Jim Gallagher

Psalm 139:23-24
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

In this portion of the Psalm, David prays three things: search me, try me and lead me. These are very interesting requests in light of what he has previously declared concerning God.

“ Lord, You have searched me and known me.” Psalm 139:1

In beautiful, poetic fashion, David declared there is nothing hidden from the all-seeing eye of God. He knows when we rise up and when we lie down. He knows our thoughts before we think them, and every word that leaves our lips. He knows the paths we choose to walk and where those roads will lead us. Our loving God thinks about us constantly, and no matter where we go, we cannot escape His peering gaze. The question that requires our attention is, if David knew that God has already searched him and known him, why pray “Search me…” ?

It seems to me, since David knew that God could see through all his disguises, he was actually removing the masks and allowing God to reveal what he was really like. He is asking God to reveal to him the things God knows are wrong with him, and to provide the divine help necessary to change. To use a modern phrase, our lives need to be an open book. Not only open, allowing the Lord to examine our hearts (after all, He sees all whether we try to hide it or not), but an open book, allowing the Lord to write upon the tablets of our hearts.

Have you laid open your whole life to the Lord and asked Him to examine you, and bring about the change that He desires? Take for example your private life, those moments when no one else is around; allow God to orchestrate what they should look like, and what needs to be removed. Or perhaps, your family life. All too often, we parent the way we were parented, rather than looking into the Word, at the example of our Heavenly Father, and seeking to have Him as our model. We must come to the place where, like David, we lay open our lives before the Lord, and allow Him to examine us with His loving gaze. When we do, we will find that His Word has much to say regarding our private life, family life, social life, and even our church life. Charles Spurgeon put it like this, “Like a Pharos, this holy song casts a clear light even to the uttermost parts of the sea, and warns us against that practical atheism which ignores the presence of God, and so makes shipwreck of the soul.”

A true believer is willing to be tried by God.

Pastor Jim

Questions for Psalm 139

1. This psalm is absolutely amazing! The psalmist starts off with “O Lord you have searched me and known me.” Did you know there is nothing you can hide from God?
2. Meditate for a moment on the detail described in these verses about how God knows you. How He knows about where you go and what you do?
3. Verse 6, isn’t it great to know that God knows more than we do?
4. Verse 14, what does God think about who you are? Verse 16 says He saw you being yet unformed. He knew you before you existed!
5. Finally, the psalmist is laying everything out before the Lord, total surrender. God knows everything there is to know about you. TRUST HIM! He will change your life, your heart and your mind. Allow Him to be you’re all in all!

Old Testament:
2 Chronicles 13- Storms Of Life
2 Chronicles 14- Facing Giants
Psalm 140- Cover My Head