Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.” vs. 6
Psalm 139:1-6
The relationship that this psalmist had with God went beyond personal. Instead of painting a picture of a God on a throne in heavenly courts or a storm god riding on the clouds, he describes God with intense intimacy. He doesn’t claim to know God; in his estimation such knowledge would be impossible. Instead he speaks of the knowledge God has of him–there is nothing in him or about him that is not known to God. Those of us who pride ourselves as being able to hide from God or who harbor dark secrets in our hearts are taken aback by words such as these. If God has such knowledge of me and what I’m about, how could God possibly love me? Indeed, that is the great mystery! Given who we are and how we behave, we, for whom love is so totally conditional, can’t even imagine the steadfast love of our God. Yet that is what the God who was revealed in the person of Jesus is like. And when we get over the shock of it all, we have to admit that it feels really, really good to be so fully known, and yet not judged. If it hasn’t dawned on us yet that this is what God is like, we need to take another at Jesus. Besides him, there is no other! Praise God!
Thought for the Day: How does it feel to be so intimately known?
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