Psalm 139 - Inescapable

Psalm 139:1-24 NIV

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 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. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 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.

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.

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Psalm 139 is a very beloved psalm. It's so personal. The psalmist describes the intimacy and immediacy of God our creator. This psalm was read every morning by Bishop Woodie W. White of the United Methodist Church as part of his morning devotions. It is a reminder of the wonderful news that God is with us.

First the psalmist acknowledges the omniscience of God. God knows his every thought. God sees his every move. God is deeply familiar with him and his habits.

While God is all knowing, the psalmist acknowledges his own limited understanding. That's what it's like to humble yourself before God. That is the appropriate response to the majesty of holy God.

Then the psalmist turns his thoughts to the omnipresence of the Lord. God is everywhere. There's no place we can go where God is not. We cannot hide from God. Even in death God is there. If we were to be buried under the rubble of a collapsed building, our mortal remains never to be found, God would still be there with us. If we were lost at sea, we are not alone. God is with us. If we were astronauts lost in the darkness of space, light years from any inhabitable planet, God would still be there.

God is not hidden by the darkness, nor does evil and suffering mean that God is absent. God is intimately present and involved in all that happens in His creation. The psalmist wonders at God as creator. He has made us. He knows how we are put together. He knows what we're made of and the length of our days.

The psalmist thinks of God having a book with the plan for his life written out, every day, every event. So not only is God the builder, God is the conductor, directing our lives here on earth.

If all that the psalmist believed about God were true, then why is there suffering? Does God plan for us to endure war, tragedy and hardship? Some believe so. I do not.

I believe there's way more freedom in our living than every move I make and every decision I think being something preordained by God. I believe that God has foreseen every single possibility for the course of my life and wills the best course for me. I have to discover God's will in a fallen world in which I begin as deaf, blind, lame, and thick-headed. It's a life long journey. I must learn the grace of watching each day unfold, and surrendering to life as it comes, trusting that God is with me working out His good purposes for the world.

We all suffer at times. Some suffer more than others. Some are born into horrible circumstances and never leave them until they die, by all accounts a miserable existence. But God is there with them, knocking at the door of their hearts seeking to awaken their souls and save them.

Psalm 139 deals with the issue of suffering. What seems like a sudden detour coming out of nowhere, the psalmist leaves His grateful wondering at the awesomeness of God and cries out against the wicked. It's almost like he's saying, "God, Your are so awesome, too wonderful. Knowing You are with me is just such a blessing. Life would be perfect if only You would destroy all the bad people in the world. I hate them. Won't you get rid of my enemies?"

The irony follows when the psalmist humbly asks the Lord to make him aware of any wickedness within himself. Did he not just reveal his wicked intent against his foes? As a Jew his hated is righteous indignation. He would not think of his hatred as a bad thing. He is defending God and all that is true with his hateful desire to see rebels crushed.

As a Christian, taught to love my enemies and to pray for my persecutors, I cannot make the hatred in this psalm a part of my prayers. While I appreciate the cathartic nature of expressing anger, even violent hostility, in response to injustice, wickedness and oppression, I do not think that Christ Jesus would have me pray such a prayer.

This section of the psalm seems out of place and almost ruins it for me. But isn't that the point? Life with God is beautiful. Life on earth can be such a blessing. It could be heaven it weren't for evildoers. Evil ruins it for us.

The problem is that we all do evil. Compared to God we are all wicked and deserving to be slayed by God righteous sword. If God were to treat us as our sins deserve we'd all perish. But that is not God's desire. He wants all to come to repentance and be reconciled to Him unto salvation. See what the apostle wrote.

2 Peter 3:9 NIV

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

In this imperfect world, beautiful and horrid at times, filled with imperfect people who can both be loving and cruel, show the patience of the Lord. The Lord is patient and merciful to you. Share the same with your enemies and those who disturb your peace. Don't worry that wickedness runs unchecked. God sees all and knows every heart. God discovers every twisted plot. No one is getting away with anything. All will be judged fairly in time according to the love, mercy and wisdom of God.