EXAMINED BY THE JUDGE
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my envious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps. 139:23, 24, N.I.V.
David had a marvelous understanding of his heavenly Father, and it spills out almost automatically in this psalm. He is fearlessly opening his inner life without reservation for the careful examination of the King of the universe.
We who wish we could hide the secrets of our hearts wonder at his candor, his vulnerability. The secret, however, is found in his last phrase. He knows that, were the Father to find any offensive ways within him, the result would be instruction and not judgment. He knows the Father's heart and His desire to lead David in the way everlasting.
We hide behind our fig leaves when we fear that our nakedness will become the object of derision and scorn. Adam and Eve hid, leaf-clad, in the bushes of Eden because they had already fallen under the spell of Stan's view of God. They believed God would harshly condemn them for their nakedness. But God went in pursuit of them, holding out an animal skin for clothing--not because His pure eyes were offended by their nakedness, but so their shredded self-esteem might not be further torn.
Many people fear the judgment of God because they see Him as one who can evaluate our performance only for the purpose of condemning our failures. They see Him as bound by a strict legal system, in which the only thing one can do with wrong is condemn it. But David saw Him as a father, and fathers relate to wrong in their children by nurturing and instructing them beyond such immaturity.
Our greatest need is to admit our great need. But admitting need is not easy. We cling to whatever scraps of adequacy we can find to bolster our bruised self-worth; why be "up front" about our inadequacies? We shall never know God's strength, however, until we own up to our weakness. And so God Himself has every reason to make it easy for us to admit our weakness, that His strength might be perfectly displayed in us.
David knew God, not as the administrator of an abstract legal code or an offended lawgiver. He knew Him, as we may, as a loving Father and a wise Instructor in the ways everlasting--in the ways that last forever!
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my envious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps. 139:23, 24, N.I.V.
David had a marvelous understanding of his heavenly Father, and it spills out almost automatically in this psalm. He is fearlessly opening his inner life without reservation for the careful examination of the King of the universe.
We who wish we could hide the secrets of our hearts wonder at his candor, his vulnerability. The secret, however, is found in his last phrase. He knows that, were the Father to find any offensive ways within him, the result would be instruction and not judgment. He knows the Father's heart and His desire to lead David in the way everlasting.
We hide behind our fig leaves when we fear that our nakedness will become the object of derision and scorn. Adam and Eve hid, leaf-clad, in the bushes of Eden because they had already fallen under the spell of Stan's view of God. They believed God would harshly condemn them for their nakedness. But God went in pursuit of them, holding out an animal skin for clothing--not because His pure eyes were offended by their nakedness, but so their shredded self-esteem might not be further torn.
Many people fear the judgment of God because they see Him as one who can evaluate our performance only for the purpose of condemning our failures. They see Him as bound by a strict legal system, in which the only thing one can do with wrong is condemn it. But David saw Him as a father, and fathers relate to wrong in their children by nurturing and instructing them beyond such immaturity.
Our greatest need is to admit our great need. But admitting need is not easy. We cling to whatever scraps of adequacy we can find to bolster our bruised self-worth; why be "up front" about our inadequacies? We shall never know God's strength, however, until we own up to our weakness. And so God Himself has every reason to make it easy for us to admit our weakness, that His strength might be perfectly displayed in us.
David knew God, not as the administrator of an abstract legal code or an offended lawgiver. He knew Him, as we may, as a loving Father and a wise Instructor in the ways everlasting--in the ways that last forever!
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