Psalms 139
Notes
Transcript
Do You Fear Intimacy?
Do You Fear Intimacy?
Not Sexual - Mind out of the gutter.
Intimacy is about transparency—being seen and understood in our most authentic forms. It’s about letting someone into the innermost parts of our being, where every hidden thought, feeling, and aspect of our character is laid bare.
Why Do We Fear Intimacy?
Why Do We Fear Intimacy?
At it’s core intimacy leave us exposed
The fear of intimacy is often grounded in being exposed and found wanting
Personal Example
Social pressure on physical appearance.
I am not buff!
Societal standard of physique, fitness and muscular build.
I don’t have a 6 pack. I have a keg
Hence I won’t be caught exposed flexing
Why? I want to avoid being judged!
I don’t want to feel inadequacy!
The Greater Standard Exists?
What drives our larger fears of intimacy?
We feel the pressure of a standard often without even knowing it
I would call it an innate understanding that God’s holy standards exist (Rom 1:19-20, Rom 2:14-16)
God’s holiness is a standard that is set apart and above everything else in terms of perfection, goodness, and righteousness.
Its that high bar standard, that when we are exposed by intimacy, we will be found lacking, and maybe transgressing.
In that lacking and transgression, we find find ourselves exposed to judgement.
That fear of judgement is something we hate
If I can avoid being exposed I avoid judgement
Therefore, if I avoid intimacy and being seen. I cannot be exposed.
Problem: Psalm 139 Exists
Problem: Psalm 139 Exists
The Psalmist quickly reminds us God deeply knows, is near to us, and created us.
God intimately knows us
The psalmist doesn’t run from it, but rather finds joy in it.
I think we should too.
Especially in light of being New Testament people
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.
How many people find this idea terrifying?
There is no keeping intimacy from God
He just knows
He knew the psalmist, and he knows us
He keeps an eye on us
He knows all our secrets
He knows our sin
Yet, the Psalmist does not respond in worry, but wonder
5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.
Surprising reality of what the psalmist knew
God knows what I am, but
God does not surround us like a Swat team.
He surrounds us in protection and Providence
His hand is not on us in judgement
His hand is on us in support
I am still anxious, can I run?
Reality: God is all knowing so the psalmist asks in anxiety
“Hey, where can’t you go”
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits,
10 even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”—
12 even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you.
We get a 3D picture, that God is inescapable
I can go to heaven, God
I can go to Sheol (Hades), God
You can find me here (V1-4)
I fly away to the other side of the sea (North America), God
God would still find us, guide us, and protect.
Even in a setting like darkness where I could not find where I am.
God see’s where we cannot even comprehend.
Such as in the womb, and before creation.
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 wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, 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.
The psalmist reminds us
God saw you in the depth of the womb, and is responsible for making you
God worked out how to take you from a single cell into being you
Not just biological you, but conscious you
God knew what we would exist all the way back in adam
7 The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
When God was creating Adam, he knew you
Before we even existed God knew all about us.
God knew who I would be, but still he made me?
God knew who I would be, but still he made me?
To the psalmist this was unfathomable news
17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me; 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.
When he considers the God of V.1-16
That God in his omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence could have such regard for him.
The same God that has such a regard for you.
A funny picture, counting all of God’s thoughts
If I counted them there would be more than the number of grains of sand.
That means with would take a long time
While I count, and count
When I would get up finally from getting done, the next day
God would still be there.
God is faithful to us.
The Tension of Exposure and the Yearning for Righteousness
The Tension of Exposure and the Yearning for Righteousness
Up until now the psalmist has been happy to live in God’s grace
However, he comes to a realization
He cannot stand injustice in others
19 God, if only you would kill the wicked— you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me—
20 who invoke you deceitfully. Your enemies swear by you falsely.
21 Lord, don’t I hate those who hate you, and detest those who rebel against you?
22 I hate them with extreme hatred; I consider them my enemies.
He cry’s out wanting justice
He is having to realize that injustice is affecting him personally.
He has real men, “Men of blood” seeking to harm him
I think we can identify with the psalmists aspirations
“God their sin is exposed judge them”
But wait, if God judges them, he needs to judge me for my sin.
We cannot have our cake and eat it too
The psalmist has to relinquish his call for justice or also admit seeing himself destroyed.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.
Seeking Correction and Purity
Seeking Correction and Purity
The psalmist has to turn inward,
asking God to search and correct his own heart
In seeing other’s issues, I think he see’s his own sin
His only option now is God come and change me
It’s a prayer for sanctification
God don’t just put me in your grace, change me to be aligned with your way
Problem: The Psalm never finds resolution!
Problem: The Psalm never finds resolution!
The ability to enjoy intimacy with God without fear of judgement
The ability to enjoy grace while in the middle of injustice
The ability to pursue sanctification justified for your past.
However, coming from a new testament perspective we have a solution
The Gospel: Resolution of Divine Justice and Mercy
The Gospel: Resolution of Divine Justice and Mercy
Cyril of Jerusalem captures this idea well
These things the Saviour endured, and made peace through the Blood of His Cross, for things in heaven, and things in earth. For we were enemies of God through sin, and God had appointed the sinner to die. There must needs therefore have happened one of two things; either that God, in His truth, should destroy all men, or that in His loving-kindness He should cancel the sentence. But behold the wisdom of God; He preserved both the truth of His sentence, and the exercise of His loving-kindness. Christ took our sins in His body on the tree, that we by His death might die to sin, and live unto righteousness. Of no small account was He who died for us; He was not a literal sheep; He was not a mere man; He was more than an Angel; He was God made man. The transgression of sinners was not so great as the righteousness of Him who died for them; the sin which we committed was not so great as the righteousness which He wrought who laid down His life for us,—who laid it down when He pleased, and took it again when He pleased.
This is summed up well in a discussion on baptism in Romans 6:11
11 So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Our sins are exposed to God, judged with Christ on the cross and dead (Justified)
We are also made alive to God in Christ Jesus (Sanctified)
Bottom Line: God created us, is ever near, deeply knows us, and graciously offers us the Gospel.
Bottom Line: God created us, is ever near, deeply knows us, and graciously offers us the Gospel.
He created us, he knows our issues, yet he chooses to stay near, and chose to send his only son to justify and redeem us.
Question: What does God do with other’s injustice?
The beauty of the cross allows us to yearn for a solution to sin without being hypocrites
The Psalmist wanted to wipe out sinners, but he had his own sin
Yet, in Jesus God exposes another plan before bringing down judgement
9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
The psalmist wondered why God wasn’t acting
I would argue he was not comprehending what God had in mind.
That before judgement a chance for redemption
Our inclination, a remnant of sin maybe, is to jump to judge.
Instead Paul says to us
19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
I wonder if God called us to be witnesses over seeking vengeance because he knew our proclivity.
God wants people to have a chance to come to faith
We need to have faith in him to faithfully and powerfully execute Justice
11 Then I saw heaven opened and here came a white horse! The one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice he judges and goes to war.
12 His eyes are like a fiery flame and there are many diadem crowns on his head. He has a name written that no one knows except himself.
13 He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God.
14 The armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful.
16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Main Point: In Jesus we can have intimacy with God without fear or concern
Main Point: In Jesus we can have intimacy with God without fear or concern
We can enjoy being know, being in God’s presence, and in his power without fear
Even when injustice is happening around us we can trust in a God big enough to deal with sin
We trust in a God who sent Jesus to die and rise for sin
By faith I am saved
By faith others captured in sin can be set free
By faith we can trust that sin will one day be totally done away with in Jesus Lordship
Call To Action: Live In Light Of The Gospel
Call To Action: Live In Light Of The Gospel
What areas of your life are still held captive by fear of intimacy with God
Here is the truth God see’s, by faith God forgives
If we continue to have fear of intimacy with God, I dare to ask what part of Psalms 139 or the gospel don’t you trust in
If you are having trust issues with God, I encourage you to talk to me or one of the elders about it
A Call To Prayer
A Call To Prayer
Like the Psalmist ask God to search you, and lead you down God’s path.
Now revealed in the hope of Jesus Christ
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we've journeyed together through the landscape of Psalm 139, illuminated by the New Testament, we've encountered the depths of God's knowledge, the unescapable vastness of His presence, and the incomprehensible might of His power. We've seen how the Psalmist, in awe and wonder, navigates the intimate knowledge God holds of us—knowledge that predates our very existence.
In the shadow of such divine scrutiny, we confronted our own fears of intimacy and transparency, recognizing them as echoes of a deeper fear: that of not measuring up to God's perfect standard of holiness. Yet, in the same breath, we've been reminded that God, in His wisdom and mercy, chose not merely to judge our shortcomings but atone for them in Jesus sacrifice and to cover them with the righteousness of Christ.
Through the cross, Jesus Christ bore our sins and transgressions, not so that we might continue to hide in fear of exposure but so that we could stand unashamed in front of God in Jesus. In Him, we find the resolution to the Psalmist's anguished cry for justice—both a judgment upon sin and a merciful offering of redemption.
Now, as New Testament people, we are called to live out this gospel truth. We are invited into an intimacy with God that is free from fear because our sins have been nailed to the cross. We can embrace transparency before God, not as a threat of judgment but as a welcome into deeper relationship and transformation.
Yet, this intimacy carries with it a commission. As we have freely received grace, so too are we called to extend it—to be witnesses of this great love and mercy to a world still hiding in fear of exposure. We are to live as beacons of hope, embodying the righteousness of Christ not as judges but as fellow recipients of God's unmerited favor.
Call to Action: Let us then step boldly into the light of God's presence, allowing His Spirit to search us and lead us on the path of righteousness. Where fears of intimacy linger, let them be removed by the assurance of Christ's atonement. And where the world needs justice and righteousness, let us point them to the cross, where ultimate justice and mercy meet.
A Call to Prayer: Let us echo the Psalmist's prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." May this prayer guide us into deeper fellowship with God, through the grace and truth revealed in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Conclusion: Brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus, as we depart today, let us carry the truths of Psalm 139 and the Gospel into every aspect of our lives. Let us live unafraid of being known by God, for in Christ, we have been made more than known—we have been made loved, forgiven, and called. May the knowledge of God's intimate love and the power of His Gospel continue to make us look like Jesus, drawing us ever closer to the One who knows us completely and loves us.
