Friday, January 2, 2015

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - January 2, 2015 – Day 139 - Psalm 139


We have all played hide and seek as children but sadly there are times when we think we can hide from God. We cannot. Psalm 139 is one of the most beautiful scriptures of the Bible and in it we see a glimpse at just how awesome God is and how important we are to Him. In it we learn that He not only knows where we are at all times; He knows what we are thinking. But even better we learn that He truly is with us no matter where we are.

Psalm 139:1
TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID. O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

We are so important to God that he searches us out and studies our very being.

Psalm 139:2
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

He knows our thoughts.

Psalm 139:3
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

He knows our actions.

Psalm 139:4
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

He knows what we are going to say even before we say it.

Psalm 139:5
You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

We cannot escape God. He is omniscient.

Psalm 139:6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

We should stop trying to explain God and simply enjoy Him.

Psalm 139:7-8
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

We cannot run away from God’s presence. Even death will not remove us from His presence. He is omnipresent.

Psalm 139:9-10
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Man likes to think he is in control. “I am the captain of my own destiny” men say. God says no. We cannot take one single step that God has not allowed us to take.

Psalm 139:11-12
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

We like to think the darkness will cover our sins. The light of God exposes us.

Psalm 139:13-15
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

God made me. He made you. He knows every bit of our being. Sometimes we think we need to change who we are so we can be like someone else. But God made us in our own uniqueness. The only person we need to be more like is Jesus. Our life should be about becoming like Jesus not some movie star or athlete.

Psalm 139:16
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 were none of them.

The sovereignty of God is complete. Our finite minds are unable to understand how this works. We like to speak of free will. We should be speaking of His will.

Psalm 139:17-18
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

There is no end to the depths of God and His thoughts. Yet each of us is on His mind constantly. He is with us.

Psalm 139:19-22
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain! Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

Again we cannot understand all of God’s ways. We want God’s enemies to be destroyed. And it is right to hate evil.

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

But hating evil and hating people are two different things. We must ask God to search out the truest motives of our hearts and reveal them to us. Then we must die to our selfish ways and let the love of Christ dwell within our hearts. We must resign the captaincy of our destiny and let God have the wheel. This may mean our ships will travel through storms at times. But in the end when we have let Him take the wheel we will come out of the storm with a deep and abiding faith. He will lead us in the way everlasting.

No comments:

Post a Comment