This week I started on a 90 Day Devotional Challenge. This came in God's perfect timing - just the week before at church I had felt God speak to my heart and call me to turn more fully back to him. There is NOTHING more important in this life than knowing Him; He brings true peace in this life and the promise of eternal life. But the busyness of every day life can slowly creep in until our days and minds are overwhelmed with all our to-do's, and the truly important gets pushed aside in deference to the urgent.
This week's focus has been on Psalm 139. The first few verses describe how well God knows us - there is nothing that escapes Him.
This week's focus has been on Psalm 139. The first few verses describe how well God knows us - there is nothing that escapes Him.
"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord."
Psalm 139: 1-4
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord."
Psalm 139: 1-4
He knows our thoughts, our words, our actions, even before they have happened. He knows us COMPLETELY. We cannot hide from Him!
And then this morning I was looking at verses 5 & 6:
And then this morning I was looking at verses 5 & 6:
"You hem me in - behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain."
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain."
To start with, I was thinking of this phrase "you hem me in" in terms of a kind of protection and guardianship. A sweet thought; one I appreciated. However, something about this was niggling at me, so I decided to dig a little deeper.....
Whenever I want to do that, I usually start by checking the verse in the King James Version, because then I can use the words used there to find out the original Hebrew or Greek word they were translated from. Doing that often leads to some interesting insights.
Verse 5 in the King James:
Whenever I want to do that, I usually start by checking the verse in the King James Version, because then I can use the words used there to find out the original Hebrew or Greek word they were translated from. Doing that often leads to some interesting insights.
Verse 5 in the King James:
"Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me."
Hmmm....beset. That doesn't sound quite so warm and fuzzy. Now to check for the original word. I pulled out my trusty Strong's Concordance, which lists every single word in the King James Bible, what verses it appears in, and links to the original language. Strong's tells me that the word here translated "beset" comes from the Hebrew tsuwr which means to bind, besiege, confine, cramp, shut up, enclose, treat as an adversary etc. This original word appears 38 times in the Bible. In 24 of them it is translated "besiege" and generally is referring to an army laying siege to a city or people. In the rest of the verses it is translated as: distress, bind, adversaries, assault, bags, beset, cast, fashioned, fortify, inclose and bind up.
So, I was thinking about what this verse was saying. Would God cause me problems - allow me to be hemmed in by troubles (in a negative way) - for some reason? No! - that does not make sense in the context of the passage. Remember, verse 6 says such knowledge is wonderful - so wonderful it is hard to comprehend!
So I thought about what "besiege" means, and why armies do it. My dictionary defines besiege as: "To surround with military forces to bring about surrender." An army besieges a city by surrounding it, limiting access by others from outside, and then waits for the people within to surrender to the commander of the army. During a siege, the army is fully alert and engaged with the task of bringing about the ultimate victory - the surrender of the people within.
And then I understood.....God, the incredible, all powerful, all knowing, Creator of the universe, who knows you and me so thoroughly - who knows our sins, our failings, our struggles; knows us warts-and-all - HE also CHOOSES us. And He wants me not just to acknowledge Him as Saviour, but to make Him Lord. For this reason, God will besiege us - surround us on all sides and ask us to surrender fully to Him. FOR OUR GOOD!
Isn't that amazing? Isn't that wonderful? God loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us - but that's not all! He is so interested in me personally (and you too!) that he is willing to fully engage in our lives, to surround us with His powerful presence, and to wait for our full, unconditional surrender.
Will you say Yes! to God? Will you surrender wholly to Him and make Him Lord of your life once again? Oh what blessings await!
So, I was thinking about what this verse was saying. Would God cause me problems - allow me to be hemmed in by troubles (in a negative way) - for some reason? No! - that does not make sense in the context of the passage. Remember, verse 6 says such knowledge is wonderful - so wonderful it is hard to comprehend!
So I thought about what "besiege" means, and why armies do it. My dictionary defines besiege as: "To surround with military forces to bring about surrender." An army besieges a city by surrounding it, limiting access by others from outside, and then waits for the people within to surrender to the commander of the army. During a siege, the army is fully alert and engaged with the task of bringing about the ultimate victory - the surrender of the people within.
And then I understood.....God, the incredible, all powerful, all knowing, Creator of the universe, who knows you and me so thoroughly - who knows our sins, our failings, our struggles; knows us warts-and-all - HE also CHOOSES us. And He wants me not just to acknowledge Him as Saviour, but to make Him Lord. For this reason, God will besiege us - surround us on all sides and ask us to surrender fully to Him. FOR OUR GOOD!
Isn't that amazing? Isn't that wonderful? God loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us - but that's not all! He is so interested in me personally (and you too!) that he is willing to fully engage in our lives, to surround us with His powerful presence, and to wait for our full, unconditional surrender.
Will you say Yes! to God? Will you surrender wholly to Him and make Him Lord of your life once again? Oh what blessings await!
Prayer: O Lord, I thank you that you never give up on me! I am so thankful that even though you completely know me, still you love me and choose me. Thank you, Father, for calling me to draw near to you again, and to go deeper with you. Lord, I say yes to you. I choose to surrender to you. But Lord, I know I can't really do that fully on my own. Please keep working in my life and draw me closer to you. Help me to know you more and more, so that I will increase in wisdom and understanding of you and your marvellous ways. Amen.
This all reminded me of the chorus from a song we sang at church recently:
How marvellous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be,
How marvellous! How wonderful!
Is my Saviour's love for me!
And my song shall ever be,
How marvellous! How wonderful!
Is my Saviour's love for me!
How marvellous indeed!
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