God Knows Me! - Psalm 139
A worship service plan built around Psalm 139 and focusing on the depth of God's knowledge of us.
Theme of the Service
The entirety of this worship service is built around Psalm 139. The content and the structure of Psalm 139 determine the content and structure of the worship service. The service focuses on the depth of God's knowledge of us. This truth is captured in the title of the service: "God Knows Me!"
THE OPENING OF WORSHIP
Prelude: "Father, Long Before Creation," Dirr [organ]
"Siciliano," J. S. Bach [organ or keyboard with solo instrument]
The Call to Worship
*Song: "Father, Long Before Creation" PsH 464, RL 353
*A Reading of Psalm 121
*Our Declaration of Trust and God's Greeting
Congregation of Jesus Christ, in whom are you trusting?
Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
WE ARE FULLY KNOWN
Anthem: "I Feel the Love of God," Mozart, arr. Hopson
A Reading of Psalm 139:1-6
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.
Message
Song: "My God, How Wonderful You Are" PsH 499, TH 35, TWC 65
WE ARE NEVER ALONE
A Reading of Psalm 139:7-12
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,"
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Message
*Song: "On Eagle's Wings" RN 112, SNC 185, WOV 779
or Anthem: "On Eagle's Wings," Wagner
WE ARE WONDERFULLY MADE
A Reading of Psalm 139:13-18
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.
Message
Song: "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" PH482, PsH253, RL145, RN57, TH53, TWC77
(During the singing the offering is received.)
The Prayers of the People:
- to the Father who created us
- to the Son who redeemed us
- to the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us
WE SERVE THE HONOR OF GOD
A Reading of Psalm 139:19-24
O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me-
those who speak of you maliciously,
and lift themselves up against you for evil!
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Message
Sung Prayer: "Lead Me, Guide Me" PsH 544, RN 176, SFL 220
THE CLOSING OF WORSHIP
*The Benediction with Congregational Amen!
*Song: "Psalm 139: O Lord, My God" RN 118, SNC 243
or "Lord, You Have Searched Me" PsH 184
Postlude: "Epilogue," Lee [organ]
* you are invited to stand
The text for this sermon is the entirety of Psalm 139; therefore, present an overview of the entire psalm instead of looking intently at one small part of it. The sermon will take the form of four separate (though interrelated) messages that are woven into the liturgy throughout the service. This psalm comfortably divides itself into four sections, and the focus of each message is determined by the section of the psalm that is read immediately before. The four messages can be focused in this way:
- The first message raises the issue of how well we are known by other people and how much we welcome (or do not welcome) that. However, each of us is known thoroughly and comprehensively by God at all times. God is omniscient in his care for us! "Knowing" is not merely a matter of factual knowledge, but an act of exploring something, scrutinizing it, and allowing such knowledge to become a part of us. It means that God has become personally attached to us. We should not feel threatened by this, but instead find it the source of great security and assurance.
- The second message takes this idea a step farther. God not only knows us but has attached himself to us in such a way that we cannot go anywhere from his presence. In exploratory paired statements David shows how comprehensive this is. There is no annoyance or threat in being so carefully watched. Instead, there is even more security and comfort!
- Message three delves into the background and discovers that one of the reasons for God's thorough attachment to us is that he has made us. Though David's knowledge of embryology was very limited compared to ours today, he is awed at his awareness that the crafting hand of God the creator was operative within his mother's womb! After focusing on this for a little while, he breaks into another doxology (vv. 17-18).
- The final stanza of this psalm almost seems out of place with the rest of it, and it gives us a challenge in preaching on the entire psalm. The words of vv.19-24 are not to be understood as the bloodthirsty words of a warrior who wants all his enemies wiped out, but rather the words of a person who is overwhelmed with God's loving and gracious attachment to him and genuinely wants God's honor served in every way. Such a concern leads to a desire that all God's enemies are abolished, and that everything within us that is not honoring to God also be abolished.
Glossary of Hymnal Abbreviations:
PH The Presbyterian Hymnal (Presbyterian Church USA; Westminster/John Knox Press)
PsH The Psalter Hymnal (Christian Reformed Church; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
RL Rejoice in the Lord (Reformed Church in America; W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)
RN Renew! (Hope Publishing Company)
SFL Songs for LiFE (children's songbook; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
SNC Sing! A New Creation (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Christian Reformed Church,
Reformed Church in America; Faith Alive Christian Resources)
TH Trinity Hymnal (Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church in America; Great
Commission Publications)
TWC The Worshiping Church (Hope Publishing Company)
UMH The United Methodist Hymnal (United Methodist Publishing House)
WOV With One Voice (Augsburg Fortress)
- The prelude suggestions can be found in the following sources:
- "Partita on 'Coronae,' " an organ piece by Charles Dirr published by Boston 14009 [1983] (E-D, depending on variations used).
- "Siciliano" by J. S. Bach, published for organ in "Book of Airs" by Boston 6615 [1921] (E-M). The melody in this arrangement could be played by a solo C instrument-the violin is very effective.
- "I Feel the Love of God" is a unison anthem by Hal Hopson on a Mozart melody. It is published by Choristers Guild CGA778 [1991] (E) and is accessible to either children's or adult voices.
- "On Eagle's Wings" can be used congregationally if your congregation is well-acquainted with this scripture song, or responsorially if they are not. In that case, we would recommend having a soloist or ensemble sing the verses with the congregation responding with the refrain. Alternatively, the verses could be read. A SATB anthem setting by Douglas Wagner is published by Hope A675 [1993].
- The postlude suggestion "Epilogue" by John Lee is published by GIA (701 [1969]) in "Five Postludes," a collection of easy organ postludes.
- Since this service is shaped by Psalm 139, the entire text of the psalm is read within the service. The translation used here is NRSV. Multiple lay persons can be the readers, with the congregation joining on the boldfaced sections.
- In the Call to Worship the worship leader can introduce the theme and format of the service, explaining the focus on Psalm 139 and its background.
- We've placed the reading of Psalm 121 early in the service as a companion psalm, and suggest that it be read from a contemporary paraphrase such as The Message by Eugene Peterson or Psalms Nowby Leslie Brandt.
- It is important that the "flow" of this service is as smooth as possible, with few verbal transitions, so that the spirit of the psalm carries the worshipers through the rhythm of God's voice to us and our responses to him in prayer and song.
- The Prayers of the People are structured in such a way that all three persons of the Trinity receive focus; we suggest that three different persons lead the three sections of the prayer.