Search Me, O God

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” –Psalm 39:23-24 (KJV).

“Does He not see my ways, and count all my steps?” Job asked his accusing friends in Job 31:4. Both Job and David are implying their own integrity. David asks God to search his heart and to know his thoughts. The implication, by asking for this search-and-find from God Himself, is that David will be judged innocent of wicked ways. Job, too, in pleading his case before his friends, knows that they cannot find him guilty as imagined, even though hard times had fallen upon Job. In the thinking of that day (and oftentimes in our own day), adversity was sure evidence of guilt and punishment.

After David’s prayer in Psalm 139:19-22 concerning his enemies, inserted as it was in this marvelous Psalm of praise for God’s omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence and providence, it seems as if David is turning again to God in complete reliance and trust, knowing that their relationship is steadfast and immovable.

Recently a Christian group was talking about the value of keeping a prayer journal. We talked about how, upon reading the psalms, we gain very intimate glimpses, written down, of how persons sought God and found Him. All of Psalm 139 is a very good example of how a seeking person talks to God. This is a deep-seated, sincere invitation: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.” The assurance on which David ends, “Lead me in the way everlasting,” is reechoed and restated in Proverbs 12:28: “In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.” There, centuries before Christ’s resurrection from the dead and His teachings about eternal life, the writer of this Psalm and the wise man who wrote Proverbs were thinking in terms of the everlasting way which leads to life, not death.

A poet named J. Edwin Orr (b. 1912-?) was reading and meditating on Psalm 139:23-24. He took his pen and wrote “Search Me, O God,” which was set to music already written by Edward J. Hopkins (1818-1901) to a tune that we call in our hymnals, “Ellers.” I invite you to make the words of Edwin Orr your sincere prayer today. If you know the tune, you might sing it as you pray it:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart today; Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray.

See if there be some wicked way in me; Cleanse me from ev-‘ry sin and set me free.

“I praise You, Lord, for cleansing me from sin; Fulfill Your Word and make me pure within.

Fill me with fire where once I burned with shame; Grant my desire to magnify Your name.

“Lord, take my life, for I would live for You; Fill my poor heart with Your great love so true.

Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride; I now surrender; Lord, in me abide.

“O Holy Spirit, revival comes from You; Send a revival, my own heart renew.

Your Word declares You will supply our need; For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.”

When we ask God to search our hearts, we are actually opening ourselves to Him and at the same time becoming aware of our dross, sin and lack of commitment. If we faithfully keep a prayer journal or a journal of our spiritual “searches,” we would surely find ways to improve our followship and our faithfulness to the Lord. –Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.02.2014