From Beginning to End

Psalm 139:2 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. 13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. 19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men. 20 For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139 is regarded as David’s most artistic, his most poetic, his most beautiful Psalm of all. It is not only majestic, but deeply personal in scope – especially regarding God’s regard for man, and His ultimate plan.

It really begins at the beginning doesn’t it? God stands over the creation process of each one, crafting us in fearful and wonderful fashion – the most intricate, delicate and marvelous of all of His creation. The only ones He is crafting to resemble Himself, that in a quite amazing way, when we see the face of man we see the face of God, reflected.

And so God takes every precaution with man. Think of all the plans the Lord had as He crafted David. Think of how important David’s life would be in the history of the world. Can’t you just imagine the smile on God’s face as He crafted David’s face? A face which would be at once a beautiful baby – a mother’s crowning joy – and at the same time a face that would one day defeat Goliath, and then lead men into battle, for conquests greater than any Israel had ever known. That was in the beginning, even before the beginning.

And God continued to think of David always, His thoughts more than the grains of sand of all the beaches on the face of the earth. A staggering thing, if you stop to think about it literally – as it is expressed.

But the grandest plan of all God had in mind from the beginning, was to lead David along “the way everlasting.” On this point, and about this plan, we may rest assured God smiled more broadly than over any of His precious thoughts. The thought that one day, one fine day, David would be coming home – and that the Lord Himself would not only preserve, but save. And He holds those very same thoughts for me and you too.

-  Pastor Bill