Psalm 139 for meditation

For Meditation

Psalm 139: A psalm of David (NLT).*

1  O lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me .. and you LOVE me!

2  You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away … when I am doing things my own way and not paying attention to you … and still you LOVE me and are patient with me!

3  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do … and whether those things are pleasing to you or not, still you LOVE me!

4  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, lord …  May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to You, Lord. 

5   You go before me and follow me.  You surround me with your Love.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.  Sometimes I can even feel your hand of blessing resting upon me.

6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand! 

How can the Creator of the Universe be with me in such a close and compassionate way?

7  I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!  Your presence is in me and all around me, filling me and surrounding me.

8  If I go up to heaven, you are there;

if I go down to the grave, you are there.  My future is secure in You, for you will be with me through everything, even through the deepest darkest valley. 

9  If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.  In my weakest moments you are my strength!

11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—

12  but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day.

Night and Day are both the same in your sight – full of your brilliant light!

13  You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

15  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

16  You saw me before I was born, and You LOVED me way back then!

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 

Even before I had a physical body, you dreamed me up!  You knew me and loved me from before the creation of the world!  (Eph 1:4).**

17  How precious are your thoughts about me, O God!

They cannot be numbered!

18  I can’t even count them;

they outnumber the grains of sand!

I picture your hands full of tiny sparkling gems, and each one represents a precious thought – a precious thought about me!

How can this be?  Could it be that I am dreaming? 

[But] when I wake up,

You are still with me!

…..

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

I confess that I am anxious, that I fear; show me where I don’t trust you. Remind me of your faithfulness.  I repent from fear and anxiety and choose to cast my cares on You, knowing that You care for me.  (1 Pet 5:7)

24  Also, please Point out anything in me that offends you,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

I want to live a life that is pleasing to you, and I want to follow you all the days of my life!

--

*The text is from the New Living Translation.  Words in italics are ones that I added. ( Pam Amlung)

**Ephesians Chapter 1:

3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.^b 7He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.