Latest / Reformed Thinking / Known by God, Kept by God (Psalm 139) | Charles Spurgeon

Transcript

Known by God, Kept by God (Psalm 139) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Imagine an X-ray machine, but instead of scanning for broken
0:04
bones, it scans for broken motives.
0:07
Oh wow, that is a heavy thought right out of the gate.
0:10
Right. Because usually, you know, when
0:12
we talk about a medical diagnosis, there is this
0:14
expectation of absolute precision.
0:17
You fracture your arm. The X-ray shows that jagged
0:20
white line on the screen and the doctor points to it says there
0:25
is the problem. Yeah, it's very binary.
0:27
It is clean. We like things to be visible and
0:29
easily categorized. We really do.
0:32
But then you step into the world of human thoughts, hidden
0:34
motives, the secrets of the heart, and suddenly that X-ray
0:37
machine is, well, it's pretty much useless.
0:40
Because we are looking at a landscape that is murky even to
0:44
ourselves. Yes.
0:45
We try to hide our true intentions, yeah, and not just
0:47
from the public, but I mean even from those closest to us for
0:50
sure. Yet what if there is an eye that
0:52
sees through all our carefully constructed social barriers with
0:55
0 friction? Welcome to reform thinking.
0:58
Glad to be here for this one. For this deep dive we are
1:00
examining Charles Spurgeon's massive commentary on Psalm 139,
1:05
and this is source from his work The Treasury of David.
1:08
It is such a phenomenal text to look into.
1:11
It really is. Our mission today is to unpack
1:14
the staggering attributes of God presented in this text.
1:18
We are talking about His all seeing eye, His everywhere
1:21
presence and his meticulous creation of human life.
1:25
And we really want to see how the knowledge of these
1:27
attributes practically impacts the way you live, work and think
1:31
on a daily basis. Yeah, so I want to ask you, the
1:33
listener, a direct question to keep in the back of your mind as
1:36
we go through this material. Why does the idea of being
1:40
completely known by a Creator, down to your unspoken thoughts
1:43
and hidden anxieties, bring peace and security rather than
1:47
terror to a believer? Yeah, it is the tension we are
1:49
going to unravel today. But before we get into the heavy
1:52
theological implications of the text, there is this historical
1:55
debate surrounding the authorship that our sources
1:57
address right out of the gate. Right, the Aramaic expressions
2:00
debate. Yet some modern critics claim
2:02
King David did not actually write this text.
2:05
They point to certain Aramaic expressions found in the Ebert
2:08
poetry. And they argue that those
2:10
linguistic markers mean the text belongs to a much later era,
2:14
right? Like long after David was gone.
2:16
Precisely that is a very common critical approach in textual
2:19
studies, where scholars use loanwords to date ancient
2:23
documents. But Spurgeon counters that
2:25
methodology with a very sharp literary argument.
2:29
He does. What does he say about it?
2:30
Well, he argues that stripping David of authorship simply
2:34
because of a few Aramaic expressions is it's as absurd as
2:38
claiming John Milton did not write Paradise Lost just because
2:41
Milton used specific archaic or highly unusual vocabulary.
2:46
That is a great analogy. You really have to consider the
2:48
internal evidence, right? The style, the tone, the
2:50
thematic matter. Yeah, and Spurgeon points out
2:53
that this composition bears the distinct image of King David so
2:56
clearly that it could have come from no other mind.
2:59
I mean the intense, agonizingly personal relationship with
3:02
Jehovah, the soaring poetic structure, the theological
3:06
weight, it all points directly to the man who wrote the
3:09
majority of the Psalter. Plus, we have to ask a logical
3:12
question about ancient linguistics.
3:14
Who knows how much of that antique speech might have been
3:17
purposely retained among noble minds who, you know, rejoiced in
3:21
remembering the descent of their race, right the.
3:23
Critics often run to wild inferences based on a handful of
3:26
words, but the internal evidence strongly supports David as the
3:30
author, dedicating this piece to the chief musician for solemn
3:34
corporate worship. So with the authorship settled,
3:37
the text opens with this massive statement.
3:40
O Lord, Thou has searched me and known me.
3:43
The concept of God searching a human being is central to
3:45
everything that follows. And when I hear the word search,
3:48
I think of looking for misplaced car keys, which kind of implies
3:52
a lack of knowledge. Yeah, same here, but the sources
3:55
note that the Hebrew root word used here carries a much more
3:58
aggressive, exhaustive connotation.
4:00
It originally means digging for precious metals, mining deep
4:03
into the earth, or searching a man for contraband goods.
4:07
Oh, the mining analogy is vital to understanding the text.
4:11
Think about what ancient mining required.
4:13
It was not a superficial scanning of the ground.
4:16
No, not at all. It involved breaking through
4:19
Hard Rock, descending into dark shafts, and sifting through tons
4:23
of dirt to find the hidden veins of silver or gold.
4:26
It implies A thorough, exhaustive investigation,
4:29
ransacking every corner to see what is hidden in the dark.
4:32
And applied to God's omniscience, it means he does
4:35
not just look at the surface presentation we offer to the
4:38
world. He breaks through the hardened
4:40
exterior of our public personas and examines the actual AUR of
4:44
our character. That makes me think of going
4:46
through an intense security scan at an airport.
4:48
Oh, that is a good modern equivalent.
4:49
You have the metal detectors, the millimeter wave scanners,
4:52
the pat downs, but all of human searching requires friction.
4:56
You have to take off your shoes, empty your pockets, stand in a
4:59
specific posture. Yeah, it's a hassle, but the
5:03
terrifying and awe inspiring thing about this divine search
5:06
is that God does it effortlessly without needing to remove any
5:10
physical barriers. He does not need you to empty
5:12
your pockets, he just sees right through the fabric of your
5:15
existence. And it goes so far beyond just a
5:17
general character assessment. The text specifies that God
5:21
knows are down, sitting and uprising.
5:24
That is a level of minute tracking that frankly borders on
5:27
the incomprehensible. It really does.
5:30
Every single time I sit down at my desk to type an e-mail, every
5:34
time I stand up to grab a cup of coffee, it is observed.
5:37
It is not just the big monumental life altering
5:40
decisions, you know, like who you marry or what career you
5:43
choose. Right.
5:43
It's the most casual, seemingly insignificant movements of your
5:47
daily routine. If we pull back and look at the
5:49
connection between those physical movements in our
5:51
internal state, we realize that action always follows
5:54
meditation. When the text links are down,
5:56
sitting and uprising, it is linking our rest in our
5:59
activity. Yeah, and one of the
6:01
commentators in the source material brings in the
6:03
historical context of Jacob's Ladder from the Book of Genesis.
6:06
I would love that connection. In that narrative, Jacob saw
6:09
angels ascending before they descended to service among
6:12
mortals. The commentary uses this to
6:15
illustrate that God watches our public activities, but he also
6:19
pays equal attention to our rest.
6:21
Our isolation and our private contemplation, which are the
6:24
very things that prepare us for those public activities.
6:27
Exactly. He knows the inward thoughts
6:29
that regulate our physical movements.
6:31
Whether we sink in lowly self pronunciation or ascendant
6:34
pride, the Most High sees the motions of the mind as clearly
6:38
as the motions of the body. He discriminates our action and
6:41
our repose, marking what is good and what is evil, dividing the
6:45
wheat from the chaff with an unerring eye.
6:47
So that transition from physical movement to the internal
6:50
workings of the mind brings us to a part of the text that I
6:52
find genuinely staggering. The part about thoughts, yeah.
6:56
The psalmist says Thou understandest my thought afar
6:59
off. I want to pause and really chew
7:02
on the mechanics of that statement.
7:04
It's a lot to process. How can a creator understand a
7:06
thought before I even think it, if the thought is not even
7:11
formed in my own consciousness yet?
7:13
If the neurons haven't fired to create that specific idea, how
7:16
is it already comprehended by God?
7:19
That is the core of divine omniscience, distinguishing it
7:21
completely from human anticipation.
7:23
OK. Break that down for us.
7:25
William Greenhill, one of the Puritan commentators cited in
7:28
the material, provides an agricultural analogy to explain
7:32
this mechanism. I love a good agricultural
7:34
analogy. Think of a Master Gardener who
7:36
has spent decades working a specific plot of land that the
7:39
gardener knows precisely what weeds will spring up from
7:42
specific sections of ground long before they ever breakthrough
7:45
the surface of the soil. Because the gardener intimately
7:48
knows the exact chemical composition of the soil and the
7:51
specific seeds buried within it, right?
7:53
Spot on because he knows all that he can anticipate the
7:57
growth before it happens. So similarly, God knows the
8:00
tendencies of our minds because he manufactured the soil, He
8:05
made the human heart. Yes, He knows our imaginations,
8:07
our biases, and our natural inclinations before we even act
8:11
upon them. He understands the entire chain
8:14
of our reasonings, the source, the drift, and the eventual
8:18
result of a thought, even when that thought is completely
8:21
invisible to our own self-awareness.
8:23
Taking that a step further, another commentator, Henry Ward
8:26
Beecher, offers an imagery that completely changes how you view
8:30
human interaction. Oh, the beehive analogy.
8:32
Yeah. Beecher says that to each other,
8:35
humans are opaque beehives. We see the bees going in and out
8:39
of the hive. Which represent our outward
8:41
actions, our facial expressions, our spoken words.
8:44
Right, but we cannot tell what actual work they are doing
8:47
inside the dark structure. But to God, you are a glass
8:50
beehive. A glass beehive that is such a
8:53
vivid picture. He sees all the worker bees
8:55
buzzing inside, constructing the honeycombs of your thoughts,
8:58
your hidden motives, your silent anxieties and your secret
9:00
ambitions. Nothing is opaque to him.
9:03
Everything is entirely transparent, happening in broad
9:06
daylight. And that transparency inevitably
9:08
extends from the mind to the mouth to our speech.
9:11
The text states There is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O
9:15
Lord, thou knowest it all together.
9:17
The imagery here is that the unformed word which lies resting
9:21
on the tongue before it is spoken is like a seed resting in
9:24
the soil. God knows the nature of that
9:26
seed completely before it ever blossoms into sound.
9:29
Even an unspoken word, like a sarcastic comment or an angry
9:32
retort that you hold back by sheer willpower and silence is
9:36
thoroughly known and registered by the great searcher of hearts.
9:38
The intent is as loud as the vocalization, and because he
9:42
knows us so exhaustively, from our physical stacks to our
9:46
unformed syllables, the text concludes that he surrounds us
9:49
entirely. The phrase Thou hast beset me
9:51
behind and before is used to describe this reality.
9:55
Beset is a heavy word. Sounds physical, almost
9:58
claustrophobic. It is a word loaded with
10:00
tension. In ancient military terms, to be
10:03
beset resembles a city besieged by an invading army hemmed in on
10:07
all sides with siege ramps and troops leaving absolutely no
10:10
escape route. Alternatively, it is likened to
10:12
a prisoner being marched along by heavily armed guard,
10:15
physically gripped by an officer of the law.
10:17
We cannot turn back and outrun this presence because He is
10:21
behind us, meticulously recording our past.
10:24
And we cannot go forward and out March him because he is already
10:27
before us completely for knowing our future.
10:30
But the sources clarified that for the believer, this reality
10:34
of being beset or surrounded does not feel like being a
10:37
prisoner of war. It is not a hostile siege.
10:40
The imagery shifts to something much more intimate.
10:43
It is described as a father folding his arms around his
10:46
child. The hand that is laid upon the
10:48
psalmist is not the heavy hand of an arresting officer.
10:52
It is a hand laid upon us to rule us, to lead us, to protect
10:56
us from external threats, and to restore us when we stumble.
11:00
What Spurgeon is arguing here is that this omnipresence acts as
11:03
A2 edged sword, depending entirely on the reader's state
11:05
of mind. It is a terrifying, suffocating
11:07
thought for a criminal trying to run from justice, but it
11:10
provides the ultimate safety and perimeter defense for a child
11:13
of. Which logically forces the human
11:15
mind to ask a question about geography and spatial reality.
11:18
Because if someone is tracking your steps, your thoughts, and
11:21
your unspoken words that closely, the instinctual human
11:24
reaction, especially if there's any guilt present, is to run.
11:28
Yeah, you want to find a blind spot in the surveillance?
11:30
Right. And that is precisely the
11:32
rhetorical question the psalmist raises.
11:34
Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee
11:38
from thy presence? It is the universal human
11:40
impulse to hide dating all the way back to the narrative of
11:43
Eden. The text sets forth the absolute
11:46
reality of omnipresence. To crush that impulse, A heathen
11:50
philosopher once famously asked a Christian, where is God?
11:53
In an attempt to mock the invisible nature of the deity.
11:56
And the Christian simply replied, Where is he not?
11:59
You cannot elude the vigilance of the Almighty.
12:01
The commentators point out that it is not necessarily that David
12:04
wish to avoid the great invisible Spirit.
12:07
Rather, he is using poetry to emphasize the sheer physical
12:11
impossibility of flight. We must be, whether we will it
12:14
or not, as near to God as our soul is to our body.
12:18
His mind is in our mind, Himself, within ourselves.
12:21
There is no external location you can travel to where you are
12:24
outside the jurisdiction of His presence.
12:26
So David explores the absolute extremes of the known universe.
12:29
To prove this point, he talks about vertical extremes first
12:33
ascending into heaven or making his bed in hell.
12:36
Now when he uses the word hell here, the sources clarify he
12:39
means Sheol or Hades, the abodes of the dead, the lowest
12:43
imaginable depths of existence. I have to push back on this
12:46
concept though. Practically speaking, is it not
12:49
terrifying to think of God being present in the darkest possible
12:52
realms? We usually associate God's
12:54
presence exclusively with light, joy, singing, and peace.
12:59
Yeah, the idea of the of the Creator being actively present
13:02
in Hades seems chilling and almost contradictory to his
13:05
nature it. Is a sobering concept that
13:07
requires us to distinguish between God's essential presence
13:10
and his manifest attributes. OK.
13:12
What does that mean in practical terms?
13:14
We have to understand that God is the one great existence
13:17
everywhere. In theological terms, He is a
13:19
simple spirit, meaning He is without physical dimensions or
13:22
divisible parts. Because he has no physical
13:24
boundaries, he is fully present in his entire being, at all
13:27
times, in all places. Exactly.
13:30
His essential presence does not fluctuate or dilute depending on
13:33
the location. However, the effects or the
13:37
manifestations of his presence differ vastly depending on the
13:40
realm he is inhabiting. I see.
13:43
So in heaven, His presence is manifested through absolute
13:46
bliss, radiant glory, and unending joy.
13:49
But in the realm of darkness or judgement, His presence is the
13:53
manifestation of His strict justice, His Holiness, and His
13:57
terror against rebellion. The physical or spiritual
14:00
environment does not change God. Rather, God defines the
14:04
experience of the environment by how He chooses to display His
14:07
attributes there. That distinction makes a lot of
14:09
sense. The manifestation changes based
14:11
on the audience, not the presence itself.
14:13
After looking at the vertical extremes of heaven and hell,
14:16
David moves to horizontal extremes.
14:18
He brings in this gorgeous sweeping poetry about taking the
14:21
wings of the morning and dwelling in the uttermost parts
14:24
of the sea. It is an ancient metaphor for
14:26
the astonishing velocity of light.
14:28
The idea is that if you could somehow graft the sunbeams onto
14:31
your own shoulders and fly with the speed of the dawn across the
14:35
oceans past the horizon to some remote, solitary, uncharted
14:39
rock, God is already waiting for you there.
14:42
James Neal, an observer of Middle Eastern geography sighted
14:45
in the text, makes a very specific observation regarding
14:48
that exact imagery of the wings of the morning.
14:52
What does he point out? He points out that in the
14:54
landscape of Palestine, brilliant white morning clouds
14:57
appear just before sunrise. They hang low in the valleys and
15:01
wrap around the limestone hills, looking almost like massive pale
15:05
wings. But as soon as the sun crests
15:06
the horizon, the intense eastern heat dissipates them, and they
15:10
vanish incredibly quickly. Right.
15:12
So to the vivid, observant imagination of the ancient Near
15:15
East, those swift, fleeting clouds represent the speed of
15:18
the dawn. But the theological point is
15:20
that even if you could fly at that speed out distancing the
15:23
clouds to an unknown ocean, the active energy of God is wrapping
15:27
around you still. Yeah, the text says.
15:29
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall
15:32
hold me. Both the hands of God are with
15:35
his servants to sustain them in the most isolated places, and
15:39
against rebels to overthrow them.
15:41
Jon Trapp, a classic commentator, provides an analogy
15:44
for this futility of escape that I find unforgettable.
15:47
The fish on the hook analogy. Yeah, he says, trying to escape
15:50
God is like a fish swimming to the end of its line with a hook
15:53
already set firmly in its mouth. You might feel the rush of the
15:56
water over your gills. You might feel like you were
15:59
swimming freely through the vast open ocean, putting miles
16:02
between you and the boat. But the reality is you are
16:04
tethered. Your freedom is an illusion.
16:07
There is no actual autonomy from the Creator's sovereignty.
16:10
So if distance cannot hide you, what about darkness?
16:14
Thieves, assassins and hypocrites have historically
16:16
always preferred the midnight hours.
16:18
But the psalmist argues that darkness hides absolutely
16:21
nothing from God. The foolishness of trying to
16:24
hide in the dark is rooted in a severely flawed anthropomorphic
16:28
view of God. People project their own
16:30
physical limitations onto the divine.
16:33
We think he relies on the reflection of physical photons
16:35
to see, just as our retinas do. But God created the photons.
16:40
He created the very concept of light.
16:42
He is not dependent on his own creation to perceive reality.
16:46
Edward Hitchcock, a scientist and theologian referenced in the
16:49
commentary, offers a highly compelling speculation on this
16:52
idea. He suggests that the Sable Night
16:55
is an unerring photographer. Hitchcock argues that chemistry
16:58
and the laws of nature actually imprint our actions on the
17:01
physical universe itself. This means that every dark deed,
17:05
every secret crime committed under the shroud of midnight is
17:08
permanently recorded by the environment and will eventually
17:11
be drawn into the daylight of justice.
17:13
The physical universe acts as a faithful silent witness and
17:17
record of our actions. To the omniscient one, the night
17:20
literally shines as the day. Darkness and light are both
17:23
alike to him. The idea that the very
17:25
atmosphere or the chemical makeup of a room records our
17:28
deeds is a heavy reality to sit with.
17:30
It really is. But if this inescapable,
17:33
all-encompassing presence is not just an external reality
17:36
tracking you across oceans or through the dark, the text
17:40
shifts to show that it reaches backward in time as well.
17:43
It goes back before you ever had the capacity to run or hide.
17:47
It reaches into the very secret origins of your physical body.
17:50
Psalmist says For thou hast possessed my reins.
17:54
This phrasing sounds archaic to modern years.
17:57
The reins are the kidneys, correct?
18:00
Why is the text focusing on the kidneys?
18:02
In ancient Hebrew anatomical thought, the reigns or the
18:05
kidneys were considered the absolute center of the human
18:07
emotional system. OK, where we might use the word
18:10
heart or brain today to describe the seat of desires, longings,
18:14
and the innermost nature, the ancients use the kidneys.
18:17
So when David says God possesses his reigns, he is acknowledging
18:21
a deep ownership. God is the owner and landlord of
18:24
His most secret vulnerable self. God does not just inspect us as
18:27
an outside observer hovering around us.
18:29
He is intimately at home within our biology.
18:32
He claims absolute ownership over the deepest parts of our
18:35
emotional and physical architecture because he is the
18:39
one who constructed it. The text then uses this
18:41
incredible imagery of a master Craftsman working in the dark.
18:45
It describes the formation of biological life in the.
18:48
Womb, the psalmist says God covers us there, knitting us
18:51
together. The commentators liken it to an
18:54
artisan working in a pitch black cave without a single candle,
18:57
yet producing the most perfect, intricate, self-sustaining
19:01
mechanism imaginable. There is a specific historical
19:04
analogy used here about a Workman that I want to unpack
19:07
because the language is quite dense.
19:09
Yeah, the commentary compares this biological formation to a
19:13
Phrygian Workman and the sasserdotal habit.
19:17
Can you translate those terms for?
19:18
Us certainly. Fridgio was an ancient Kingdom
19:20
known for producing the most highly skilled Craftsman and
19:22
needleworkers in the ancient world.
19:24
Their embroidery was legendary for its intricate detail and
19:27
beauty. OK, and what about the
19:29
sasserdotal habit? When the commentary mentions the
19:31
sasserdotal habit, sasserdotal simply means priestly.
19:35
It is referring to the highly elaborate sacred garments worn
19:39
by the high priest in the Tabernacle.
19:40
As well as the intricately woven multi colored veils that
19:44
separated the whole only places within the sanctuary.
19:46
Right, so the metaphor suggests that the physical creation of
19:49
the human body, the routing of the veins, the elasticity of the
19:52
arteries, the tensile strength of the muscle fibers, and the
19:55
delicacy of the membranes is comparable to, but infinitely
19:59
surpasses the highly skilled sacred art used for those
20:03
priestly garments. A great human artist will often
20:06
lock himself in his studio, laboring alone in the dark, and
20:10
will not suffer his work to be seen by the public until it is
20:13
completely finished. Even so, the Lord fashions the
20:16
human frame in the dark, silent studio of the womb, where no
20:20
human eye beholds the process and the veil of nature is not
20:23
lifted until every biological system is complete and
20:26
functioning. Looking at that biological
20:28
masterpiece, David responds by saying I am fearfully and
20:32
wonderfully made. I have a question about that
20:34
specific pairing of words. Good.
20:36
Wonderfully. Makes total sense.
20:37
You know the human body is a marvel of biology, chemistry and
20:40
design. But why should looking at our
20:43
own biology make us use the word fearfully?
20:45
That is a very fairpoint. Should we not just say we are
20:48
wonderfully made, celebrate the design and leave the concept of
20:52
fear out of it? Well, Andrew Fuller, a
20:54
theologian who thought very intently about the intersection
20:57
of human nature and divine might, provides a perspective on
21:00
this that is incredibly enlightening.
21:02
What does Fuller say? He explains that the human frame
21:05
is so delicate, so fragile, and so relying on thousands of
21:09
microscopic variables functioning perfectly at the
21:11
same time, that the more we understand our own biology, the
21:15
more we tremble at our own continued existence.
21:17
Wow, that is a really sobering way to look at it.
21:19
We live moment by moment, by inhalation, drawing air into our
21:23
lungs. Yet diseases, airborne pathogens
21:26
and death are conveyed by that very same air we must breathe to
21:30
survive. A single morsel of food we eat
21:32
to nourish ourselves could contain a deadly toxin.
21:36
A slight bump to the delicate column of the spine can
21:38
instantly deprive us of all physical sensation and movement.
21:42
Exactly. The rapid circulation of the
21:44
blood, which gives us life and energy, can also diffuse deadly
21:47
substances or infections throughout the entire frame.
21:50
In a matter of minutes, our physical existence hangs by an
21:54
incredibly thin thread. When we look at how easily this
21:57
intricate machine can be broken, disrupted or destroyed, we are
22:00
filled with awe but also a very healthy, sobering fear of the
22:05
God who sustains it every single second.
22:07
We take our health and our basic bodily functions for granted
22:11
every day, but the reality is we are walking miracles of divine
22:14
preservation. And this intricate design was
22:17
not improvised. It was planned out long before
22:19
it existed. The commentary discusses the
22:21
idea of God's Book where all our bodily members were written
22:25
before they even came into being.
22:26
This points directly to the theological concepts of divine
22:29
foreknowledge and predestination.
22:31
The text uses an architectural analogy to explain this.
22:34
An architect does not just show up to an empty dirt lot and
22:37
start blindly hammering nails. Right.
22:39
An architect draws detailed plans, creates precise
22:41
blueprints, and writes exact specifications for every beam
22:45
and window in a book long before a single brick is laid.
22:48
That architectural analogy perfectly captures the concept
22:51
the psalmist is communicating. The great Maker of our frame
22:55
wrote down all the specifications of our members in
22:57
the Book of His eternal purposes.
22:59
The fact that we have eyes to see, ears to hear, hands to work
23:03
and feet to walk is entirely due to the wise and gracious decree
23:07
of heaven. He saw our physical substance
23:10
when it was yet on perfect meaning when it was just an
23:12
unformed mass, a microscopic ball of life yet to be unwound
23:16
into a complex Organism. And the commentators draw a
23:19
massive, sweeping theological connection from this physical
23:22
reality to a spiritual reality. Just as the physical body of a
23:26
human being is fashioned in secret in the dark before it
23:30
sees the light of day, the Mystical Body of Christ, which
23:33
is the global church, is currently being fashioned in
23:36
secret throughout history. I love that parallel the ideas
23:39
of the elect. Those who belong to Christ are
23:41
being gathered, shaped and fitted together invisibly over
23:44
centuries. We see the individual parts, but
23:47
God is looking at the blueprint of the whole structure.
23:49
Precisely the great Lord knows precisely who belonged to
23:52
Christ. His omniscient eye perceives the
23:55
chosen members, who shall yet be made one with the living person
23:58
of the mystical Christ. Those who are currently living
24:01
in rebellion, those who are as yet unborn, or those who are
24:04
unrenewed are nevertheless written in the Lord's Book of
24:08
life. The commentary uses the creation
24:10
of the first woman as a type or shadow of this.
24:13
Just as Eve was formed from Adam's side in silence, secrecy
24:17
and deep sleep, the Bride of Christ is currently being
24:20
fashioned in the timeline of human history to eventually be
24:23
displayed in absolute glory at the end of the age.
24:26
Recognizing that the creator intricately designed your
24:28
physical frame and planned your existence naturally shifts your
24:32
focus. You move from looking downward
24:34
at your physical biology to looking upward, contemplating
24:37
his continuous thoughts about you.
24:39
David marvels at the sheer volume of God's thoughts toward
24:42
a believer, stating that they are more numerous than the
24:45
grains of sand. The sources mentioned ancient
24:47
writers like Pindar and Lucan who wrote epic poetry and
24:51
frequently used the impossible task of measuring the ocean sand
24:54
as a boast of magnitude. Yeah, the sheer mathematical
24:57
volume of God's thoughts toward a single individual is
24:59
staggering to contemplate. The task of counting God's
25:03
thoughts of love, Providence and care would be a never ending
25:06
exercise, far surpassing any human computational ability.
25:10
Pindar and Lucan use the sand on the seashore as the the ultimate
25:14
metric for the uncountable, the infinite.
25:17
David adopts this familiar cultural metric to say that God
25:20
thinks upon us infinitely. Thoughts of pardon for our daily
25:24
sins, renewal of our energy, upholding us in temptation,
25:28
supplying our physical and spiritual needs, educating our
25:31
ignorance, and perfecting our character perpetually well up in
25:34
the mind of the Most High. It is a stark, comforting
25:37
contrast to the idea of a cold, mechanical universe governed
25:41
only by impersonal laws of physics.
25:43
We have a highly personal creator whose detailed attention
25:46
is constantly focused on our welfare.
25:48
And the practical, daily response to this reality is
25:51
beautiful, David says. When I wake, I am still with.
25:54
Thomas Case, another commentator, has a great piece
25:56
of practical advice regarding this phrase.
25:58
What? Does he say?
25:59
He meets that the Saints leave their hearts with God overnight,
26:02
so they find them with him in the morning.
26:05
It's like winding up a mechanical watch at night before
26:07
you go to sleep and finding it still ticking rhythmically the
26:10
next day. You season your mind with
26:12
thoughts of God before sleep, perhaps through prayer or
26:15
reading, and when your consciousness returns in the
26:18
morning, your heart is already back at his palace gates.
26:22
That continuous, unbroken communion is the hallmark of a
26:26
vibrant, healthy spiritual life. The thoughts of God were the
26:30
very first visitors David entertained in the morning.
26:33
Before the anxieties of the day, the demands of the Kingdom, or
26:36
the threats of his enemies can break into his mind, his soul is
26:39
already anchored in the Divine Presence.
26:42
However, this intense, peaceful intimacy with God leads directly
26:47
into an abrupt shift in the text that often startles readers who
26:50
are not expecting it that. Shift gives me theological
26:52
whiplash every time I read it. Same here, the psalmist goes
26:56
from these beautiful, warm, comforting thoughts of God's
26:58
presence, his precious thoughts and waking up in his arms
27:02
straight into a declaration of war.
27:04
Surely thou wilt slay the wicked.
27:06
O God, depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
27:10
We go from a serene, peaceful meditation on biology and grace
27:14
to calling out violent men. Why this harsh, sudden shift in
27:17
tone? It is a jarring transition to
27:20
modern ears that are accustomed to separating theology from
27:22
justice, but it is entirely logical within the framework of
27:26
the ancient mind and the reality of the Psalm.
27:28
An acute, overwhelming awareness of God's absolute holiness
27:32
naturally creates a total intolerance for cruelty,
27:36
blasphemy, and violent rebellion.
27:38
The two cannot coexist. When a person draws near to God
27:41
and truly understands His purity and His love for human
27:44
flourishing, they cannot help but be revolted by actions and
27:48
people who defy Him and destroy others.
27:50
David is essentially saying if God in his perfect justice will
27:54
not let you live with Him eternally because of your
27:56
wickedness, I will not have you live with me or influence my
27:59
court now. God gave these men their
28:01
tongues, their intellect, and their very breath, and they use
28:04
those exact gifts to turn against their benefactor out of
28:07
sheer malice. The text specifically mentions
28:10
these men taking God's name in vain as evidence of their
28:12
wickedness. Lancelot Andrews, an English
28:16
Bishop and scholar, provides a very helpful philosophical
28:19
breakdown of human action to explain what this means.
28:22
Right, he says every human action consists of three parts,
28:25
the end goal, the agent doing the action, and the work itself.
28:29
He explains that taking God's name without a right and goal,
28:32
like aiming for His glory, the public good or the establishment
28:36
of truth, is taking it in vain. It is like a farmer sowing
28:40
expensive seed into the dirt without any intention of ever
28:43
reaping fruit. It is a wasteful, insulting use
28:46
of something sacred. But David goes even further in
28:49
his reaction to this. He says I hate them with perfect
28:52
hatred. Now I have to challenge this
28:54
concept based on the wider teachings of Scripture.
28:56
OK, let's hear it. How can a Christian who is
28:59
explicitly commanded to love their enemies and pray for those
29:02
who persecute them boast about hating someone with perfect
29:05
hatred? Is that not a blatant
29:06
contradiction? It is a paradox that requires
29:09
very careful philosophical distinction, and Augustine of
29:12
Hippo provides the classic resolution for this tension.
29:16
Augustine explains that perfect hatred means hating the sin but
29:20
loving the individual. You passionately hate the fact
29:23
that they are wicked, that they cause pain, and that they rebel
29:26
against truth. But you fiercely love the fact
29:28
that they are human beings originally created in the image
29:31
of God. To hate a man simply for his own
29:33
sake, out of petty spite or his revenge for a personal injury is
29:38
a moral crime. But to loathe the rebellion, the
29:40
blasphemy and the systemic cruelty that destroys human
29:43
flourishing and insults the Creator is a virtue.
29:47
Perfect hatred does not occupy A passive neutral position.
29:50
It is wholehearted, burning indignation against evil while
29:54
simultaneously maintaining the capacity to pray for the
29:56
person's redemption and change of heart.
29:58
So. Practically speaking, it is a
30:00
righteous indignation against the disease of sin, not a
30:03
malicious desire to destroy the patient suffering from the
30:06
disease. That makes a lot of sense.
30:09
But it is very easy to point fingers at external wickedness.
30:13
It is easy to look at the bloody men, the corrupt politicians or
30:16
the violent criminals and say I hate what they do.
30:18
Look how terrible they are. True godliness, however, demands
30:22
that you take that intense scrutiny and turn it completely
30:25
inward. You cannot just audit your
30:27
neighbors behavior, you have to audit yourself.
30:30
The text moves from judging external enemies to inviting an
30:33
internal investigation. This is the practical climax and
30:37
the logical conclusion of the entire Psalm.
30:39
After establishing God's omniscience, his inescapable my
30:43
presence, His creative rights as the Maker of the body, and His
30:47
justice against evil, David offers an incredibly courageous
30:50
prayer. Search me, O God, and know my
30:53
heart. He voluntarily invites the very
30:55
scrutiny He described in the opening verses of the poem.
30:58
I noticed a logical puzzle in the text here that caught my
31:01
attention. David started verse one by
31:03
saying, O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me.
31:06
He states it in the past tense as an accomplished, undeniable
31:09
fact. But here, at the very end of the
31:10
text, he is asking God to do it again in the present imperative.
31:14
Search me, O God. Why is he asking God to do
31:17
something he has already done? Joseph Carroll, a 17th century
31:20
clergyman, provides a very sharp insight into this apparent
31:23
repetition. David had already searched
31:25
himself. He had examined his own
31:26
conscience, reviewed his own actions and found no willful
31:30
high handed rebellion or secret alliance with the violent man he
31:34
just condemned. However, David was wise enough
31:37
to know that human cell perception is deeply flawed.
31:40
He knew that sin has a deceptive narcotic product quality that
31:44
hides our true deformities from our own eyes.
31:46
We rationalize our own bad behavior while condemning the
31:49
exact same behavior in others. Therefore, David wanted the
31:52
infinitely clearer, completely objective sight of God to expose
31:56
any hidden flaws, biases, or corrupt motives he might have
31:59
missed in his own self evaluation.
32:01
He is essentially saying Lord, my own internal audit shows I am
32:06
clean, but I know I cannot fully trust my own Ledger.
32:09
Run your divine audit on my soul, because your standard is
32:12
the only one that matters. That requires such immense
32:14
courage and vulnerability. The sources use the analogy of
32:17
pure gold being tested to illustrate this mindset.
32:19
Heavy pure gold fears neither the furnace, the intense heat of
32:23
the fire, the chemical test, nor the touchstone.
32:25
He that is true weight will be true weight no matter how many
32:29
times or how vigorously he is weighed on the scales.
32:32
David is willing to be put into the Crucible of a divine
32:34
examination because he actively wants the dross, the impurities,
32:39
burned away. He wants to be totally authentic
32:42
before his Maker. Authenticity is the direct
32:44
opposite of hypocrisy, and Joseph Addison, the essayist
32:48
offers a severe warning about the dangers of self deceit in
32:51
this context. He notes that the worst, most
32:54
destructive kind of hypocrisy is not deceiving the world by
32:57
putting on a fake outward face of religious sanctity while
33:00
living a secret life of sin. While that is bad, the most
33:03
fatal hypocrisy is actually imposing on yourself.
33:06
Mistaking your own vices for virtues, rationalizing your
33:09
cruelty as justice or your greed as prudence, and remaining
33:13
entirely blind to your own internal corruption.
33:15
That is why David's concluding prayer is so vital for spiritual
33:19
health. He says.
33:20
See if there be any wicked way in me.
33:23
By actively inviting God's Searchlight into the darkest
33:25
corners of his psyche, he is fighting against his own natural
33:28
capacity for self deception. And the ultimate goal of this
33:32
terrifying search is not just exposure or condemnation, it is
33:37
correction. He prays and lead me in the way
33:40
everlasting. The commentary contrasts the
33:42
wicked way, which inevitably leads to pain, grief and
33:46
destruction with the way everlasting, which is the
33:49
ancient time tested path of faith, obedience and godliness
33:53
that has no end. When you go to a doctor, you do
33:55
not just want the MRI to show you the tumor, You want the
33:58
cure. You want the Divine physician to
34:00
lead you out of the sickness, cut out the disease, and guide
34:04
you into lasting health. That is the precise reality of a
34:07
renewed nature. An unconverted person, someone
34:09
who loves their rebellion, hides from the light.
34:12
They do everything possible to avoid the searching eye of God,
34:15
distracting themselves with noise, ambition or pleasure
34:18
because they love their sin and fiercely fear the exposure.
34:21
But a believer, even knowing full well that they are flawed
34:24
and will be found lacking, and bites the divine physician in
34:28
they want the spiritual disease healed more than they want their
34:30
fragile pride protected. This specific prayer proves that
34:34
a massive internal shift has taken place in the individual.
34:38
The soul now actively takes part with a reconciled God against
34:42
its own hated sins, rather than taking part with its sins
34:46
against a dreaded God. Taking part with God against
34:49
your own sin. That is an incredibly clarifying
34:52
distinction that changes how you view the entire process of
34:55
conviction. It really does.
34:57
So to bring all these massive concepts together for our deep
35:00
dive today, we have traced A breathtaking theological
35:03
progression through this ancient text.
35:05
We started by understanding God's vast microscopic knowledge
35:09
of our every movement, our unspoken words, and our unformed
35:12
thoughts. We moved from there to the
35:14
realization of his inescapable presence, reaching from the
35:17
highest heights of heaven to the darkest, lowest depths of human
35:21
existence. We marveled at his secret
35:23
craftsmanship, acting as the master artisan, knitting our
35:26
delicate biological frames together in the dark studio of
35:29
the womb. That realization of His Holiness
35:31
and care naturally fuels A fierce, perfect rejection of
35:35
cruelty and wickedness in the world around us.
35:37
And most crucially, it culminates in a humble,
35:41
courageous invitation for God to turn that intense Searchlight
35:45
onto our own hearts, expose our self deceit, and lead us onto
35:50
the path of everlasting life. It truly is a complete, robust
35:55
theological system contained within a single ancient poem.
35:58
It moves seamlessly from the loftiest, most abstract
36:01
attributes of the creator, omniscience and omnipresence, to
36:04
the most intimate practical application for the created
36:07
human being. It proves that high theology is
36:09
not just for academic debate. It is intensely practical.
36:13
A true knowledge of God inevitably leads to a true,
36:16
unvarnished knowledge of oneself.
36:18
Absolutely. I want to leave you with a final
36:20
provocative thought drawn directly from the speculations
36:23
of our sources today. The one about the physical
36:25
atmosphere. Yeah, the commentary suggested
36:28
the fascinating idea that every unspoken word, every hidden act
36:31
and every secret motive might be permanently registered in the
36:34
physical atmosphere and chemistry of the universe around
36:37
us, like an unerring photograph taken in the dark that will one
36:40
day be developed in the light. If the physical universe itself
36:44
retains the imprint of your most secret moments, and the creator
36:47
of that universe reads your thoughts from afar off before
36:50
they are even fully formed in your own consciousness.
36:53
How does that reality shape the very next thought?
36:57
You choose to entertain when this audio stops playing.
37:00
That is the Crucible we all have to walk through.
37:02
Think about it. Thanks for joining us on
37:04
Reformed Thinking.