200606 – God knows us and is with us

Saturday, 6th June 2020

GOD KNOWS US AND IS WITH US
Psalm 139

1 You have searched me, LORD,
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, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
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.

Psalms 139 is divided into 4 paragraphs of 6 verses each. We will be looking into the first 2 paragraphs today and leave the other two for next Saturday. In each paragraph the psalmist King David asked a question about himself in relationship to God. The first 6 verses ask the question, “How well does God know me?”

God knows everything about us. He understands and knows us in our conscious life. He knows when we sit down (our passive life) and when we rise up (our active life). When we are resting or when we are acting, He knows us. He even knows our deepest thoughts – how we think and what we think.

Verse 3 says you know the way I choose to go, and you know the habits of my life. “You know me, Lord,” says the psalmist, “intimately – inside and out”. Then in verses 4 and 5 he says even before he says anything, God already knows what he is going to say. The psalmist discovers that God has been active in his past, his future and his present – in the past “behind”, future “before” and now “laid your hand upon me”. Knowing this simply overwhelmed him – “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” – verse 6.

In the 2nd paragraph verses 7 to 12, he asks the question “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? “ The psalmist may be trying to run from his guilt or sin. Lord, how can I get away from you? Is there any way in my guilt that I can escape?” Haven’t we asked that question ourselves many times? Times that for some reason we just do not want to be near God at all. But the psalmist finds out soon enough that our God is not only all-knowing (omniscient), He is also present everywhere at one and the same time (omnipresent) – in heaven, in the depths (hell –KJ; Sheol – Hebrew), the far side of the sea, He will still be there to guide us and hold us fast. What an amazing God we have. The more we try to run away from His presence, the closer He will stay and stick with us.

So my dear brothers and sisters, just two things for us to remember today:-

(1) God knows everything about us, inside out. There is nothing we can hide from Him, so don’t even try. He knows our past, our present and our future.

(2) He will follow us everywhere we go – there is no hiding from Him. There is no place on earth, in heaven, in hell or anywhere in the universe, we can hide from Him. And He is there not to punish or harm us, but to guide and hold us fast. So my dear brothers and sisters, friends, if you have been running from God all these years, come back to Him. Confess your pride, your sins before Him. Find someone to pray with you and for you. Find a fellowship of brothers and sisters to walk together with you. None of us can walk alone.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, thank you for reminding us that you know everything about us, the good and the ugly side of us. We do not need to hide anything from you. And no matter how far or long we run, you will always be there for us – not to punish or harm us but to guide and hold us. Thank you, Lord, for your unconditional love for all of us –though so undeserving we are. Help us to love you back the same way. In Jesus name, we pray AMEN.

Pastor KK Soong

每日灵粮
6/6/20
作者：宋国基牧师
上帝认识我们，与我们同在
诗篇139

耶和华啊，你已经鉴察我，认识我。
2 我坐下，我起来，你都晓得，你从远处知道我的意念。
3 我行路，我躺卧，你都细察，你也深知我一切所行的。
4 耶和华啊，我舌头上的话，你没有一句不知道的。
5 你在我前后环绕我，按手在我身上。
6 这样的知识奇妙，是我不能测的；至高，是我不能及的。
7 我往哪里去躲避你的灵？我往哪里逃躲避你的面？
8 我若升到天上，你在那里；我若在阴间下榻，你也在那里。
9 我若展开清晨的翅膀，飞到海极居住，
10 就是在那里，你的手必引导我，你的右手也必扶持我。
11 我若说“黑暗必定遮蔽我，我周围的亮光必成为黑夜”，
12 黑暗也不能遮蔽我使你不见，黑夜却如白昼发亮，黑暗和光明在你看都是一样。

诗篇139分为四段，每段共6节。我们今天将研究前两段，剩下两段留到下星期六。诗篇中的每一个段落，诗人大卫王都问了一个关于自己与上帝关系的问题。前六节经文提出这样的问题：“上帝有多认识我？”

上帝知道关于我们的一切。在我们有意识的生活中，他理解和认识我们。他知道我们什么时候坐下（我们的被动生活），什么时候我们起来（我们的主动生活）。当我们休息或当我们采取行动，他都知道。他甚至知道我们最深的想法-我们如何思考和我们的想法。

第三节说道，你知道我选择的去向，你知道我的生活习惯。诗人说“主，你彻底认识我，知道关于我的一切”。然后，在第四和五节中，他说甚至在他说什么之前，上帝已经知道他要说什么了。诗人发现，上帝一直在他的过去、他的未来和他的现在 — 在过去“前”、未来“後”，现在“按手在我身上”。当他意识到这一点，他完全不知所措 — 第六节： “这样的知识奇妙，是我不能测的，至高，是我不能及的。”

在第二段第七至十二节，他问：”我往哪里去躲避你的灵？我往哪里逃、躲避你的面？” 诗人可能试图逃避他的罪责或罪恶。“ 主啊，我怎么能摆脱你？我有什么方法可以逃脱我的罪恶感？” 我们不是多次问过自己这个问题吗？有时候由于某种原因我们根本不想靠近上帝。但诗人很快就发现我们的上帝不仅是无所不知的，而且同时是无处不在的 — 在天堂、深处(地狱 — KJ; 阴间-希伯来语)，在大海的远方，他仍然会指引我们并紧紧握住我们。我们有一位多么了不起的上帝啊!我们越想逃避他的同在，他就越会留下来并坚持与我们同在。

因此，亲爱的弟兄姐妹，今天我们只要记住两件事：
（1）上帝彻底了解我们的一切。我们无法对他隐瞒任何事，所以没必要试着隐瞒。他知道我们的过去，我们的现在和我们的未来。
（2）无论我们到哪里，他都会跟随我们-我们无法躲避他。没有任何在地上、天堂、地狱或宇宙中的地方我们可以躲避他的。他的同在不是要惩罚或伤害我们，而是要引导并紧紧握住我们。因此，我亲爱的弟兄姐妹、朋友们，如果这些年来您是一直逃离上帝，请回到他身边。在他面前承认您的骄傲和罪过。寻找某人与您并为您祷告。寻找能与弟兄姐妹一起同行的团契，我们谁也不能独行。

祷告：亲爱的上帝，谢谢你提醒我们，你知道我们的一切，或善或恶。我们不需要瞒你任何事。无论我们跑多远或多久，你都会一直在我们身边–不是要惩罚或伤害我们，而是要引导并握住我们。感谢主无条件地爱护我们所有人 — 尽管我们太不配了。帮助我们以同样的方式爱你。我们奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们

梁玉萍译