Psalm 139:1-2. You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

Transcription

1 Psalm 139:1-2 John Chrysostom was a gifted preacher whose aim was to see his city of Antioch become wholly Christian. In the late fourth century He wrote a book of reflections on the Psalms. On these first two verses he extrapolates on what could be meant by God searching and knowing us. By them he reminds us that no one else can know us as intimately as God. Though he is everywhere in one sense, he also has a close personal knowledge of us. God knows everything that has happened and will happen. He searches us not to know us personally (for he already does), but to give his stamp of approval to those subjected to [the search]. By knowing our sitting and rising the psalm reminds us that God knows every aspect of who we are. Take this moment, right now, to make yourself aware that God knows you personally. He has searched you and knows you. He knows when you sit and when you rise. He knows all of your thoughts.

2 Psalm 139:1-4 John Calvin was one of many sixteenth century Christians who sought to reform the church from the abusive power structure that has developed at that time. Calvin, like Augustine before him, emphasized God s supreme knowledge of all things. In regards to these verses he affirms that God knows us thoroughly, far better than we know ourselves. God doesn t need us to form words to share with him because he reads our hearts. Even if we choose it, Calvin says that we cannot hide from God s all-knowing and always-present nature. Take a moment to be aware that God is reading your heart. Refrain from forming words and rest in the reality that God knows every word before it is said. He knows every movement, before it is made.

3 Psalm 139:1-6 Basil of Caesarea lived in the fourth century balancing both care for the poor and underprivileged with his theological work to develop liturgy for the formation of hearts. Of his preserved writings on these verses, Basil resonates with knowing oneself as most difficult to grasp. In a homily on these verses he once said to a church family to: study the process of breathing, the manner in which the heart conserves its warmth, the organs of digestion and the veins, you will discern in all of these wonders the inscrutable wisdom of the Creator; so that you will be able to say with the prophet: You knowledge is become wonderful from the study of myself. Give heed, therefore, to yourself, that you may give heed to God, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Take a moment to respond to Basil s direction and consider the intricate systems at work in your own body. Breathing, circulation, digestion, that we might respond to God like the psalmist expressing your knowledge is too wonderful for me.

4 Psalm 139:1-8 Hilary of Poitiers, a 4th Century pastor and theologian lived in a time when political agendas trumped theological pursuit. Historically buried reasons account for his banishment to a remote area. After four years living in exile Hilary wrote a number of theological reflections on the Psalms marked by his winter season of formation. On these verses he reflects that there is no place without God. Take a moment and consider what this means to you. There is no place without God. Hilary reflects further on these verses saying they filled my soul with joy, at the contemplation of this excellent and ineffable knowledge, because it worshipped this infinity of a boundless eternity in this Father and Creator.

5 Psalm 139:1-10 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Charles Spurgeon wrote weekly reflections on the Psalms for a London newspaper between 1865 and When he got to the 139th Psalm he wrote the following in his weekly column about these few lines: we could only fly from God by his own power. The Lord would be leading, covering, preserving, sustaining us even when we were fugitives from him. And if God is with us when we flee from him, Spurgeon also comments on how God accompanies us on every mission we undertake for his purposes. He continues saying Should we be commanded on the most distant errand, we may assuredly depend upon the upholding right hand of God as with us in all mercy, wisdom, and power. Both the hands of God are with his own servants to sustain them, and against rebels to overthrow them; and in this respect it matters not to what realms they resort, the active energy of God is around them still. Feel both the hands of God on you at this moment. Wherever you have been and wherever you are going, the active energy of God is around you.

6 Psalm 139:1-12 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. The poetic image of darkness being light generates many questions about what is meant by this darkness/light imagery. Beloved professor Bruce Waltke, now 85 yet still teaches the Psalms course at Regent College in Vancouver, provides one explanation. Darkness in the Bible is more than the absence of light it is a realm that is cut off from light, hostile to that which provides safety, freedom, and success; it is the realm of evil and of the wicked, of disaster and of death. Waltke continues saying light, in contrast to darkness, represents the good will of God toward his creation. Darkness [the psalmist] realizes, does not exist in God s presence. In fact, in God s presence night shines. Darkness is a light. Waltke s paradoxical explanation may be what you need at this moment to understand how God works in your life. Consider a recent darkness in your life and invite God to help you realize how it too could shine in the advent of God s presence.

7 Psalm 139:1-14 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Sarah Bessey is a Christian living in Abbotsford. She is also the author of the book Jesus Feminist where she says Jesus made her a feminist. She defines feminism as the simple belief that women are people too. Sarah adds her voice to others in the church who have given application to the awesome expression I am fearfully and wonderfully made. She writes, The people of God have a unique and beautiful message for the women of the world: You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Your Abba delights in you. You are equal. You are lovely. You are called; you are chosen; you are beloved. You are gifted. You belong. You have worth and value. You matter. Let us, each of us, all of, as equals, say this to God: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

8 Psalm 139:1-18 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand when I awake, I am still with you. As beautiful as they are, these last few stanzas were used at the beginning of the second century to mock the church. Celsus scorned the idea that God would incarnate himself in the person Jesus Christ if he already knows humanity so completely. For fifty years, it seems, this criticism went unchallenged. In the year 248, Origen responded to Celsus. He reveals that it is Jesus Christ, who is reflected in this psalm knowing humankind from the very beginning, and showing more compassion by becoming flesh to reach everyone. I invite you to sing the words of this next song, O how he love us, in light of what is disclosed in the psalm, that Christ loves us so fully because he because he knows us so fully.

9 Psalm 139:1-22 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand when I awake, I am still with you. If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. At this sudden change in tone, you would not be the first to question whether this sort of expression belongs. But this is why contemporary theologian Walter Bruggeman believes it does belong. He believes nothing is censored in the Psalms. Here, as the psalmist articulates their desire for vengeance, we connect to something that takes up at least some space in all of us. Humans have a capacity for hatred. The psalms do not censor this, but provide a place for self-discovery with God. If these intense feelings are left unspoken, they in Bruggman s words loom too large, and we are condemned by them. When spoken, [they] are brought into a context in which they can be discerned differently.

10 Is there something that is unspoken between you and God right now. Something, that in the safety of conversation with God alone, could be tamed and restored simply by expressing it. Imagine God as near to you as a most trusted friend and share anything you sense has been unspoken for too long. The psalm ends, as does out successive reading of it, with a summary and invitation for God to routinely search us and direct us. Search me, 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.