It is an honor to be with you all here this morning to fill in for Jason,
and hopefully I can do half as well as we look at God's word this morning.
Psalm 139, to the choir master, a psalm of David.
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.
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it all together.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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 were none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I could count them, there are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
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.
Search me, O God, and know my heart.
Try me and know my thoughts.
See if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the God is everlasting.
You may be seated.
My note, my bookmarks are falling out.
There we go.
A.W. Tozer, in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, begins his book this way.
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
For this reason, the gravest question before the church is always God himself.
And the most portentous or important fact of any man is not necessarily what at any given time he may say or do,
but what deep in his heart he conceives God to be like.
We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.
So in other words, if I can paraphrase, our conception or our understanding of who God is
will help to orient us in our daily walk,
in how we worship,
the direction of our families,
and ultimately the direction of our church.
So this morning, as we begin,
how would you describe God?
What's some of the first things to come to mind when you think of who God is?
Is he loving?
Merciful?
Powerful?
Maybe he's limited.
Maybe he's angry.
He's unfair.
Is God intimate and personal to you today?
This morning?
Have you built trust with God?
Have you built a relationship with him?
Or perhaps where you are right now, he is distant.
Maybe impersonal.
Maybe he's a philosophical, abstract idea.
Something you haven't grasped personally yet.
Maybe most importantly is your description and understanding of who God is
biblical and accurate.
Well, wherever you are this morning,
as we look at Psalm 139,
I want each and every one of you to be able to walk out of here
with a right understanding of who God is.
If our conception of God is the most important thing about us,
then I think it behooves us
to ensure that we have a right understanding of God,
to dive into the scriptures,
to look at it.
If you're here this morning,
and maybe you don't even agree with the premise of what I just read,
well then let me, hopefully this next 30 minutes,
will help to persuade you
that you really need to think about who God is.
By seeing who God is,
we must strive to align our perspective and our conception,
lest we violate the second commandment,
and we create an image of God
in our own making.
So Holy Spirit,
I ask that you will
open our eyes,
our minds,
our hearts,
that we may have the same understanding of God
that David the psalmist has.
Before we begin and dive in,
let us go before God in prayer.
Oh God,
your word is more precious than fine gold
and sweeter than purest honey.
As we turn to look to your scripture,
send your Holy Spirit to infuse your word with truth and grace,
so the good news of your personal love and care and provision
would shine before us this morning
and delight our senses,
so that we cannot help but to respond with wonder,
worship,
faith,
and trust.
Lord,
help me now to proclaim your truth
so that we may know you better.
In Christ's holy name,
Amen.
As we look at the scripture,
as we look at Psalm 139,
depending on how your Bible breaks it out,
you may see that there are essentially four stanzas.
Verses 1 through 6,
7 through 12,
13 through 18,
and 19 through 24.
Each of these stanzas are made up of the first four verses.
David provides a theme for us.
And then the last two verses of each stanza
are a little couplet
that emphasize or reinvigorate that theme.
If you are here this morning taking notes,
I have a little line or term for each of these stanzas.
They all begin with the sound N,
but as my young daughter is learning,
not every word that starts with an N starts with an N.
Sometimes we're going to start with a K.
So the first stanza is God knows you.
That's the one that starts with a K.
The second stanza is God is near you.
The third stanza,
God knit you.
God created you.
And the fourth stanza,
God is the nemesis of the wicked.
Not a common word,
but I'll explain that one as we get there.
Join me and look with me there at the first stanza.
God knows you.
Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me.
When I go to Google
and I'm searching for something on the internet,
it's not because I know what it is
before I search for it, right?
But this is not the idea of God searching us
as if God does not know something about us.
This term here is used for a thorough examination.
God is examining us,
is searching us intimately and deeply.
And the idea of knowing here
is knowing us at an intimate,
deep, personal level.
The word for Lord here is Yahweh,
Almighty God, Lord of hosts,
the Almighty Creator God knows you.
What an amazing and sobering thought.
And then David goes on to describe
some of the ways that God knows us.
Verse two, you know when I sit down
and when I rise up.
God knows everything the psalmist does.
Whether resting,
watching TV,
reading a book,
working,
exercising,
using your phone,
eating a meal.
God knows what you are doing.
He discerns his thoughts from afar.
Before we take any actions,
God knows our invisible thoughts.
And not just your thoughts,
but the motivations for the actions you have.
These are thoughts that flitter through our mind
and are gone again.
Sometimes these are embarrassing thoughts
as we think about what God has seen in our minds.
These are the deep,
heartful longings and desires
upon which we dwell
and mull over
our heart longs for.
Nothing is hidden from God.
Verse three,
you search out my path
and my lying down
and are acquainted with all of my ways.
The concept of path here
has to do with the public areas.
When we go out to the store,
we're at work,
God knows.
The idea of lying down
is privacy
and the privacy of your own home.
The four walls of your house
do not block God's view
from what is happening
inside of your house.
There is nowhere we can go
that God does not know about.
Now one thing that David
did not have to deal with
is smartphones or computers.
But God knows where you go digitally
just as much as physically.
The Lord is intimately acquainted
with all of our ways.
Look at verse four,
even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord,
you know it all together.
The Lord knows what you're going to say
before you even say it.
And then the negative phrasing here
that David uses
is a poetic way
of noting the emphasis.
Even before a word is on my tongue.
The Lord knows what I'm going to say
in five minutes,
even though I don't know exactly
what I'm going to say yet.
Hopefully based on my notes,
I have a semblance of any idea
of what I'm going to say.
But I don't know what I'm going to say
in five minutes.
The Lord knows perfectly
what will come out of my mouth.
Though we might try to conceal
what we're thinking
from other people,
God knows.
And the totality
and the completeness
is emphasized
in that final word
of verse four,
all together.
You and I cannot deceive God.
God knows who I am.
God knows who you are.
To emphasize this,
David in verse five continues,
you hem me in
behind and before
and you lay your hand upon me.
This idea of hemming in
is to surround us.
You and I cannot escape
God's knowledge of us.
He is behind us,
scouting out before us.
He's flanking on our left,
guiding us on the right.
Nothing is going to get past
God to us
without his knowledge.
And under his watch,
there is nothing
we can ever do
to outmaneuver
or outsmart
our Heavenly Father.
Remember Jonah?
What did Jonah try to do?
He ran away
from God's instruction
to go and preach
at Nineveh.
He tried to go
the direct opposite direction.
Was there a point
where God didn't know
where Jonah was?
No, of course not.
God knew where Jonah was
the entire time.
He sent the storm
to remind Jonah.
And as they threw Jonah overboard
in the midst of the sea,
God provided a fish
to swallow Jonah up
to save him from drowning.
It was the first recorded
prayer meeting
under the sea.
The Lord's hand
was there with Jonah
to preserve
and to protect
and to guide
despite Jonah's
direct rebellion
and disobedience.
Similarly,
the hand of God
here in Psalm 139
is not a hand
of oppression.
It's a hand
of care,
of guidance,
of provision
and protection.
I'm reminded
of Jesus'
reassurance.
my father
is greater
than all
and no one
is able
to snatch
a single one
of my sheep
that hear
the shepherd's voice
out of my father's hands.
John 10.
There is no
safer place
to be
than in the hands
of the son
and of almighty God.
Now,
before we look
at verse 6,
I want you to look down
in your Bible
and count
the number
of times
that the words
I and my
are used
while I get
a sip of water.
Would you have
the number?
Go ahead
and shout it out.
Go ahead.
You have a number?
Go ahead.
I'm going to make
this a little bit
interactive.
I don't know
if Jason ever
do this.
How many
I's and my's
there,
depending on
your version
of scripture
there?
I'm sorry,
yeah,
for verses
1 through 5.
I should have
been more
explicit.
8?
Somebody's got
8?
Anybody else
have a different
number?
I've got 11
in my version
of the ESV.
I know,
I have an older
version of the ESV.
11 times
in those first
5 verses,
David uses
the term
my or I.
What's the point
of pointing this out?
Couldn't David,
the psalmist,
have just said
God knows
everything?
God is
omniscient?
He would have
been correct,
right?
If he had just
said God
knows everything.
But that's not
what David
chose to do.
God's knowledge
of us,
God's knowledge
of everything
is not an
abstract,
theoretical
construct.
God's knowledge
of you and I
is deeply
personal.
It is
experiential.
Hence the
title of my
message this
morning,
our personal
God.
God knows
my ins
and outs,
my likes,
my dislikes,
my habits,
my hobbies,
my weaknesses,
my sins,
my deepest
desires and
struggles.
God knows
everything
about who
I am.
The false
gods
that were
worshipped in
the ancient
Near East
were not
personal.
those that
didn't actually
interact with
people,
with humans,
were not
caring,
were not
loving.
In contrast,
David, I think,
is intentionally
drawing a deep
contrast in
calling out the
intimate,
personal relationship
that the
Heavenly Father
has with
David.
God is
loving.
He is
caring.
He wants
to get to
know us.
And what
is David's
response to
God knowing
him,
everything he
does and
says and
thinks?
Look there
at verse
six.
Such knowledge
is too
wonderful for
me.
It is high.
I cannot
attain it.
The
psalmist here
cries out and
is praising God
for his
knowledge.
At the
same time,
he is
comforted and
encouraged that
God knows
everything about
him.
Do you
find God's
intimate,
personal
knowledge of
everything you
say and do
and think
comforting?
Or deep
down,
does it
terrify us
just a little
bit,
that God
knows our
deepest
secrets?
Dwell on
that for
now.
We're going
to circle
back near
the end
here.
So the
first point
is God
knows you.
The second
stanza,
God is
near us.
Look there
at verse
seven.
Where should
I go from
your spirit?
Or where
shall I flee
from your
presence?
These are
purely
rhetorical
questions.
The psalmist
here is not
necessarily
trying to
flee God,
but rather
it's a
figure of
speech.
If I
were to
run away,
where can
I go?
And he
provides some
examples.
Verse eight,
if I ascend
to heaven,
you are
there.
If I
make my
bed in
Sheol,
you are
there.
Whether I
go to the
skies,
heavens,
whether I
go under
the ground
to the
ground,
Sheol,
God is
there.
These are
the vertical
extremes of
David's world
then.
Verse nine,
if I take
the wings of
the morning
and dwell in
the uttermost
parts of
the sea,
again,
the wings of
the morning,
the sun is
rising in
the east.
Where Israel
was to the
west would
have been the
Mediterranean Sea,
the extent
of the
known world
at that
time,
dwell in
the uttermost
parts of
the sea.
Israel was
not a
great seafaring
nation,
so David's
understanding of
the sea would
have been a
little limited,
but he
understands that
if he goes to
the farthest
extent of what
David knows the
world to be
then,
God will still
be there.
So the east
or the west?
And not
just that God
will be there,
but God's
hand is on
him.
Look at
verse 10.
Even there
your hand
shall still
lead me,
and your
right hand
shall hold
me.
This is the
leading,
protecting,
shepherding,
and caring
hand of the
Lord that
harkens back
to what I
was just
talking about
in verse
five.
That David's
like,
ah,
maybe darkness,
maybe darkness
can hide me.
Verse 11.
If I say,
surely the
darkness shall
cover me,
and the light
about me at
night,
but even the
darkness is
not dark to
you.
The night is
as bright as
the day,
for darkness
is as light
with you.
It might be
difficult for you
and I to see
in the dark,
but the dark
does not hide
us from God.
God can see
in the dark
just like we
can see here
this morning.
He sees
everything that
happens under
the cover of
night.
Thus,
as we see
David here,
both God's
omniscience,
God's knowing
everything,
and his
omnipresence,
God being
everywhere,
both of these
things are
comforting and
encouraging to
David.
All of us
have various
moments of our
lives,
walked through
the valley
of the
shadow of
death,
whether
oppression
or opposition
in this
world,
loneliness,
despair,
depression,
poverty,
want,
abuse,
neglect,
whatever your
life experience
is,
God has
been with
you,
and God
is with
you today.
even more
importantly,
for those of
us in
Christ here
this morning,
who are
walking by
faith and
holding to
Christ's death
on the cross
as the
payment for
a penalty
for our
sins,
we have
now the
comforter,
the Holy
Spirit,
who has
sealed us
and is
dwelling within
us this
morning.
Almighty
God has
taken up
residence in
you this
morning.
This is
something that
we have in
the New
Testament,
the New
Covenant,
that David
would not
necessarily
be experienced
fully in
the Old
Covenant.
I'm reminded
of Romans
8.
There is
nothing,
neither death,
nor life,
nor angels,
nor rulers,
nor things
present,
nor things
to come,
nor powers,
nor height,
nor depth,
nor anything
else in all
of creation
will be able
to separate
you from
the love of
God in
Christ Jesus
our Lord.
What a
comforting
reminder
that God's
presence
brings to
us.
You might
know that
God is
near.
You might
agree,
but you
really live
like God
is near.
You can,
and you
should.
You should
shout out
to him,
God is
near you.
This is
what David
wants us
to understand
about God.
God
knit you
together.
God
created
you.
Look at
verse 13
with me.
For you,
you being
God,
for you
formed my
inward
parts.
You
knitted me
together
in my
mother's
womb.
God
formed your
inward
parts.
If these
first two
points,
these first
two stanzas
of Psalm
139 don't
get this
point across,
David is
going to
get even
more intimate
and more
personal in
the third
stanza.
This word
knitted is
often used
for tapestries.
If you've
ever seen a
tapestry of
all the
threads woven
together to
form a
beautiful picture,
if you flip it
around, what's
it look like?
Y'all ever
seen that
before?
It's a
mess,
yeah.
You look
inside of us,
it might look
like a jumbled
mess,
but God
has created
and knitted
us together.
God has
formed our
genes, our
DNA, our
organs, our
muscles, our
sinews, our
veins, skin,
hair, in
just the way
he wanted.
Nowadays
say, there's
probably something
about us that
we wish God
had made a
little bit
different.
But he
made you
just the way
he wanted.
He gave
you personality.
He gave
you a
temperament.
He gave
you certain
skills.
He gave
you certain
abilities.
He gave
you a
unique
laugh.
He gave
you unique
fingerprints.
All of
this is
unique to
you.
And the
psalmist
David here
in verse
14, he
can't help
but just
stop himself
and just
praise God
for what
he has
done for
David.
I praise
you for I
am fearfully
and wonderfully
made.
Wonderful
are your
works.
My soul
knows it
very well.
I have a
brother who
is a medical
doctor and
I have a
brother-in-law
now who
has just
graduated from
medical school
and every
time we get
together and
discuss about
the beauty
and intricacies
of the human
body, I
cannot fathom
how other
people in the
world can
look at the
human body,
the genomes,
the DNA,
the structure
of the
eye, how
they believe
that they
have been
formed by
random
mathematical
chance that
originated in
a pool of
water.
I can't
fathom it.
I was going
to list off
some amazing
facts of the
human body
but I was
already running
long so I'm
going to mention
one.
The ability
of the human
body to heal
itself is
amazing if you
think about it.
from a
little paper
cut to a
broken bone
to viruses
to disease
God has
created the
human body
to recuperate
to heal
itself.
Just
astounding.
Everything about
how our bodies
point to a
designer and a
creator.
David continues
God's eyes
saw our
unformed
substance.
Even before
we were
God saw
us.
In your
book were
written every
one of
them the
days that
were formed
for me
when as
yet there
were none
of them.
God has
been near
you not
just since
you were
born but
he has
been with
you since
you were
in your
mother's
womb.
If he
goes further
he knows
all of
your days
that were
already written
down in
his book
the idea
of a
journal or
a commentary
before you
existed for
a single
day
God knew
everything
about you.
No one
else can
see this
book.
No one
not even
yourself can
ever change
any part of
what God
has written.
You cannot
add a day
you cannot
subtract a
day for
God has
already numbered
your days.
Everything
that I do
everything
that you
do
God
already
knows.
His
knowledge
is
complete
and
perfect.
Now I'd
be remiss
here if I
didn't point
out that
this passage
is one of
the strongest
evidences from
the Bible
in support
of the
personhood
of the
preborn.
One of the
common phrases
that the
world uses
is that
I can do
whatever I
want with
my body.
this assumes
that the
preborn is
just a part
of a
woman's
body.
Based on
the science
we have
today and
the evidence
of scriptures
here this
morning,
especially
some of the
pronouns that
David uses
here,
which clearly
distinguishes
his body,
his preborn
body,
from his
mother's
body,
we have
a distinct
and biblical
evidence for
the personhood
of the
preborn.
We do
well to
understand
why
we
protect
the
preborn.
What is
David's
response to
all this
knowledge of
what God
has done
to knit
him
together?
Look there
at verse
17.
How precious
to me are
your thoughts,
O God!
How vast
is the sum
of them!
If I
could count
them,
they are
more than
the sand.
I awake
and I am
still with
you.
This idea
of precious
is that
they're worthy
they're
heavy.
How many
are God's
thoughts?
More than
the sand.
God's
thoughts
encompass
our entire
lives.
He knows
what is
best for
us,
not today,
not just
tomorrow,
not just
next month,
not in
five years,
but for
eternity.
Being able
to retain
this much
information is
unfathomable
to me.
Talking to
the guys
here first,
let's be
honest,
you and
I can
barely have
two or
three thoughts
at the
same time,
right?
Ladies,
maybe you
can handle
a hundred
thoughts
at the
same time,
but that
is still
well short
of what
our Heavenly
Father can
fathom all
at the
same time.
He knows
our thoughts.
He knows
the thoughts
of everyone
here this
morning,
including
those who
are daydreaming
and not
paying attention
to me while
I'm joining
on up here.
If you're
daydreaming,
God knows
your thoughts.
Come back,
hear me out,
listen to
this.
God
personally
knows
you.
God is
personally
near to
you.
God
writing all
the days
of our
lives
point to
a big
truth of
scripture
that God
is sovereign.
This is a
big word
that means
that God
is powerful.
He is in
control of
everything.
This can
be a
comfort and
a consolation
to us
because we
know that
nothing can
happen to
us that
God already
doesn't
know.
In
plenty,
in want,
in health,
in pain,
in comfort,
in suffering,
we often
want to
know how
our lives
are going
to turn
out.
What is
the Lord
doing?
But David
says here,
I trust
you,
O Lord,
for your
thoughts are
precious.
They are
worthy.
You have
written all
the days
of my
life.
I can't
begin to
fathom and
count your
knowledge.
It is too
wonderful for
me.
Now the
matter of
God's
sovereignty is
a heavy
topic and
we don't
have the
time or
place this
morning to
dive in
and fully
unpack it,
but one
application that
I do want
us to consider
this morning.
It is
not wise or
fruitful for
us to
ever have
to worry
or be
anxious about
what's going
to happen
tomorrow.
The Lord
in the
Gospels
himself warns
us not to
be anxious
for tomorrow,
for our
Heavenly
Father knows
all that
you need.
What does
he say
next?
But seek
first the
kingdom of
God and
his
righteousness,
and all
these things,
food,
clothing,
housing,
provision,
will be added
to you.
We are
to live
by faith
day in
and day
out.
Our
understanding,
our grasp
of God's
provision and
plan for
us should
strengthen our
faith as
the Lord
works everything
out for
our good
and his
glory.
Trusting in
God should
increase our
love and
affection for
him and
increase our
passion and
zeal for
worshiping
him.
David is
pretty clear
in stanza
four that
not everyone
acknowledges
this God.
This God
that knows
you, that
is near you,
that has
knit you
together.
There are
people, maybe
even within
the church,
that conduct
their lives as
if God did
not know
them, as
if God is
not watching
them, as
if God did
not know
their very
being.
we see a
rather jarring
shift in
David's tone
and content,
the vengeance
of the Lord.
Or as I
put it, to
keep my
Baptist
not
alliteration
consonants,
no I should
have looked
that up,
whatever, to
keep the
ends going,
God is the
nemesis of
the wicked.
The nemesis
is retributive
justice.
A common
definition might
be arch enemy.
A little
more archaic
definition that's
not as common
now, it's the
agent of
someone's
downfall.
God will
bring vengeance
and God is
the nemesis
of the
wicked.
Look at
verses 19
with me.
David shifts
his tone and
says, oh that
you would slay
the wicked,
oh God,
oh 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, oh
Lord?
And do I
not loathe
those who
rise up
against you?
I hate
them with
complete
hatred.
I count
them my
enemies.
This is
what's called
an imprecatory
prayer.
This is David
praying out to
God, calling
for God to
show his
vengeance, to
bring his
vengeance against
the wicked.
These are
men that
have blood
on their
hands.
They're
murderers.
They deny
God's very
existence.
They deny
that God
is present.
They are
blasphemers who
speak against
God.
These are
people that
hate God.
Maybe our
first thought
as we're reading
Psalm 139 is
where does this
come from?
this was a
nice poetic
psalm,
uplifting,
encouraging,
and David
turns around
and is like,
kill them
God.
I don't
think it's
completely out of
left field
though.
For the
first 18
verses of
this chapter,
David has
been meditating
on who
God is.
The
immensity
of God's
knowledge,
his care,
his love,
his sovereignty,
have caused
David to
worship him,
to esteem
God,
to wonder
at how big
and great
he is.
And when
you and I
love and
appreciate God
as much as
David does
here in
Psalm 139,
you and I
ought to find
anything that
is against
God to be
revolting,
despicable,
something that
needs to be
opposed.
men,
wouldn't the
love for
your wife
and your
children cause
hatred and
justice to
rise up,
of someone to
desire evil
on them,
going to the
worst to
defile them?
Mothers,
ladies,
wouldn't your
mother bear
instincts kink
in if
somebody came
after one of
your little
ones?
You would
hate the
evil.
You would
hate the
evildoer
because of
the object
of that
evil,
somebody you
love,
somebody you
cherish.
evil.
I don't
see David
in Psalm
139 being
any different,
just the
object is
different.
David's
hatred is
directed at
those who
oppose God,
still evil.
As I was
preparing, I
was listening to
Alistair Begg preach
on one Psalm
39, and I
couldn't put it
any differently,
so I'm just
going to quote
him and
paraphrase it
to make it a
little bit
shorter.
He puts it
this way,
David sees
how evil
evil is,
but we
often fail
to.
As a result
of this, we
are uncomfortable
with God's
justice and
wrath.
We fail to
see how
holy God
is.
A holy
God cannot
stand evil,
evil, and
he must
punish
evildoers.
I'll
posit that
if you
are uncomfortable
with a
passage like
this this
morning,
maybe you
don't fully
understand God's
wrath and
justice against
sin and
evil.
Maybe you're
too comfortable
with the evil
that is around
us.
We must
hate
evil.
We are
often unsure
what to do
with this,
but
imprecatory
prayers are
not something
that we
just find
in the
Old
Testament.
Jesus
himself
references
Psalm 69,
another
imprecatory
prayer,
multiple
times.
We see it
in John
15 and
Matthew
27.
Jesus
himself,
before he
goes to
the cross
in Matthew
23,
has a
series of
curses,
promising
vengeance on
those that
oppose him.
The
apostle Paul
also uses
Psalm 69
in Romans
11.
And maybe
the most
poignant
language is
what Paul
says in
Galatians
1,
where he
uses very
strong language
against those
preaching another
gospel.
If anyone
is preaching
another different
gospel,
let them be
accursed.
That is
damned.
They are
anathema.
They are to
be cut
off.
Is that the
way you think
about evil?
Nearby to
where Calvary
Redeeming
Grace meets,
there is a
so-called
church,
the so-called
preacher,
that twists
the gospel
into a
message of
hope,
not based
on Christ,
but on
an amalgamation,
a syncretism
of personal
empowerment,
of spiritual
meditation.
I must confess
that almost
every time I
drive by this
so-called
church,
I have
prayed one
of these
imprecatory
prayers against
this church.
I have
asked God
to stop
the deception
that is
happening
within the
walls of
this church,
that they
would close
their doors
and the
blaspheming
might stop.
But while I
can pray that
God would
surely show
his justice
against those
who are
twisting his
words,
preaching a
false gospel,
I can hate
what they
preach.
I can speak
out against
it as I'm
doing right
now,
but that
doesn't
necessarily mean
that I am
the means
of meting
out God's
justice.
I think it's
important,
as you pointed
out here,
that David
himself in
Psalm 139
is not the
means of
God's
judgment.
David is not
talking about
personal vengeance,
this is divine
vengeance.
Instead,
David is
directing his
prayer to
God,
he's asking
God to
direct and
to display
his justice
on the
wicked.
This is
justice that
God has
already
promised to
those that
disobey the
law and the
prophets.
He is
calling for
God to be
vindicated against
those who deny
his omniscience.
He is asking
God to
demonstrate his
presence to
those that
deny that he
exists.
He wants
God to
demonstrate his
power to
those that
deny his
authority.
I think in
these verses,
19 through 22,
David is
aligning
himself with
God as
he makes
God's
thoughts his
thoughts.
The psalmist
wants to
distance himself
from the
wicked and
he calls for
God to be
his witness
that he
hates evil.
This is
essentially an
oath of
fealty,
of loyalty
to God.
David's
saying,
these are
the Lord's
enemies.
I loathe
them.
I rise up
and stand up
against them.
I count them
as enemies
because they
are God's
enemies.
What do we
do to
our enemies
today?
Jesus in
Matthew 5
says we
are to
love our
enemies and
to do good
to those who
persecute us.
We as
Christians today
are called to
share the
good news of
the gospel.
This is our
mission.
Vengeance is
mine, God
says.
I will
repay.
So
understanding
and knowing
that God
is the
nemesis
of the
wicked.
What is
David's
response?
Look there
at verse
23.
Search me,
O God,
and know
my heart.
Try me
and know
my thoughts.
See if
there be
any grievous
way in
me and
lead me
in the
way
everlasting.
I think
David sees
evil for
what it
is.
He knows
God is
going to
destroy the
wicked.
And David
looks at
himself and
he cares for
his own
holiness.
He turns to
God and
asks God to
examine him
so that God
can then
reveal what
God knows
to David
so he can
repent of
that sin.
He can
confess it
to God
that he
can stay
in the
way
everlasting.
In a
wonderfully
poetic way
David is
repeating
essentially
exactly how
he started
the psalm.
O Lord
you have
searched me
and know
me.
But rather
than stating
a fact as
he does in
verse 1
he calls out
for God
to do this
again to
search him
to examine
him.
This is a
posture of
humility.
The idea
of try
here is
like a
trial.
Bring
forth the
evidence.
Lay out
the evidence.
Let it
be weighed.
Is there
any
grievous
way
in me?
Now
while I
was studying
this one
of my
first thoughts
was who
is David
to say
something
like this?
David
was not
perfect.
In fact
David
committed
some grievous
sins that
I would
guess many
of us have
not committed
here this
morning.
He
committed
adultery
with
Bathsheba.
He then
tried to
cover it
up by
murdering
her
husband.
He
isn't
being overly
self-righteous
here I
don't think.
He's aware
of what he's
done.
He knows
his own
heart.
But despite
all of this
being laid
bare before
God
including
his
deceit,
his sins,
his wickedness
he can
still say
search me
oh God.
How?
How can
you do
something like
that knowing
who you've
done,
knowing who
you are?
Because he
knows that he's
been forgiven
and those sins
have been
covered,
have been
forgiven,
have been
atoned for
by God.
With his
sins forgiven
he can then
confidently
approach this
all-knowing,
all-present
God.
For the
Lord is
merciful and
gracious,
slow to
anger and
abounding in
steadfast love
and faithfulness.
May God's
gracious kindness
lead us to
repentance and
his grace
assure us to
trust him so
that our
joyful prayer
may echo
David's.
Search me
oh God.
This is a
bold prayer.
I would
encourage you
if this is not
a regular
practice to
make it a
regular
practice.
But I
would caution
you that
this is not
something that
should be done
just to check
off a box
on your
to-do list.
God will
reveal your
hidden sins.
We must be
humble and
concerned with
our holiness.
So the
four stanzas
God knows
you.
God is
near you.
God has
knit you.
God is
the nemesis
of the
wicked.
In conclusion
this morning I
want to return
to that initial
question I asked
in the intro.
How would you
describe God
this morning?
Does your
God resemble
the God of
Psalm 139?
Referring back to
Tozer, another
quote, he
says, a
right conception
of God is
basic not
only to
systematic
theology but
to practical
Christian
living.
Where our
understanding of
God is
inadequate or
out of
plum, the
whole structure
must sooner or
later collapse.
God is
so in other
words if you
and I fail to
understand who
God is, if we
fail to live
like God knows
us intimately, if
we fail to
understand and
to live like God
is near us, if
we fail to
understand that
God has knit
us together, he
knows every part
of us, if we
fail to understand
that God is the
nemesis of the
wicked, we will
fail in our
day-to-day lives.
As we look to
honor God in
our homes, our
workplaces, school,
gyms, church,
wherever you go,
is this your
God?
I love how
Spurgeon put it
in one of his
sermons.
We may judge as
to our position
before God by
this test.
Is the thought
of his constant
observation of
us a subject
of joy?
or of dread?
I'll say that
again so I can
not trip over my
own words.
Is the thought
of his constant
observation of
us a subject
of joy?
Or of dread?
If we dread it,
surely we have
the old spirit of
bondage that is
the law and sin
still upon us.
But if we find
joy, if we
rejoice in it,
then we may know
that we have
received the spirit
of adoption by
which we can
cry out,
Abba,
Father.
If you're here
this morning and
you are not
walking in faith
of Christ's
sacrifice on the
cross,
God's knowledge
of everything you
say,
do,
and think
should terrify
you.
God sees
everything you
do and he
will punish
those who
have sinned
against him.
The justice
and wrath of
God against
those that
oppose him is
thorough and
complete.
I would
implore you
this morning
to cry out
to God for
his mercy.
Do not be
among the
wicked who
will be slain
by the
Lord.
The Lord
himself has
offered a
way of
escape.
The Lord's
kindness to
you should
drive each
and every
one of us
to repentance.
If you
are unsure
or would
like to
know more,
I would
love to
talk to
you more
afterwards or
anybody you've
seen up
front here
this morning.
Today is
the day of
salvation.
Today is
the day to
know that
you can
live in
comfort in
God's
ever-present.
Christians,
brothers and
sisters, I
want each of
you here to
walk out of
here with
confidence and
comfort, knowing
that God's
knowledge and
his presence in
your life is
not a means of
dread, but of
joy.
David wrote
this about a
thousand years
before Christ
came.
We can look
back now,
two thousand
years later,
and we can see
Christ dying
on the cross,
appeasing God's
wrath, making
you a child of
God, that you
do not need to
be afraid of
the Father.
God knows
you.
God is near
you.
God has knit
you together,
and those in
Christ no
longer need to
live in fear,
but we can walk
in the way
everlasting.
God is
God.
Just let that
sink in for a
moment.
He is a
personal God
who cares for
you, who
guides you, who
protects you,
because you are
his adopted
child.
This
understanding of
God should
cause us to
delight in
him, to
worship him, to
love him, to
serve him, to
live for him
each and every
day.
is this
your God?
I hope so.
May we always
orient our
knowledge of
God according
to how God
describes himself
in his word.
May God's
gracious kindness
lead us to
repentance, and
his grace assure
us to trust in
him, so that our
joyful prayer may
echo David.
Search me,
oh God.
Know my
heart.
Lead me in
the way
everlasting.
You bow with
me in prayer.
Lord, you
have searched
and known
me.
You know
who I am.
You know
what I do.
You know
where I go.
You know
what I think.
You know
what I'm
going to say
before I
even say
it.
You are
near me
always, in
the heavens,
in death,
east, west,
in the midst
of the darkest
trials.
Lord, you
have formed
my inward
parts and
knitted me
together.
Lord, before I
have lived a
single day, you
had already
written all my
days in your
book.
Oh Lord, how
majestic you
are.
How transcendent
are your
thoughts and
your ways.
How wonderful
are your
thoughts.
Despite
knowing who I
am, Lord, you
still care for
me, for each
one of us here
this morning.
Lord, may you
bring peace and
repentance to
those here this
morning who are
wrestling with
the dread of
the terror of
who you are,
knowing that
you see all.
May you
correct how we
view who you
are, that we
may worship you
well, that we
may live our
lives consistently,
day in, day
out, that you
may be glorified.
Lord, may we be
a humble people
that pray a bold
prayer that you
search us and
know us
intimately.
May my
attitudes, actions,
motives, and
thoughts be laid
bare.
May you lead me
in the way
everlasting.
I pray all this
in the glorious
name of Jesus
Christ.
Amen.