落到主的手里总比落到人的手里要好,因为上帝的慈爱是浩大的。当上帝咒诅我们的时候,祂亦同时为我们预备了在基督里赦免的爱,但当人咒诅人的时候,他们通常不但把人弃绝,还要使他们成为受嘲弄的对象。
当上帝咒诅我们的时候, 祂会差遣人把这审判告诉我们。祂所差遣的有先知、使徒和传道人。他们不会把自己高抬到我们之上,而是认为自己不过是和我们一样是有罪的人。与此形成鲜明对照的,是当哲学家和道德主义者对人表示鄙视的时候,他们往住忘记了自己不过只是人。
当上帝谴责我们的时候, 祂说尽管人的罪和恶行是极大极重的,但是这些都是可以被除去的,因为这并不是人性的本质。但道德主义者却时常说,人是利己主义的动物，这性倾向从起初就属于人,是人类本质的一部分,因为人是从动物演变而来的。他们这样是把人贬低,没有把人抬高。如果我们本来就是动物,那么我们为什么要活得像上帝的儿女呢?
我们万万不能忘记,我们在上帝的标准下受审判、被定罪的同时,上帝也为我们预备了祂在基督里完全的爱、怜悯和赦免。我们的审判越轻,所需要的恩典也就越少,并从而减损了上帝对我们的爱。
巴文克 《改革宗教义学》第十二章
撒下24:14 大卫对迦得说：「我甚为难！我愿落在耶和华的手里，因为他有丰盛的怜悯。我不愿落在人的手里。」
It is always better to fall into the hands of the Lord than into those of people, for his mercy is great. For when God condemns us, he at the same time offers his forgiving love in Christ, but when people condemn people, they frequently cast them out and make them the object of scorn.
When God condemns us, he has this judgment brought to us by people—prophets and apostles and ministers—who do not elevate themselves to a level high above us but include themselves with us in a common confession of guilt. By contrast, philosophers and moralists, in despising people, usually forget that philosophers and moralists, in despising people, usually forget that they themselves are human. When God condemns, he speaks of sin and guilt that, though great and heavy, can be removed because they do not belong to the essence of humanity. But moralists frequently speak of egoistic animal tendencies that belong to humans by virtue of their origin and are part of their essence. They put people down but do not lift them up. If by origin we are animals, why then should we live as children of God? We must never forget that as we are judged and condemned by God’s standard, he at the same time offers us his full love, mercy, and forgiveness in Christ. A lesser judgment on us would require a lesser grace and thus diminish the love of God to us.
Herman Bavinck Reformed Dogmatics
2Sa 24:14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”