“Lord, you have searched me and known me”
Scripture: Psalm 139: 1-6
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Reader: This is the word of the Lord. Response: Thanks be to God.
Some thoughts:
Have you ever had someone stand too close to you when you were having a conversation? There is a certain amount of distance we like to keep. Our souls also have that tendency in relation to God. We want to be in control of that “soul space.” If people get too close to our “soul space,” we can get hurt or embarrassed. In some cases it’s because deep down we know what’s there and we’d rather no one (or God) find out what we are really like. As we read the first five verses of David’s Psalm 139, we see a pretty transparent, even unnerving picture. We learn of a God who sees right into our “soul space.” We have a God who cares about us and knows who we are, from whom nothing is hidden, and loves us anyway. He is aware of our physical movement (have you ever just missed having an accident?), what we think, where we rest, what all our habits are. He knows what we will say before we say it. He protects us and guards us as we move in our paths of life. We have a God who absolutely cares and is committed to us. David’s response is that this is wonderful news. Is it good news to you? If we are honest, the answer is probably “yes” and “no.” Sometimes we want to run things ourselves. Is there some “soul space” that you can identify and open to a loving, understanding God? Is there some aspect of your life that you don’t want to let go of, or simply avoid addressing? If you can’t come up with anything, ask God to show you. He will! The truth is, there is always something in your life that needs attention. It’s called sanctification!
Music: “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus” Audrey Assad and Fernando Ortega
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vUhwyjdk8A&start_radio=1&list=RD1vUhwyjdk8A
Hymn: O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus Trevor Francis, 1890
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of his love,
Leading onward, leading homeward to that glorious rest above.
Prayer: O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire you with our whole heart, that so desiring we may seek and find you, and so finding you, may love you, and loving you, may hate those sins from which you have redeemed us.
–Anselm 1033-1109