One of my favorites among the Psalms is Psalm 139. In it, David wrote:  “Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; You understand my thought from far away. You scrutinize my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, Lord, You know it all. You have encircled me behind and in front, And placed Your hand upon me.”  (Psalm 139: 1-5). To some, this might seem very frightening, to know that God knows our thoughts and is acquainted with all our ways. But David seems to view it differently for he wrote in verse 6, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.” One clear thought of this Psalm is that God knows all there is to know about you and me. Is this frightening? It doesn’t have to be, but it is sometimes when we have failed to live up to what He expects of us.

As David continued, in the next section, he tells us that wherever we go, God is there. Again, this is not intended to be frightening but comforting to the one who seeks God’s presence and care. David wrote:  “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,’  Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.” (Psalm 139: 7-12). Where can I go that God does not see me and care for me? Can I go off into space somewhere and God not be there? Can I go die and go into the grave and God not know about it? If I am in danger out at sea, does this hide me from God or keep me away from His loving care? Can I go into utter darkness and be hidden from His view? The answer to all of these would be NO!

In the next few verses, David tells of God’s blessings upon him, even before he came into this world. David wrote: “For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You. When I was made in secret, And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my formless substance; And in Your book were written All the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.” (Psalm 139: 13-16). These are very interesting verses, especially in light of the current thinking of so many people that an unborn child is not really a person, only tissue that a mother may decide to keep or abandon. But David said that God formed his inward parts in the womb, and that God saw him while he was yet unformed and imperfect. God knew all about him even before he was fully formed in physical terms. How could this be if the unborn child is not a living being?

Then comes the final section of this marvelous Psalm. David wrote: “How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.” (Psalm 139: 17-18). Perhaps if we appreciated God’s knowledge of us, His constant presence in our lives, and His constant provision of us we too would say, “How precious also are Your thoughts for me.” Yet we often act as though God’s thoughts, His word, is the least important of things when compared with our typical everyday activities.

In verses 19-22, David speaks of God’s eventual punishment of the wicked and declares that he too hates those who hate God and who rebel against Him. How many of us would say as David did in verses 23 and 24, “Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way.” God does know our hearts, and the evil thoughts that sometimes try to enter there are not hidden from Him. Now is the time to examine our hearts, and to know if there is any wicked way in us. Now is the time for us to long to be led in the way “everlasting.”

Certainly, God will not lead us in the wrong way, but we don’t always follow as closely as we should. Now is the time to recognize the blessing of having God with us, knowing us, and caring for us. Now is the time to examine our hearts to know what evil is there so that we may remove it. Now is the time to prepare for everlasting life. And “If God be for us, who can be against us?”  (Romans 8: 31).

-  John Wells

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