We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

It’s clear that in the days of the apostles, it was the universal practice to receive believers into the visible church. It’s possible that a true believer, because of some unusual circumstances, may fail to unite with the church. One may, for instance, believe in Christ and die before receiving baptism, or joining a local church. But such instances are exceptional. The Scriptural rule is that while membership is not a prerequisite for salvation, it is a necessary consequence of salvation.
R.B. Kuiper

As a philosophical idea, God’s decreeing of a thing has dominance over His seeing a thing beforehand. Even though…the word foreknowledge is more than pre-sight, we nonetheless cannot disregard the verity that God sees all things beforehand. Thus God’s seeing all things has forever been a reality to Him, and God’s determining all things has also been forever. These two have had eternal origins. As long as He has decreed, He has known; and as long as He has known, He has decreed. So, in one sense, we cannot put one philosophical idea ahead of the other in terms of time. Yet we can put one above the other in terms of dominance. If God has seen and determined at the same time, we cannot make His decreeing subservient to His knowing. The reason one is preceding the other in terms of force (not time) is that determination is a willful act of God, whereas seeing is a passive act. God cannot help but see all, but He wills to decree. Therefore what He determines, He sees; and what He sees, is determined. The force of decreeing a thing dominates the seeing.
Jim Elliff

Bible – chinese – 新标点和合本 撒母耳记下 1

撒母耳记下
1
大卫听到扫罗的死讯
扫罗死后,大卫击杀亚玛力人回来,在洗革拉住了两天。
第三天,有一人从扫罗的营里出来,衣服撕裂,头蒙灰尘,到大卫面前伏地叩拜。
大卫问他说:「你从哪里来?」他说:「我从以色列的营里逃来。」
大卫又问他说:「事情怎样?请你告诉我。」他回答说:「百姓从阵上逃跑,也有许多人仆倒死亡;扫罗和他儿子约拿单也死了。」
大卫问报信的少年人说:「你怎么知道扫罗和他儿子约拿单死了呢?」
报信的少年人说:「我偶然到基利波山,看见扫罗伏在自己枪上,有战车、马兵紧紧地追他。
他回头看见我,就呼叫我。我说:『我在这里。』
他问我说:『你是什么人?』我说:『我是亚玛力人。』
他说:『请你来,将我杀死;因为痛苦抓住我,我的生命尚存。』
10 我准知他仆倒必不能活,就去将他杀死,把他头上的冠冕、臂上的镯子拿到我主这里。」
11  大卫就撕裂衣服,跟随他的人也是如此,
12 而且悲哀哭号,禁食到晚上,是因扫罗和他儿子约拿单,并耶和华的民以色列家的人,倒在刀下。
13  大卫问报信的少年人说:「你是哪里的人?」他说:「我是亚玛力客人的儿子。」
14  大卫说:「你伸手杀害耶和华的受膏者,怎么不畏惧呢?」
15  大卫叫了一个少年人来,说:「你去杀他吧!」
16  大卫对他说:「你流人血的罪归到自己的头上,因为你亲口作见证说:『我杀了耶和华的受膏者。』」少年人就把他杀了。
大卫为扫罗和约拿单作哀歌
17  大卫作哀歌,吊扫罗和他儿子约拿单
18 且吩咐将这歌教导犹大人。这歌名叫「弓歌」,写在雅煞珥书上。
19  歌中说以色列啊,
你尊荣者在山上被杀!
大英雄何竟死亡!
20 不要在迦特报告;
不要在亚实基伦街上传扬;
免得非利士的女子欢乐;
免得未受割礼之人的女子矜夸。
21  基利波山哪,愿你那里没有雨露!
愿你田地无土产可作供物!
因为英雄的盾牌在那里被污丢弃;
扫罗的盾牌仿佛未曾抹油。
 
22  约拿单的弓箭非流敌人的血不退缩;
扫罗的刀剑非剖勇士的油不收回。
 
23  扫罗约拿单
活时相悦相爱,死时也不分离
—他们比鹰更快,比狮子还强。
 
24  以色列的女子啊,当为扫罗哭号!
他曾使你们穿朱红色的美衣,
使你们衣服有黄金的妆饰。
 
25 英雄何竟在阵上仆倒!
约拿单何竟在山上被杀!
26 我兄约拿单哪,我为你悲伤!
我甚喜悦你!
你向我发的爱情奇妙非常,
过于妇女的爱情。
 
27 英雄何竟仆倒!
战具何竟灭没!