Psalm 139 - Does anyone care about me?
Notes
Transcript
Big Idea:
Big Idea:
God cares about us more than we can imagine. And He’s all we need!
Intro:
Intro:
Hi Everyone! Thanks for joining us today.
I want to start by reading this morning’s Psalm. So if you have your Bible or Bible App and want to follow along, turn to Psalm 139. Of course, if you’re watching online, you can follow along on the screen. But we have a few in our church family who listen via the podcast - Shout out to my friends Corey and Walter. Just don’t follow along in your Bible if you’re driving!
Verse 1...
English Standard Version Psalm 139
139 TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID.
1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Some scholars call Psalm 139 a Wisdom Psalm. Meaning, thru wisdom, this psalm teaches us about God. And like most psalms, it also shows us how to wisely respond to God so we can find life. And this is a pretty straight forward passage that highlights the omniscience (He knows everything), omnipotence (He’s all-powerful), and omnipresence of God (He’s everywhere). And understanding those truths can and should radically impact our lives. But did you notice the part that didn’t talk about those qualities? It almost seemed like there was a section that didn’t belong… Let me read it again...
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
When I’m reading this part, I think, “Wait… what just happened? Did I miss something?” And there’s a temptation to just ignore this part so we can get to the end, where it the psalmist takes a chill-pill, regains his composure, and finishes with...
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
The problem with that approach is we’d likely be skipping the key to fully understand why the psalmist is writing. You see, one thing this odd passage tells us is the writer isn’t fitting in to the people around him.
Now, the temptation is to ignore this part of the passage
Some try to remove it, but it may actually be a key to understanding why the psalmist is writing. Apparently, he’s encountering people who don’t believe the same things he believes. And they’re aggressively vocal about it. It becomes clear that the psalmist doesn’t fit in.
Have you ever had that feeling? Where you’ve wondered - or you know - you don’t fit in. You don’t belong. If you have, then you’ve likely responded (in your moment of forced-isolation) by asking the question, “Does anyone care about me?”
I believe this question is behind the writing of Psalm 139. And I believe it’s a question that we’re still asking today? Does anyone care about me?
We see it in our response to social media. What do we typically do after we post something? We check to see if anyone “liked” it. We want to know, “Does anyone care about me?”
When the psalmist - who may have been David - asked this question, he responded correctly by turning his eyes to heaven. And as he fixed his thoughts upon “who God is,” he received supernatural answers...
Exegesis:
Exegesis:
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
As he thought about God, he was reminded that God knew everything about him.
He knows every movement.
He knows every thought.
He knows every place we go.
He knows our words even before we speak them.
I love verse 3 where it says, “You are acquainted with all my ways.” The sense is, “God carefully pays attention to everything about me!” The Hebrew word even speaks to a nurse that carefully attends a patient in need.
Sometimes we ask, “Does anyone care about me?” because we wonder if anyone really knows us. But here, the Scriptures are clear, God knows EVERYTHING about us BECAUSE… He cares about us!
But let’s think about this in another way. Sometimes the problem is not IF people know us, but it’s the fact that people DO know us! Sometimes we fear people may not like us once they get to know the REAL us. There’s truth to this fear. Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “If people could hear our thoughts, we’d have no friends.”
The prophet Jeremiah describes the “real” us this way...
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
So, we could ask the question, “Does anyone care about the REAL me?” And even then, the truth of God’s word remains. God knows this private side of us and still cares. He still LOVES us.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God cares about us so much that even though He knows the terrible things we’ve done and have in our heart, He sent His one and only beloved Son Jesus to die for us; so that, we could be with Him. What manner of love is this? It’s crazy!
No wonder verse 6 says...
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
Because the reality is, most people get to know the REAL us and RUN from us. Maybe you friend requested someone and they accept your request. But then, your social media page reveals things they didn’t know about you. Things they don’t like about the REAL YOU. All of a sudden, they click “unfriend” or “unfollow.” They don’t care for the REAL YOU.
I have an 8-year old autistic son. He sees the world differently than most. He responds to things differently. Honestly, it can be a little weird sometimes. And he has a difficult time making friends. It kinda breaks my heart because he’s a great kid with a huge heart.
The other day he was attempting to play with a bunch of kids. I get anxious when this happens because I kinda know how it’s going to turn out. He disappeared for a while and I thought, “Okay, maybe he made some friends.” All of a sudden, I see a group of kids running. Then Nole chasing after them. I was within ear-shot of them. I heard Nole ask, “Why are you guys running?” They responded, “We’re running from you!” Nole replied, “I thought you were my friends?” And they said, “No.”
You can imagine my heart was crushed. The point of the story is, right or wrong, they got to know the REAL Nole and ran from him. But I have another story to share...
In July, we went to San Diego to visit family. I have a niece who is Nole’s age. Her name is Ellie. They were babies the last time they met. We met up with my cousins for dinner, and like always, I got nervous about Nole getting along with Ellie. But something special happened. I saw Ellie smiling and playing with Nole. Talking to him. Reaching for his hand. Hugging him. I saw her RUNNING TOWARDS him. Even more, I saw Nole’s face full of joy!
I said to my cousin, “Ellie is a special girl. I’ve never seen anyone embrace Nole like that.” He replied, “Yeah, God has given her a gift. She has the ability to make everyone feel included and loved.” That day, she let Nole know that someone CARED about the REAL HIM. And what I saw in my 8-year old niece is what the psalmist reveals in verses 7-10..
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
People run from us, because they don’t know us… or maybe because they do. But the wonderful thing about God is… He knows everything about us and He runs towards us. He wants to make us feel included and know that we BELONG with Him!
Again, that’s what Jesus (who is the perfect example of God’s love towards us) shows us. Jesus stepped off His eternal and holy throne, humbled Himself by becoming a man, and ran towards us because He cares for us.
I’ve always loved the Message translation for Jn 1:14 that says, “The Word (Jesus) became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” Most people move out of bad neighborhoods. Jesus moves in to care for people.
And think about this… the psalm even indicates that God love and cares us so much that EVEN WHEN WE RUN FROM HIM, He will track us down. In fact, since He’s omnipresent, He’s everywhere. There’s no where we can run where He won’t follow us. That’s why David confidently wrote elsewhere...
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Psalm 139 teaches us that...
God cares about me even though He completely knows me (vv. 1-12)
God cares about me even though He completely knows me (vv. 1-12)
This should impact our life. This should change what we think about God. This should change what we think about ourselves. And just as a side-note challenge:
May we care for people the way God cares.
May we run towards the unlovable and unwanted.
Jesus said we must become like children to enter the Kingdom of God. May we be like little Ellie in our love for people!
Alright, the psalmist adds...
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
Having grown up in a big city like San Diego, stores like Walmart, Target, and Costco were the norm. That’s where we got everything. But moving to a small New England town like Glastonbury gave me a new experience.
Here, there are much more small-businesses. Mom and pop shops. Unique places where everything has a personal touch. Where you can experience special family recipes. Where you can buy handcrafted, one-of-a-kind products. Where customers get the opportunity to form genuine relationships with the owners.
When the omnipotent (all-powerful) God created humans, He did not mass-produce them to distribute at a Costco. Each person is handcrafted by God. Unique, valuable, and beloved in His eyes.
[The reason] God cares about me [is] because He chose to make me (vv. 13-18).
[The reason] God cares about me [is] because He chose to make me (vv. 13-18).
That’s what verses 13-18 teach us. As the psalmist wonders if anyone cares about him, He realizes that the God cares, because God made Him. And God has personally made each one of us...
God personally formed us in our mother’s womb. That’s why Christians believe all life is precious - even from in the womb!
God has planned our days. He’s not a divine watchmaker who winds us the clock and just lets it spin. No. He is personally involved in our lives.
And because God made us special, He thinks about us all the time.
If you’ve ever wondered if anyone cares about you, remember that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. You are unique, valuable, and special to Him. And He loves you with an everlasting love. In fact, because God is omniscient (all-knowing) and Sovereign (in control of everything), the reason you’re hearing this message today is because He wants you to know this. That He cares about you! That you are not alone. You are greatly loved!
Response:
Response:
And so, how can we respond to what we’ve heard? Let me share two ways...
We started today discussing verses 19-22 that showed the psalmist was experiencing some difficult things that caused him to wonder whether he fit in. But this passage also teaches us other things. For example, the use of thew word “hate” in the passage isn’t describing a call for emotionally-charged, harmful actions, but its biblical context has the idea of separation. Like the psalmist is saying, “I will completely separate myself from those who choose to separately from the Lord.” Which isn’t suggesting living like a hermit or monk, but rather saying, “I choose to be loyal to the God who cares for me.” How can we respond? Give the God your loyalty! Choose to live for God!
The final two verses somewhat repeat verse 1. However, in verse one, “search me and know me” is written in the “indicative.” But verses 23-24 are written in the “imperative.” What the heck does that mean. I believe the sense is, “Since we know God is caring for us in this way, we desire for God to continue doing what He’s already doing! We know - now more than ever - that we need God’s loving care.” How can we respond? Surrender completely to the God who cares about you.
Or as Peter (one of Jesus’s closes followers) said...
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Do you need to do that today? Are there things you are worried about? Are you wondering if anyone cares? Today know that...
God loves you and is running towards you with arms open wide.
That if you turn away from your sin and towards Him, you will find forgiveness and eternal life.
You will be able to lay all of your worries down and rest, because God Almighty will take care of you. He wants to do this!
This is God’s everlasting way. It’s an ancient, but not outdated process. It’s applicable to all people in every generation, because the same God created us all. Therefore, where ever you are, surrender your life to Jesus as Lord and Savior. Give Him your loyalty this morning. Let’s pray...
Father, thank you for Your word. Thank you how it gives us life. And today, we recognize that You are God! You know us. You are with us. And You love us. Today, we surrender to Your love. We trust You with our lives. We say, “Search us O God and know our hearts! See if there is anything evil and get rid of it. And lead us in Your everlasting way that brings true life!” Change us today. In Jesus name, amen!
Thanks for joining us for Church Online. If this was your first time joining us, fill out a Connect Card. We’d love to say hi and send you a gift. Also, if you have prayer requests, would like to know more about TRC, or you decided to follow King Jesus today - maybe you want to talk to someone about how you can receive what Jesus has for you - we want to hear from you. And there are easy ways to do that on our website (riverchurchct.com), or follow the links in the comments below, or you can text TRCConnect to 94000.