Our church enjoyed a special day yesterday with Kevin and Rebecca. As I was preparing for the service, I was drawn to Psalm 139 and I would encourage you to open your Bible to this Psalm as you read today’s Back Page. So much of life is a matter of perspective – how we look at things. The tendency today (for lack of a better term) is to “dumb down” God – to bring Him down to our level; to make Him our friend, which He is, but only after we first understand His holiness and righteousness. Man seems to find ways to constantly make God small.
A marvelous antidote to this view of God is found Psalm 139, which is the text we examined in the memorial service yesterday. This Psalm, written by David, paints an exalted picture of God and yet, like many Psalms, paints it in stunningly personal ways.
For example, in verses 1-6 we find that God sees and knows everything. David begins the Psalm by addressing God, acknowledging that His knowledge is not passive and is not merely an abstract thing: it is active, personal and comprehensive. The God portrayed in this Psalm knows David so thoroughly that He knows every movement his body makes; every habit of his life; and also every thought he entertains and every word he speaks – even before they are formulated! And the same goes for each one of us!
The psalm goes on to paint a picture of God’s omnipresence in verses 7-12. Yet again, the thought in the text is not abstract. When David asks, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” it is pretty obvious that there is a part of him that wants to get away from God – but it cannot be done (read about Elijah or Jonah sometime). If David were to fly to the heavens or descend to hell; if he were to travel as far east or as far west as possible; if he were to hide even in pitch black darkness nothing could hide him from God’s searching gaze.
In verses 13-18 the psalm reminds us that God is the Creator and providential Ruler – He alone is sovereign. Notice David doesn’t go back to the Creation, but instead to his own formation in his mother’s womb – something that’s nothing other than a work of God, for all its incredible complexity. Nor does the God relinquish control once the creature is made: “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (139:16). This truth isn’t meant to compromise human responsibility, but should serve to increase our faith. Perhaps it is the sheer breadth of such knowledge that prompts David to pen the last two verses of this section: God’s thoughts cannot be numbered, for they are more numerous than the grains of sand by the sea.
Finally, we find in verses 19-24 that God is utterly holy. David’s response to evil people is merely a function of his loyalty to God. What saves his closing thoughts from mere vindictive self-righteousness is the fact that, in the light of this God’s holiness, David is no less resolved to deal with any evil in his own life – as should we.
Pastor John