Psalm 139:5
“You hem me in – behind and before.” (New International Version)
“Thou hast enclosed me behind and before.” (New American Standard)
“Behind and before Thou hast beseiged me.” (Youngs Literal Translation)
“You have beset me and shut me in – behind and before.” (Amplified)
Psalm 139 seems to have the subtitle on it – “The Pro-LIFE” psalm. Here we read that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. That God has formed us in our mother’s wombs and his thoughts are more than we can number. But I’ve been mesmerized this month with verse five.
This picture of God hemming me in puts a couple of different images. First so many of the translations give that comforting warm hemming in where God wraps us in his blanket of love. I know these moments. The times when rest in the Father is easy and pleasant. (Psalm 16:6 “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”)
But secondly, the image that sticks most in my mind is the image of being beseiged and beset. (definition of beset – to attack, assail and harass on all sides). The predominance of this picture may be from the “glass is half empty” personality I have, and while life is good right now, I think that perhaps He has given me this picture of my life last year.
God hems me in, in all circumstances: pleasant and uncomfortable. When it is uncomfortable, do I keep throwing myself against the thorns in the hedge or should I sit still in the center of this area and wait quietly? My history is of flailing around the hedge in a panic. Not knowing that the hedge is placed there by God, himself, I don’t do myself any favors by resisting the hedge.
No matter whether it is comfortable hemming in or beseiging, I am supposed to sit still in the hedge, because the second half of the verse and verse six all say, “you have laid your hand upon me; such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” I really want the touch of my Creator, Savior, Comforter, Counselor, Friend, Coming King, Lover of My Soul. The closeness and intimacy with Him keeps my lamp burning with the oil of intimacy.
Jesus, teach me to sit still under your hand whether my circumstances are comfortable or not. I need the wonderful knowledge of your hand on me, moment by moment.
Glass is half empty side of me talking now – sure hope verbalizing all this doesn’t mean that I’m about to be hedged in by problems and the LORD is about to give me a chance to practice what I write. But since I’m not optimistic by nature…pray for me that I’ve learned this lesson.
4 responses so far ↓
Teresa // January 29, 2008 at 5:35 pm |
Kristen, Sounds like you’re acting like Saul in Acts:26 14-”kicking against the goads” when you should be practicing Ps 46:10. A noble goal! This came immediately to mind when I read your post today. I WILL pray for you, and for myself to achieve this goal! Now, please pray for ME! I’ve been gone all day, and I get home and the BAND is here for a 4hr practice. I call them ‘THE JOYFUL NOISEMAKERS’.
completefaith // February 4, 2008 at 10:45 pm |
So I was thinking today, about thorns…
When you talk about being hemmed and surrounded by thorns
I think about a bush called the Orange Osage. This bush/tree has had many uses over the years, but one use was as a hedge row. This bush is so thick and full of thorns that people would plant the seeds and as the saplings came up hey would bend them over and twist the young trunks together. This would grow into such a knurled mess that it would actually be used as a fence for livestock.
Anyway that’s the picture that comes to mind
All I can think of is what happens when Thorn meets Flesh?
Flesh is stripped away.
The same way adversity in life strips away a part of us.
What happens after the thorn and flesh meet?
The flesh begins to heal.
The same way after we weather the storm of adversity we begin to put our life back together again, and start to heal.
When the dealing is complete, is there a mark on the flesh? Usually, yes.
After we face adversity is there a mark on our life? Yes.
Are those marks on our flesh dead, lifeless skin, or are the ultra sensitive, like a babies skin? That all depends on how we take care of the injury? Ignore it, pretend it didn’t happen, burry it and, let it fester and rot, and it will be a scar with no feeling, dead skin.
Take care of it, nurse it back to health and treat it with love and it will be like a babies bum.
This feels like a whole lot of words to say that God surrounds us with thorns knowing that we will b rush up against them and need healing. In the end he just want’s to teach is the right direction to turn.
midnightcry // February 7, 2008 at 10:47 am |
Those Osage orange trees are what grew around my grandfather’s fields in Kansas. We used the “fruit”- called hedge apples – that came off of them as weapons against each other when I was a kid. They don’t seem to grow around here, but you can buy them in the grocery stores in the fall. They look like baseball-sized green brains. They are the best spider repellant in the world, so we always set out a few in our basement every year and never saw a spider.
Pink Sunshine // July 5, 2008 at 3:23 pm |
Psalm 139 is my favourite psalm, and while this may not be the “right” way to take it, I always imagine being “hemmed in” as the snug feeling of being in bed with the duvet tucked in all round me! Safety rather than restriction