Psalm 139, Contemplating God’s Involvement In My Life
1. My All-Knowing God Knows Me Completely (v1-6)
2. My Everywhere-Present God Is Always With Me (v7-12)
3. My All-Powerful God Fashioned Every Part Of Me (v13-15)
4. My Infinite God Thinks About Me Continually (v16-18)
5. My Righteous God Leads Me To Everlasting Life (v19-24)
Well, as we look at Psalm 139, I've titled the message contemplating God involvement in my life, contemplating God involvement in my life.
This Psalm is a Psalm of David, where David does just that.
He contemplates.
It means to think about kind of in depth for a, for a good while.
Pondering meditating on and and thinking through different aspects of God.
The nature of God, the character of God and what that means for him in a more personal way.
This Psalm is one of those songs that has some really powerful explanations and truths about the doctrine.
Some of the attributes of God are dealt with pretty directly and can be used to illustrate some of the attributes of God that we might be familiar with.
There is what might be referred to as the three Omnis in the attributes of God, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, and and these.
3 attributes of God are not the only attributes of God, of course, but often looked at and referred to.
They're they're pretty key and crucial in understanding the nature of God and who God is.
The fact that God is omniscient means that he is all known.
Thing and David spend some time in the first few verses here of Psalm 139, reflecting on the fact that God is all knowing but but making it personal and and understanding what that means in my life.
What that looks like in my life is is really what he's working through and then omnipresent.
That God is everywhere all at once at the same time.
I'm not that he's spread out really thin everywhere, but he is fully present in every place and and David is recognizing that and reflecting on that.
And in the Psalm as well.
And then he goes on to think about the omnipotence of God, that is, that God is all powerful, that he is the creator, and he is the one who forms and fashions.
And and David is thinking about these attributes of God in a very personal way.
And really, helping us to walk through the same thing to contemplate.
The reality of who God is and what that means for us in our lives and what we can do in response to the role that God has in our lives.
In that way.
Pastor David Guzik puts it this way. David took his theological understanding of God's nature and attributes and applied it to his own personal discipleship.
The nature and attributes of God were not mere theories. They were guides to David's spiritual growth, and I would encourage you as we work our way through the Psalm.
And as we see, some of these characteristics and attributes of God revealed and and discuss that that it would be for us again, not just something that we know, not just something that we agreed to in a.
In a doctrinal statement, but that we would allow these truths to impact the course that we take and the the growth that we seek to accomplish and experience in our spiritual.
And so, Psalm 139 contemplating gods involvement in my life. There's going to be 5 things, will contemplate.
Five things will consider as we walk through this starting out in verses one through six with point number one, and that is my all knowing God knows me completely.
My all knowing God knows me.
Complete me look just at version one for now it says, oh Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
As David begins this song talking to the Lord, discussing with the Lord and considering the attributes of the Lord, he first begins to consider the omniscience of God.
He says God, you have examined my heart and you know everything about me.
And as he goes on in the following verses, you'll see he's he's really thought this through.
This is not just kind of a general broad brush statement.
But but David here is really understanding you know, every detail about me.
Not everything generally.
You know, you know generally what's happening in me or in my life or things that are, you know, on my plate or in my mind or in my heart.
But but David here is really thinking through to a a very.
A small detail level Lord, you know everything about me.
And as we begin to dwell on this concept, this this idea of God knowing everything about us every last detail about us.
It's something that could be of great comfort to us.
Or it also could be something that terrify's us depending on where we're at in our relationship with the Lord and where we are in our understanding of the doctrine of God and the attributes of God. And so I would encourage you whether you feel comforted by this concept, or perhaps somewhat fearful or.
Terrified by this concept.
But it's valuable and worthwhile to explore why so?
So if you look at this and you go, all this is so comforting.
Why is that comforting to you and to allow yourself to consider for a little bit if the comfort that you feel is justified and and it's what you should experience?
When you look at this because sometimes we are comforted by things, but it's not because they're intended to comfort us, but it's just because we're living a little bit of a delusional fantasy.
And, you know, we want to be comforted by something.
And so we receive comfort from it.
In a similar way, if this makes you a little bit fearful, I would encourage you consider why and and maybe explore that a little bit.
Why does this cause some tension within me?
Why does this cause some of that turmoil internally?
Because, well, it might be that I'm terrified by this because I have some secret.
Parts of my life and the idea of God examining me and knowing everything about me.
That's a little bit stressful because.
You know, I don't want those things to be known or uncovered, and I don't want to think about God knowing those parts that nobody else knows and and so that can.
Be quite terrifying.
But sometimes we can also be terrified by.
Certain scriptures or.
Certain concepts because, well, we're really lacking in our grasp of what it means.
To be forgiven of God and to have his mercy and grace.
And so this.
Passages maybe gonna provide some comfort.
Maybe gonna provide some terror and each one might be appropriate for us, but but we need to allow the Lord to reveal in our hearts what is appropriate and how we should be responding to this now.
Overall, David is understanding that this to be a good thing.
For him, if you jump down to verse 17 and 18, you can kind of.
Catch a glimpse of that in verse 17, he says how precious are your thoughts about me?
Oh God, they cannot be numbered.
I can't even count them.
They outnumber the grains of sand and when I wake you I wake up.
You are still with me.
And so David here, when he says you've examined my heart and know everything about me.
He's not going to go on to say then, and that's why I'm lost and cast out, and you know hopelessly, in a terrible situation.
No, he's he's saying this and reflecting on this and leading into this idea that that's good.
It's good that God has examined me and knows everything about me and and the end result here.
Is that God has precious thoughts about me and he is just filled with and consumed with the things that are good for me and is filling my life with them.
And so God.
Knows me completely.
He is an omniscient God and again it's important for us to connect these two things together.
On the one hand, we might believe in the.
Attribute of God.
And believe that God knows all things but.
Sometimes we don't take it and apply it to our hearts in a way that helps us to realize and understand where we're at with the Lord.
That, my all knowing God knows me completely.
Every detail, every moment by moment, David goes on to say check out verse two and three.
He says, you know when I sit down or when I stand up.
If I asked you and I'm not doing that, but if I ask you to stand up or to sit down right, all of us would be triggering these alerts in heaven and God would be notified.
Richard is standing up.
Richard is sitting down Richard standing it, you know, in a Catholic service he gets a lot of those.
It's up and down, up and down, kneeling, now, standing, sitting.
God knows moment by moment exactly where we're at, what position were in, what posture were in?
Whether we're on our way somewhere, or just returning from somewhere.
He knows every detail about us, not just again, generally speaking, but each moment of every day.
He says in verse two you know my thoughts, even when I'm far away.
And there's different ways to understand this idea, but but David is saying first of all, you know my thoughts and whether I'm near the Tabernacle or far from the Tabernacle or another way to look at this is, you know, my thoughts even before I have them, that my thoughts are still a far off from me, right?
It's interesting to think about like how do we have thoughts and.
And and how does that actually work in our head?
But but, you know, like there's sometimes thoughts that.
You you know that they're there, but you can't quite grasp when you're trying to reach that thought.
You know, like sometimes you're trying to reach for that word that you you know it's a word and you know it's a word you're trying to say and you know the basic gist of the word, but you can't quite grasp the word right and and your your brain is like thinking thoughts and trying to grasp.
Hold of that and and some of those thoughts are far off.
But God knows them when they're afar off, before you're even able to think them, and to think about how fast that happens, right?
How how fast those thoughts are racing through your mind, especially when you're scrambling for that memory or trying to grab that word that that you have those thoughts and they they come through your mind instantly.
It feels so fast.
And yet, even before you know what you're thinking, God knows what you're thinking.
Moment by moment my all knowing God knows me completely.
Every thought that goes through my head God knows.
Every time I stand every time I sit, God knows.
Verse three says you see me when I travel and when I rest at home you know everything I do.
Wherever we're at, if we're abroad or local, if we are in one place or another place.
God knows us moment by moment.
I think Jesus really illustrated this idea in Matthew Chapter 10 when he talked about God knowing the number of hairs on our head.
Remember that Matthew chapter 10.
He says that the price of two sparrows being 1 copper coin.
And yet not a single Sparrow can fall to the ground without your father knowing about it.
These almost worthless animals financially.
Jesus says God knows every one of them and nothing happens to them without his awareness.
And you're much more valuable than sparrows.
You're much more valuable than those, and so God knows you at least that degree.
But even greater, he says in verse 30 of Matthew 10, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
The very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Insert bald joke here.
OK now move on now here's.
Here's the thing that I really find fascinating about.
This is that the number of hairs on your head is a constantly changing number.
If I walk up and I pluck out that Gray hair that's been bugging you.
God has to update his records and now he knows the number of hairs on your head again because Jerry plucked out that one.
When when a new hair peeks through like I don't get this experience that much, but you do right new hit here, peeks through the the top of your head.
Thanks, Roger.
God knows he updates his records OK.
Moment by moment throughout the day, the number of hairs on your head changes.
And so Jesus says you don't have to be afraid.
You're so much more valuable than a whole flock of sparrows.
And so you know, God knows everything about you.
He's with you, he cares, and nothing happens in your in your life that escapes his attention.
He knows you to that level to that degree.
Moment by moment.
Every position, every thought, every activity, everything.
That happens in your life and everything that you do God knows about it.
David goes on in verse four to say, you know what I'm going to say even before I say it, Lord.
And that's not too surprising if you back up to the thoughts and understand God knows our thoughts before we think them.
And so it follows logically, although sometimes we're surprised by what we say, so we don't always think about what we're going to say, and so maybe that's why it's appropriate to consider this twice that.
The things that come out of our mouths sometimes surprise us, but never surprise the Lord.
He's never like, whoa, I didn't know I had no idea.
You were going to say that I had no idea that was gonna come out of your mouth.
No before I say it, the Lord knows those words that are on the tip of my tongue.
He knows those things that will come forth, whether they are good or bad.
He knows before I even speak.
Verse five you go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing.
On my head.
Again, David is looking at this.
Attribute of God. The omniscience of God and and connecting it to God's work of goodness in his life.
You go before me means he paves the way ahead of you.
You go behind me.
The idea is that there is this.
A buffer of protection that God provides for David because he knows everything about David and he knows where David's going. And he knows what David needs and he knows all of these details, and so God is preparing the way and protecting David and sending David and sending people around David and to David and.
And he's making all of these arrangements in order to bring about blessing upon him, because God knows everything and knows what is need.
Well, David says in verse six such knowledge is too wonderful to for me, too great for me to understand.
As David is contemplating.
How much God knows about him?
He stands in awe a little bit.
This just too wonderful for me to under.
I just can't.
Understand God knows more about me than I know about me.
And he knows all of these details.
And he's using that information to bring about good.
And to put his hand of blessing upon my head.
It's too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand.
You know, it's one of the challenging things about our recognition of God and our understanding of who he is and how he works.
Because he is an infinite God and and there's so many things.
About God, that is really hard for us to grasp.
Just because we're not on the same scale as God.
What is it like to know everything?
To have the answer for everything, to know every detail?
I mean, too bad we dismissed the youth right?
'cause we could have asked one of the teenagers 'cause they always know everything right?
We used to know everything too when we were teenagers and then we got.
Less smart as we aged.
Or maybe we became more wise and understood.
We didn't have all the answers that we thought that we had.
What's it like to know everything we don't know?
What's it like to know something without Googling it?
What's it like to research without having to use any other resources than your own self?
What is it like to know everything to not have to think through and calculate and work out a process, but to know all things?
God is that way. He's omniscient and and as you think through that it's easy to come to David's conclusion. Such knowledge is too wonderful.
For me, it's too hard to figure out how.
How does God work that way, and how does he have all of that information and hold it all together and know all of those details about me and all of those details about you and you and you and you and you.
How does that work?
Lord, you're much.
Bigger than I can even begin to understand.
My all knowing God.
Knows me completely pastor Charles Spurgeon.
Says he is not alarmed at the fact that God knows all about him.
On the contrary, he is comforted and even fills himself to be enriched.
As with a chest of precious jewels that God should think upon him is the believers treasure and pleasure.
This is something that should bring us great comfort.
God knows everything about us.
He knows every emotion he knows every heartache.
He knows every victory.
He knows exactly what we need and he's on our side working together all things for good to those who love him and are the called according to his purpose.
And he can do that perfectly because he knows everything about us.
He knows me completely.
While continuing on in verses 7 through 12, we get to consider another attribute of God, the I'm the presence of God in verses 7 through 12 years point #2 my everywhere present God is always with me.
Our God is present everywhere, all the time at the same time.
Which means he is always with me.
Let's read verses 7 through 12, it says.
I can never escape from your spirit.
I can never get away from your presence.
If I go up to heaven, you are there.
If I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans.
Even there your hand will guide me and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light to come, and the light around me to become night.
But even in darkness, I cannot hide from you.
To you, the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
David goes on now to consider the fact that God is omnipresent.
God is.
He is the most boring being in all of existence to play, hide and go seek with.
Because there is no searching required, he knows exactly.
Where we are each moment.
David says I can never escape from your spirit.
I can't get away from your presence.
Now there is a season in David's life and we don't know when exactly David wrote this song, but that season in David's life where he had committed some severe sin but was in a position of resistance to repentance and and he was trying to get away with that sin and not admit it.
To the Lord and come clean and deal with the the consequences and the issues.
Of that sin.
And perhaps during that time we don't know, but he did try to escape from the spirit.
Perhaps there was a seeking of relief.
I think it's Psalm chapter 51, where he describes that time period and and the weight and how his bones grew old.
And there was this great burden upon him as he resisted confessing his sin and and repenting before the Lord.
And so perhaps there was a time of seeking relief that man is there, like somewhere I can go to kind of get out of the the.
Influence of the Holy Spirit and the work of God in my life.
Is there somewhere I can get a little bit of a reprieve from God speaking to me and?
Again, we don't know.
We don't see that he actually tried this.
Or or not, but.
But he's expressing that same idea here.
I I can't escape.
I can't escape from your spirit.
I can never get away from your presence now again, similar to the previous point, how this impacts you shines a little bit of light where you are on where you.
Are with the Lord.
If the idea of never being out of the presence of the Lord is exciting to you and comforting and encouraging, that's great.
If it's terrifying that God is with you when you go into that place that you're thinking about right now, and you go when you go there and you go here and and.
All of those things that you know you visit all of those places that you visit that maybe others around you.
Don't know if those kind of things are coming to mind.
Yes God is with you in that midst and you walk into that room.
And that doesn't mean that God is checked at the door.
He is present with you everywhere you go.
FB Meyer says it's impossible to flee from God. This thought is terrible to those who are not at peace with him.
But delightful to those who love him.
So it's important to evaluate how these things strike you and how they speak to you and what kind of emotions and and responses are invoked as you consider the omnipresence.
Of God, you remember Jonah?
Tried to escape the presence of God when God called him.
To go on a mission trip to Nineveh.
And he was like.
Nope, and it was very common.
Jonah knew better, but it was very common in that day to think of a God as a localized deity that there was the God of this region or the God that was effective in these certain places or these this.
This type of, you know, geography really is.
Enhanced by this kind of God and and to think about them in in proximity to physical places.
But David here is reflecting on the fact that God he's not tide to a physical place.
He does have a few places that he has paid great attention to, so we look at Israel.
We look at Jerusalem and God says I've chosen to put my name there, right?
But that is not the containment.
Of his presence, even at the dedication of the Temple Solomon.
And his prayer to God said God, the heaven of heavens can't contain you.
You're not confined to this place to this location.
As we gather together in believers, we as believers we like to talk about the presence of God, and we're gathered together.
There's two or three he's here in our midst, right?
But sometimes we need to be reminded that God is in your presence and he's present with you on the way to church just as much as he is on the church property and and in the workplace, just as much as when you're in Jerusalem or in the nation of Israel.
Or, you know, no matter where you are, the presence.
Of God is with you continually.
David reflects on this in the next couple verses.
He says if I go up to heaven, you're there.
If I go down to the grave, you're there.
If I ride the wings of the morning, the idea there is like, you know, as the the sun rises and the the the morning light just spreads over the earth quickly the the the speed of light just flies across.
And and like the wings of the morning, just casts lights on all the earth.
If I go that fast.
If I'm on the the you know speed of light train and and and spreading the morning light to the ends of the earth.
Even there your hand will guide me and your strength will support me.
David is understanding, no matter where I go, no matter how fast I go there, no matter how far I go, even if it's to the farthest oceans.
If I get on a a boat tonight I just head out as.
Far as I can.
I'm going to find you there.
It's interesting to think about that, you know, kind of going way back in the day right before the whole world is mapped out before we understand and.
And so there's this ocean, and it's an unknown.
It's a great mystery.
Where does it go?
Where does it end?
Does it just drop off?
Is it you know the earth flat?
Is it round like?
All that when all of those things were unknown.
Understanding these truths would help us understand what doesn't matter.
What's out.
There doesn't matter what I land where I land on the other side, there's no land on the other side that I could get to where God wouldn't be with me.
And if I fall off the.
Edge God would still be with me, right?
That that we could understand.
Even if you want to think about it, update that to modern day.
Listen if we do ever make it to Mars.
The presence of God is going to be with.
US on the journey.
And on the planet as much there.
As he is with us here.
God is everywhere at the same time, he's always.
With us
And David understands.
God constant presence to be a good thing for him.
'cause he says even there your hand will guide me and your strength will support me.
So David is recognizing you you're always accessible and you're always helping me.
You're always.
Seeking to lead me and guide.
Me because you're always with me.
Verse 11 and 12.
He talks about darkness and recognizes that God is not limited by sight the way that we are.
You and I might hide from one another in the darkness.
But darkness cannot hide us from God.
We might feel alone and.
Secluded or secure in darkness.
Verse 12 he says even in darkness I cannot hide from you to you, the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and lights are the same.
To you.
God has better vision at night than your infrared security camera.
And how amazing it is, right?
We can see.
In the dark with these.
Cameras and the technology and the understanding of the way that light works and and all of these different things right? But God's not limited by those things he.
He doesn't have a harder.
He doesn't have to squint to kind of see where you're at when it's dark, and he can relax a little bit more when it's daylight, you know he.
He knows exactly where where he's with us.
Every moment of every day.
And nothing is hidden from him.
The author of Hebrews tells us nothing in all creation is hidden from God.
Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
Everything is naked and open before God.
Nothing is hidden at any time, not even for a moment.
Pastor Warren Risby says he knows you personally and intimately, so do not try to fool him.
Be open and honest with God and rest in his love, his eyes upon you and you have nothing to fear.
As you contemplate the on on the presence of God.
Let it be to you, something that is comforting and encouraging, because you're not trying to fool God.
You're not trying to get away with something, but you are trying to walk with God and then his presence is something that is good.
It's comforting, it's encouraging, it's helpful, and you can always know whatever you need as you walk.
With God.
He is right there with you.
He sees exactly what's happening.
He seeks exactly what you need.
He knows exactly what's best for you and he is right there to help you.
He doesn't have to get started on a long journey to make his way in your general direction.
He is right there with you continually.
While continuing on in verses 13 through 15, we get the next thing to contemplate and that is my all powerful God fashioned every.
Part of me.
My all powerful God fashioned every part of me.
Now David here considers his own creation and we might think about God regularly and the idea of him being the creator of the heavens and the Earth.
But it's also important to understand that and bring it down to a personal level that it's not just that God.
Created everything a long time ago and then he went away on a long trip and you know things have just been unfolding as they've been unfolding.
God is still intimately involved in his creation, to the point that.
He created me, David says.
Like, not just generally, he you know made the opportunity he created the the formulas and and ways for life to be born, but that he was actively involved in my creation.
Verse 13 through 15 says.
You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.
Your workmanship is marvelous.
How well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion.
As I was woven together in the dark.
Of the womb.
Here David is considering the omnipotence of God.
God is all powerful.
He is the creator of the heavens and the Earth, and the universe exists in the span of his hand, the Scriptures say.
And and that's impressive and important and incredible to think about.
But here again, David takes it and says.
But what does that mean in my life and and to stop and reflect that God you made?
All of my delicate Sinner parts.
The the very littlest details of my body.
We're personally actively involved. He says you knit me together in my mother's womb.
So you're picturing a pair of knitting needles? God OI? Don't know how knitting needles work, but he's going like this, right?
It's not something that God is just distant and you know it's just an automatic thing that just happens.
You know he set up an automation a long time ago, and here's what happens when this is triggered.
And so these things unfold that.
David is saying God you were involved.
Informing me and fashioning me too.
To the smallest detail.
God is personally involved in each person's formation and development.
He's not just the creator, he's.
My creator.
And we can look to the Lord and understand your knitting.
Needles were working within me and fashioning me.
Putting together and bringing me forth.
Into this life.
David says thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.
I'm not smart enough to now spout off a bunch of the complexities of the human body, but if you want to dig into it, there's there's enough there that you can spend your whole life.
In fact, doctors will specialize in different aspects of the body.
Different functions of the body.
And then what's amazing about it is, you know they can spend a lifetime in education and specializing in something.
And at the end of it still know very little.
I have a friend at work right now who is going through some things medically with his wife and.
And they keep having to go back and back and back and back and back.
And you know, the constant theme of what they're hearing from the doctors is.
We don't know.
We don't know.
We don't know.
We don't know.
We don't know we don't know we don't know we don't know they're they're trying to figure out but with all the specialties and all the specialists and all the educations.
There's still so much that we don't know or understand, David says.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.
Every part of us is fashioned in a way that is wonderfully complex.
He says your workmanship is marvelous.
The the workmanship that that we demonstrate in our body of the creativeness of God, the intelligence of God.
We see time and time again that God is infinitely above.
What we know and understand.
We spend a lifetime trying to figure out what God has already done and we don't even reach the end of it.
We barely scratched the surface and you know, you think.
About it this way like we.
Piggyback on the previous generations, explorations and understanding could piggyback on their previous generations and and so thousands of years later.
And still we don't know.
We don't know.
We don't know because.
God created us in a wonderfully complex way.
And he is involved.
He has formed us.
And fashioned us.
Verse 15 you watched me.
As I was being formed in utter seclusion.
As I was woven together in the dark.
Of the womb.
He gives another illustration here.
First of all, then knitted together.
Now he says woven together.
That word woven together also is sometimes translated embroidered.
And so there's this embroidery member in the Tabernacle as they were to do.
The embroidery of the the cherubim and things on the the Tabernacle.
Tent and the the curtain and all.
Of that stuff.
Right, it was that same word that super artistic.
Intricate work, great detail.
David says this is how.
You worked in my life.
You embroidered me.
In the dark of the womb.
Made me a work of art.
And pieced me together in a beautiful way.
You watched me.
Nobody else could see as I was being formed in utter seclusion.
They could see some of the effects on my mom.
They could see a little bit of the outline.
A little bit of the shape.
But you watched and you're involved and and you were part of that creative process actively involved in forming me and shaping me.
As I was developing in the womb.
This of course is something really important for us to understand and consider as we think about life and when it begins and what happens there in the womb.
The Lord told Jeremiah the Prophet in Jeremiah chapter one verse four and five.
Jeremiah says the Lord gave me this message. I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb.
Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.
The Scriptures are clear.
That God is.
And are coming to existence.
He knows about us.
He has purposes and plans and.
Jeremiah God says I'm going to appoint him to.
Be a prophet before.
He was even formed in his mother's womb.
The Lord had.
The understanding of what Jeremiah's life would be like.
And what?
Characteristics and features.
What spiritual gifts.
What he would need?
To be his profit to the nations.
And so God is knitting and broida ring and working together and all this craftsmanship there is.
Jeremiah is being formed.
To be brought forth in to fulfill.
The purpose that God has for him or had for him in this life.
Pastor Warren Rigsby says God formed us as he wants us to be.
And we must accept his will no matter how we feel about our genetic structure, our looks or our abilities.
This is really powerful stuff for us to consider.
God, being all powerful fashioned every part.
And so there is some things for us to think about in regards to pregnancy and abortion and the the time that life is conceived and and all of that.
But, but there's also.
All the other aspects of life to consider.
You know, sometimes we can be so dissatisfied.
With who we are.
We can be incredibly dissatisfied with.
The amount of hair or weight?
We can be really unsettled by.
Different characteristics about who God has created us to be.
And I'm not saying that.
There's nothing that we should ever do to try to change or you know, overcome different things.
In our lives, but.
At the same time, we need to be careful.
That we are not fighting against God.
I mean, maybe God wants you to have Gray hair and maybe it'd be good for you.
To let it shine.
Nothing is wrong to cover it up if that's what you're doing.
Maybe it is that's really between you and the word.
It's not a universal thing, but but what?
I'm saying is.
Sometimes we're so caught up with and and dissatisfied with.
What we see in the mirror?
And we can work really hard to try to counter or cover up.
Part of
Who God has made us to be?
At the same time, we also need to understand that sin is a reality in this world and in our bodies.
That although God fashioned US, informed us that doesn't mean everything about us is absolutely perfect, because what we have sinful cravings and desires.
We have pursuits that we want to go after and if we allow ourselves unchecked, well it will be incredibly destructive to us.
And so all of the debates and discussions about gender identity and when that's assigned, and when that you know.
All of all.
Of this, all plays into that as well.
And and and we need to to develop a really good understanding of of how these things interact and work together.
Again, I'm not saying that well, God made me this way, and so I'm going to go pursue this life of sin.
It's not a license to sin, but.
At the same time, I would caution us in this that you know, sometimes we can look at a passage like this.
We can say let God made you a certain way, and so you know.
Then you should just live in sinfulness.
And of course that's completely contrary.
To the scriptures.
Another person can look at the.
Same passages and say well.
You're saying God made you this way, but no, God didn't make you that way and so.
Just stop it.
But you don't have that struggle, you're just just, you just need to stop it and and it kind of ignores the reality of sin and struggle that we might experience.
Yes, God formed us and fashioned us.
And also we have the thin infection that has tainted the creative work that God has done and and there are some.
Things that are.
Bent the wrong way as a result.
And so there may be some struggles.
And it doesn't mean that those struggles.
Are not real.
It also doesn't mean that we should pursue those things that we're struggling against or or tending toward.
We have to balance it out with the rest of the scripture.
We all have sinful tendencies.
But to not jump too far.
Say well.
That's not a real struggle.
I think we need to be careful.
About that, and be a little bit more.
Receptive to the idea that there are things people struggle with about themselves that they feel about themselves that.
The struggle is real for them, whether or not we understand it or accept it or believe it.
We can understand Mike, all powerful God fashioned every part of me.
He made me, he fashioned me and he gave me the capacity to struggle in these areas not.
So that I would pursue sin, but he allowed that struggle to be there because he also knew he would provide for me what I needed to be victorious in that struggle.
Not that I would just keep into it, right?
Like all of these things interact and intersect and I'm doing a poor job of like trying to cover this exhaustively, 'cause I can't.
It's one of several things that God has us working through here this morning, but I would encourage you.
There's there's.
There's plenty of depth for all of these things, and all the complexity that David was talking about before that that we should be careful of two easy and two quick answers and solutions to some of the struggles that we're.
Seeing happen in society that.
That there is a reality of gods work.
There is a reality of sin and there's a reality of God allowing these things in our lives and giving us what we need to work through them.
And so I'll just leave it at that and move on to verses 16 through 18 for point #4.
My infinite God thinks about me continually.
My infinite God thinks about me continually.
Verse 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.
How precious are your thoughts about me?
Oh God, they cannot be numbered.
I can't even count them.
They outnumber the grains of sand and when I wake.
Up you are still.
With me
God's attributes.
Are incredible to consider.
They're not completely distinct from each other, they overlap, and so here we're seeing a combination really of his omniscience and omnipresence, and omnipotence that that all of these things exist in the one true and living God.
So he says you saw me before I was born.
Before I was outside.
Of the womb you saw me.
And he says every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Before my life began, every day of my life was recorded in your book.
He's saying, Lord.
Before I even set foot on this earth, you knew all of the steps I would take.
For my whole life.
Pretty incredible to think about.
And to understand that means that God is never surprised.
He's never.
Surprise, I can't believe you went that way.
Made that decision.
Did that actor.
Took that course.
I can't believe I'm so surprised.
I had no idea.
God knew.
Before you were born.
But but then the.
Incredible thing is at the end of verse 18 he says, and when I wake up, you're still with me.
Here's the incredible thing about God knowledge in that way that he knows all of those things about us, that we might be surprised about.
I didn't know I was capable of such evil, vile wickedness, but God did.
And when I wake up, he's still with me.
He's still.
Reaching out to me, he's still extending his love and grace and mercy toward me even on my worst days.
But that also means that God is never surprised at what I'm capable of.
He's never surprised by what victories can be accomplished as I walk with him and rest in him and trust in him that there is.
A great understanding of God of every aspect of my life and.
He has it recorded in advance.
Every moment was laid out.
Before even a single day had passed.
Ephesians chapter 2 Paul tells us that we are God's masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. That God has lead out in advance.
Good things for us to do plans.
For us to fulfill.
Now, not in a way that.
It is.
Removing our free will, we still have the opportunity to walk in these plans and to join with God.
He knows in advance whether or not we will, right?
But but it doesn't remove our free will.
And so we have.
Every day, really, the opportunity to walk in the plan that God has laid out for that day.
We have the opportunity.
To really be the fullness of the masterpiece that he has created us to be as we walk.
With God.
Pastor Warren Rigsby says he made you.
Planned your potential and ordered your days.
This is not some kind of blind fatalism that paralyzes you.
It is the wise plan of a loving father who knows what is best for you.
What you are as his gift to you and then use it wisely as your gift.
To him.
He knows every detail because he formed you and fashioned you from the very beginning.
And he's got his eyes on you.
His thoughts towards you.
Verse 17.
How precious are your thoughts about me?
They cannot be numbered.
God thinks about me continually, David says.
So many thoughts, it's innumerable.
How many thoughts God has about me?
And again, the idea here is not that and there.
Thoughts that are causing me to shudder because God just, you know, imagining all the ways he's going to wipe me out.
Now you cross reference this with Jeremiah 2911. I know the thoughts that I have for you, the the plans that I have for you for good and not for evil, to give you a future.
And a hope.
God is full.
Of good thoughts about you.
Well, the final part of the chapter which.
We're not really going to get into, but point #5 would have been my righteous. God leads me to everlasting life here in verses 19 through 24, the tone changes quite a bit, and so I'll leave that as an exercise for you to consider the tone as it changes. Where David essentially here is saying God, I am going to align myself.
You and there's a bit of internal conflict that happens to us as human beings because we don't have God's omniscience.
Now David goes on to talk about the wicked and to to say that there is a hatred that he has for the wicked and and so.
As he has this opposition to the wicked, he ends and I'll just read these two verses at the end. Verse 23 and 24 search me, O God, and know my heart, test me, and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
That David here, as he's walking through this he is saying.
There is enemies of God and Lord.
I don't understand why you put up with them so long.
And I'm aligning myself with you and I'm opposed to wickedness and so God.
Even to the extent Lord, that I invite.
You to search me.
If there's anything wicked in me.
Or would you point it out?
Are you bold enough to pray this prayer that David prayed?
I mean, it's pretty incredible.
When you give God license.
To search you, you know we're so guarded so many times.
If you're in a car accident, your insurance company wants you to admit no fault, even if it is.
Your fault, right?
Like there's this guard like, well don't say anything.
Say as little as possible so that it's not used against you later, right?
And and we can have this kind of guarded mentality even.
In our approach to God, sometimes but.
We need to let down our guard.
And give God license to search us again.
He knows everything.
It's not like he needs our permission to search us, but the license is important for us because it's our joining with God and his plans and purposes and allowing him to speak into our lives.
And we need to learn to cooperate with the investigation.
There's all the kerfuffle happening this week in Texas.
There, with the aftermath, and seems like maybe there's some opposition there's not cooperation with the investigation to figure out what happened, right?
We need to be in that constant state of God.
I'm cooperating with your investigation.
Search me and know me.
And understand he's going to find something.
Because we all fall short and we all need work and nothing is hidden from him.
And so we need to be in that constant state of repentance.
Where we're allowing God to show us.
Things and issues that he wants to address.
We could be like Adam and Eve and try to hide in the garden, right?
Try to cover up ourselves.
David did that for a while to you.
There's no way that we can run.
There's nowhere we can.
Be where we hide from God.
And so.
We need to understand my righteous God leads me to everlasting life.
He wants what's best for me.
And so Lord, here I am.
I want to join with you understanding all of your attributes and what that means.
For me, it's incredible how well you know me and how much you care for me and how much you think about me.
And so, Lord, I come in a position of surrender.
I'm cooperating with the investigation.
Search me thoroughly.
He's not going to point out everything all at once, 'cause we can't handle that.
But he will point out.
Here's some areas.
Here's some things.
That I want to lead you.
In to draw you out of to call you to take steps of faith.
Here's some things that I want to work on in your life, and so like David, I pray that you would contemplate God's involvement in your life.
His omnipotence, his omniscience, is omnipresence.
Has a big impact.
And although he's unlimited.
He also gives us.
The will the freedom to choose and to cooperate with him in the work that he wants to do, and so let's put ourselves in a place of surrender and let him lead us to everlasting life 'cause he wants what's good for us we can trust.
Him in that Lord, we pray.
That you would help us to have this heart of surrender like David Lord, to have this willingness to invite you to search us.
Lord, because we've reflected on all of these amazing attributes about who you.
Are and what you are and.
But it's all good, and it's for our good.
And you care for us intensely.
And so would help us to trust you.
Enough that we would be letting our guards down.
I'm allowing you.
To search us to point out steps you want us to take things you want.
To sort of move.
Directions lawyer that you want us to follow.
Help us to be open and receptive.
To all that you have to say, I pray this in Jesus name.