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Being known by God
(Psalm 139)
Andy Nagahara
Today’s psalm is Psalm 139. Let’s read it in four parts.
1. We who do not want to be known (0-10)
0 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O LORD, you have searched me 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 know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in–behind and before; you have laid 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.
What I would like you all to ponder today is the phrase “being known by God,” which appears many times in the passage we have just read. “You have searched me and you know me”, “You perceive my thoughts”, “You are familiar with all my ways”, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely”. Let’s think about what these things mean for us.
In our hearts, there are both feelings of wanting others to know us and feelings of not wanting others to know us. The same goes for God. When Adam and Eve were still in the Garden of Eden, they disobeyed God’s commands and tried to hide from him.
We all know that we are not holy or righteous enough to expect anyone, whether God or another person, to know everything about us. As the story of Adam and Eve shows, it is impossible for us humans to hide ourselves from God. But God does not examine us and get to know us so that He can condemn us.
Rather, God does this to sustain us. As verse 5 says, God guards us from before and behind, laying his hands on us as his own, never letting us go. We have no need to fear anyone because we are well known by God.
Jesus said:
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. （Luke 12:4-7）
Verses 7-10 are a worship song that we often sing. This song was written by Martin Kadir, a worship leader at Yourchurch who is now back in Indonesia studying to be a pastor.
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus Christ, is with you wherever you are.
Given the original sin committed by Adam and Eve, it may be natural for us to feel uncomfortable about the idea that God knows everything about us. Yet, God continues to be our guardian and guide.
2. God created each of us as precious (11-18)
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.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
We tend to focus only on two extremes – good and evil, justice and injustice – and forget about the countless shades of grey between black and white, for example. Verses 11 and 12 use the expressions darkness and light to teach us that God transcends all dualism and rules over all things. And whether it be in religion, politics or human relationships, we have a tendency to divide people into those who are different and those who are not, and to label our side as good, righteous and holy and the other side as evil, profane and unrighteous.
But we can have Jesus’ perspective by following Jesus. Jesus was not indifferent to the problems of the society of his day. But it was not about taking political action or even military action. He expressed this by being with the weak and the small.
The religious leaders of the time condemned those who, like themselves, could not keep the law as “sinners,” and the people despised them as well. However, many of those who were considered “sinners” were determined so by the social class or occupation they were born into, or the symptoms that developed as a result of an illness. Such assumptions were not ordained by God, but were coined by religious people who believed they were closer to God than other people.
However, as we can see from verse 13 onwards, God does not discriminate against people based on their nationality or ethnicity, but has created each and every person, without exception, as a precious being. And Jesus risked his life to tell people this.
3. Hatred to be overcome through Jesus’ teachings (19-22)
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
The reason this part feels strange to us is because we know the words of Jesus.
Through various ethnic crises, the people of the Old Testament came to realize that God is not a national God but the one creator God. Yet it wasn’t until Jesus came and taught them that they could completely dispel their ethno-divine ideas about God.
The ethno-divine way of thinking is that there is a God who is just for us, or a God who only has us in mind. The assumption is that one’s enemy is naturally God’s enemy, and if one wishes for one’s enemy to die, then God also wishes that. And here is Jesus’ view on the matter:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. （Matthew 5:43-45）
Jesus completely changed the concept of “enemy”—or, more accurately, reversed a concept that had been misunderstood by humans. This is God’s truth that “the enemy is not a person, ethnic group, or nation, but the selfishness, or sin, that resides within each of us.”
Why do nations and ethnic groups fight and antagonize other ethnic groups and countries? This is because our sin of self-centeredness operates collectively in our collective ethnicities and nations. It is exclusive, greedy and cruel.
The problem with ethnocentrism and particularism is that, under the guise of patriotism, it is actually a self-centered, egocentric approach that does not recognize the same value in other countries and other ethnicities as oneself.
I think we all feel that ethnocentrism and particularism are gaining strength in Europe, America, and Japan. This is very similar to the atmosphere just before World War II, when Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy, and the military in Japan seized real power in their countries. Populists seeking dictatorship incited people with self-praise for their ethnic and national interests, and the whole world was drawn into war.
Ethnocentrism and particularism are idolatry that worship a particular ethnic group, country, or its dictator. As those who believe in and follow Jesus, as God’s appointed sovereigns, God expects us to do all we can to prevent our nations from falling into this idolatry.
4. We who want to be better known (23, 24)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Today I began by talking about the feeling we have of not wanting to be known, but I would like to conclude by talking about the feeling we have of wanting others to know.
The word translated in the Interconfessional Translation as “the ways of idolatry” is translated in many Bibles as ways of pain, evil ways, or misguided ways, but it can also be translated as the ways of idolatry. For pain, evil, and confusion all come from idolatry.
If we look honestly into our own hearts, we will have to admit that new “idolatry” is born there one after another. Avoiding idol worship does not mean never engaging in idols in action.
When I came to faith nearly 50 years ago, many churches taught their members not to attend Buddhist funerals, or, if they did, to refrain from offering incense. It seems that even bowing was discouraged in some cases as it was seen as idolatry. It is not about worshipping from your heart, but about respecting the religion, culture, or pagan culture that the other person believes in, and it is not idolatry. Idolatry arises in the heart.
The danger of idolatry does not disappear if we avoid the rituals of other religions or stop bowing.
Idolatry is turning away from God and relying on other people, wealth, or power instead of relying on God.
The psalmist, too, looks back at his own heart, which is prone to such thoughts, and although he knows in theory that he is loved, well known, and cared for, he does not seem to feel reassured by this. Instead, he knows that he tends to seek reassurance in other people’s words, experiences, and possessions. Therefore, he asks God to quickly teach him about the idolatry that has arisen in his heart, and to let him go on the path of walking with God and not away from Him.
I’m sure you all know that we too need to pray in this way. Today, as we worship together, let us allow God to search our hearts and hear what He has to say to us.
(Prayer) God, you know everything about each and every one of us.
You know very well that there are times in our hearts that sadden and disappoint You.
Yet we rejoice in being known because you love us and guide us.
We know that new idolatries can easily arise in our hearts.
Please be aware of this and warn us.
Teach and guide us to become more like you.
We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Summary
It is natural that God, our Creator, knows everything about us, but when we look within ourselves, we feel uncomfortable with this Jesus taught that selfishness, which causes us to turn away from God, is the essence of sin and that people cannot overcome it on their own. And through his death on the cross and resurrection, Jesus has made it so that anyone can connect with him and find peace of mind in being known, rather than shame.
For Discussion
- How do you feel about being known by God?
- Why does the psalmist ask the all-knowing God to “know”?