiting.  But, as you know, here I am.  It’s been almost exactly 25 years since I last had a pancreatic attack.  I say, “God heard my cry.  He lifted me out of that hospital bed and he has given me a new sermon to preach – and many songs of praise!

     It doesn’t always work out that way.  God’s ways are not ours. But, I have found that this basic formula I have outlined for you is a good way to walk with the Lord in this world that seems to be filled with slimy pit situations.  I could have also told you the story of how, in my first year as a university president, I discovered how bad the financial condition was at the school.  Then, I was told that a team from our bank was going to come visit to address the situation – and the bank president was coming with the team!  To say the least, I was anxious and did not know what to do. So, I slowed down… I remembered… (I’ll tell you the rest of that story someday in another sermon.)

     And, as I’m sure you already imagine, just like King David, I’ve been in many slimy pit situations because of my own poor choices.  And, I’ve learned to follow the same process, one that calls for confession and repentance as a part of the slowing down and remembering.

     So, today, I want to end the service by giving you the chance to apply this spiritual discipline: to slow down and bring any slimy pit situation you may have in your life to God today.  I’ll put the Psalm 40 formula in front of you so that I might walk through it with you now…

Chinese Study Notes

远古的话语—今天的渴望

渴望摆脱困境

诗篇 40

      作为你们的主任牧师，在我最后的讲道系列中，我查考那些对我生命有显著影响的圣经经文和主题，我感到诗篇40就是这样一个。在超过25年的时间里，当我对下一步不知所措的时候，这首诗常常给我清楚的引导，让我得以面对生命中的那些困难时刻。或许你现在也陷入某种困境中……

            诗篇一开始，我们看到以色列的大能国王大卫在回顾他生命中的惨痛时刻，他在2节用“祸坑和淤泥”来描述，这张画可以帮助你理解他的处境:

      用泥沼来表达可以让我们想象那种不知所措、走投无路的绝望处境---就算人知道往哪里去，但却无能为力，像陷在泥中一样。有能力和影响的人物比如国王，常常不愿意承认这样的经历，我们也喜欢在朋友圈报喜不报忧，不愿展现自己软弱的一面；但以色列最有能力的王却述说自己生命中曾一次次深陷泥里。

      我很庆幸大卫没有告诉我们他提及的是何种具体困境，这让我们有空间应用到我们自身，事实上，以下是大卫生命中经历过的一些泥沼：

• 在错误时间和错误地点—大卫年轻时曾为扫罗王弹琴，而王大怒转而要杀他；
• 自作自受—上周日杰夫牧师讲到诗篇50，描述了大卫犯了通奸罪、又用谎言掩盖，甚至谋害人命。大卫被揭露后没有平安，不知神是否会赦免；
• 成为众矢之的—甚至他的儿子和最亲近的人都倒戈要推翻他；
• 严重的疾病—在诗篇30，大卫不知道自己能否痊愈；
• 困惑的决定—列王记上1-2章讲到大卫年老时不得不考虑是否让位给押沙龙……

      你有没有发现自己正在这样一种泥沼的处境？或许你有过一次或几次上述经历？我有过！但我已经在诗篇40的实践性导引中发现：神要我们在这些时刻去寻求他。

     大卫在这样的处境中常常会写诗，他以自己的困境开始，写他如何转向神。但在诗篇40，大卫却先写了早期遭遇的困境以及所经历的神的拯救（1-10节）；在记念了神以往的救恩之后，大卫才写到面前的困境（11-17节）。现在让我们按顺序从头开始，记念神在过去所做的。

拯救人脱离泥沼的神 (40:1-10) 他垂听我的呼求，他从祸坑里，从淤泥中，把我拉上来，使我的脚立在磐石上，使我脚步稳当。 他使我口唱新歌，就是赞美我们神的话  ……  

你们看到头三节的重点了么？一个有能力和影响的王所不能做的，神能够做。大卫于是感谢神对自己生命的拯救，看看大卫的话：

• 他认识到拯救完全是神的工作–大卫坦承他不能救自己；没有神，他就没有盼望和盼望之地。他在4节宣告说：“倚靠耶和华，这人便为有福”—不是依靠那些自以为有能力的骄傲人，不是依靠假神，也不是依靠自我救赎，大卫呼吁： “耶和华我的神啊，你所行的奇事 (v.5)!”
• 他抓住了关于神的重要功课–他学到了神是有恩典的神，大卫不需要成为完全人才能得到神的拯救，也不需要向神贡献什么去挣得救恩。不，神所要大卫的是信靠他。听听大卫自己所说的: 祭物和礼物你不喜悦，你已经开通我的耳朵，燔祭和赎罪祭非你所要。那时我说：“看哪，我来了，我的事在经卷上已经记载了。 我的神啊，我乐意照你的旨意行，你的律法在我心里。” (40:6-8)
• 他为拯救他的神做见证-- 我在大会中宣传公义的佳音… 我在大会中未曾隐瞒你的慈爱和诚实 (40:9-10)。

     当你读4-10节的时候，你会想：“这人已经得着了，大卫成了一个信靠神的虔诚人；即使生命中再有泥沼，大卫也必定不会动摇！”让我们要先看诗歌第二部分，然后你再想想。

发现自己又在另一个泥沼中 (40：11-17)  无数的祸患围困我，我的罪孽追上了我，使我不能昂首。这罪孽比我的头发还多，我就心寒胆战 !

      我们并不完全知道大卫在1-10节所说的泥沼处境，但我们知道他写诗篇40时遇到的问题：他又一次犯罪，12节他说自己的罪追上了他。有学者认为，1-10节可能是大卫回忆他与拔示巴犯通奸罪后经历了神的赦免；而11-17节则是他讲述之后自己又一次犯罪的情形。

      我不知道这解释是否对，但我知道他在12节表达的是，他的罪很严重；而且在他为自己的道德伦理失败而挣扎的时候，他被敌人攻击嘲笑，甚至被追命，你可以从14-15节读到。

     这个周末我盼望你们知道，大卫在泥沼之中的出路就是最终领他回归神的路。1992年，当我躺在医院里不知明天如何的时候，我读这首诗就有这样的感悟 1）放慢；2）记念神在你过去相似的环境中的作为；3）求问神，就像大卫一遍遍求问，比如1-3节：耐性等候耶和华，他垂听我的呼求。
他从祸坑里，从淤泥中，把我拉上来，使我的脚立在磐石上，使我脚步稳当。 他使我口唱新歌。

            这就是我在泥沼处境中找到的生命指引公式。我想告诉你我标注的公式 –

在泥沼中怎么做

放慢        记念            求问            （等候、等候）    行动

第一步: 放慢–

       人一旦陷入流沙就会拼命挣扎解脱，但很快就发现越挣扎越糟糕

      在泥沼环境中的人也是如此。当大卫在11-17节的困境中，他也许想跑，或害怕得躲起来，但他没有，他放慢节奏做了1-10节的所有事。

      当危机来临时，放慢节奏对我们大多数人而言不可理喻，至少我不会。通常情况下，人在泥沼中的正常反应是：慌张、焦虑、偏执或发怒，但这些情绪反应对我们脱离困境几乎没有帮助。

      对另一些人来说，想用自己的聪明和力量速战速决，这就是我常常想做的，但就如大卫的例子，人类的困局岂有速效药？我从大卫所学的就是放慢节奏，甚至暂时停摆，直到我们能认清环境，找到应付的智慧。个人来说，我需要慢下来，我需要时间，至少一些安静时间，如果可能的话，最好有一个独处的地方，让我的灵魂安静。

                  当我花时间慢下来时，我非常认同杰夫牧师上周讲道的第一点，就是他说的自省。我发现我的问题不仅是外部事情临到我，还有我自己里面的事，大卫在12节所描述的也发生在我身上。我睁开眼看见自己的罪和失败，我向神承认，我要确定神与我同在。

    你放慢节奏后，接下来要怎样呢？

第二步: 记念

     记念在希伯来语境是一个重要的词，我也要你记住，它包含回忆的意思，不要忘了回忆过去。

     在以色列人所有的困境中，神都显现拯救了他们。他这样做是告诉他们要记念他的同在—记念他是拯救他们脱离泥沼的那一位。诗篇40，大卫在自己制造的泥沼中记念神和神在他生命中的作为，并应用到他目前困境。

      记念不只是回忆，还有反思、应用的含义。杰夫牧师在他的第二点也提到了，他呼召我们记念神的话和神的道，记念神是谁以及他要我们做什么。记住他是赦免罪的那一位，是救你出离失败泥沼的那一位，是把你的脚放在岩石上、给你新的开始并恢复我们内在人喜乐的那一位。这就是大卫所做的，我们也要学着做。

第三步: 寻求

      记住神是谁和他的作为，你接下来就需要祷告，不要照你以往的方式，而是要带着激情、需要和盼望，要效法耶稣，当时他的处境从人看已经没有出路，但他祷告：“父啊！你若愿意，就把这杯撤去！然而，不要成就我的意思，只要成就你的意思（路22：42）。”

      雅各书告诉我们，有时我们没有是因为我们没有求。如果你记得神在诗40：1-3节的作为，你就知道你的祷告不会落空，这就是大卫所求的：耶和华啊，求你开恩搭救我！耶和华啊，求你速速帮助我（40：13）！

(等候、等候)

      诗篇40的一大看点就是诗篇结束时，大卫仍在泥沼中。你注意到最后一句话么：“你是帮助我的，搭救我的，神啊，求你不要耽延！（40：17）”大卫仍然要等候神的帮助，我猜这是个艰难的过程。当我们求的时候，常盼望立即应允，甚至立即心想事成，但这不应该是我们对神祷告的期待。

      学会等候神的时间是真信仰的重要一部分，事实上我们所看的三首诗都呼吁我们学习等候。诗篇40一开始就是大卫等候神的见证，他发现了等候是值得的。事实上，第一节的希伯来意思可以译作：“回顾我以前深陷泥沼绝望的时候，我等候、等候，等候神；在神的最好时刻，他来到我身边，听我的祷告并拯救了我。”

     作为长时间的信徒，我告诉你们，这也是我的经历。身处泥沼的时候，我要你们学习等候的功课，并在等候的时候，带着盼望并活出顺服。

第四步:行动

     我发现，当我在那些泥沼困境中，我想抓住所有的机会逃离，但我的经验告诉我，我常常需要做一件小事，那就是等候。当我做这件小事的时候，我常发现神要我至少走一小步。在他的帮助下，我照做的时候，就得以继续往下走，直到我看见他是如何领我走出泥沼的。

      我要承认，我并不是自然而然就做到这些的。比如第一步放慢节奏，我发现要效法大卫就必须有意识地选择属灵操练，我想大卫一定也是如此。当我与一些同工谈及此事，他们鼓励我分享我生命中的一个故事，即这样的属灵操练对摆脱困境有什么作用。我决定带你们回到我住院的时候，那次我发现了这首诗对我的新意义。

      25年前，我曾持续3年受胰腺困扰---那是一段与诗篇38中的大卫可类比的经历（我鼓励你看看38篇），而且那种攻击变得越来越频繁和强劲。1994年8月是最糟糕的时候，我确信已经无可救药。我的教会迫切为我祷告，而且照着雅各书5章的教导做了，长老来到医院膏抹我，祈求神的医治。

      我记得胰腺的疼痛使我很焦虑，我呼求神的医治。这是我生命中的一个时刻---我读40篇的时候就告诉主，我在泥沼中不知所措。我决定像大卫一样，首先思想在我生命中其它困难时候，神是如何真实地与我同在：许多时候，当我失去盼望时，神来了，使事情改变；于是我求神再做一次。我像大卫一样告诉神，在我等候的时候要为主做见证，不管发生什么，我都会信靠他。我特别记得，我还求神让我知道下一步做什么。

      一天，医生们会诊讨论我的治疗方案，其中一个比较熟的医生之后进来与我和克里斯协商，他说医疗团队对我的病情莫衷一是，大家一致认为我的身体经不起再一次攻击。他说他发现了一种实验疗法，尽管他的同事不推荐，但他认为是最好的希望。他说：“你愿意与医生讨论往这个方向走一步么？”我问：“一步？”他说：“一步！”于是我迈出了那一步。

     这第一步带出了后来的许多步，当然中间有许多的等待，但你们看见了，我现在站在这里，距离我最后一次遭遇胰腺病攻击已经25年了，我说：“神听了我的呼求，他把我带离了病床，更新了我的讲道能力，我生命中充满了赞美！”

      当然事情不一定都是这样，神的道非同我们的道路。但我发现，刚才给你们的公式就是在这个充满泥沼的世界中与神同行的好办法。我可以再讲一个故事告诉你们如何用这个公式：那是我作大学校长的第一年，我发现学校的财务一团糟，后来我听说银行派了一队人马要来拜访解决问题，而且银行总裁也在其中！简而言之，我焦虑得不知所措，于是我慢下来…我记念神…(我会在另一个讲道中讲后来发生的事。)

      我相信你们已经看出来，我像大卫一样，一生因自己的错误决定而多次陷入泥沼；不过，我已经学会采用这一公式，特别要提的，是在放慢节奏和记念神的时候要认罪悔改。

      今天，我结束讲道前要给你们一个机会来实践这一属灵操练：慢下来，把你生命中的泥沼困境带到神面前。我要把诗篇40的公式放在你面前，我现在要和你一起走过。

在泥沼中怎么做

放慢             记念        求问            （等候、等候）    行动

荣耀归给神！

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧师