March 23
Reading: Psalm 139
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Psalm 139 is one of the most famous and precious psalms in the psalter. It was written by David, and it was written to be sung by the choirs.
Psalm 139 is a celebration of the imminence and omniscience of the transcendent God that concludes with two heartfelt requests. Imminence means that God is close, right with us. Omniscience means that He knows everything. Transcendent means that He is far beyond anything that we can grasp or understand.
The song has five movements.
- God, You know me, my ways, my words, perfectly and completely. (vss. 1-6)
- God, everywhere I go, You are there and You see me. (vss. 7-12)
- God, You made me and You think about me all the time. (vss. 13-18)
- Please slay the wicked. (vss. 19-22)
- Search me and see if I am sinning. (vss. 23-24)
At first glance, the fourth movement seems out of place. But, once you understand that David is worshipping God who is with him all the time, you can understand his desire to have God deal with his tormentors who seem to be with him all the time. They are constantly threatening him. Then, the final two verses make sense because David does not want to be sinning in his desire for God to deal with his enemies. These final six verses reflect the holiness of God.
The intimacy of God’s knowledge of us is amazing. These things are worth meditating on for months. God made me, intentionally the way that I am. This is not a justification for sin, but a motivation to be who the Lord intends me to be. He is with me all the time. He hears, sees, knows all that I do. He even knows all of my thoughts. He goes before me and comes after me. He understands what has happened and He knows all my days before I have lived them. Do you know that God knows you like this? You cannot fool Him, escape Him, or confuse Him. He knows.