1-14-24 Sermon

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

This morning I'll be reading Psalm 139 verses 1 through 6,,, then skip down to verses 13 through 18. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 This psalm gives us answers about God that we know,,, or should know,,, but tend to overlook. King David,,, the apparent author of this psalm knew,,, and tries to pass this information on.

Psalm 139:1–6 (HCSB) — 1 Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord. 5 You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me. 6 This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it. Psalm 139:13–18 (HCSB) 13 For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. 17 God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me to comprehend; how vast their sum is! 18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with You. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday was our first Sunday of the new year,,, and we participated in our first ever covenant service!

Hopefully the service was as meaningful to you,,, if you were here,,, as it was for me!

During this covenant service,,, we pledged to live,,, not for ourselves,,, but for God.

And,,, by doing so,,, we are committed to doing the work that God has for us throughout this next year,,, and into eternity,,, all as a church family,,, completing everything that God ask of us!

We also answered the vows of the Global Methodist Church as we began the year as a new Global Methodist Church!

This morning we will look at these verses in Psalm 139,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verse 1 said: 1 Lord, You have searched me and known me.

The theme of verses 1–6 is announced in the opening verse: the LORD knew David in every way possible.

David said God’s knowledge came as if He had searched out every detail of David’s life and therefore,,, God knew him intimately.

___________________________________ Verses 2-4 said: 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord.

Examples of how well God knew David are stated here.

God knew every move he made; the two opposites of sitting and rising,,, shows that God already knew that.

God knew not only David’s actions; He also knew his motivations or his thoughts.

Far away,,, as it's used here,,, evidently refers to time,,, instead of distance.

Then,,, the daily activities were also thoroughly familiar to the Lord.

The opposites of my travels and my rest,,, represent the whole day’s activities.

But the one example that truly shows that God knows everything,,, is in verse 4.

Before David could frame a word on his tongue,,, the LORD knows exactly what he's about to say.

So before you even know what you are going to say,,, remember,,, God already knows,,, and it hasn't been spoken yet!

The future as well as the past and present are all,,, completely open to Him.

___________________________________ Verses 5-6 said: 5 You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me. 6 This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.

David’s initial response to this staggering knowledge was that he was troubled.

Like many people today,,, that realize exactly what God is capable of,,, he thought it was confining,,, that God had surrounded him and was holding him back.

Another view is that God's knowledge of us is so inconceivably absolute,,, He can guard us behind and before.

His protective hand is always laid protectingly upon us.

Therefore,,, this kind of knowledge,,, was out of David’s control—it was beyond me,,, he said.

In other words,,, this all knowing God,,, is too high for humans to understand.

The thought of such confining knowledge as we see in verses 1–6,,, may have prompted David’s desire to escape,,, as you would see when you read verses 7–12 that we skipped this morning.

___________________________________ Verses 13-14 said: 13 For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.

The thought that darkness cannot conceal anyone from the Lord,,, as it talks about in verses 11–12,,, possibly,,, brought to David’s mind this thought,,, or direction,,, in verses 13–18: because God knew all about him when He created him in his mother’s womb.

And since God can create a person,,, He certainly knows him intimately and is with him everywhere.

The language is figurative because the,,, creating and knitting,,, describes God’s watchful eye over the natural process of reproduction.

This information,,, prompted David to break forth in praise over the thought of how marvelously he had been made.

Even David’s limited knowledge of the marvels of the human body led him to be in awe and wonder.

The words "wonderfully" and "wonderful" show David’s awareness,,, of God’s marvelous knowledge.

___________________________________ Verses 15-16 said: 15 My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.

Then David stressed certain features of God’s superintendence over him.

In verse 13,,, when it said: You knit me together in my mother’s womb,,, David might have been referring to his veins and arteries.

Here in verse 15,,, when it said,,, when I was made in secret,,, he was as remote to the human eye as the lower part of the earth,,, no one could see this process.

But God saw every detail.

Also,,, the more we think of and know about the human body,,, the way that its put together,,, the way that it works,,, the marvelous things that our bodies do without our thinking like our heartbeat or breathing,,, the more we wonder how anyone trained in natural science,,, can fail to believe that we weren't created by God!

That seems so hard for us to understand,,, but it happens!

But,,, continuing on in verse 16,,, God prerecorded all the days of his life before he was even born.

This statement,,, according to my commentary,,, may mean that God determined how long he would live,,, but in view of verses 1–4,,, it more likely refers to everyday details.

As a result,,, it states that,,, God marvelously planned out his life.

___________________________________ Verses 17-18 said: 17 God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me to comprehend; how vast their sum is! 18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with You.

This thought led David to conclude that the Lord’s plans for His people are most precious,,, and in fact are too many to comprehend.

They are also most relevant,,, for each morning when he awakened,,, God was still with him,,, extending His thoughts toward him.

And God is with us,,, each and every morning,,, as well!

___________________________________ We can see from these words,,, that God is all knowing,,, God is everywhere at all times,,, and God is all-powerful!

There is nothing that we can do that He doesn't know about,,, as a matter of fact,,, He knew about it before you ever did it or said it!

As many have testified in the Bible,,, you can't go anywhere that God isn't already there,,, no matter where you might try to hide!

And for me,,, my first thought of someone trying to run and hide from God is always Jonah,,, and we know how that turned out!

And we also know that when God speaks,,, things are created,,, storms are calmed,,, and many other miracles that all prove His power and might!

We as human beings,,, can never understand all that God is doing or seeing at any time.

Isaiah 55:9 says: “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

We struggle with these words,,, or forget these words,,, all of the time,,, especially during times of sorrow and doubt!

___________________________________ But,,, there is great comfort and peace in recalling that we are made, known, and loved by the God of the universe.

He is mighty and powerful and the creator of all things, and yet He cares for us as individuals.

God knows our thoughts and understands us inside and out.

He knit us together and designed us with purpose.

We can rest assured that we are valuable and loved, no matter what we might do or not do.

We have worth because of God’s love, and He will guide us in our lives.

___________________________________ Because of this,,, we can be assured that God wants what's best for us!

We are also assured that His power is sufficient to take care of us as well!

As we continue into this new year,,, my prayer is that we truly realize what a mighty God we serve,,, and not only that,,, but that we also realize that power,,, is available for us to use as well!

And,,, I've said it many times before,,, but because of all that God knows and does,,, that we know nothing about,,, we must trust Him,,, to do what's best for us!

And He does this,,, because of His love for us,,, that we neither deserve,,, nor earn,,, but so that we can give Him the true glory and praise,,, that He truly deserves!

So let's be sure that we continue our journey into the new year,,, with God as our strength and provider,,, as we strive to "Trust God" in every aspect of our lives,,, during each and every day,,, of the year!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------