Psalm 139
Reflection Written by Jo Oughton
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 far away.
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,
O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can 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 settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and night wraps itself around me,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know 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 beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end
—I am still with you.
I chose this psalm because it is special to me in so many ways; I have an art piece with the words on my bedroom wall, which was gifted to me by a wonderful friend. It occurs in my daily prayer at times of importance, but best of all I was asked to read it at the wedding of my youngest child, such a privilege. This is a psalm that grows with our faith, and can help in the darkest of days.
At times I have felt very isolated, lonely even when in a crowd, Seeming to fit in, but that can take every ounce of energy I had.
There were things in my head that I found hard to admit, even to myself, and yet God already knew them. There was nothing that he didn’t know about me. He knew me better than I knew myself. In a world that seems to hide weakness and craves conformity, God knows that I’m not meant to fit into that mould, and I am never isolated or alone.
What is it to be known by God, he knows us better than we know ourselves.
He already knows our most shameful thoughts, he already knows our guilty past and our how repentant we are. But still he stands with his arms open ready to help us heal.
My first steps in faith needed that acceptance of the broken soul, I needed to know he loved me, the real, messy, intimidated and lonely soul that was me.Who is this God who has known us completely from the womb and on into life.
I continue to need remember how well God knows me, but now I can also see that he knows everyone this well. If God knows each one of us from the moment we are conceived, then everyone can have a relationship with him based on their true selves.
How great is our God? Sometimes, we need to be reminded that god is awesome; he is the creator of all. When we try to limit God's shape and form to our understanding, it is no wonder that we could doubt his existence. This psalm can remind us that his powers are beyond our understanding, unimaginable and so perhaps we don’t need to understand everything. We can have faith and a relationship with this awesome God, who knows us so intimately.
This Lent, perhaps we could reflect on our personal relationship with this Awesome God, and find ways in which we can deepen that relationship.