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Psalm 139 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Consider the fruit of knowing God and acknowledging that He knows us.
Before pursuing God, we pursued our own ways. Selfish ambition forms a mirage as we fool ourselves into thinking God is not with us and not watching over us. Maybe we even decide He doesn’t exist. When we do this, our behavior is affected. If we really believe that God can’t possibly know us or be watching us, then it doesn’t matter what we do. We might as well live how we want, gratifying our flesh and filling our lives with temporary pleasures.
But, this is not true. Dating back to the beginning of time, God clearly made Himself known to man. When thinking this way, this psalm becomes a powerful weapon in shaking us from our egocentric attitude. When we read it, we are reminded that God is always present and always watching. He is searching hearts and minds while testing our faith. He is boldly leading those who follow Him. He has placed His Spirit within us.
In the monotony of a typical day, it is easy to lose track of this truth. It’s natural to turn to control and power to comfort ourselves. Our flesh thinks it can somehow “have our cake and eat it too” with regard to attitude and behavior. This is simply not true. The spirit and the flesh are at war every day. When we are reminded that we serve the Creator who is over all things past, present, and future, the world suddenly is not about us – it’s about Him. Furthermore, this God who is far above us places His image upon us and searches through our mess to impact the world for His glory. We become His children and willingly submit to His searching and knowing. Does this describe you? Are you in joyful submission to His searching and knowing?
If we meditate on this psalm, we will quickly get put in our place. And that’s not a bad thing.