Psalm 139: Lord, You Know Me Completely

Good morning. This is Morning Prayer from Bearing Fruit.

Psalm one thirty-nine was written for the choirmaster, to be sung by God's people. It's a psalm of David, and it's about being known by God all the way through. That's bold to sing with others listening. This morning we'll hear how it begins, and why being known by Him is safe. Let's bring this to God together.

In Psalm one thirty-nine, verses one to three, David prays this.

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways.

Psalm 139:1-3

David starts with what God does. You have searched me. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know the road I take, and the moment I lie down at night. Nothing in an ordinary day is out of His sight.

Being known that well can sound frightening. Most of us are careful about how much people see. Picture the car park before work. The engine's off, there's a quick look in the mirror, and the face you'll wear all day goes on. Or a friend asked how you were last night, and you said fine, because the true answer would take too long. And some of us carry one thing from years ago that nobody alive knows about.

God knows all of it, the version we show and the one we hide. A line later, David says God knows each word before it's even on his tongue.

Yet David doesn't sound afraid. He sounds amazed. And in the last lines of the psalm, he comes back to the word he started with, and this time he asks for it.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

He began with “You have searched me.” He ends with “Search me.” This isn't a psalm about feeling good about yourself. David asks God to look for anything offensive in him, and to lead him in the way everlasting. What makes that safe is who's doing the looking.

John tells us who that is, in his first letter.

This is how God's love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:9-10

God knew the worst about us, and He sent His Son anyway. Jesus died for our sins and rose on the third day. So if you trust Him, the One who sees everything has already dealt with your sin at the cross.

Before those last lines, David turns to God's thoughts.

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum! If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; and when I awake, I am still with You.

Psalm 139:17-18

You woke up this morning already known. Nothing you bring Him today will catch Him by surprise. You can come without the face from the car mirror.

Let's pray. You can pray these words with me, out loud or in your heart.

Father, I come to You through Jesus. Every one of my sins was already known to You when He went to the cross. He died for my sins, and You raised Him from the dead. Because of Him, I can stand in Your sight without hiding. Holy Spirit, help me pray this honestly.

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me.” You were there when I sat up in bed this morning, before I'd given You a thought. You understand my thoughts before I've found words for them. You made me, and You've never once lost track of me. It's too wonderful for me to take in, Father, and I praise You for it.

I'll be honest with You, because You already know. I spend a lot of energy managing what people see. I tidy up my answers. I laugh at things that hurt. I've hidden from You too. I've kept my prayers polite and left the real things out, as if You couldn't see them. There are thoughts I'd be ashamed to say out loud, and You've heard every one. And there's something I keep pushing to the back of my mind, so I don't have to look at it. Forgive me, Father. Thank You that in Jesus I'm forgiven, and You still want me near.

So I'm asking You to do what David asked. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.” Show me what I've been avoiding, gently and clearly. Where there's sin, help me turn from it. Where there's worry, help me name it to You and stop carrying it alone. Give me one person I can be honest with, so I'm not keeping up appearances with everyone I know. And when You show me something hard about myself, keep me from despair. Let me see it in the light of the cross.

You know me completely, and You still call me Your child. I don't have to earn that today, and a bad morning won't take it away. “and when I awake, I am still with You.” That's where I woke up this morning, Father. Still with You. I'm trusting You with the parts of me I don't understand yet, and with the parts I'd rather You didn't see. You're more merciful with me than I am with myself.

I pray for someone carrying a secret they've never told anyone. Let them find that You already know it, and You haven't turned away. For someone who feels misunderstood by the people closest to them. You understand their thoughts from afar, so let them feel understood by You today. And for the person I'll meet today who says they're fine and isn't. Help me notice, and give me the patience to really listen.

Father, today You'll know when I sit and when I rise. You'll be there on the bus and at the desk, at the sink and in the queue. “Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O Lord.” So guard what I say today. I don't need to impress anyone. Make me the same person in every room, because You're with me in all of them. When I catch myself performing, remind me I'm already known and already loved. And tonight, when I lie down, let me rest in that.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Take a moment of quiet now, and bring Him whatever's in front of you today.

Hear this blessing from the very end of Paul's letter to the Romans.

to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Romans 16:27