Psalms of Devotion (Psalm 139)

Psalms of Devotion (Psalm 139)

• Summary: Contemplating the infinite knowledge, power and goodness of a Being that knows and loves us fully should move us to a posture of worship and devotion. Psalm 139 is a remarkable meditation on the nature of God and his relationship with us that concludes with a vow and a prayer.

GOD KNOWS ME

• The psalm is very personal with “I, me, and my” in all but two verses. God is addressed as “you”.
• YHWH knows everything about you, your routines, thoughts, secret habits, and unspoken words.
• There is no escaping his knowledge, you are “hemmed in” by his hands, it is beyond words.

AND IS WITH ME

• There’s no escaping the reality of God even though you try to suppress this truth (Romans 1:18-21). The Holy Spirit “presence” is inescapable.
• You can’t run away by going up, down, east, or west, nor can you pull yourself from his grasp.
• Even in death (Sheol) God is still present (Romans 8:38-39) and so you’re never in the dark.

FROM BEGINNING

• The metaphor of hand weaving indicates the intimacy with which God crafts each and every human being. The fingertips that placed the stars (Psalm 8:3) crafted you from a single cell.
• David pauses to worship God from his soul for the extraordinary miracle of life.
• God saw me as an embryo, before my heart began to beat.

-TO THE END*

• All my days fashioned for me (like a potter’s work) were written beforehand.
• Trying to count God’s thoughts toward us would be like trying to count the grains of sand.
• Unaware of his presence while he is asleep, David wakes up to realize he is still bound to God.

AND I AM WITH HIM

• David’s outburst against God’s enemies is an expression of covenant solidarity with Him.
• David welcomes God’s all-seeing and all-knowing presence in every aspect of his life
• What David is desiring is what we have in Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit living in us.
• To be loved is the desire of every human being. The deepest of human loves -- marriage, family and friendship -- these require transparency. We fear letting others in. But God says, “I’m already in. I already know everything...and I still love you.” If you doubt it, just look at the cross.
• To be fully known and to be fully loved. This is what it means to be a Christian.

Discussion:

1. Is God’s complete knowledge of you intimidating or liberating?
2. Have you ever tried to “run from God”? How did that turn out?
3. How does it make you feel to know that when you “make your bed in Sheol” God is still with you?
4. Child-bearing was a mysterious experience to the ancients. Has science added to or subtracted from that mystery?
5. What does it mean that “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”? Has God predetermined everything? What about human free will?
6. Is David expressing personal animosity in verses 19-22 or is he protecting God’s honor? How?
7. If God already knows everything, why does David conclude his prayer by asking for God to search him? In what sense does David want to be tested?