作躲暴風之處(賽廿五)中英bilingual

耶和華啊，你是我的神；我要尊崇你，我要稱讚你的名。因為你以忠信誠實行過奇妙的事，成就你古時所定的。（賽 25：1） 

以賽亞書從13章開始記錄了神對列強諸國，包含對巴比倫、對亞述、古實等一連串的審判，到了第24-27章，以賽亞敘述了兩種全然不同的景況：24章講述人類因違背律法、破壞永約，全地受到神的審判，地被倒空、荒涼，社會階層瓦解，甚至「月亮要蒙羞，日頭要慚愧...」，看似陷入徹頭徹尾的毀滅，卻在結尾話鋒一轉：「萬軍之耶和華必在錫安山，在耶路撒冷作王；在敬畏他的長老面前，必有榮耀。」（賽 24：23），預告耶和華將在錫安山作王，展現榮耀！ 

相較24章—神對全地的審判，25章卻是感恩與讚美的詩歌！先知代表神的子民，因神的奇妙作為而發出讚美、感謝，場景瞬時轉向錫安山上神賜的盛宴，此筵席是為萬民設擺的！神並且宣告將永遠吞滅死亡、擦去各人臉上的眼淚。 

因為當強暴人催逼人的時候，如同暴風直吹牆壁，你就作貧窮人的保障，作困乏人急難中的保障，作躲暴風之處，作避炎熱的陰涼。(賽 25：4) 

先知雖然在前面一連串的警告列國與猶大、以色列，但深信將來雖多有災難，但信神的人不必懼怕，因為神要做人的保障與避難所，祂要把風暴擋在外面，甚至要做炎熱的陰涼所，讓人在保護中不只是安全，也自在。 

現代生活中各種各樣的風暴，大者，如世界上硝煙四起、戰爭頻仍，有各種病毒肆虐，各種自然環境的天災頻仍，也更形失控；社會上，聽聞各樣不公不義的事情，詐騙、勒索、強暴之事層出不窮。此等外在的風暴，不一定每一個都看得清楚，但那種「世界好像越來越不對勁」的感覺揮之不去。小至每日的生活，生老病死、工作煩勞、升遷壓力等接踵而至，AI快速發展，人類在工作、學習和日常生活都將迎來巨大變化，這些都使我們的靈魂被壓得喘不過氣；人的靈魂如果沒有一個地方避難，僅靠著自己努力、堅強，最終卻仍須承認自己的渺小無助，這也是筆者最近的感觸。 

但看到本章也提醒我，其實不需要靠自己去應付這些風暴，神早已備好了那個躲避暴風的地方，只等我們願意回轉，願意讓神來當我們的主！ 

到那日，人必說：看哪，這是我們的神；我們素來等候他，他必拯救我們。這是耶和華，我們素來等候他，我們必因他的救恩歡喜快樂。(賽 25：9) 

當我們在世上的風暴中向神禱告、在安靜中交託神時，我們心中是有確切的盼望：雖然有時轉機沒有及時來到，但只要我們存著敬畏神的心，謹守遵行祂的道，我們相信，到了神所定的日子，必能親眼見證祂的拯救，並因祂的救恩歡喜快樂。求神帶領我們能倚靠祂，儘管在風暴烈日中，都能找到那個避風與陰涼處，在祂的懷裡得著力量。 

神是我們的避難所，是我們的力量，是我們在患難中隨時的幫助。(詩 46：1) 

By李亮瑩

真耶穌教會石牌教會、天母教會線上講道

石牌教會https://www.youtube.com/@TJChurchShipai

天母教會https://www.youtube.com/c/TJC_Tianmu/featured

A Refuge from the Storm(​Isaiah 25)

May 17, 2026

​"Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; for You have worked wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness." 

(Isaiah 25:1)

Starting from chapter 13, the Book of Isaiah records a series of judgments by God on the great and powerful nations, including Babylon, Assyria, and Cush. By chapters 24 through 27, Isaiah describes two completely different situations. Chapter 24 describes how humanity, because of transgressing laws and breaking the everlasting covenant, faces God’s judgment over the entire earth. The earth is laid waste and devastated, social structures collapse, and even "the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed..." It appears to be an absolute destruction. Yet at the very end, the tone completely shifts: "For the Lord of armies will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders" (Isaiah 24:23). This foretells that the Lord will reign on Mount Zion and manifest His glory!

In contrast to chapter 24—which is God's judgment on the entire earth—chapter 25 is a hymn of thanksgiving and praise! The prophet, representing God’s people, offers praise and thanks because of God’s wondrous deeds. The scene instantly shifts to a grand banquet provided by God on Mount Zion, and this banquet is prepared for all peoples! God also declares that He will swallow up death legally and forever, and wipe away tears from all faces.

​"For You have been a stronghold for the helpless, a stronghold for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a rainstorm against a wall." (Isaiah 25:4)

Although the prophet gave a series of warnings to the nations, Judah, and Israel in the previous chapters, he firmly believed that even though there would be many disasters in the future, those who believe in God have no need to fear. This is because God will be a stronghold and a refuge for mankind. He will block the storm outside and even serve as a shade from the scorching heat, allowing people to feel not only safe but also completely at ease under His protection.

In modern life, we face all kinds of storms. On a large scale, smoke rises from wars and conflicts around the world, various viruses run rampant, and natural disasters in our environment occur frequently and are becoming increasingly out of control. In society, we constantly hear of all kinds of injustices, scams, extortion, and violence. We might not see each of these external storms clearly, but the lingering feeling that "the world is becoming more and more wrong" never goes away. On a smaller scale, in our daily lives, issues like sickness, aging, death, work weariness, and promotion pressures come one after another. With the rapid development of AI, humanity is about to encounter massive changes in work, learning, and daily life. All of these leave our souls feeling suffocated under the pressure. If a person's soul does not have a place of refuge and relies only on their own effort and strength, they must ultimately admit their own insignificance and helplessness; this is also what the author has recently felt deeply.

However, seeing this chapter also reminds me that I actually do not need to rely on myself to deal with these storms. God has already prepared that place of refuge from the storm, just waiting for us to be willing to turn back and willing to let God be our Lord!

​"And it will be said on that day, 'Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let’s rejoice and be glad in His salvation.'" (Isaiah 25:9)

When we pray to God in the midst of worldly storms and entrust everything to Him in quietness, we have a certain hope in our hearts: although a turning point sometimes does not arrive immediately, as long as we maintain a heart that fears God and carefully keep and walk in His way, we believe that when God's appointed day comes, we will witness His salvation with our own eyes and rejoice and be glad in His salvation. May God guide us to rely on Him so that, even in the midst of storms and the scorching sun, we can find that refuge and shade, receiving strength in His embrace.

​"God is our refuge and strength, a very ready help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1)

​By Robin Lee