Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
Verse 2You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
Verse 3You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
Verse 4Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.
Verse 5You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
Verse 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
Verse 7Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
Verse 8If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
Verse 9If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Verse 10even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.
Verse 11If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,"
Verse 12even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
Verse 23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
Verse 24See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Devotion
The complexities of this (mostly) affirming psalm need not be ignored. For example, being known is not always automatically desirable. Some struggle with a fear of really being known even as they desire to be known. They go to great lengths to hide their true identities even (especially?) from God. Verse seven might not be good news for all: "Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?" Being so close to God could be as burdensome as it is beautiful. The psalmist admits, one cannot flee from the God who is not overwhelmed by darkness (vs. 11). For some, the thought that God lurks and works even in dark places (in Sheol and in the womb?) might be burdensome.
Ultimately, the psalmist recognizes that when the knower is God, the vulnerability is worth it; it is beautiful. The psalmist embraces God's inescapable presence in his life and confirms his own identity in light of how God sees him: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well" (vs. 14).
Prayer
Creator God, help us recognize that we, too, are fearfully and wonderfully made. You know our truest identities and you still love us. Thank you. Amen.