"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"
INTRODUCTION
Taking a personal inventory is a difficult thing to do. In Paul’s letter to Rome he writes: For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned (Romans 12.3; cp. Galatians 6.2-4). It is easy, though frequently unprofitable, to judge what others are doing (Matthew 7.3-5). It is much more difficult properly to assess one’s own strengths and weaknesses. Yet the Christian has no hope of achieving any degree of maturity without becoming self-aware. Last week we observed that people are influenced by their family heritage, by their peers, by the inward call of God on their life and by their commitment to live self-disciplined lives. This week we will briefly examine Psalm 139 where we will discover that David is eager to comply with God’s sovereign work in shaping his life.
Psalm 139 is an intensely personal reflection on the loving, all-knowing, ever-present, providential care of God. David revels in the merciful, omniscient intervention of his loving Lord. He happily acknowledges that God is familiar with everything about him. There are no secrets to be kept from God. Every true believer longs to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8.29; 12.2; Ephesians 4.22-24; Philippians 1.6). Though it is unpleasant to be confronted by one’s sin, it is necessary in order to experience the freedom and joy that comes from confession and repentance (Psalm 38; 40.1-5). David emphatically declares that God’s infinite knowledge, even of his “secret thoughts,” is a glorious thing. Indeed, the psalm opens with praise to the Lord because he knows his servant so intimately and it closes with an appeal that God would further examine his heart and remove any duplicitous thoughts or behavior.
THE LORD KNOWS ME (139.1-6)
The psalmist does not view the omniscient knowledge of God as an intrusion into his privacy. Quite to the contrary, he believes God is loving and protective. There is great security for the Christian in knowing that nothing he thinks or does is beyond the purview of God’s sovereign control. Nothing is hidden from God; not even the most mundane activity escapes his notice or is outside his decretive will (cp. Matthew 6.25-26). One may hide his motivations from even his closest friends, but he cannot escape the penetrating gaze of the Lord. Job says of God, His eyes are on the ways of men; he sees their every step. There is no dark place, no deep shadow, where evildoers can hide (Job 34.21; cp. Ecclesiastes 12.14; Romans 2.16). And, of course, the author of Hebrews writes, Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account (Hebrews 4.14).
The heroes of Scripture are those who submit to the purifying work of God’s mercy and delight in discipline of their souls (Psalm 51.7-12; Hebrews 12.3-8). They desire pure hearts and are fully devoted to the Lord. Such an openness and transparency is an invitation to the refining fire of the Spirit. The Bible bears witness to many such people. For example, Caleb was a man whom the Lord acknowledged as having a unique spirit: “But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it” (Numbers 14.24; cp. Joshua 14.13-14). God is always looking for those whose hearts are fully devoted to him. For example, at the end of Asa’s sad life, after he had failed to trust the Lord, the prophet Hanani reminded him of an earlier day when he had been obedient and the Lord had blessed him with military victories: Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him (2 Chronicles 16.8-9: cp. Ezekiel 22.30). It is good to start the race well, but how you finish the race is even more important. Solomon started well but finished poorly, Jacob started poorly but finished well. Submitting to the ongoing purifying work of the Holy Spirit is crucial to staying the course and finishing the race.
In a great many ways David was a model of one whose heart belonged to the Lord (e.g., 2 Chronicles 17.3; 29.2; 34.2). After Solomon had finished building the temple, the Lord admonished Solomon to follow in the footsteps of his father: And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever … (1 Kings 9.4-5; Acts 13.22). By way of contrast, David writes of the ungodly: An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: there is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin (Psalm 36.1-2). There are two classes of people in the this world: those who love God and those who don’t. There are lots of subsets, but those are the two main categories.
THE LORD SURROUNDS ME (139.7-12)
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. The psalmist poetically observes that there is no place to hide from God’s presence, not in the heavens, not in the depths, not on the far side of the sea, and not even in the darkness. More importantly, he recognizes that he must endure God’s scrutiny before he can experience his cleansing. When Adam and Eve heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day they attempted to hide themselves. Though they had not yet undergone judgment they knew themselves to be under the curse of sin and were afraid of God’s holy presence (Genesis 3.8-15). For those who are indifferent or hate God, evidence of his presence is an odious thing. This is not true of the psalmist: God’s constant presence is the source of his comfort and security. Ironically, Christians who do not consistently walk in obedience to Christ find themselves behaving like unbelievers: they vainly attempt to flee from the presence of God. But the only protection from the judgment of God is the judgment of God. That is, those who would escape God’s wrath directed towards them must appeal to that very wrath which was directed toward the Son of God crucified in their place. The one who would be freed from the penalty of sin must first acknowledge he is a sinner (Luke 5.32). Then, having been reckoned righteous by the righteousness of Christ, the believer may bask in the grace of the sustaining presence of God. There is a wonderful illustration of this in Isaiah 63.7-19. Isaiah retells the story of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt, In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old (cp. Deuteronomy 31.6, 8). So too the Christian is assured of God’s presence and protection (cp. John 14.16; Matthew 28.20).
God is not limited by time or space. The nations bordering Israel worshiped false deities to whom they believed themselves to be bound in some fashion, whether by the elements, or geographically, or some other constraint. David declares that the living God knows of no such limitations. He is light and he dispels the darkness (cp. John 1.5; Jonah 2.8; Isaiah 44.17-18). So, no matter what the circumstances or wherever the psalmist might be, he is confident that the Lord is ever present. The Lord will examine and purify his heart so that he might always be comforted by God’s presence. When the psalmist writes that he is hemmed in by the Lord (v. 5) he is not speaking of confinement, but of freedom.
I REJOICE IN THE LORD’S PLAN FOR ME (139.13-18)
Man was created in the image of God. That is, he is corporeal (incarnation), spiritual, moral, and intellectual (knowing). This being true, God has a purpose for men and women, namely, to know and to enjoy Him. This is the point of Psalm 37.4-6 (see my sermon notes from June 25, 2006).
God is concerned with the individuals whom he has formed for his purpose. Therefore praise is the proper response to God’s grace of discernment, perception and purpose. The child of God sees God’s presence everywhere (vv. 7-12) and experiences the joy of God’s watchful eye over him. All of God’s “works” are “wonderful,” but the believer senses more than any other part of God’s creation that he is “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Though God’s grace to him is like a “knowledge … too wonderful for” him (v. 6), he lives with a personal awareness of God’s gracious purpose (“I know that full well”). The psalmist reveals a unique awareness of God’s grace toward him and responds with a hymn of thanksgiving (“I praise you”). (Willem VanGemeren, “The Psalms,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 838)
Paul states this in Ephesians 2.10: For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. And in keeping with God’s sovereign purpose in his life he punctuates his letters with praise (e.g., Ephesians 3.20-21). God’s workmanship, the psalmist says, is written in your book (v. 16). He does not default to fatalism, but acknowledges the sovereign and effectual love of God for the elect whose names are written in the book of life. There is nothing that escapes the Lord’s notice. In Psalm 56.8 David writes, Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll - are they not in your record? There is a book of remembrance in which are written the names of those who love the Lord (Malachi 3.16; Revelation 20.12). Though it is not possible to understand the mind of God completely (Isaiah 55.8-9; Job 42.3), it is possible to worship Him for His greatness. “Yahweh’s plans are beyond man’s ability to comprehend, as they are more in number than the sand of the sea (vv. 17-18; cp. Gen 22:17; 32:12). They are like a dream; but, unlike a dream, God’s love is real. When awake the psalmist knows that he still enjoys God’s presence (v. 18)” (VanGemeren, p. 839).
VINDICATE ME AND LEAD ME IN RIGHTEOUSNESS (139.19-24)
Some protest that the imprecatory conclusion to this Psalm is inconsistent with all that the psalmist has said. Yet, there is no peace without reconciliation with God. The psalmist is not speaking of his enemies; rather, he is aligning himself with God, and thus God’s enemies are his enemies (cp. Psalm 2.10-12). He has no tolerance for those who oppose the holiness of God. He wants nothing to do with them. The believer has nothing to do with those who oppose God. Jehu the son of Hanani rebukes Jehoshaphat (a good king of Judah) because he lent assistance to Ahab (a wicked king of Israel). Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is upon you (2 Chronicles 19.2; cp. Revelation 2.2; Psalm 101.3-4). Jesus said: No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Luke 16.13; cf. 2 Corinthians 6.17). So too the psalmist cries out for the vindication of righteousness. Let there be an end to evil and evil doers. Those who misuse the name of the Lord must be silenced. John understood this and recorded the saints’ plea for vindication: They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6.10; also 5.8; 8.3).
The Lord who is everywhere present searches the psalmist’s heart, finding in it a holy desire for union with himself. Thus the psalmist’s final plea is for still further perfection – Search me, O 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. Of course, what good is it to pray this terrifying prayer if one does so without the full weight of confession upon his lips? The heart’s desire must be for the cleansing penetration of the Holy Spirit. This was the expression of Peter’s heart who, when being restored to fellowship with the Lord Jesus, exclaimed in anguish, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you (John 21.17). Christ alone is our refuge (Matthew 11.28-30).
