“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 afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall 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 dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,’
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you…
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth…
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!..
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!” Psalm 139:1-12,15,17,23-24
David is amazed and comforted at God’s intricate knowledge of him inside out, through and through, beginning to end. Trusting the divine blend of His omniscience with His love and compassion, he invites this benevolent Sovereign to keep chasing, keep searching, in order to fully cleanse. He welcomes the meshing of intimate knowledge with infinite love and grace. He knows his stained heart, and also that there is mercy and freedom in the light of full exposure. (Psalm 51:6-7,10)
When we have shameful thoughts and desires, we are wont to hide away and resist God’s exploration. We put up facades, avoid eye contact, make light of the darkness within. The Lord bids us acknowledge the truth that will set free. (John 8:31-32)
Where are we miserable and yearning to come clean? What crevices in mind or heart need God’s cleansing search? Embracing the Spirit’s merciful light releases stains, frees from pain, and awakens praise.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
cleanse me from ev’ry sin and set me free.
I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
fulfill Thy Word and make me pure within.
Fill me with fire where once I burned with shame;
grant my desire to magnify Thy name.
Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine;
fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine.
Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride;
I now surrender, Lord— in me abide.
O Holy Spirit, revival comes from Thee;
send a revival– start the work in me.
Thy Word declares Thou will supply our need;
for blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.” ~J. Edwin Orr (1936)
Lord, make me willing for Your merciful searching that sets clean and free.
