Comfort in God's Knowledge

Psalm 139

1O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
17How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
19Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

When people talk about God's knowledge they often mean the way He knows everything that will happen, and understands everything. What I find most amazing about God's knowledge is not the extent of it (though I am always in awe of that), but the depth or the intimacy of it. "Thou understandeth my thought afar off." Wow. Can that be said about anyone? Can you even say that about your own thoughts?

But perhaps we should be frightened. After all, this is the Most High we are talking about. Frightened doesn't begin to describe it, terrified, petrified. The Holy one knows us and we are not holy. Fortunately God is looking at me through the "lens" of Christ. When I read this psalm I am frightened at first, but I lift up my Ebenezer, Jesus Christ and say "God! Remember me!" And he does, because Christ is the new Moses, interceding for us to His Father.

"14Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." -Hebrews 4:14-16

And therein is my surety. Were I to stop with the knowledge of God I would be right to be terrified. But Christ was "in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." So He knows our temptation and has ransomed me with His submission to the Father.

But I'm not done, oh no. Roman Catholics believe (or used to anyway) that for a sin to be forgiven it must be confessed. People (like Martin Luther) lived in terror of forgetting some sin and not confessing it. But my joy and hope is that I am known so completely by God and washed so completely by the blood of His Son, that it is merely necessary (merely, ha!) to be penitent and ask him to wash me. How could we ever hope by our own ability to escape the knowledge of God? But His knowledge should not be a curse and a terror to Christians, but a blessing and a joy. To have no secrets is truly marvelous to the redeemed and remade man, it is only fallen, rebellious man who should fear the knowledge of the Almighty.

Secrets make young people old and can destroy relationships. But imagine having another human know your innermost thoughts, you would be lonely, for who but Love Himself could love the miserable wretched creatures we are when fully disclosed. But He knows us and loves us, what grace!