We Are Blessed

) 1 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:1-10 (KJV

We Are Blessed

I stand amazed at the love and mercy of our Lord. There is not a one of us here tonight worthy of the abundant blessings of God. Psalm 8:3-4, 9—When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

I remember my life before Christ; it was empty, hopeless, fearful, and constantly searching for something to bring peace to my soul. Then on that faithful day, Jesus came to where I was. I wasn't seeking Him; He came to me. He offered His righteousness in exchange for my sin.

I have been mindful of the Lord today as I tried to comprehend all He has done for me. I have certainly been blessed. Oh what a Savior is mine! I pray that we can somehow get a glimpse of what God has done for us through this precious Psalm. I want to consider the wonders David spoke of as we think on the thought: We are Blessed!

I. The Perception of God (1-2)—O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Have you considered lately that God knows everything about us? He has searched our hearts; there is nothing hidden from God. He knows our good days, as well as, the bad.

He understands the joy and the pain we experience. He knows where we have been and where we are headed. He knows when we have a heart to serve Him and when we are rebellious. Heb.4:13—Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

■ You might agree that God knows all about us, and the blessing is, He knew all about us before Christ came to die for our sin. We were all wretched and undone, sinful and lost. We may have been pretty good people, who could dress up and go to church, but we were lost.

■ It thrills my heart to know that God knew I was a sinner, who had nothing to offer Him in return, and yet, He offered me the riches and hope of heaven through Jesus Christ His Son!

Jesus looked down through the portals of time and saw a sinful little boy, lost and undone, in need of a Savior. He came for me! I have never gotten over that. God knew me and yet He loved me! Who am I that a King would bleed and die for? Who am I to receive such grace and mercy?

Sis. Cook, even me God let some drops fall on me

II. The Patience of God (3-4)—Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. When God saved me I became a new creature in Christ. That transformation was immediate; I would never be lost again, but I still had those sinful tendencies. No matter how I tried, I could not live a perfect life. I was weak and often yielded to temptation.

Every time I tried to do good evil was ever present; but God held me close and He would not let go. God’s mercy kept me so I would not let go.

■ Notice v. 3; the word compassest means "to scatter or cast about as the wind does the dust." It has the idea of "the winnowing process where grain is thrown into the air so that the chaff is blown away leaving only the pure grain." Jesus knew what I was when He saved me and He knows what I will become. He is patiently working in my life. With hands of love He allows the winds of life to remove the chaff that hinders me so that I become more like Him.

The children sing that little song, "He's still working on me, to make me what I ought to be. It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth and Jupiter and mars. How loving and patient He must be; He's still working on me."

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Job 23.10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

■ Aren't you glad that Jesus doesn't throw the clay away? He just carefully begins to remold us into what He wants us to be. He looks beyond the sinful, marred outward appearance and looks at the heart. He sees the potential in our lives through Him, and works to bring His likeness to the surface!

Isaiah 64:6-8 “All of our righteousness are as filthy rags, but now, O Lortd, Thou are our Father; we are the clay, and Thou are the potter; we are the works of Thy hand

Have Thine Own way, Lord! Have Thine Own way!

Thou are the potter, I am the clay

Make me and mold me after thine will

While I am waiting, Yielded and still

■ If we got what we deserved we would all be in hell this morning, but Jesus doesn't see our sinfulness and rebellious spirit. He sees a child of God, born again, washed in the blood, holy and pure because of His sacrifice. I don't know about you, but I'm glad the Lord is patient with me. He has never failed to receive me with open arms when I come short, no doubt greatly displeasing Him. All I have to do is seek forgiveness and cleansing, and He always restores me.

III. The Provision of God (5-6)—Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. David stood in awe of God. I too stand amazed at His provision. As David said, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it." If you are saved tonight, you are secure in Jesus. This world is in a frenzy tonight, searching for something to satisfy that longing in their soul. I have perfect peace in my Lord.

■ I want you to notice the word beset. It means "to press upon or compress." It has reference to "laying siege to a city, entirely surrounding it, and hemming it in, so that there is no possibility of escape." God has us protected from behind and in the front. He is protecting us from the troubles and trials of yesterday as well as those we will face in the future. We will face adversity, but not alone.

■ And if that isn't enough the hands that hung the stars in space, the hands that created man from the dust of the earth, that were nailed to that Roman cross, are covering us. Praise God we are secure in Him tonight. I don't know what we'll face tomorrow, but I know it isn't big enough to remove us from the hand of God. Isaiah 43:1—But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. We can claim that promise as well. It is utterly impossible to get away from the mighty hand of God.

IV. The Presence of God (7-10)—Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell (the grave, in death), behold, thou art there.9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.David was a man of war; he had faced much uncertainty in his life. He was constantly on the move, defending himself from the enemy. He had known great victories and suffered great losses. In everything he faced, God was always there.

■ We cannot escape the presence of our Lord. Every child of God has the Holy Spirit within their heart. I may get to place in my life that I feel God has left me, but He is always there. I don't know what you are facing this morning. You may be walking through a dark valley. You may feel that you are all alone, but God is there. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

■ I don't deserve to have the presence of God in my life, but He is there. Psalm 46:1—God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. We can count on God in times of sorrow while in the valley, in times of joy on the mountain, and all the uneventful times in between. He is there when I lay down at night and He is there when I wake in the morning!

Conclusion: I have been encouraged in the Lord today. I am reminded of who He is and what He has done for me. There is joy in my soul tonight. I want to praise the Lord for all He has done for me! I don't know much, but I know that I belong to Him! Psalm 139:14—I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Are you struggling in the journey this evening? Does it feel as if you are alone, forced to endure the difficulties of life without any guidance or help? If you are a child of God, He is there. If you have never been saved, you do not enjoy the presence of the Lord and His abundant blessing. I have good news though. You can begin a journey with the Lord this evening if you will come to Him by faith. If He has spoken to your heart, come as He leads!

Remember the Perception of God. He knows what is best for you although your weary eyes cannot see. No matter how deep entrenched the wrong or how hard the battle goes just remember God knows

Remember the Patience of God. You cannot hurt God. He knows what is wrong and He is working not on a temporary fix but a permanent one.

Remember the Provision God. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved . . .

Remember the Presence of God. Story is told of an old preacher and a sinner. As much as the preacher tried, he could not reach the sinner. The sinner asked, can you see God? Touch God? Hold God? So I will not believe

One day the sinner was in a bad accident. The preacher went to see him in the hospital. Preachers asked the sinner how are you feeling. His reply was I am in a lot of pain. Naturally the preacher asked how do you know that you are in pain/

Can you see the pain? Touch the pain? Hold the Pain?

Sinner said no but I can feel the pain!

You cannot see Jesus with the naked eye

You cannot touch Him with your natural hands

You cannot hug Him

But Oh Oh if only Jeremiah was here