PSALM 139
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] 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.
19 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. (NIV)
Psalm 139:14-16 gives us a glimpse of the wonder of our “inmost” being and tells us that God knit us together in ways that are beyond our ability to see or comprehend. In praise of God, the psalmist proclaims:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.”
In considering the wonder of our inmost being, we find within a desire, and a capacity, to seek to KNOW Him. We also find within us awareness that we ARE KNOWN BY Him. We were made for RELATIONSHIP and are incomplete without it.
Our shared human need to know ourselves, to know others and to be known by others is, in essence, the need to love and to be loved. It is in those relationships that we receive comfort or hurt; where our core human needs are met or not met. We are designed in a way that allows us to be similar in design but distinctly individual. We are designed with the capacity to create, think, learn, evaluate, make decisions, feel and identify emotions, give names to those emotions and share all of the above human inner workings with others to establish knowing and being known.
In the beginning of Psalm 139 the psalmist is referring to being aware that God saw him as he was created. He moves on to say to God “You have searched, Lord, and you know me. “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.”
These “inner” workings could be further understood with the following statement: We all have a brain that has common functions, but we each have a mind that is unique as a result of unique design and our unique experiences.
Also, in considering that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, not only is our inner being amazing, but so is the wonder of our “frame”. We find that our physical body is designed in a way that allows healing and repair from injury and illness!
Click HERE to return to "Week 1 Outline"
Click HERE to go to "Week 2 Outline"
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] 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.
19 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. (NIV)
Psalm 139:14-16 gives us a glimpse of the wonder of our “inmost” being and tells us that God knit us together in ways that are beyond our ability to see or comprehend. In praise of God, the psalmist proclaims:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.”
In considering the wonder of our inmost being, we find within a desire, and a capacity, to seek to KNOW Him. We also find within us awareness that we ARE KNOWN BY Him. We were made for RELATIONSHIP and are incomplete without it.
Our shared human need to know ourselves, to know others and to be known by others is, in essence, the need to love and to be loved. It is in those relationships that we receive comfort or hurt; where our core human needs are met or not met. We are designed in a way that allows us to be similar in design but distinctly individual. We are designed with the capacity to create, think, learn, evaluate, make decisions, feel and identify emotions, give names to those emotions and share all of the above human inner workings with others to establish knowing and being known.
In the beginning of Psalm 139 the psalmist is referring to being aware that God saw him as he was created. He moves on to say to God “You have searched, Lord, and you know me. “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.”
These “inner” workings could be further understood with the following statement: We all have a brain that has common functions, but we each have a mind that is unique as a result of unique design and our unique experiences.
Also, in considering that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, not only is our inner being amazing, but so is the wonder of our “frame”. We find that our physical body is designed in a way that allows healing and repair from injury and illness!
Click HERE to return to "Week 1 Outline"
Click HERE to go to "Week 2 Outline"