Nothing Escapes God’s Care
by Charles R. Swindoll
Psalm 139:13–22
David's song about God paid close attention to His design of the human body and the individual care He gives to each conception. No individual life escapes His care, and He endows each person with a purpose. Psalm 139 carries David to the crest of ecstasy as he exclaims,
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You. (139:17–18)
Let me put these inspired lyrics together in a paraphrase of verses 13–18.
For You, God, and none other, originated my vital organs. You knitted me together in the womb of my mother. . . . My skeleton and bones were not hidden from You when I was made in that concealed place of protection, when my veins and arteries were skillfully embroidered together in variegated colors like fine needlepoint. Your eyes watched over me when I was just an embryo; and in Your book the days I should experience were all described and recorded—the kind of days that would shape me into the person You want me to be—even before I had been born. How priceless and mighty and vast and numerous are Your thoughts of me, O God! Should I attempt to count them, they would outnumber the sand on the seashore. And Your plan isn't limited just to this life. Should I die, I would awaken securely in Your arms—I would be with You more than ever before.
This leads David to consider his future. If God gave such detailed forethought into his birth, having designed his body and endowed him with a purpose, then certainly the Lord has given no less attention to his future.
How Much Will God Protect and Help Me?
The grind of insecurity begins to ease up when we grasp how perfectly God designed each one of us, and especially when we cap it off with how much He helps us. The songwriter doesn't mince his words in these verses.
O that You would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
For they speak against You wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in vain.
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 the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies. (139:19–22)
On six separate occasions David refers to the enemies of God in the strongest of terms. These were not moderate, passive foes of the Lord; they were unashamed, hateful, open, and blatant despisers of God and God's people. To associate with them would pollute the testimony of any saint—and David declares his independence of them, especially when he states, "They have become my enemies" (139:22b).
Exactly what does David ask of God? "Slay the wicked!" (139:19a). To him, the God of heaven is marvelous, pure, holy, just, and good. His desire was to be the same—just as we are told to be in Ephesians 5:1, which says: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children."
The grind of insecurity eases up when we grasp how
Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, Living the Psalms: Encouragement for the Daily Grind (Brentwood, Tenn.: Worthy Publishing, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., 2012). Copyright © 2013 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved. Used by permission.
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