Psalm 139:19-24

“If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! 20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? 22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

After looking at the source of our being, the wonder of our being, the plan for our being, and the joy of our being now we come to:

• The Inventory of our Being (v. 19-24)

As we get to verse 19 through 22 there is a sudden change that almost seems so contrary to the spirit of this passage and causes us to wonder where in the world did that come from? But upon deeper inspection it actually becomes not that difficult to understand. After reviewing how great God is, and remembering how much he appreciates Him, David realizes that not everyone feels that way about God. Some people actually despise God, they blaspheme Him and want no part of Him. They actually go as far as to oppose Him and His people. This truth bothers David and this is the reason why he takes this turn in the Psalm. What is interesting to note is that these feelings of hatred that David has for the enemies of God actually causes David to become introspective. Many of us get angry and we let that anger keep us externally focused. But this introspection caused David to conclude the Psalm by asking God to take inventory of his life. Why do we need times of introspection, because most of what is deep down inside of us is not visible to us.  A large part of who we are, what we are like, and what is going on inside of us, is not seen by others and can even be hidden from us. We don’t always know why we do the things we do, think the things we do, or why we say the things we do. Sometimes our motives are less than pure, the problem is that we have learned how to look good instead of be good. We know how to spin it and play the right cards so that we look right. If we are not careful we can deceive ourselves. What we need is to bring in some outside help that can give us an honest evaluation and show us if there is anything hiding in our hearts. What about you are you willing to let God take inventory and bring those problem areas to light so you can deal with them? The business that takes no inventory finally goes bankrupt. There are many people who are on the brink of bankruptcy because they haven’t taken inventory of their lives. So when was the last time you asked God to take a thorough inventory of your life? This is what David is asking God to do in his life in verses 23 through 24. We need times where we pause long enough to look inside and take inventory of our life. The problem is that many of us are living such fast paced lives that we never stop to evaluate until the wheels come off and we are forced to stop short or have a wreck. When it comes to inspecting we need God’s help to sift through and separate the pure from the putrid. David cried out to God, “Search me, O 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.” David took time to ask God to help Him take stock so that he could see where he was at. There is a great story about a boy named Jimmy who stopped at the neighborhood store and asked the owner if he could use the telephone. Given permission, he began to make his call. The owner couldn’t help but overhear his end of the conversation which went something like this, “Hello, Mr. Brown? I was just wondering if you needed someone to mow your lawn for you. Oh… you already have someone? Is he doing a good job? He is? Are you sure you don’t want to hire someone else? Well, thank you. Good bye!” When he was done with the phone call, the owner of the store said, “Oh, Jimmy, I’m sorry you weren’t able to get the job.” Jimmy replied, “Oh, don’t worry. I already work for Mr. Brown. I was just checking up on myself!” All of us need to do this from time to time, to check up on ourselves. We don’t need to call Mr. Brown we need to call the Lord and ask Him, “Lord, how am I doing? What’s deep down in my heart that might displease you? Is there any sin lingering in my soul that might bring dishonor to your name? Are there any ugly things in my life that I haven’t dealt with? We don’t always understand ourselves and so we need God’s help. Are you willing to humble yourself and ask for God’s help as David does here in Psalm 139? Are you willing to pray this prayer with David? “Search me, O 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.” This is us asking the Lord to bring to mind those things that bring pain, pain to Him, pain to others, pain to ourselves. So that we can not only acknowledge it as sin and turn from it. It is asking God to help us understand our own heart, so that we can grow in God’s likeness, and reflect His holiness. David’s desire is to walk in the everlasting way, that is the way of righteousness which has eternal value. The way of truth that counts forever. David despised the ungodly because they had no devotion for God, and he doesn’t want to fall into the same pit as them.He doesn’t want to be falsely pious he wants to be pure. If we are not careful we can quickly become just like those that we despise. Are you willing to let God expose all those thoughts and attitudes, feelings, ambitions, desires, and motives? God is not going to get devotion from the godless people mentioned in verses 19-22. The question is, Will He get it from us? This is the thought that confronts us as we conclude Psalm 139 today. How do we hold up the mirror of self-reflection? By getting into God’s Word, because scripture is the searchlight that exposes the true thoughts and intents of our hearts. Let God use His Word to change you so that He cultivates within you His holiness, so that when the world sees you they see Jesus. I want to challenge you to take sometime today to do some soul searching. Invite God to inspect your life so that He can reveal what is ripe and what is rotten.

Psalm 139:13-18

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.    They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

After seeing God’s omnipotent power in the source of our being and the wonder of our being, now David reveals:

• The Plan For Our Being (v. 16)

The plan is that we have a significant purpose to fulfill, Psalm 139:16 says “You saw me before I was born.” Our natural eyes cannot see the human fetus in the womb, but God can and what David is saying is that even while we were concealed from the world in the womb, God was there watching over us. God was superintending our development all along, even from day one. “Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Here we see another wonderful Bible doctrine, one that is seen over and over in Scripture. And that is God’s sovereign control over every detail of our lives. “All the days or every moment” refers not only to the time in every 24 hour day but every circumstance within those 24 hours. Each individual day with all that it brings is not a surprise to God. He has a plan that involves every moment of our lives, but this doesn’t relieve us of our responsibility for how we act. So what about the crazy out of control moments? Well, the truth that “every moment was laid out” should serve to reassure us that anything out of our control is still in His control. We can trust Him because His purposes are good and His plan is perfect. We might not always understand and see that, but they are. It doesn’t make sense for God to create us and save us only to walk away from us. Do you believe that God does what is best for us? If we look at our lives like a tapestry, what we see is the underside, with all its gnarls and tangles, but God sees the beauty of the upper side. While we see the mess, God sees the Masterpiece.  There is a poem that puts this truth to words:

My life is but a weaving

Between my Lord and me;

I cannot choose the colors

He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow

And I, in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper,

And I the underside.

Not til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver’s skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

My life is but a weaving between my God and me.

I see the seams and tangles, the fairer side sees He.

Then let me wait in patience and blindness satisfied

To make the pattern lovely upon the upper side.

It’s hard to wait in patience especially when we can’t see what God is doing on the upper side, and all we can see is the mess instead of the masterpiece. So often when it comes to our lives instead of believing the bible we start to feel like we fit more with what Shakespeare described in one of his plays, “A tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” But the truth is we can agree with the Psalmist in Psalm 31:15, “My future is in your hands” Our days are known by God, He has established them for a worthwhile purpose. We were not created to meaninglessly bumble through this life we were designed for a purpose. Not only do we see the plan for our being but also:

• The Joy of Our Being (v.17-18)

Psalm 139:17-18, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.” The thoughts that David is talking about are all the things he has revealed in this Psalm. The intricate details of his body, the many circumstances of his life, God has it all in His mind at every moment. If we could count them all up they would be even more than all the grains of sand. That’s how much God thinks about you. Even while we are sleeping He thinks about us, and when we wake up in the morning, God is still thinking about us, because He does not slumber and sleep. David does not rebel or react negatively to such close scrutiny by His Creator. Instead he sees God’s thoughts of him as one of his most valuable treasures, verse 17 “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God” If I would ask you to make a list of your most valuable assets what would you say, where would you start? Many of us would start with our house or other material possessions. But as a child of God, one of your most precious possessions is that God is thinking about you right now. Maybe you feel insignificant and unimportant. Maybe you feel insignificant and unimportant to your family or at work. But to the One that matters you are valuable. Because to Him, you are His unique and special creation, He made you and He cares about you deeply. So much so that He will never stop caring about you, and He will never put you out of His mind. Do you believe it, accept it, and rejoicing in this revelation? Are you resting in His sovereign control of your life, and in the assurance that everything He does is for the best? Why not take time today to cultivate your relationship with Him. Get to know the One who knows you intimately and start to trust Him fully.