GOD KNOWS US
Psalm 139:1-6
We live in a day of proliferating knowledge. The fund that makes up human knowledge I understand has doubled every two years since 1960. Amazing, isn’t it? And now is doubling at the rate of every 18 months. Just think, our field of knowledge DOUBLES every 18 months! And did you know that some of that information is about you? George Barna, who has become one of the leaders in polling and research and statistics says this in his book, "The Frog In the Kettle" says this:
"Organizations such as Donnelly Marketing can now make available detailed information about the 85 million of the 92 million households in America. Based upon combined data bases and statistical modeling techniques, these systems can describe with great accuracy your television viewing patterns, your radio listening habits, your magazine and newspaper reading preferences, your product purchasing by brand, household demographics and key attitudes and values."
That’s scary, isn’t it? That people out there know that much about us. Far more than we could ever imagine they could know.
And we haven’t seen the end of it. Futurists predict that what we know today will represent only a small percentage of what we will know by the year 2010!
No doubt about it, we are living in an age of exploding knowledge and change.
With all this knowledge, growing by leaps and bounds every day...knowledge about you and me...those people out there don’t even know a small fraction about us that Somebody else knows. And I’m talking about our All-Knowing, Omniscient God. This is one of the major themes in a Psalm in the Old Testament...
Psalm 139. Psalm 139 is all about God. I believe it would do us well to get to know this All-Knowing, Omniscient God. Let’s look into it in more detail.
Please turn with me to Psalm 139:1-6
The title of this Psalm tells us that David wrote this Psalm. It is an inspired title. Psalm 139:1-24
"For the director of music. A psalm of David"
David, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote this Psalm. He wrote it for the director of music. It was written to be used in worship with the accompaniment of musical instruments. And in this Psalm David exalts the majesty of God. Our great God who is All-Knowing, who is present everywhere, who is All-Powerful, who is infinitely holy. God is the subject of this Psalm.
The first word of this Psalm in the Hebrew text is the word Yahweh (Jehovah)= "I AM." The Great "I AM." The Great Covenant-Keeping God of Israel. God is a God of His Word. He keeps His Word. He is present with His people and He keeps His Word to them. This Psalm is about God.
But David does more than teach us great doctrine about God. He shows us how these truths about God relate to our lives today!
And we need to know that.
We need to know this desperately in our day and age.
We need to know God!!!
We need to know God more intimately than we¡¦ve ever known Him before!
Actually, knowing God better can accomplish some wonderful things in our lives. It’s the solution to most of our problems.
And if it doesn’t solve them, it will at least help us know how to handle them. Every problem!
For example, knowing God better can make us more loving people and that will help us get along with others better.
It would solve a lot of our marital problems and other inter-personal problems and tensions we have. Knowing God can do that for us. Knowing God can fill us with joy. And don’t you think that most of us could us a little more joy in our lives?
Knowing God better can help relieve our worries.
Knowing God better can take away our fears.
Knowing God better can provide us with abundant life. We all want that don’t we?
So let’s spend a few weeks in Psalm 139 and try to get to know God a little bit better. It would be well worth our time!
The subject of the first six verses is God’s omniscience.
He knows everything.
He knows me, and He knows you.
He knows us completely and thoroughly.
He knows us intimately.
During the last census, a mother was asked by a census taker how many children she had. She had a very large family, so she started to go through all her children, "Oh, let’s see now, there’s Billy, and there’s Harry, and there’s Martha, and there’s..."
And the census taker got a little impatient and annoyed with her,
"Never mind their names, just give me the number!"
Well, the mother got very indignant and said to the man,
"They don’t have numbers, they all have names!"
And that’s the way it is with our relationship with the Lord.
You might be a number to the I.R.S., but with God, He knows your name! You are a person to Him. He knows you personally and individually by name. He knows everything about you.
2 Timothy 2:19 "Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ’The Lord knows those who are his...’"
And the Lord knows who in this room are His and who are not.
He knows all about us. He knows those who are His. What an encouragement that can be for us.
So let’s go along with David in his journey of a more intimate knowledge of God. Let’s begin with getting to know the All-Knowing God. God is All-Knowing.
Let’s talk first of...
I. THE SCOPE OF GOD’S KNOWLEDGE (v. 1)
Psalm 139:1 "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me."
"You" is emphatic in the original Hebrew.
The word "search" literally means "to dig." It was often applied to the search for precious metals and gems. Now, I’ve never panned for gold (other then at Knott’s Berry Farm) but you get something of the idea of the meaning of this word if you picture someone panning for gold, or digging for some precious gem. I’m sure that you would want to sift through very carefully to find that gold or precious gem. Another way to look at this word is to picture an archeological dig. Whenever they think they come across something of value, the archeologists and their helpers remove the dirt ever so carefully, scrutinizing everything very carefully and gently. They brush everything the dust off very carefully, catalog it accurately. And they do this with the entire area. They leave no stone unturned. That’s a picture of how God searches us and how God thoroughly knows us.
Now, you can’t take the illustration too far, because God doesn’t search us with the idea that He is ignorant of some things about us. No. He doesn’t need to search us to get to know us. There was never a time where He didn’t know us, and know us thoroughly and intimately. His knowledge of us is innate and inherent in Him because of Who He is. He knows us because of Who He is! Because He is God! People who do not know God, don’t understand it. Psalm 73:11 "They say, ’How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?’"
As if they have some question that no one can answer! It’s not too hard to answer that question. If we as finite human beings can know as much as we do, certainly God can know everything.
I’ve heard that the United States has sophisticated satellites in the sky that monitor military activity in every part of the earth. They can identify objects as small as 2 feet long from as far away as 100 miles out in space. It’s incredible, isn’t it?
But the point is that if we as finite human beings can know that much, certainly God can know what’s in our hearts. And He didn’t have to go to school to learn it, and nobody taught it to Him. He knows it simply because He is God. And He knows us as thoroughly as if He had taken us apart bit by bit, atom by atom. He knows us thoroughly.
He knows us completely.
He knows us inside out.
He knows us through and through.
He knows us fully and completely.
He knows us penetratingly. He knows us.
That’s the scope of His knowledge. I want us to see secondly...
II. THE DETAILS OF GOD’S KNOWLEDGE
A. God Knows What We Do (vv. 2-3)
"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."
When you think about it, that pretty well covers just about every possible position we could be in, right? Everything we would do could fit into one of those categories. God knows everything we do.
We need to comment further about the word "discern."
The word literally means "to winnow."
David draws an example from everyday life. Unlike farming today with sophisticated combines, winnowing of grain would have been a very common sight back then. To winnow the grain they would toss the grain in the air and have the wind blow away the chaff so that all you had would be the seed. I remember watching this in my younger years in village India. We even have movies of this.
So, God "winnows" our lives. He is able to sift everything of our lives. He sorts everything out so that every detail of our lives is fully known to Him. Whether we are awake or asleep, whether we’re sitting or lying down, He knows everything we do.
He is familiar with all our ways!
He knows what’s going on in our lives. He knows every detail of our lives. He knows even how many hairs we have on our head according to Matthew 10:30. He’s watching over us all the time. He knows and cares about every detail of our lives, everything we do.
Now that can be comforting, or it can be disturbing depending on what it is we are doing, right?
He’s fully aware of everything we do. Nothing escapes Him.
Can you say it with me, "...You are familiar with all my ways."
I heard this story about a farmer who had a small patch of corn that hadn’t done very well one year so he decided he was going to "borrow" some corn from his neighbor’s field which had a much better yield of corn. So with a large sack underneath his arm, he took his son with him to "borrow" some of his neighbor’s corn. He quietly went to the farthest corner of the field. He looked carefully to the right, then to the left, then ahead of him, then behind him. As he as reaching out to get that first ear of corn, his son piped up, "Daddy, you forgot to look up!"
And I wonder, how many times, this week, we forgot to look up.
Surely we know that God is aware of what we’re doing, aren’t we?
Have we forgotten that He knows what we are saying?
Have we forgotten that He knows where we are going?
He knows. He is familiar with all our ways!
Not one thing is hidden from Him.
He knows what we do. But also...
B. God Knows What We Think (v. 2b)
Psalm 139:2b "...you perceive my thoughts from afar."
This not only refers to what we think, but why we think it. He knows our aims, our intents, our motives for why we think it. Even we don’t always understand our own intentions, do we? But God does, and He’s the only One who does. He not only knows them, He fully understands them. He knows all about our thoughts, why we think them, why they are there, how they affect us...He knows all of that.
Our most secret thoughts are never hidden from Him. He knows them even before we think them. That might be what’s behind the words, "...from afar." It could not only have the meaning that He knows our thoughts from afar off as from heaven, but it could also have the meaning that He knows our thoughts even when those thoughts are afar off from us. In other words, before we ever think them. (Not like the child from the south who thought there should be 3 firemen in Christmas play, "Three wisemen from a fire")
He knows everything about us. Even we don’t know why we do the things we do.
Do you know why you say some of the things you say?
God knows.
Do you know why you get angry when you do? God knows.
He knows, and He understands. He knows our thoughts.
And since He’s the only One who knows all about them, the best way to know ourselves better is to get to know God. Human counselors can help us somewhat and sometimes, but they can’t begin to know us like God knows us.
He knows us fully and completely. He understands us thoroughly.
He knows what we think even before we think it.
400 years before Christ, the philosopher Socrates said,
"Know thyself." And people have been trying to do it ever since. But the best way to know yourself is to get to know God. Because He is the only One who fully understands us.
He knows what we do, He knows what we think, and also...
C. God Knows What We Say (v. 4)
"Before a word (mullah) is on my tongue
you know it completely (kullah), O LORD."
"...on my tongue..." Suggests that the word is about to be spoken. Something like "It’s on the tip of my tongue." It hasn’t come out yet, but it’s about to. And even before it comes out, God knows what it is. Amazing, isn’t it? I don’t always know what I’m going to say before I say it, do you? But God does!
I think of all those things I have said in my life that I wish I had not said. "How could I have said that?! How stupid was that?" I’m sure you’ve never had that experience, right? But, you know what, I never caught God by surprise. He knew what I was going to say before I even said it.
And He never stopped loving me, even when I’ve said some things I later regretted. How come He keeps on loving me? Because He is Yahweh, Jehovah. He is the covenant-keeping God. He chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world. And He will never let go of me.
What a wonderful Lord! Amen?
What an awesome God!
Just think about this for a minute...
He knew that you were going to scream at the kids before the words ever came out of your mouth. He knew what was coming.
He also knew about those selfish and insensitive words you were about to say to your wife before they ever came pouring off your tongue.
He knew about those sarcastic words you were about to say to your husband and finally did come out.
He knew, yet He keeps loving us. He still loves us.
He loves us unconditionally.
There’s nothing you can do to make Him love you more than He loves you right now.
But that kind of love should motivate us to speak the kind of words that bring Him joy and blessing to other people. It should motivate us to speak words that encourage and build up other people, and not words that tear down and destroy.
He knows what we do, He knows what we think, He knows what we say. And 4th, I want you to see...
D. God Knows What We Need (v. 5)
"You hem me in--behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me."
Verse 5 actually introduces for us what we will be talking about next week, God’s omnipresence. So, for the time being, let’s move on to the last clause of verse 5.
The phrase "...you have laid your hand upon me" contains a wonderful truth. Because to lay your hand on someone in the Old Testament meant to bestow on them your blessing and offer them your protection. And that’s exactly what God does for us. Him laying His hand on us is like Him saying, "I’m here with you. I know what you need. And I’m ready to help you."
What a tremendous help and encouragement that can be for us!
I have in my mind a picture of a mother going over to her little child and putting her hand gently on him. Because often she knows just exactly what that child needs. And just the gentle touch of her hand will sometimes quiet him down. He knows that
"Mom is here!" He’s learned it from experience. "Mom’s here. She knows what I need. She’s going to help me."
"You have laid your hand upon me" David writes. God knows everything we need, and He’s there to help us. His help is always there. If we will let Him help us.
He knows when we are laid down with grief, with burdens that seem insurmountable. He is there to provide help and comfort. He knows when we experience pain. And He provides the grace to help bear it.
He knows when we are facing the ache and pain of loneliness. And He is right there with His companionship.
Think of it...
Wherever you are.
Whatever you are doing.
Whatever circumstances have invaded your life.
Your All-Seeing, All-Knowing Heavenly Father is aware of it,
And His comforting, strengthening, and protecting hand is upon you!
What a great truth... "you have laid your hand upon me."
God is so great. God is so good.
He knows everyone of us better than we know ourselves.
He can do whatever needs to be done for anyone of His children throughout the whole world all at the same time.
It’s mind-blowing isn’t it?
That was David’s conclusion as well.
We see, finally...
III. THE WONDER OF GOD’S KNOWLEDGE (v. 6)
"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."
Today we would say, "It blows my mind!"
This is more than our minds can grasp.
The Apostle Paul said very much the same thing in Romans 11...
Romans 11:33-36
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
God knows us!
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God."
And we can’t grasp it fully. It’s too much for our minds to contain!
God knows us!
He knows our every thought we think, even before we think it.
He knows everything we do, even before we do it.
He knows every word we say, even before we say it.
And He knows our every need.
He knows our every emotion.
He knows our every motive.
He knows our every intention.
He knows our every desire.
He knows our every decision we face.
He knows every trial we suffer.
He knows EVERYTHING!
That can be a convicting thing can’t it?
I mean, we can sneak around and try to hide things from each other. We can pretend. We can put on airs. We can put on false fronts, as if everything is just fine. We can fool one another.
But, you know what, we can’t fool God!
He knows everything!
God knows!
It can be convicting, but it can also be a comforting thing for us. To think that He knows us and understands everything about us can be an encouraging and comforting thing for us. He knows when our motives are pure when maybe others are questioning our motives. When others misjudge or misrepresent us, God knows the truth. He knows. He knows every sincere effort we make to please Him, to praise Him, and to glorify Him.
When unjustly criticized, God knows our hearts.
He knows us!
He knows whether or not we are His children.
He knows whether or not you have turned from your sins and trusted Christ as your Savior and Lord.
He knows!
He knows those of us who might be incorrectly putting their faith not in Jesus and His work on the cross, but rather putting their faith in their good works. He knows!
He knows if we have accepted His gift of grace, His gift of salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."
So, the question is, "Have you accepted the gift of God, His salvation?" God knows whether or not you have done that.
What better gift could you get this Christmas? I know Christmas Day has past, but it’s not too late to get the very best Christmas gift of all...God’s gift of salvation given to you.
What better way to start off the New Year?
What better way to start the New Year off as a child of God?
You can be born again spiritually by accepting His gift of salvation He is offering to you.
Why not accept that gift today?
