Psalm 139:23&24 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Psalm 139 describes for us an intimate description of how the LORD knows each one of us. Verses 23 and 24 are the last verses of the psalm.
The psalmist has been brought to an understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit and the historical account of how God blessed his chosen people. It is the revelation of the loving care and concern that God has for every one of his creations. Amazingly, we learn that God not only loves us every moment of our lives, but He also loved us before he created us and He will love us after our mortal lives end.
We read verses like:
V1: “O Lord, You have searched me and known me.”
V3b “And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.”
V5: “You have enclosed me behind and before.”
V7-8: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.”
These verses are but a few that describe God’s intimate knowledge of us, his beloved. Yet, with our focus on verses 23 and 24 we may lose sight of precisely what the psalmist is asking of God in these last verses.
Consider this, that the LORD knows more about the psalmist than the psalmist knows about himself. At the end of his prayer, the psalmist pleads with God that God reveal to him through the trials and tests of life the sinful thoughts and behaviors that separate him from the God who loves him and has reserved an eternal room for him in his heavenly mansion. The psalmist pleads with God to tell him his evident and hidden sins, so he can build a loving relationship with the God who loves him.
We Must Know the Truth and Be Truthful About Ourselves
When standing before Pontus Pilate, hours before his crucifixion, Jesus said the words, “In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” -John 18:37
Jesus is the “Way the Truth and the Life and no one will come to the Father except through him.” – John 14:6
But the psalmist knows another truth, that his righteousness in comparison to the holy, loving and pure God, his is nothing but filthy rags.
As sisters and brothers in Christ, I pray that we know that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world! Why? Because the world is already condemned through its sin! Jesus came to save us from a sinful and condemned world! The psalmist cries out to God to reveal the sin within him so he can live a life of thanksgiving and service to the one who loved him before he knew what love was.
For you see it is truth that leads us to an understanding of who we are in relationship to the holy God. Being truthful about ourselves in comparison to the holy, loving and faithful God is the foundation for why we worship God (how great our sin, how much greater is His love). Because when we are truthful, we recognize our sinfulness and the love, compassion, and mercy of the God who saved us from our sin.
In Closing.
Allow me to share with you hymn written by Stuart Townend. Allow this hymn be our closing prayer:
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure.
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss.
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory.
Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished.
His dying breath has brought me life.
I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.
In Christ we Pray. Amen
Rev. Nick Rama
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