I am not alone.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 1677 גֹּלֶם

1677 גֹּלֶם (gō·lěm): n.[masc.]; ≡ Str 1564; TWOT 354b—LN 9.41–9.45 embryo, beginning fetus, i.e., what is in the mother’s womb, and perceived to be life with an unformed body (Ps 139:16+), note: for other solutions, see WBC21:252

Summary: David sensed his value and purpose because he realized he was not an "accident". He was a man created in the image of God and he is was not alone.

Have you ever felt alone? Of course you have, we all have. We all have those times we can feel alone. We know in our heads, that God is with us, that God is there for us and yet isn’t it hard to see it? To really know it?

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth’s rite of passage? On the night of the boys 13th birthday sis dad takes him into the forest, blindfolds, and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not take off the blindfold until the rays of the sun shine through it. He is all by himself. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience. Each lad must come into his own manhood. The boy was terrified and could hear all kinds of noises. Beasts were all around him. Maybe even some human would hurt him. The wind blew the grass and trees. But he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It was the only way he could become a man.

After what must have seemed like an eternity, the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest and started shining through the blindfold. He took it off and looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he saw the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was the boy’s father. He had been there all night long. It is a lesson in bravery ... in independence. But it is an important lesson in DEPENDENCE as well. Tribe and family matter. You aren’t alone, even when you are most lonely."

We are not alone, I am not alone.

We are never alone. Even when we do not know it, out Father is protecting us.

We are never alone. Even when we do not know it, out Father is protecting us.

"On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, he was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then he had never been away from the security of his family and tribe. But on this night he was blindfolded and taken miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of thick woods. By himself. All night long. Terrifying! How out of his element the young brave must have felt. How very un-BRAVE, in fact.

Every time a twig snapped, he probably visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. Every time an animal howled, he imagined a wolf leaping out of the darkness. Every time the wind blew, he wondered what more sinister sound it masked. No doubt it was a terrifying night for many.

As I was studying for this sermon, I decide to look at .

By Jeff Strite

it is written by David and is a wisdom psalm—meant to pass along wise teachings—that has the features of a hymn and lament. These features are expressed in the themes of the psalm rather than its structure; the hymn-like elements focus on God’s greatness, while the lament-like elements focus on God’s power over the psalmist.

Faithlife Study Bible Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is a wisdom psalm—meant to pass along wise teachings—that has the features of a hymn and lament. These various features are expressed in the themes of the psalm rather than its structure; the hymn-like elements focus on Yahweh’s greatness (especially His knowledge), while the lament-like elements focus on Yahweh’s power over the psalmist.

Summary: David sensed his value and purpose because he realized he was not an "accident". He was a man created in the image of God.

David talks about the greatness of God in there “omnis”

OPEN: In Robert Wise’s book “Your Churning Place” he tells a story about Burt Lancaster - a famous movie Star who made almost 100 movies between 1939 and 1989. But before he began working in the movies Burt Lancaster was a circus performer - a job he was fortunate to land, considering his less than flawless audition. He was asked to perform on the parallel bars, so he leaped on the bars and began his routine. Because he was nervous, his timing was off, and he spun over the bar falling flat on his face some 10 feet below. He was so humiliated that he immediately leaped back on the bar. As he spun again in the same point, he flipped off and smashed to the ground once more. His tights were torn. He was cut and bleeding, and he was fiercely upset. He leaped back on the bars again, but the 3rd time was even worse because this time he fell on his back.

The agent came over, picked him up, and said "Son, if you promise not to do that again, you’ve got the job!"

APPLY: Burt Lancaster was frustrated.

The Outline Bible Section Outline One Hundred Thirty-nine (Psalm 139)

omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence.

He just knew he could do the job, but every time he tried he failed.

A lesser man would have given up. But Lancaster was so convinced of his own abilities that he kept at it even when he fell down repeatedly.

Many of the great men and women of the past have approached life in this same fashion.

The Outline Bible Section Outline One Hundred Thirty-nine (Psalm 139)

I. HIS OMNISCIENCE (139:1–6): God knows all about us.

A. What we do (139:1–3)

B. What we think (139:2)

C. What we say (139:4–6)

Henry Ford was broke at age 40, and yet he created the first automobile empire.

Albert Einstein flunked in math and yet he devised some of the most powerful math equations.

One of Great Britain’s greatest admirals – Horatio Nelson – suffered from seasickness.

Helen Keller could not hear nor see - graduated with honors from a famous college.

Helen Keller could not hear nor see - graduated with honors from a famous college.

Psalm 139:1–6 NIV

1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

I. His Omniscience (): God knows all about us. God examined David, knows every detail.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Omniscience

Omniscience. God’s infinite knowledge and understanding of things past, present, and future.

A. What we do (139:1–3)

He knows you, when you rise, sit, going out and lying down, He knows all my ways.

A. What we do (139:1–3)

B. What we think (139:2)

He perceives our thoughts from afar.

C. What we say (139:4–6)

before I speak a word, God knows it. He knows, what I’ve done, thought and said. vs Six, he is saying I can’t even wrap my head around that. I think of all the ways I’ve messed up, thought evil thoughts an said the absolute wrong thing..

Abraham Lincoln was well known throughout his life for his failures in business and life and yet he is remembered as one of the greatest presidents of our nation.

He overcame difficulties because he was convinced they had purpose and value - a purpose and value that his handicaps could not damage or undermine. Abraham Lincoln explained the reason he was driven to accomplish so much in his life:

"Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day. No, no, man was made for immortality."

We were made to say, I am not alone.

In , David has arrived at the same conclusion. He’s come to believe that he has been created by God. That he has been fearfully and wondrously made. He realizes that God had was there with him, so he was not alone.

ILLUS: Dr. Scott Karrison noted hands are one of "…the most intricate and beautiful parts of the human body. Nineteen bones arranged to form a cup, an arch, a flat surface or a balled fist, each shape occurring on demand. Fingers able delicately to lift a needle from a table or twist open the stubborn cap of a fruit jar or distinguish between a penny and a dime merely by touch. No engineer designing robot hands has ever come close to such perfection." Guideposts Dec. 1993, p. 41-42

Or perhaps David listened to a bird in a tree and wondered at the marvel of hearing

ILLUS: Whittaker Chambers wrote a book where he told of sitting with his little two-year old daughter on his lap - and he just started looking intently at her ear. He was struck by the design of that ear. How beautiful, how shell-like it was, and how perfectly designed to catch every sound wave in the air to be translated into sound by the brain. Knowing something of the mechanics of the ear he began to think about it. He was struck by how impossible it is that anything so intricate, so complex, so beautifully designed could ever occur by chance. That led him to other lines of thought and eventually he investigated the Christian position and became a Christian.

Or maybe David just thought how his breathing

Or maybe David just thought how his breathing

Just think about your breathing for a minute. Breathe in…. (pause) Breathe out. What if you had to control that action every moment of your life? What if you had to remember to breathe in and out? How long do you think you could live? Not long, obviously. And yet God has designed our lungs to automatically do that action over and over again.

Whatever got David to thinking… it led him to realize how much he meant to God.

He was fearfully and wondrously made. God cared for him enough to “knit him” together in a marvelous and awe-inspiring way. And when David thought about this he realized how much God cared for him… and that led him to realize that God cared so much that He would always be there.

2Look with me to vss 7-12

Psalm 139:7–12 NIV

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Psalm 139:7–10 NIV

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

II. His Omnipresence (139:7–12): God is always with us.

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Omnipresence

Omnipresence. Aspect of God’s infinity in which he transcends the limitations of space and is present in all places at all times.

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

David was basically visualizing the greatest distances he could imagine

UP in the heavens

DOWN in the depths

OVER the seas into an unknown land

He shines in the darkness, even when it feels like darkness is closing in and surrounding you.

No matter where we go, It wouldn’t matter… God would always be there.

ILLUS: Ray Stedman once of when he “was about twelve years old we moved from Minnesota to Montana. The night before we left I got down by my bed and said, ‘Good-bye, God. We’re going to Montana.’ I was sure I would not find him there, but when we arrived, there He was. And I have found him - EVERYWHERE since.”

And I have found him - EVERYWHERE since.”

His Omnipotence (): God can do all things for us.

Psalm 139:13–24 NIV

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you. 19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! 20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? 22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

A. David’s review )

Psalm 139:13–18 NIV

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.

1. God creates and arranges our bodies within the womb (139:13–15): He knows us before we are born.

inmost being, often is used to parallel the heart.

Frame - People in the ancient near east considered bones to be indicative of a person’s nature because they were the deepest and longest-lasting part of a person.

unformed body, literally embro or fetus. All the days were ordained and written before he was born. Meaning in God knew what their life had in store.

David says that he is fearfully and wonderfully made, even in the womb we are not alone. God is with us.

Who is it that gives life? It is God Almighty.

Who is it that causes that unborn baby to survive inside the womb? It is God Almighty.

Who is it that gives life and brings life? It is God Almighty.

Who is it that takes the little hands and feet and eyes and nose and lips and assembles them together, literally knits the bond together? It is God Almighty.

So if we believe the Bible, and we must, then I think we have to reaffirm our belief in the sanctity of all life, born and unborn. This isn’t a political stance of Republican vs democrat. It is a God issue. The bible is quite clear on this, its not just tissue, it is a life.

Jeremiah 1:5 NIV

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

I see in scripture that from the moment of conception there is a distinct individual who has come into being—an individual made in the image of God; an individual with a human soul; an individual for whom Christ died. We must say that; we must hold it up. We must continue to insist that when a baby is aborted it is not simply the termination of a pregnancy, it is not simply the expulsion of fetal material, but it is the killing of an innocent human being who is made in God’s image.

God also tells us to Show Love for one another… I am not going to stand up here and condemn or shame you if you had an abortion… That is not the way that Jesus would have done it… He offers love and grace to cover over a multitude of sins.

The reality is that 1 out of 4 women have had an Abortion… One study I read said that, In the Church 1 out of 10 have had an Abortion… I am not here to look down on you… I just want you to know that God Loves you and wants to Forgive you and give you the healing you desire.

This Psalm was written by David, who was no stranger to killing, he slept with a friends wife, got her pregnant and then had her husband killed. Yet he repent, came to God in humility and was later known as a man after God’s own heart.

There is nothing you have done, that can exclude you from God’s love and if you are hurting we would love to talk with you and help you know God and his grace and forgiveness.

And if you feel like

https://youhavealternatives.org/ 24-Hour Helpline: 303.295.2288

And if you are facing an unplanned pregnancy talk to someone today or get online, or call this 24 hour hotline. I am guessing that you are feeling alone, in this room surrounded by people. I’m here to tell you we are not judging you, or here to look down on you. We are here to show you the love and forgiveness that Jesus has shown us.

1. God creates and arranges our bodies within the womb (139:13–15): He knows us before we are born.

2. He schedules each day of our lives before we are born (139:16) .

3. He records our every day in his book (139:16) .

4. He thinks wonderful and innumerable thoughts about us constantly (139:17–18).

B. David’s request ()

Psalm 139:19–24 NIV

19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! 20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? 22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Several key terms from vv. 1–3 are repeated in vv. 23–24. In response to God’s knowledge and power, the psalmist desires for God to examine him afresh (v. 23).

1. “O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!” (139:19–22)

2. “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (139:23–24): He wants God to test him and point out anything that offends him.

David asks again for God to search him, to see if there is anything offensive and to lead him in the right way.

One way that God leads us is through other people in our lives. We can’t do this alone.

I got a text last week, about i comment I made last week. I was talking about the sexual abuse prevention class we are offering and protecting our kids. I hadn’t planned on talking about it in my sermon and so it was unscripted.

I said something like we want to shine the light bright enough to drive out the cockroaches that would prey on our kids. Now I stand by the idea that we want to protect our kids NO MATTER WHAT.

But I also don’t want someone to feel like my sin or temptation is too awful for God to forgiven. Jesus died and paid the price for all the sin of the world.

The child molester was fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God and isn’t beyond forgiveness and redemption. You can’t continue in that sin and abuse, You need God to search you and know you and get the help you need to stop the offensive ways and be lead in the way everlasting.

There is no sin that God can’t forgive, There is no hurt that God can’t help you heal from. And there is nothing you can do to earn forgiveness forgiveness from God. Come to him and be healed, be changed, be born again.

Let’s pray.

David was thinking about how marvelously God had created him that led David to realize God would be there for him wherever he was, and that God’s love for him gave him value and purpose…

He is seated on a hillside watching his father’s sheep and he’s feeling the breeze blow over his body. He looks down at his hands and his feet. He feels his heart beat and watches in wonder as his chest rises and falls with each breath. And he realizes this is no accident.

ILLUS: Back in 2005, “Time” Magazine quoted Evolutionary author Robert Wright who was answering the question of what makes people happy?: “People so reliably pursue food and sex because eating and (sex) release neurochemicals that make them feel happy. And the reason this neurochemical rule is part of the human heritage is that the genes responsible for it have, understandably, done well for themselves.” Robert Wright, quoted in Time 1/17/05

In other words… we’re able to be “happy’ because our “happy” genes survived evolution. If those genes hadn’t made it through that long evolutionary process all we’d be able to do is mope around.

But it goes even further than that…another “Time” magazine article told of a “science” known as "evolutionary biology.” The premise of this “science” is that we are "human animals" and can look to the realm of other animals for reasonable models for the underlying rational for how we behave.

According to the Time article, “it is to man’s evolutionary advantage to sow his seeds far and wide (they just naturally “sleep around”). Women instead seek mates with the best genes and the most to invest in offspring. These strategies can put the sexes in conflict and undermine love."

As an example, these scientists point to the ape culture: "Among Apes, the GREATER the difference in size between Male and Female…the less monogamous the Male."

This then forms the basis for understanding infidelity and promiscuity in the human race - thus understandable to a race of animals that have evolved into its present higher form. Time, August 15, 1994 pp. 45ff.

So, without God in the picture, men and women are reduced to being selfish animals who are principally driven by their desire to reproduce.

As Allen Webster put it

“Evolution sees man as one step above apes. Scripture sees him as one step beneath angels” Allen Webster

That’s what David is saying here. He realizes what a marvelous creation he is.

He is seated on a hillside watching his father’s sheep and he’s feeling the breeze blow over his body. He looks down at his hands and his feet. He feels his heart beat and watches in wonder as his chest rises and falls with each breath. And he realizes this is no accident.

He is designed by God… fearfully and wondrously made.

He is designed by God… fearfully and wondrously made.

This points one of the major characteristics of Christianity.

We believe we were created by God.

And because we’ve been created by God we realize we’ve been created for something more than selfishness and the seeking of pleasure. You and I were made to do great things.

Or tells us “…we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God says, I created you, I know you I won’t leave you and I have created you for a purpose.

ILLUS: Ophrah Winfrey endorsed a book called “The Secret” which attempts to share the “secret of life” it’s author believes has made her life meaningful. The secret? From one critique of the book I’ve read, it appears that it is recommending the “power of positive thinking.”

Now, I have nothing against the power of positive thinking. It’s ok in so far as it goes. But if it’s simply based upon the idea that “I can because I think I can” or “I can have something because I believe I can get it” is little more than wishful thinking. It just doesn’t work that way in real life.

David was a man who had positive thinking. He was a man of confidence and courage. But his confidence and courage were based NOT on his personal abilities or potential… but upon God’s power and grace.

There’s a song by a Christian Bluegrass group named the Isaacs called “I come in the name of the Lord” and it does a great job of explaining what I’m trying to say here:

“One day a crowd was gathered to watch a giant fight a little shepherd boy named David who served God with all his might.

They offered him great armor but he chose a sling and stone

He said “you come to me with a sword and a shield, but I come in the name of the Lord”

I come in the name of the Lord (repeat)

There’s not a battle that I cannot win, we’ve already won the war

I come in the name of the Lord

Mountains will crumble, giants will fall

We serve a God who created them all”

David was a man who was willing to face giants and to lead his men against the enemies of Israel. But his confidence was based entirely upon the realization that he was created in the image of God and was special to Him.

Look again at

“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in— behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.”

He knew God had “laid His hand” upon him, and this was the basis of his feeling of value and purpose.

(pause)

And this is where I ran into a wall. I got this far in preparing the sermon and I realized I had run out of things to say… but I just knew there was more in this passage than I had found.

So I did what I often do when this happens. I read the passage again and again. And then I saw something I’d never seen before. I saw this psalm of David’s in a whole new light.

And what I saw in was a psalm that was that this was not just any ordinary song. This was literally a love song. This was David declaring his undying love for his God.

How many of you have you ever watched a young man who’s in love? They’re almost unbearable aren’t they?

· They can’t think of anything but that girl.

· They can’t talk about anything but her.

· They want to be with her ALL the time

· And when this guy gets home from a date with her, he racks his brain, examining everything he’s said and done, asking himself if he’s messed things up with her.

When you’re around such a young man, you sense that he realizes how much he has and how lost he’d be without her.

That’s how David comes across in this Psalm. It’s a lover’s poem. An expression of his adoration of God.

He focuses the bulk of his song on proclaiming how much God has done for him. And then David goes to great lengths to express to that he loves what God loves and hates what He hates

And twice he asks God to examine his heart and MAKE SURE it is clean and acceptable.

Nothing in David life matters to him nearly as much as God.

He is hopelessly in love with God - and that’s why the Bible tells us that David was “a man after God’s own heart.”

This is where we want to get in our relationship with God.

We want to get to the point where all we seem to be able to talk about is God.

We want to get to the point where we are so taken by God that people just know how much we love Him.

We want to get to the point where–in everything we do–we ask whether it pleases Him.

And we want to get to the point where that every time we take communion we ask ourselves if there’s any sin in our lives we need to deal with. And we do this because we know God loves us and we love him back… and that’s what lovers do. They are vulnerable with each other, because they trust in each other’s love.

A man or woman in love is a driven individual. They’ll do anything to please the one they love. And they act like this because they sense that the one they love, loves them.

It’s when we truly realize HOW MUCH God cares for us that our lives take on new meaning an purpose.

CLOSE: Ben Hooper, who has twice been elected governor of Tennessee, tells this story about his childhood:

“My mother wasn’t married [when I was born]. When I started to school my classmates had a name fo me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself both at recess and during lunch time because of the taunts of my playmates, which cut me deeply. What was worse was going downtown on Saturday afternoon and feeling every eye burning a hole through you. They were all wondering who my real father was.

“When I was about 12, a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in church on me. Just about the time I got to the door,… I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me.

“‘Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’

“I felt the old weight come upon me. It was like a big, black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down, I thought.

“But as the preacher looked down at me, studying my face, he began a big smile of recognition. ‘Wait a minute,’ he said, ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance. You are a son of God!’

“With that, he slapped me across the back and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’ “That,” Ben Hooper said, “was the most important single sentence anyone ever said to me.”

With Christ’s help, Ben Hooper had overcome his sense of rejection and inadequacy and claimed his inheritance as a child of God.