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,a 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,b 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.
(Psalm 139)
This week was a special service where a family in our church dedicated their baby to God.
So what is a dedication? The main difference between a dedication and a more commonly known Christening is baptism. In the Bible, especially the book of Acts, we see believers being baptised, but we don’t see infants being baptised. Baptism is the first step of obedience in the conscious life-changing decision to follow Christ.
So we as Free Methodists dedicate babies to God. It shows the heart of the parents to dedicate the baby back to the One who blessed them with the child to start with. Parents want their babies to know that the good times are so much sweeter with God, and the bad times are so much more bearable with Jesus.
Why dedicate a baby back to God? The difference between a christening and a dedication is baptism. We believe we baptise believers and we dedicate babies. Shows the heart of a parent to dedicate baby to the One who gave them. Parents want baby to know the good times are so much sweeter and the bad times are comforted.
So how can Psalm 139 apply to our lives today?
V1-4 - God knows you as an individual
God knows you even better than you know yourself! Take heart knowing that fact.
V5-6 - God is close
How does He know you? Because He is always close by. He hems you in before and behind. God goes before you, He knows where you are going to go and He also knows what you have been through.
V7-8 - God is everywhere
You cannot outrun God. You might have had a time in your life when you didn’t want to know God, but He is always there for you.
V9-12 - God loves you
This is the reason why He is everywhere, because He wants to hem you in and hold you close. Jesus loves you and God is a good Father.
V13-16 - God created you
He created you and He knit you together as the giver of life and He placed you in your family. Even if your biological family isn’t great, your spiritual family (the church) if you become a Christian will be such a blessing to you.
V17-22 - You are precious to God
You are precious to God and He wants to be precious to you too. He wants to have a relationship with you so you can know what it really means to live and to love with Him at the centre
V23-24 - God is everlasting
All things point back to Him and will be reconciled to Him one day.
As Christians, we get a taste of Heaven in this life now. The Christian life is the best life that can be lived before eternity.
You might be struggling in life, you might not be sure whether anyone cares, but God is loving, faithful and everlasting. He wants what’s best for you and there is nothing you can do to escape His love.
We have all fallen short of God’s standard. Maybe today is the day to turn to Jesus and ask for forgiveness.