NOTES TO THE SERMON JULY 20, 2014. ONE OF THE TREASURES FROM THE PSALMS: 139 A - GOD YOU ARE ALL-KNOWING 1 2 3 4 5 6
O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 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.
God has a perfect knowledge of us. All of our life is open to God and known by God. Prayer is an opportunity to be naked before God, that is to allow ourselves to be searched by God. Does he not see my ways, and number all my steps? Job 31.4
And before him (God) no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. Hebrews 4.13
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Do you see your time of prayer as an opportunity to be searched by God ?
B - GOD YOU ARE ALL-PRESENT 7 8 9 10
Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me,
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and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
Here is an unsurpassed description of the inescapability of God’s presence. They (Adam & Eve) heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" Genesis 3.8-9
Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. Jeremiah 23.23-24
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What of yourself do you try to hide from God ?
C - CREATOR GOD YOU KNOW US 13 14 15 16 17 18
For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 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. How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! I try to count them - they are more than the sand; I come to the end - I am still with you. You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. Job 10.11-12
Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the Lord and thought on his name. Malachi 3.16
O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! Romans 11.33
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How often do you think that you know better than God ?
D - GOD DESTROY OUR ENEMIES ! 19 20 21 22
O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil! Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Go away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. Psalm 119.115
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Do you ‘perfect’ your hatred in the service of Christ ?
E - GOD KNOW ME THAT I MAY KNOW YOU 23 24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. New Revised Standard version
Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you. Psalm 26.2-3
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path. Psalm 143.10
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Are you willing to be truly known in order that you may draw closer to God ?
- TRANSLATIONS 3
You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. New Living Translation
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Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways. New American Standard
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You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. New Living Translation
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It was you who created my conscience; You fashioned me in my mother’s womb. The New Jewish Publication Society
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I praise you because you are to be feared; all you do is strange and wonderful. I know it with all my heart. Good News Bible
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Thou knowest me through and through: my body is no mystery to thee, how I was secretly kneaded into shape and patterned in the depths of the earth. The New English Bible
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Your eyes could see my embryo New Jerusalem Bible
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your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before on of them came to be. New International Version
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Try me, O God, and seek the ground of my heart: prove me, and examine my thoughts. Authorised Version (1611)
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Examine me, O God, and know my thoughts; test me, and understand my misgivings. Watch lest I follow any path that grieves thee; guide me in the ancient ways. The New English Bible