Psalm 139

Psalm 139

No matter where we go, we can't get away from God.  God already knows what we are going to say before we say it - He knows us that well.  No, that doesn't mean He overrides our choices or free will, or that we cannot decide other than He wishes we would, only that He knows us so well, we cannot catch Him by surprise, or find Him unaware.  So, how does it feel to know that you are known that well by someone else?  Does it make you excited and reassured, or nervous and uneasy?  What makes the difference in how we feel about this?

As you listen to David as he sings this psalm, what do you notice about the way he seems to feel about this?  Take a moment or two to notice which phrases connect with you in ways that stir feelings of reassurance.  Notice which ones make you feel uneasy or anxious.   Is it OK with you to be known that well, that completely?  

This psalm provides an opportunity to celebrate being known by God in a way that is awesome and humbling as we realize that knows everything there is to know about us, even attitudes that at times may not always reflect His own, and still He is with us, faithful to the work He has begun in us, because of His amazing love for us.

That is what Pastor Jon is inviting us to reflect on this morning.  If you would like to listen to the sermon again, or perhaps for the first time, you can access our sermon library here.  If you would prefer to view the entire service, you can access our livestream here.

Psalm 139

NIV

1 You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;

    you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue

    you, Lord, know it completely.

5 You hem me in behind and before,

    and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

    too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,

    your right hand will hold me fast.

11  If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

    and the light become night around me,”

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;

    the night will shine like the day,

    for darkness is as light to you.

13  For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

15  My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.

17  How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!

    How vast is the sum of them!

18  Were I to count them,

    they would outnumber the grains of sand—

    when I awake, I am still with you.

19  If only you, God, would slay the wicked!

    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!

20  They speak of you with evil intent;

    your adversaries misuse your name.

21  Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,

    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

22 I have nothing but hatred for them;

    I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;

    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting.