Psalm 139

This Psalm talks about the individual attention that God gave when creating each one of us and the individualistic manner in which He watches over us too, all the days of our lives!

It is only when we believe this to be so, can we come to perfect rest in God’s perfect love for us. At the end of the Psalm, David asks the Lord to search him and try him, in order to know his heart and thoughts, so as to find any wicked way in him, and so lead him in the everlasting way, vs 23,24.

However, he begins the Psalm by saying that God has already searched him and known him, vs1. He realises that God is well aware of his sitting downs, rising ups, lying downs and even the thoughts that go through his mind, even before he, himself, even thinks about them, vs 2,3!

Even the words he is about to speak are known by God before he can utter them, vs 4. The Lord goes before him, after him and has His hand upon His life too, vs 5! This revelation that David has received about the Lord, is simply too much for him to take in, vs 6! He realises that no matter where he is, God’s spirit and presence would always be there with him, vs 7. Be it heaven or hell itself, vs 8; good times or distressing ones, vs 9; even there, God is ever ready to lead and hold him everytime HE ASKS God to do so, vs 10. Even darkness and night flee as the presence of God comes to help David, vs 11; for darkness and light are both alike to God, vs 12!

Infact, he realises that God had known him even while he was in his mother’s womb, vs 13; and it was God who actually knit him together there, in a most careful and wonderful way, even when it was a secret to everyone who was around at that time! This revelation, makes him praise God for this amazing marvel, vs 14,15. And the best part of all, is that, even before he was fully formed, every detail of all the days that he was expected to live, were carefully noted down in the book that God had specially written about him, vs 16! And, as if all this wasn’t enough, he realises that, even now, God is continually thinking about him, vs 17. Trying to count the numerous thoughts that God thinks about him daily, would be as impossible as trying to count the sands on the seashore, vs 18!

As he ponders thus about God’s love for him, it gives him the assurance that God will slay the wicked who are seeking his life, vs 19; for they give a wrong impression about God by their words and lives, vs 20. And now, he hates them too, being grieved by their behaviour, because they dishonor and hate God, vs 21, 22. Yet, he ends the Psalm, by humbly asking God to search him out for any mistake that he may be making in hating such people vs 23,24! So, we see that since God loves us so much, we can safely entrust our lives into His loving hands and continue in well doing, even towards those who cause us much hurt and harm, and so go on to fulfilling His perfect will for our lives, even as He has recorded in His book!

For all our efforts to subdue our enemies in unrest will only prevent us from completing, both the life in Christlikeness, as well as, the calling that God has called us to!

Psalm 145

In this Psalm we can sight the reason for David’s success inspite of the many years of crushing that he endured.

To begin with, on the one hand, although he was honest about his feelings towards his oppressors, he always sought to leave their judgment in God’s hands. While on the other hand, he never failed to praise God for who God was to him and for all the great things that God had done for him, even while he was being sorely tested! In this Psalm he proclaims that he will bless God’s Name forever and ever, and this he would do consistently from day to day, vs 1,2.

He would praise God simply because : God is great, His greatness is unsearchable and He is greatly to be praised, vs 3. In this manner, he believes that one generation should praise God’s works to another, so that the Lord’s mighty acts will be declared from generation to generation, vs 4. He will praise God along with others who declare the awesome acts of the Lord and who sing of God’s righteousness too, vs 5-7.

The song of praise that they will proclaim will be that, ‘The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all his works’, vs 8,9. Both the Lord’s works, as well as, His saints shall praise Him, and speak of the glories of His Kingdom and the talk of His power, making known to the sons of men His mighty acts and the glorious majesty of His Kingdom and dominion which is everlasting, vs 10-13.

The marvelous acts of the Lord are also seen when God upholds those that fall and raises those that are bowed down, vs 14, and, provides food and other desires in due season, for all those who wait upon Him, vs 15, 16. Besides this, He is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works and is nigh unto all those that call upon Him in truth, vs 17,18. He will preserve all those who love Him, fulfill the desire of all who fear Him, as well as, hear their cry and save them, vs 19,20.

However, the wicked He will ultimately destroy, vs 20! For all these marvels, the Psalmist David, is determined to speak the praise of the Lord with His mouth and exhorts all flesh to bless the Holy Name of the Lord forever and ever, vs 21.

This Psalm gives us a gist of the numerous things that we can praise God for even while passing through difficult times, and as a result, we will experience amazing transformation in our lives and circumstances and ministries as well.

May God give each one of us the grace to experience His mighty works on our behalf even as we determine to praise Him wholeheartedly, everyday, for who He is, what He has done, is doing and will do, for all those who love and fear Him.

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India.