Search Me, O God, And Know My Heart Series

BIG IDEA: GOD KNOWS ME INTIMATELY SO HE CAN TAKE

CARE OF ME PERFECTLY

(:1) INTRODUCTION: GOD IS A THOROUGH INVESTIGATOR

“O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me”

I. (:2-6) GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT ME = OMNISCIENCE

(WE ARE AN OPEN BOOK BEFORE GOD)

A. God Knows Everything I Do

“Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up”

B. God Knows Everything I Think

“Thou dost understand my thought from afar”

C. God Knows Everywhere I Go

“Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down,

And art intimately acquainted with all my ways”

D. God Knows Everything I Say

“Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all”

E. God Uses This Knowledge to Provide Providential Protection

“Thou hast enclosed me behind and before,

And laid Thy hand upon me.”

God’s knowledge has a benevolent purpose.

F. Such Intimate Knowledge is Beyond our Comprehension

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

It is too high, I cannot attain to it”

II. (:7-12) THERE IS NO PLACE WHERE I CAN HIDE FROM

GOD’S SCRUTINY = OMNIPRESENCE

(WE ARE SURROUNDED BY GOD’S PRESENCE)

A. Summary Question:

“Where can I go from Thy Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Thy presence?”

cf. the example of Jonah

B. Heaven or Sheol.“If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there;

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there.”

C. East or West

“If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea”

D. Summary Principle: God’s Presence Is Intended to Guide and Protect Us

“Even there Thy hand will lead me,

And Thy right hand will lay hold of me”

E. Darkness or Light

“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,

And the light around me will be night,

Even the darkness is not dark to Thee, And the night is as bright as the day.

Darkness and light are alike to Thee.”

III. (:13-16) GOD KNOWS ME FROM THE INSIDE OUT BECAUSE

HE CREATED ME INDIVIDUALLY

(WE ARE COMPLETELY GOD’S CREATION – FROM A TO Z)

A. My Sovereign Creator Formed Me in My Mother’s Womb

“For Thou didst form my inward parts;

Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb.”

B. My Sovereign Creator Deserves Thanksgiving for an Awesome Work

“I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well.”

C. My Sovereign Creator Was Involved Right From the Beginning

“My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.”

D. My Sovereign Creator Ordained My Days Before I Ever Existed

“Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them .”

IV. (:17-18) SUCH INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE IS A GOOD THING

A. God’s Thoughts Regarding Me are Precious

“How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God!”

B. God’s Thoughts Regarding Me are Innumerable

“How vast is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.”

C. God’s Presence With Me is Precious.“When I awake, I am still with Thee.”

V. (:19-22) ASIDE: GOD’S ENEMIES ARE MY ENEMIES

A. Longing for Divine Vengeance on the Wicked

“O that Thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God”

B. Longing for Separation from Violent Men

“Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.”

C. Indictment Against God’s Enemies

“For they speak against Thee wickedly,

And Thine enemies take Thy name in vain.”

D. Hatred for God’s Enemies / They Have Become My Enemies

“Do I not hate those who hate Thee, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against Thee?

I hate them with the utmost hatred;

They have become my enemies.”

(:23-24) CONCLUSION: KEEP SEARCHING AND LEADING ME

A. Keep Searching Me

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;”

B. Keep Leading Me

“And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.”

Psalmist not afraid of being put under the searchlight of God’s scrutiny. In this way God will vindicate him from unjustified attacks by the wicked; God will correct any of his sinful patterns and continue to lead him in the paths of righteousness.

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DEVOTIONAL QUESTIONS:

1) Are we bitter about some aspect of God’s Design in our life? About how He has made us? Is there some feature that we wish God had designed differently? We need to come to the place where we can give God thanks for how wonderfully He has designed us.