In The Midst: Psalm 139

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

You understand my thought from afar.

You scrutinize my path and my lying down,

And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

Even before there is a word on my tongue,

Behold, O LORD, You know it all.

You know it all.
All.

I step into the dawn of this shiny, new year full of hope. Absolutely full to overflowing. Because God knows me. And because I am in the midst of knowing Him.


I do not hold to the “clean slate, fresh-white canvas” theory of new year’s beginnings. My life has never been a mute chalk board and my future is far from a neglected piece of art. I begin the year 2011 with a deep, quiet assurance that the Lord has already gone before me. He has painted, with rich colors and bold strokes, beautiful pathways for me to travel. He has appointed stunning vistas and quiet alcoves to inspire my soul and quiet my listening heart. He has written, with His own Hand, a narrative of blessing and goodness that will follow me along the way. He has prepared noble work and challenging service for my heart and my hands to perform. And if the journey becomes rough or scary, as journeys sometimes do, His own Presence will shelter me and guide me to warmth and rest and safety.

You have enclosed me behind and before,

And laid Your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

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, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

Even there Your hand will lead me,

And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,

And the light around me will be night,"

Even the darkness is not dark to You,

And the night is as bright as the day.

Darkness and light are alike to You.

God knows me more than I know myself. And He loves me more than I could ever love anything or anyone.

For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother's womb.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.

When I awake, I am still with You.

I can’t tell you what is going to happen in politics this year. I cannot prophecy blessings or disasters or revivals or judgments or economic upheaval or miraculous sustenance upon the people of God or upon the lands in which they dwell. I truly have no idea how this new year will unfold on the world stage.


I don’t even know where my personal journey will take me.


But I do know this one thing. Tomorrow morning, when the winter sun rises over Kirkhaven’s snow-covered brae, God will be there when I awake. His path will be prepared for me to travel. His fellowship will saturate the very air I breathe.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.

There is truly nothing more beautiful than to be known by God.
And to be in the midst of knowing Him.

If you have a moment, stay with me just a bit longer and listen to the next song . . . and worship with me . . .