Devotion • January 20
Scripture Reading
Psalm 139:1–6, 13–18
O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them — they are more than the sand; I come to the end — I am still with you. (NRSV)
Reflection
The cadence of certain passages, such as those in Psalm 139, can exert a gravitational pull on us across our lives. I grew up reading most of this psalm responsively, so after receiving today’s devotional assignment, I was drawn to my wall of books, where I pulled down a 1933 hymnal and flipped to a bookmarked page way in the back.
There it was: Selection 49, the responsive reading that opens with, “O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me.” I can’t read Psalm 139, however, without hearing the verses that, though omitted from our psalm today, still make the heart soar. Read them to see if they carry you closer to God:
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea …
I heard this same cadence, with heartbreakingly different meanings, in an office diversity council meeting several years ago. As we recounted the sadnesses of recent tragic events, it was our chair who — calmly and steadily — said, “Where can I go where I am safe? If I am driving in a car, I am not safe. If I am shopping in a store, I am not safe. If I am at home in my living room, I am not safe.”
Is it enough to say that God is always with us, either when taking the wings of morning, or being pulled over for a traffic violation? Or does the certainty of God’s presence impel us to be vigilant — to stay aware of the slights that stem from stereotypes, to correct aggressions where we can, to challenge bigotry and intolerance when we see it, and to speak up on behalf of those who are not heard?
The answer: Psalm 139:10
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
*Italicized text is copied directly from The Hymnal, published in 1933 by the Presbyterian Board of Christian Education.
Prayer
Search us, O God, and know our hearts; try us, and know our thoughts. And lead us to honor our faith by honoring all people. In the name of the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Written by Sarah Forbes Orwig, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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