Sermon – Psalm 139 – Known By God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Psalm 139 – Known By God

September 8, 2013

Prayer is central in the Christian life. It is something we must do every day because it connects us to our creator God. But before we pray there are three questions that need to be answered. The first is, “To whom do we pray?”. The second is, “How do we pray?”. And the third is, “What does prayer do?” These questions are answered in Psalm 139. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

^NIV Psalm 139:1 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. ² You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. ³ You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. ⁴ Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. ⁵ You hem me in-- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

The psalmist tells us that the person to whom we pray is the all knowing God. God knows everything about us. God knows what we do. God knows what we say. God even knows what we think and what we feel. There is nothing about us that God does not know. And there is no way to hide anything from God. We are open books. This knowledge of us is similar to the knowledge that a husband and wife know of each other. It is similar to the way a mother knows her children. God knows us. And it is this God, who knows us intimately, to whom we pray. But there is more to this. Let's go back to the psalm.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. ¹¹ If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," ¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

The psalmist tells us that we pray to the God who is everywhere. God is with us, not only in worship on Sunday mornings, but God with us from the moment we get up in the morning to the moment we go to sleep at night. There is no place for us to hide. We may think that we can hide from God in the privacy of a bedroom with someone other than our spouse, but we can't hide. God is there. We may think that we can hide from God in the privacy of our office when we steal from our employer, but we can't hide. God is there. We may think that we can hide from God by not to church on Sunday, but we can't hide. God is everywhere. And it is this God, the one we cannot hide from, to whom we pray. Back to psalm.

¹³ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, ¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

So far the psalmist has told us that we pray to the God who is all-knowing, and know us better than we know ourselves. She also tells us that we pray to the God who is always present, and from whom we can never hide. And now the psalmist is telling us that we pray to the God who is all-powerful, so powerful in fact that every cell in our bodies, every bone, every hair, every drop of blood, was intentionally made by God. So God is all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful, not in some abstract way. Rather God is all these things in relationship to us. God knows us. God is always present to us. God is powerful as our creator. So this is the God we pray to. And this brings us to second question, “How do we pray.”

¹⁹ If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! ²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. ²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? ²² I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.

According to the psalmist we pray to God with complete honesty. Since God already knows us, is always present with us, and created us we cannot possibly hide anything, or exaggerate something, or spin it in some way. The only thing we can do is to pray honestly. And sometimes the honest prayers we say are not very good. The psalmist “hates” her enemies and expressed her hatred in her prayers. This teaches us that whatever joy or concern we have we can bring it to God in prayer even if our emotions are strong. The psalms are filled with prayers of faithful people who are filled with anger, hatred, and malice towards other. We too have these feelings. And when we do we can honestly take our most intense feelings to the God who created us, is always present, and knows us intimately.

And this brings us to the third and final question, “What does prayer do?” Listen to the conclusion of the psalm.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

And so according to the psalmist the purpose of prayer is to change us. We may think that our prayers are to encourage God to change someone else. We might pray that God brings someone to church. We might pray that God heals a loved one. We might pray that God brings peace to the Middle East. We pray these things over and over. But the purpose of prayer is not to get God to do what you want. The purpose of prayer is to get close to the God who created you, who is always with you, and knows you better than anyone else. And if you get closer to this God, by honestly praying your feelings every day, then you will experience transformation. You will become more like Christ.

So, to whom do we pray? To the God who created us, knows us and is always with us. How should we pray? We should pray our feeling honestly. And what happens when we pray? God transforms us back into what we were created to be. So pray every day. So continually express your feelings honestly. And be transformed by the Holy Spirit into what you were created to be, the image of God. Let us pray.

Omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent God who knows us, is present with us and created us, we offer up our prayers. Use this to recreate us in you image. Bless us with your Spirit to continue the process of making us more like the one we follow, Jesus Christ. Amen.