Psalm 139

This morning I am meditating on Psalm 139, written by King David.

To summarize:

God knows everything about David, as He does about each and every one of us. 

David knows that he cannot hide anything from God because God knows his every thought. And likewise our thoughts, too.

God controls David's circumstances to restrict behavior. And God is still controlling our circumstances, as well.

God watches over David and sees everything. Same for us.

David cannot go far away from God, and neither can we.

David knows who His creator is:

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. 

The MacArthur study Bible says: "By virtue of the divinely designed period of pregnancy, God providentially watches over the development of the child while yet in the mother's womb." It would do us well to remember that each and every new human life before being formed is known by God. And in the case of abortion, we will be held to account for holding particular opinions about babies in the womb. I just had to throw that in there.

In this next verse, David says:

And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

David declares that all of his days were known by God before he was even conceived. So are our days. 

I love this section, too:

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

David describes the infinite mind of God, all-powerful, all-knowing God! 

Then David shifts gears and talks about his enemies. He hates them because they hate God. How so? He means he is not neutral towards God's enemies and he will never join them, which is a right position for all of God's people to have. We should not be soft towards God's enemies, and especially we should never align ourselves with their ideas and actions. 

Next, David asks God to search his heart for iniquity and to root it out. We should do likewise because once it is brought to our attention, believers should want to kill sin in their lives.  

And lastly, David expresses his desire for everlasting life, and we should, too. 

* * *

I found a need to read the Psalms this morning (multiple, yes) because I am here in central Florida, outside Tampa, awaiting Hurricane Milton (in three days), and I am unsettled. When I get like this, I have to focus on the Psalms because many of them, like Psalm 139, are good reminders of how small I am before my Creator and God. He is also my Comforter. And He is also the creator of the storms. A lot of people don't like to remember that, and they are blaming the government...our inept government...for being responsible for such powerful and destructive storms. Granted, I know man would love to think he is capable of and even successful at creating powerful storms, or altering their paths, or controlling them for whatever purpose, but I still have not been convinced that God would permit itty-bitty man to override what is His creation. 

Matthew 8:27: Who can this be that even the winds and the sea obey Him? 

Why would God permit such storms? There are a multitude of reasons, and probably more than I even know. But one could be judgment, another could be to get our attention, and still another could be to increase faith in believers. For everyone, it could be a different reason. He is also demonstrating His power and might. Man is nothing in the face of God. We cannot build strong enough buildings to protect ourselves, we cannot flee far enough away from His power, and we cannot hide from His judgments. The best thing we can do is repent now and recognize Him as Lord and Savior of our fragile lives. Then pray for His mercy to cover you with His hand. 

Book of Nahum

CHAPTER 1

The book of Nahum announced the doom of Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, and also explains how God will eventually deal with the wicked. 

God is a jealous God and He avenges His adversaries. 

He reserves wrath for His enemies. He is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.

Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure he fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are throw down by Him.

The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.  

God is all powerful, holy and jealous, able to avenge those against Him. God also demonstrates His power in nature. 

Sadly, after Nineveh had repented, heeding the warning of God's judgment through Jonah, they had returned to their idolatry and wickedness. Patiently God reserved His punishment for at least a century; but eventually justice must come, and God punishes the wicked. 

COMMENTARY

The theme of this book is the judgment of Nineveh. This prophecy has already been fulfilled. Nahum pronounced God's judgment as total destruction of Assyria. After Jonah brought God's message to Nineveh, Assyria did not become a godly nation. After a century or more, they returned to their old ways.

Yes, God is love, but He is holy and must judge sin because He is just. He will destroy godless nations. God is jealous, and this is not a bad attitude to have, especially of one's spouse. "A good husband is one who is going to love and want [his wife] above everything else. And he won't want to share [her] with anybody." A healthy relationship should have a measure of jealousy about it. For example, a good spouse should fiercely protect his/her relationship from outside threats. A spouse who is not jealous is a weak, lazy spouse, IMHO. 

Keep in mind, anything God does is right, even if we do not understand. So when Assyria was destroyed, God was glorified in it. God Himself destroyed the army of the Assyrians. And He used the armies of the Medes and Babylonians to destroy the city of Nineveh in 612 BC.

Finally, Nahum shared good news -- "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publish peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows; for the wicked shall no more pass through thee.; he is utterly cut off. "

God is saying, "Don't leave Me. Don't withdraw from the Mosaic system. Don't give up because I will destroy your enemies and send to you the Messiah, who will brings tidings of great joy.

❤ ❤ ❤

CHAPTER 2

In this chapter, Nahum described Nineveh's foe, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who God will use to exact justice. Nineveh hastily made plans to protect and defend itself, to no avail. The people were terrorized and the land was plundered and left desolate. Where is Nineveh now? 

COMMENTARY

Nineveh was destroyed when the Medes came against the city and Babylon joined them in battle. And the attack was permitted because God declared that He was against Nineveh.

❤ ❤ ❤

CHAPTER 3

Assyria was a bloodthirsty nation, full of lies, pride, theft, and murder. Now God was going to publicly humiliate the wicked nation and lay waste to it. Nahum compared Nineveh to Egypt, which was conquered, and its people were taken into captivity. No matter what Assyria did to fortify itself, it failed. Its battle forces were as good as weak women. Nahum also declared that their watchmen were sleeping, unable to warn of danger. No one would be left to help them. 

In 612 BC, Nineveh fell.

COMMENTARY

This is how God deals with nations, very much the same way He deals with individuals. Assyria was full of lies. How many governments today that tell the truth? I wonder. God, the Creator of government institution, will judge human governments. God raises up kings and He removes kings. He does the same with governments and nations. 

In chapter 3, God compared Nineveh to No Amon, or Thebes, the capital city of Egypt, to which they should have learned from. But God described their weak defenses as women, which is a mark of a civilizations downfall. Look at September 11, 2001, in the United States. They could not keep Americans safe from the inside! That is a sign of incompetence and the disintegration of a civilization, among a million other things. 

How God deals with the nations