Lord, Can I Speak Frankly?
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
A Personal Paraphrase of Psalm 139 1
Lord, you know me inside and out.
You know me better than I know myself!
You scrutinize and analyze my thoughts, my desires, my motives.
You are watching when I go to bed and when I get up,
When I leave the house and when I come home.
Everything I do, say, think, and feel – you know all about it.
You even know what I am going to do before I do it!
You have me hemmed in so that I’m completely surrounded:
You are up ahead - where I’m going,
And you follow me - where I’ve been.
It’s not just your eyes that watch me,
It’s your hand that is constantly upon me!
Such knowledge confounds me; I can’t begin to fathom it.
To be honest, it makes me squirm! (vv. 1-6).
I can’t get away from you, Lord.
I’ve tried to find a place where you can’t see me.
But how can I hide from God?
Everywhere I go, you are already there!
If I fly on a plane to Burkina Faso, you are there.
If I ride in a bathyscaphe to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, you are there.
If I take a rocket to Mars… yup, you are there too.
And if I turn out all the lights and conceal myself in the darkness,
You tap me on the shoulder and say, “Hey, it’s me!”
I’ve tried everything,
But Lord, it’s impossible to get away from you. (vv. 7-12).
Lord, the reason you know me so well and watch me so constantly
Is because you created me;
Which explains why you love me.
Every cell in my body was custom made – by you!
Like a skilled engineer, you designed and assembled all my parts.
My genetic code, the color of my eyes, how tall I’d be, my IQ, my gender…
You made all those decisions, Lord.
It was you who put me together in my mother’s womb.
Yeah, I’m an amazing piece of work!
And before I was even born, you wrote my life story, page by page,
Describing the wonderful plan you envisioned for me.
I marvel at your artistry and skill, Lord.
I’m overwhelmed by your love.
These thoughts make me gasp in wonder – and bow in worship. (vv. 13-18).
So, Lord, as I stand before your penetrating gaze –
Can I speak frankly? Can I be brutally honest?
Something is bothering me and I don’t know where else to go.
(And please tell me if I’m wrong about this).
It’s the wicked people in this world, Lord:
The murderers, rapists, terrorists, traffickers, traitors, child molesters…
I want you to annihilate them, wipe them out!
They are not just my enemies, Lord; they are yours!
I want you to judge them, punish them, exterminate them!
I hate who they are and what they do!
There, I said it.
But I think you feel this way too. Right?
So would you bring them to justice?
They are my enemies only because they were your enemies first!
Yes, Lord, let my revulsion against them be exactly like yours (vv. 19-22).
Whew! I feel better, Lord.
Thanks for letting me get this burden off my chest,
This poison out of my system!
I know I can be completely transparent with you about what I feel
(As if you didn’t already know!).
So Lord, search me through and through,
Examine my thoughts, scrutinize my motives.
Let the light of your holiness expose every corner of my tortured heart.
Show me if there is anything that I’m thinking or feeling
That is offensive to you.
And lead me in the ancient path that leads to everlasting life. (vv. 23-24).
1 A personal paraphrase is not intended to be a precise translation of the Biblical text. Rather, it is an effort to let the words of Scripture stimulate my own reflections and prayers concerning my own life circumstances.