For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.
5You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,* you are there.
9If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17How precious are your thoughts about me,* O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21O LORD, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
June 28 Reflection & Worship
Thanks, and Thanks Again
GOD’S WORK OF CREATION IS DONE; OUR WORK OF PRAISING IS JUST BEGUN.
LOOK BACK Metaphors abound in the Psalms. Already you have discovered that God is your shepherd, light, salvation, rock, fortress, refuge, strength, defense, glory, and judge. The list will continue to grow as you read further in this magnificent “diary of devotion.” When you learn a new truth about God, don’t forget to respond in worship to God. Psalms was not written for your information but for your transformation.
For a change of pace, try reading a portion of the Psalms just before you go to bed at night. Or leave your Bible open to the Psalms, and make it your meditation the first thing in the morning. Stick a small copy of the Psalms in your pocket or purse, and “chew” on a psalm as you enjoy lunch. If you have access to an audio version of the Bible, try listening to a portion of the book of Psalms as you drive back and forth to work. In the process you’ll be taking to heart the first psalm: “Oh, the joys of those who . . . delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (Psalm 1:1-3).
LOOK UP Find a dictionary and look up the word refrain. Now compare that definition with this one: “the reverberation of the heart when touched by the greatness of God.” It is a heartfelt exclamation that deserves to be repeated. Refrains are what you have discovered in several of the psalms you read this past week. Think of them as divine ditto marks that highlight a particular facet of God’s character or program. Repetition doesn’t have to be redundant if the motive behind it is to underscore something of great importance.
Can you find the refrain in each of the following psalms? (Hint: look for the portion of the verse that is repeated virtually verbatim.)
• Psalm 136 (every verse)
LOOK AHEAD Thanksgiving ought to be more than a holiday on the calendar. God intends it to be the attitude of your heart. How can you know for sure? He said so . . . twenty-six times!
In Psalm 136 the psalmist rehearses a long list of memorable moments from the history of God’s people to stimulate an “attitude of gratitude.” As you read the psalm, you begin to anticipate the refrain that concludes each and every verse: “His faithful love endures forever.” Can you find a reference in the historical books of the Old Testament (the first seventeen books, Genesis through Esther) to which the psalmist is referring in each verse? For example, Psalm 136:7-9 are a reminder of what God did in Genesis 1:14-18. How many others can you find? And if you feel like joining the psalmist in his heartfelt refrain . . . well, don’t refrain.