You know me
Psalms 139:1-2 For those of us who claim to follow Jesus but still use profanity or angrily shout at those we love, we should recall that God hears and knows every word we speak or think.
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.”
Psalms 139:1-2 NIV
Another psalm, this one written by the hand of King David. He often prefaced his psalms with the salutation “For the Chief Musician”, who is often thought to be the person who led singers and musicians in these beautiful songs of praise. However, there’s also a school of thought that “the Chief Musician” could be God Himself!
I love the main thought in the first verse; that God has searched my soul and knows me better than I do. That’s why I often reach out to Him in silent prayer when I find myself wondering why I’m acting the way I am. He knows me, and perhaps if I listen to Him He will calm my questioning soul.
In the first verse, David is also differentiating Yahweh from the pagan gods that were proliferating in lands around Israel and Judah. Those gods, often personified by statues or other lifeless objects, were indifferent to their worshippers. David shows here that he knows the true God has searched and known each of His people.
Think of it. God is not only omniscient, but He personally knows me. He is everywhere, and He is everywhere with me. He not only created everything, He created me. If that isn’t enough to humble a human being, what will?
David goes on to say that God knows “when I sit and when I rise”. This was a phrase used in Scripture to indicate that God knows everything about a person. As Jesus, in Matthew 10:30, points out, “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Even the most inconsequential action on our part is duly noted by God.
The next part of the second verse points out that God not only knows each of those actions that go on in our daily lives, but He also knows our thoughts. He knows our words before we speak them, and I often pray that He will keep my tongue from speaking harshly.
Charles Spurgeon said of this verse, “Divine knowledge is perfect, since not a single word is unknown, nay, not even an unspoken word, and each one is ‘altogether’ or wholly known.”1
I’ll repeat my thought from the earlier paragraph — I often pray that He will keep my tongue from speaking harshly. For those of us who claim to follow Jesus but still use profanity or angrily shout at those we love, we should recall that God hears and knows every word we speak or think.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, it is humbling to realize that You know everything about me, and that even when I have done wrong in Your sight, You still love me. Imprint this truth on my brain so that I may only do things that are pleasing to You. I may never understand how You are able to be with me everywhere and at all times, but that shouldn’t keep me from praising You continually. I thank You in the name of Jesus, AMEN.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The Treasury of David: Volume 3" (Psalms 111-150) (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1988)