Psalm_139
Scripture
Psalm 139:1-6; 13-14; 23-24 NIV
“You have searched me, LORD, 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, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain......For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well......Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Observation-What does it say?
In this Psalm, David is declaring the following truths about God and himself. God knows all things. He’s omniscient. (Verses 1-6) God is present everywhere. (7-16) David states his hatred to sin, and desire to be led on the right path. (17-24). (Matthew Henry commentary on Christianity.com)
Understanding-What does it mean?
God knows us better than anyone!
Nothing is hidden from His sight, especially when it comes to us, His children. He formed us. He knows our hearts, our thoughts, and every intricate detail of our lives that not even our parents or spouses know because He was literally there. He was present through all of it!
Life Application
Be completely honest when praying to God and don’t hide from Him.
I think it’s funny when we try to hide stuff from the Lord. He already knows our inmost thoughts, mind, heart and struggles. He’s omniscient, which means He knows ALL things. We are much like Adam and Eve, who felt so ashamed of their sin and nakedness that they hid from Him. When we run from God, that’s when trouble happens. We must run TO Him through all of it. Nothing phases Him and His light is so bright that not even the darkness can dim it. (See verses 11 and 12).
The most righteous people I know are not righteous because they are perfect. They are able to live righteous lives because they recognize their need for a Savior and the Holy Spirit’s guidance every single day. We all know King David’s story. It wasn’t perfect, much like many of ours, yet He was called a man after God’s own heart because He was desperate and thirsty for God. His Psalms prove that. He took every struggle to the Lord in prayer, did not hide from Him and was utterly desperate and in need of more of Him and His grace every day. It’s a righteousness that flowed through Christ alone. Let’s follow David’s example and be desperate and thirsty for God and pursue holiness/righteousness through daily unhindered prayers, reading His Word, protecting our weekly Sabbath day with Him, and connecting with our church family.
Dear Lord, I pray Psalm 139:23-24 over us all today, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen.
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-Michelle Gaddi