O God, 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,
You know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
If I ascend to heaven you are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there."
~Psalm 139
I have always loved this Psalm. Some people declare Psalm 23 as their favorite, another wonderful collection of words, but for my money, Psalm 139 is where it’s at. I try to imagine the writer as these beautiful words began to take creative shape. What was going in their life that they would write this? What amazing faith! What a deep wisdom and experience of the Holy!
I sometimes wonder about certain scriptures. What might happen if we began each day with scripture like Psalm 139 and repeated it for, say, an entire year? How would our spiritual journey be affected by such a practice? Would we come to connect with the words in ways that help them to become ‘the living word of God’? I hope so.Though I have never personally done this, the idea that there are people in religious communities and those of great devotion doing this gives me a sense of comfort and hope.
Like the psalmist, I know people who need to affirm that God is hemming them in. I am one of them. I need to be able to say to myself and others that even ‘in the bed of hell(Sheol)’ I am sitting in the nest of God. I also need to be able to be filled with gratitude to overflowing that my ascending heavenly moments are shared with the One who breathed and birthed me into being.
The Celts pray: God before me, God below me, God when I rise up, God when I lay down. God on my right hand, God on my left hand. God in the thoughts of everyone who thinks of me. God in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me. May it be so. Today, tomorrow and always.
For each of us…… for the times of Heaven and of Sheol…….may we remember that we are hemmed in. And it is good.