As I thought about all of the different passages of scripture that have impacted me, Psalm 139 is one of them to be sure. The request to ask God to search me and know me and show me any way in me that is displeasing to Him is powerful. The truth that I am not a mistake. God made me. He knit me together inside of my mother's womb. I pray that this week as you work through Psalm 139, that God will do a fresh work in your heart.BACKGROUND:
God’s omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence are the subjects of David’s meditations in this beautiful psalm. In this psalm David asked God to examine him thoroughly to affirm his innocence. The psalm has four strophes of six verses each. The message progresses significantly from one subject to another. His first meditation is on God’s knowledge, that every aspect of his life was searched out and controlled by what the Lord knew. He then realized it was impossible to escape from such omniscient control, no matter how far or fast he might go, for God is everywhere. David then stated that God has such control over him because in His power He created Him secretly and planned his life with great care. On the basis of these meditations, David then affirmed his loyalty to God and prayed for God to prove him by examining him.
The theme of this psalm is announced in the opening verse: the Lord knew David penetratingly. David said God’s knowledge came as if He had scoured every detail of David’s life and thus knew him intimately.
Samples of how well God knew David are stated here. The Lord knew every move he made; the two opposites of sitting and rising represent all his actions. God knew not only David’s actions; He also knew his motivations. Afar evidently refers not to space but to time.
The daily activities of the psalmist were also thoroughly familiar to the Lord. The opposites of going out in the morning and lying down at night represent the whole day’s activities.
But the one sample that epitomizes God’s omniscience is in verse 4. Before the psalmist could frame a word on his tongue, the Lord was thoroughly familiar with what he was about to say.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
Where can I go to run away from God? NOWHERE. Where can I escape His presence? NOWHERE. He is always beside me. He always knows my heart and my thoughts, my emotions and fears. He knows my insecurities and faults and failures. He knows what drives me and what motivates me. He knows everything about me. He loves me. This passage tells me so much about God's character. I want to speak to some of God's character this week.
When God chose to reveal Himself to the Hebrew nation, He used Hebrew terms to describe Himself. Did you know that God has a lot of different names? In the Bible, God calls Himself by many different Hebrew names. Each one of those names is a description of His character. Each one of those names is a promise to you.
For instance, one time God used the Hebrew name Jehovah Shalom. That means, “I am the God who gives you peace. And if you want real peace of mind you come to Me for it.” In another place He uses the Hebrew term, I am Jehovah Jirah. That means, “I am the God who provides for all your needs. You can count on Me. You can come to Me.”
At the end of the book of Ezekiel, God gives us another one of His names. He says “I am Jehovah Shammah.” In Hebrew that means, “I am the God who is always there.” There is no place that God is not. There is no place you will go that God isn’t. God has been in your past. He’s in your present. He’s going to be in your future. He’s in the good times and the bad times. He’s in the good places. He’s in the evil places. He is everywhere.
Folks, that means God can be counted on, he is reliable, he keeps his word! Romans 15:13, says “May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in Him.” In other words as you put your faith in God, He gives you peace, joy and hope. Because God is always there, let’s look at the implications for us…The first thing I know about God is….
#1. HIS PRESENCE IS WATCHING OVER ME. The older I get the more I realize how much of my life is out of my control. The truth is, not only can I not control much of what’s in the future, I don’t even know much of what’s in the future. Isaiah 41:10 says, “’Don’t worry because I am with you,’ says God. ‘Don’t be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and I will help you. I will support you.’”
The good news is regardless of what happens, you and I don’t have to go through it alone. There is a God who will be with us. He will be there with you. That is one of the certainties of life that I can hold on to. When I hold onto that certainty, I have hope.
There are a lot of uncertainties in life. One of the sad uncertainties of life is that people will leave you. Friends and family might move away. There will be people that you love that will die. There will be people that you love that will become ill and won’t be themselves any more. There may even be those that you argue with and there’s a separation that’s painful. A sad truth of life is people leave us.
But the certainty of life is God will never leave you. That helps us to have hope because the fear of being abandoned is one of the greatest causes of hopelessness in all of our lives. This feeling that I’m going to be deserted, I’m going to be forsaken, I’m going to be left alone, I’m going to be overwhelmed and there’s going to be no one to help. The truth is, God will never leave you.
As a pastor, I’ve stood at a lot of gravesites with people. After that funeral, many, many times I’ve seen in their eyes and I’ve heard the words, “I don’t know how I’m going to make it. How am I going to make it to the next step?” I’ve heard oftentimes this sense of doubt and this, What if? In the voice of a spouse who has just been deserted or someone who has just lost their job or a parent who has just lost a child. This feeling of, “How am I going to go on?” Some of you are feeling that way today. You know what the answer is to all of the questions? The answer is this: God will be with you.
Not only is He with us but the Bible says He watches over us. Not just watches us but watches over us and cares for us. Psalm 32:8 says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and will watch over you.” Folks, you and I don’t know the future. We can’t control the future. But God can - God knows the future - God can control the future, and more that that, this verse promises that God is willing to guide and advise us, He’s willing to show us the way. There’s great hope in that.
Lamentations 3 says “I have hope when I think of this: the Lord’s love never ends. His mercies never stop. They are new every morning.” That one verse has enough hope to get me at least through to the next week. It’s all about hope. Nothing can ever make God stop loving me once I put my hand in His hand. Once I put my hand in His hand He will never let go.
Today, if you’re facing an impossible situation, the next verse is for you. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.” You may think that what God is doing in your life right now is painful and is to no avail but God says, “My plan is good. You just don’t see it. You need to trust Me. You need to have hope because it’s a plan to give you a hope and a future.”
If you have walked away from God. And you think, “I was close to God at one time but I can’t get back to Him,” then the next verse is for you. Philippians 1:6 says, “God began doing a good work in you and I am sure He will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.” God starts something in your life and what He starts He finishes. You may say you’re too far beyond hope. You’re not. You may quit on God, but He will never quit on you. There’s a second source of hope and it’s this...
#2. GOD’S PLACE IS WAITING FOR ME. When things get unbearable in your life you have got to remember that our ultimate hope is heaven. Notice what Jesus said. John 14 says, “Don’t be troubled. You trust in God, now trust in Me. I am going to prepare a place for you.” Jesus Christ says that heaven is a place, not a state of mind. It’s not some kind of nirvana, nothingness, where you just float around, bodiless, spiritless, whatever. It is a real place and God says “I am going to prepare a place for you.”
Listen to 1 Peter 1 - “God has reserved for His children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you… And God, in His mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it because you are trusting Him… So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here.” The question is, are you on of his children?
I pray that this week, you will understand how much God loves you. Lord, draw people to COV this morning. As you teach us about the life of Christ, change our hearts. Renew our minds. Revive our courage. Remake our will.
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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