Psalm 139:1-6
“O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in-behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”
The Book of Psalms has a very special place in my heart. This is especially the case since the evening of July 11, 1991. Our daughter, Brenda Joy, was very near death. I sat at her bedside with an open Bible. I read to her Psalm after Psalm. She was in and out of consciousness. Each time her eyes flickered open, she said: “Oh, I like that one. Please read another Psalm, Dad.” Of course I did, even though my heart was being crushed as I watched my precious daughter come closer and closer to the end of this life.
I read Psalm 23, then continued with 37, 103 and 139. These four Psalms still captivate me. Each of the four, in it’s own special way, tells of God’s special concern and protection for us. Each has a section or sections which tell of our responsibility and other sections which give us the promise of God in reaction to our obedience.
As I write this, I am 74 years of age. It seems impossible, since I still think of myself as just a young lad in so many ways. All of the hopes and dreams are still there, and it seems impossible that life has moved as quickly as it has. I think that has positive benefits as well as the obviously negative ones. It means that I am constantly learning, searching and trying to grow in spiritual wisdom. I want to just share what I feel in regard to this powerful Psalm that never ceases to amaze me.
The first thing or things that I notice are the actions of the Lord. I am going to use a little of my own paraphrasing. Here is what I see the Lord doing: He Searches us; He knows us; He perceives our thoughts; He discerns our activities; He is familiar with all of our ways; He knows what we are going to say before we speak; He has laid his hand upon us.
Spend a little time meditating about all that this means to us. There is nothing that we can hide from God! It is possible to fool those around us, even those who are closest to us, but we can never fool God. We might not know what we are going to say before we speak, but God knows exactly what we are going to say. We might think we are getting away with the places we go and the things we do, but remember that God is aware of all of our actions.
We are living in a day of unbelievable technology. I marvel at our ability to use Google Earth and be able to view virtually any place on earth orbiting space vehicles pointed back toward earth. Most of the time they use a wide angle lens that shows a wide panorama of the earth. At times, however, the camera is able to focus in and it shows much greater detail. I have even been able to identify a bird bath in our side yard from hundreds of miles in space.
The term, “big brother”, has been used in connection with governmental agencies as they engage in surveillance. We need to know that the Lord knows us more intimately than any spy organization ever could. But in spite of knowing all about us, the Lord places His hand upon us. He is always there to guide us—to let us feel that we are not alone—to reveal His great salvation that is by grace, through faith in Him alone.
This reality of the nature of God is not to make us feel that He is there as a threat, but as the Mighty God, who knows what we are like, inside and out, loves us enough to send His One and Only Son to die on the cross for us. It is a thought provoking image of Him on the cross – looking across the centuries knowing every thought and feeling we
possess and loving us to death—His death—but rising from the grave in order that we might be raised with Him. Praise God for His great love!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil