CELEBRATE. INTIMACY Psalm 139

Transcription

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2 GODISNOWHERE

3 GOD IS NOWHERE

4 GOD IS NOW HERE

5 CELEBRATE INTIMACY Psalm 139

6 Psalm 139 is one of the most beautiful psalms in the collection, and one of the most profound. Theological students frequently learn about it first when they study Bible doctrines, notably the omniscience and omnipresence of God. But more than a proof text for doctrines, this psalm has a powerful message in its own right that must be expounded. It is a deep meditation on the nature of God in connection to a crisis that the psalmist was facing. In other words, it is practical theology. Allen Ross

7 OMNISCIENCE The LORD knows and evaluates every aspect of our lives. Psalm 139:1-6

8 OMNISCIENCE Summary Statement: The LORD knows us thoroughly (1). Development: The LORD S knowledge is penetrating (2-4). Conclusion: The LORD S knowledge seems overwhelming and restrictive (5,6). Psalm 139:1-6

9 The question remains as to whether God s knowledge is comforting or upsetting to him. Tremper Longman

10 fearful delight Dale Davis

11 OMNISCIENCE O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:1-6

12 You know me. know (י דע) This is personal, intimate and experiential knowledge. Far more than knowing about us, God knows us very well. He knows us as individuals and in a personal way. In fact, He knows us better than we know ourselves.

13 OMNISCIENCE Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Psalm 139:1-6

14 The point is that God not only knows every move people make, but He knows their motivations as well, what they are striving for in them. Allen Ross

15 You hem me in. hem, surround (צ ור) This is a military word that is often translated besieged. It has the sense of being surrounded and restricted. It results in an unwanted confinement from which there is no escape.

16 B. Anxiety: Escaping I AM s Omniscience I AM s active omniscience is also frightening as seen in the second strophe s military terms on the horizontal and vertical axes. Bruce Waltke

17 You lay your hand on me. hand ( כף) This is not the normal word for the hand (י ד) which usually indicates God s power and ability to save or judge. Here we have the word for the palm of the hand. This picture is God cupping the psalmist like a bug trapped on a table.

18 It is too wonderful for me. great, awesome (פ ל א) This word describes something that is difficult to understand. It is often seen as something miraculous or surpassing our ability to even comprehend or articulate. The result of this word is the person is awestruck and thus this is something that is awesome. It is something that is wonderful in the sense that it makes us wonder about it. In the final analysis this provokes praise.

19 OMNIPRESENCE The LORD is always present to guide and protect us, no matter how remote or dangerous the place may be. Psalm 139:7-12

20 OMNIPRESENCE Summary Statement: There is no place we can go to flee from the LORD (7). Development: The LORD is present everywhere in the universe (8-10). Conclusion: Nothing hinders the protective presence of the LORD (11,12). Psalm 139:7-12

21 OMNIPRESENCE Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 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. Psalm 139:7-12

22 Your hand will lead me. lead, guide (נ ח ה) Now we get the normal word for the hand (י ד) which usually indicates God s power and ability to save. The word for leading is used in Psalm 23 of the shepherd caring for his sheep and it evokes ideas and images of comfort and tender concern.

23 OMNIPRESENCE If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. Psalm 139:7-12

24 OMNIPOTENCE (We know these things because) The LORD has lovingly superintended and planned our lives from the womb. Psalm 139:13-18

25 OMNIPOTENCE Summary Statement: The LORD has made us (13). Development: The LORD superintended our development in keeping with His plan for us (14-16). Conclusion: The LORD S loving intentions for us are precious and innumerable (17,18). Psalm 139:13-18

26 OMNIPOTENCE For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Psalm 139:13-18

27 You formed my inward parts. inner, kidneys (כ ל י ה) This is the inmost parts of as person. In current terminology we would use the heart. It is the deepest seat of emotion and will where decisions are made. This is essentially the conscience of the person.

28 My frame was not hidden. frame, fetus (נ ל מ י) The Hebrew noun ג ל ם (golem) occurs only here in the OT. In later Hebrew the word refers to a lump, a shapeless or rolled up substance, and to unfinished matter, something that needs to be finished. The NET employs the dynamic rendering when I was inside the womb to clarify that the speaker was still in his mother s womb at the time he was seen by God.

29 OMNIPOTENCE Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. Psalm 139:13-18

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31 OMNIPOTENCE Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. Psalm 139:19-24

32 HUMBLE RESPONSE (Therefore) We may find great comfort and security in the LORD if we are loyal to Him. Psalm 139:19-24

33 HUMBLE RESPONSE Summary Lesson: Those who are loyal to the LORD separate from the LORD S enemies (19-22). Concluding Prayer: The faithful seek to maintain integrity throughout their life (23-24). Psalm 139:19-24

34 OMNIPOTENCE Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. Psalm 139:19-24

35 OMNIPOTENCE 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! Psalm 139:19-24

36 Self-defense only shuts the door upon God s mercy, whereas humility opens to deeper self-knowledge, leading in turn to greater intimacy with the Lover of our Souls. James Houston

37 In short, the psalm teaches the covenantal people several truths on how to have authenticity and integrity in their relationship with God. 1. The faithful welcome God s intimate scrutiny of their hearts. 2. The faithful know that God has good intentions for them from the moment of their conception. 3. The faithful clearly confess their allegiance to the 4. covenant-keeping God. 5. True worshippers confess their sin and are aware of sin s subtle ability to delude them. Bruce Waltke

38 If people are unfaithful to God, then God s knowledge and presence will be sources of conviction, but if people are loyal, they bring comfort. Allen Ross

39 CELEBRATE LOYAL LOVE The comprehensive knowledge, personal presence, and absolute power of the LORD brings great peace and comfort to those who are loyal to Him (and a stern warning to those who oppose Him). Psalm 139

40 GODISNOWHERE

41 GOD IS NOWHERE

42 GOD IS NOW HERE

43 CELEBRATE A Study in the Psalms