Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
Object:
One of the marvelous things about a long and happy marriage is that the partners really come to know one another. Being known is a precious gift. It is a reality that slices through all the pretense and machinations that occupy so much of our time and energy. When a husband starts to protest over something patently ridiculous, a sidelong, knowing glance creates silence because he knows that she knows. When a wife starts to overreact to something, a quiet hand on the shoulder brings calm because she knows that he knows. It's wonderful to be known. It's even more wonderful to be known and continue to be loved.
However, as close as two people might become in a committed relationship, there are still quiet, secret places. One is never completely known except by God. God knows it all. Before any pretense or cover-up is even imagined, God is already shaking a celestial head at our buffoonery. The psalm really says it all. Sleeping or waking, wherever we go, whatever we say, God knows us so thoroughly that all silly attempts at hiding or presenting some imagined sense of self are futile.
Then the psalmist really puts a finger on it. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me...." There it is. The beauty of being known. And, just like a loving spouse, this God knows it all, every wart, misdeed, malfeasance, and reckless mistake, and loves you still. One wonders how deeply this gets factored into our spiritual practices. When we pray, God knows already what we will ask and why. When we go the church council to try to get something going, God knows our motives. Even those things we tell no one -- God knows.
Do we interact with God with this assumption in place? In prayer, do we come knowing that God knows? In our daily walk as women and men of faith, do we consider that God knows? More than that, do we approach this God, knowing that God knows, and that even in the knowing loves us still so deeply that he gave himself for us? This is a love beyond imagining. Yet here it is, lavished upon us in the form of loving grace. To be known and loved like this. "It's too wonderful for me."
However, as close as two people might become in a committed relationship, there are still quiet, secret places. One is never completely known except by God. God knows it all. Before any pretense or cover-up is even imagined, God is already shaking a celestial head at our buffoonery. The psalm really says it all. Sleeping or waking, wherever we go, whatever we say, God knows us so thoroughly that all silly attempts at hiding or presenting some imagined sense of self are futile.
Then the psalmist really puts a finger on it. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me...." There it is. The beauty of being known. And, just like a loving spouse, this God knows it all, every wart, misdeed, malfeasance, and reckless mistake, and loves you still. One wonders how deeply this gets factored into our spiritual practices. When we pray, God knows already what we will ask and why. When we go the church council to try to get something going, God knows our motives. Even those things we tell no one -- God knows.
Do we interact with God with this assumption in place? In prayer, do we come knowing that God knows? In our daily walk as women and men of faith, do we consider that God knows? More than that, do we approach this God, knowing that God knows, and that even in the knowing loves us still so deeply that he gave himself for us? This is a love beyond imagining. Yet here it is, lavished upon us in the form of loving grace. To be known and loved like this. "It's too wonderful for me."
