King David is truly a rock star who writes poetic hymns of praise to His rock upon whom he clings for strength and wisdom. His Rock is His Creator, God who knows him inside and out because God created Him “in His own image” and knows every part of David. God knows how David thinks and how he will respond. David lives in a world of ruthless enemies. This hymn of knowing God and God knowing all about us reveals how David deals with his enemies.
It seems that the more David knows God the more David realizes how much he is known by God!
The key theological point centers on the word “know.” David can live in a hostile world because he knows that the Lord knows him and his situation completely. David also has learned and now knows that he finds security in being known. Isn’t this the “blessed assurance” we seek daily for a God who knows our hearts and calls us His own—no what condition we find ourselves?
That God knows everything about us should not be threatening. On the contrary, God’s omnipresence is a great comfort and assurance; we are never far from God, no matter where we go or what circumstances we face daily. The persuasive presence of God in our lives should prompt a sense of holy awe and respect as we walk humbly with God.
How would our lives be different if we really believed God was right beside us, behind us, and ahead of us, always for us and not against us, with a love that is beyond human love?
What if we put all our trust in God and fully surrendered to His will/His best for us?
What if we could just be still in the morning to know and acknowledge God as we wake to a new day; thanking God who knows our hearts and loves us even when don’t feel very lovable?
Our God is an awesome, faithful God—even when we are not. We must know that, above all, God knows us and we are fully known by Him. God is the One who loves us most and His love never quits or runs out on us!
I have memorized great portions of this psalm in my youth. It is interesting to read Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase who gets right to the point of knowing God and being known by God. Let’s read prayerfully and grateful hearts…ask God is investigate and examine our hearts, too!
Psalm 139, The Message
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1-6 God, investigate my life;
get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!
7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
all the men and women who belittle you, God,
infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
Your enemies are my enemies!
23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
David knows God well enough to know God knows Him. Since David was known for “running after the heart of God”; it is not surprising that David asks God, the Only One qualified, to investigate his life, to test and evaluate, to see if David has missed anything in his life that needs correction. That’s a good way to think; until we cease to ask God and stop our daily time with God. Temptations become great when we think we can do life without the power of God to help us overcome. We become a meal for the prowling lion of evil who is just waiting to devour what we believe and take bitesize pieces of our faith! (1 Peter 5:8)
David, Anointed king and psalm writer, sinned with Bathsheba. God will indeed examine David’s heart, convict Him and then work to correct David creatively through the prophet Nathan, David’s most trusted advisor. God gives Nathan and very specific story about a rich man who stole what was most precious from a poor man. 2 Samuel 12:5-6 tells of David’s response to the story; “David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
To which Nathan responds; “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?” 2 Samuel 12:7-9
Daivd’s sin in the dark is brought to the light of day and exposed. David remembers all-knowing God. David’s humbled response after “examination” was, “I have sinned against the Lord”. God knew David had stopped listening to Him. When we stop being still to know God we drift, too. Our memory loss of God causes to think God no longer sees or cares what we do; nor does He bother to see into our hearts. That is a lie.
Time for truth about the character of God;
God is still faithful in His love for us, even when we are less than faithful to Him. “His anger lasts only for a moment; his mercies last a lifetime.”
His love for us never changes and it is His desire that no one perish but have everlasting life with Him. There is NOTHING in our lives that God will not forgive. The very heart of David’s sin is scorning God’s word; he broke at least four of the Ten Commandments: murder, adultery, lying, and coveting. David’s response shows why he is remembered so well.
True repentance is met instantly with genuine forgiveness. God is merciful. The Lord, in his grace, released David from the customary death penalty for adultery and murder.
Forgiveness does not erase every consequence. Sin that has been forgiven and forgotten by God may still leave human scars. Three of David’s sons died violently: Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah (1Kings 2:25).
Complete Surrender is the remedy for our sin. We cannot trust nor follow our own hearts for our human hearts are deceitful. (Jeremiah 17:9) God knows and provides a Way to be saved through Jesus Christ who died to remove our sins and set us free from the bondage, coverups, and manipulative lies of sin. Sin must be dealt with to know God in an intimate, loving, growing relationship with Him! Read 2 Samuel 12 for the full story that caused David’s heart to repent and this psalm to be written.
Be still and know that He is God. Psalm 46:10
Lord,
In the stillness, I know you are God alone. I know you know me better than I know me. Cleanse my heart, remove all that is not of you. Renew my mind so I will be able to think more like you. Refresh my souls with your tender mercies. Restore the joy of you in me and me in you.
In Jesus Name, Amen
