Daily Archives: June 24, 2012

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee … (Jeremiah 1:5)

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. (Psalm 139:1)

Psalm 139 is a beautiful theological treatise on the attributes of God.  The first six verses expressing His omniscience begin with an emphatic declaration: “thou hast searched me, and known me” (v. 1).  This truth statement emphasizes the intimacy with which God is acquainted with us, even in the minutest details of our being.  The same intimacy applies to our every act, our “downsitting” and our “uprising” (v. 2), and furthermore, He knows the motives behind our actions before the thought even crosses our mind: “thou understandeth my thought afar off” (v. 2) “and art acquainted with all my ways” (v. 3).  Not only is God aware of our present, but He is equally knowledgeable of our past and of our future: “Thou hast beset me behind and before and laid thine hand upon me” (v. 5).

God is ever present with us. “Whither shall I go from thy spirit or wither shall I flee from thy presence?” (v. 7).  There is nowhere we can go to escape God’s presence – nowhere in the vastness of heaven (space) nor in the abode of the dead (Sheol) (v. 8).  There is no darkness deep enough to hide us from His presence (v. 11-12).

God’s omnipotence, His unlimited power, is demonstrated in His creation, especially in the creation of the human body.  “I am fearfully [awesomely] and wonderfully [lit. uniquely] made” (v. 14).  The human body is composed of over 30 trillion (30,000,000,000,000) cells, each of which is a marvel of design and complexity.  What is more amazing is the fact that evolutionists examine a single human cell and attribute it to time and chance.  It is no wonder that God’s Word proclaims: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

These days the word “awesome” is used to describe anything from a really juicy hamburger to a thrilling ride on the Texas Giant rollercoaster.  What a sorry devaluation of the word!  “Awesome” can truly only be said of God.  If we would but take the time to wonder at the awesomeness of God, surely we would not have the words that God gave to David in this Psalm.  Surely, we would be left speechless – without words.  Surely, the revelation should move us from the realization that we are intimately known to the desire to be better known and to be re-formed more into His image. Surely, we should fall on our faces before Him and plead, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (vv. 23-24).  What else would there be for us to do!