2007-01-28 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church
WILL GOD NOT JUDGE US?
Psalm 139
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18. If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21. Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22. I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
23. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
There have been times in my life when I worried so much about the evildoers confronting me that I forgot how much God hates evildoers. Instead of seeing the time of trials as an opportunity for me to walk closer with God, my thoughts dwelled on what others were getting away with, how they hurt me and seemed to get away unpunished. I allowed those feelings of worry and anger to overcome my trust in God, to cloud my understanding that He deals justly with evildoers, and I am not excluded.
There have been times in my life when I wondered why I am even here, times when it all seemed pointless. I expected my life to be better, and I thought good things should be happening now, or at least coming sooner. I lost sight of the wonderful work of God that brought me here in the first place (verse 16), and in my impatience I allowed myself to feel like this life and this world owed me something better that what I had. I wanted to take the reins and go my own way because it did not seem that God was leading me anywhere in this life.
There have been times in my life that I felt far from God, like He either didn't understand me, or didn't care. I didn't realize that my idea of love and caring is all wrong, but His is perfect. The world does not appreciate what He has done. We reject His gift and seek our own treasures, yet He looks longingly for our return to Him. There is nowhere we can go that He cannot see, but we sometimes act like He can't. There is nothing that He cannot hear, and yet we whisper against Him in our hearts. There is no thought that He cannot know, but we come to Him deceitfully, without repentance. Will He not judge us? Let us judge ourselves now.