“O Yahuweh, You have searched me and know me.” Psalm 139:1
Psalm 139 is a poem that makes me close my eyes to pray and is eye-opening to the reality of His faithfulness. It makes me rest in His reign and awakens me to the reality of this earthly realm. “He knows my sitting down and rising up…You sift my path and my lying down…” He knows the end of our day from the beginning of our day.
Our poem starts with the beginning of the waking day, the Ruach having searched me. I’ve considered, with the help of the Ruach, the sleep I just had. I reflect on all my comings and goings, everywhere I’ve gone and, for that matter, where I could have gone, but didn’t. Yes, my comings and goings in my sleep. How else would I get to She’ol, the depths of the sea, etc? Regardless, our faithful One is there, like the Rock that follows us in the wilderness. Truly, when we fall asleep, our day is just beginning. “You have closed me in, behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.” His hand is upon us, between the “behind” and “before”.
When we sleep, he is still faithful, true and “Upon me”. His righteousness goes before me and His esteem is my rear guard (Isaiah 58). I’ll say in V.11, “If I say, ‘Darkness shall cover me.’ Then night would be light to me” is our going to sleep and what happens there, whether we know it or not is in spiritual light (perhaps the light that was made before the sun was made), He “possessed our kidneys” and “have covered me in my mother’s womb.” – the safety where we have a covering like a child in a womb, our soul possessed by Him. This is where we get out of the way for Him and are vulnerable. Here is the “making” of His child in another way, in addition to our conscious day – our time awake, here is the place of rest, communicating, blessing, teaching, rejuvenating, mending, forming, revelation, righteous knitting together in the depths of the earth – the white linen clothing of Yahushua.
Verse 18b, “When I wake up, I am still with You.” Now, awake and fully aware of the reality of the earthly realm (maybe a cup of coffee or two is required), “oh, that You would kill the wrong…depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed” – making the legitimate claim of our rule and authority over the spiritual adversaries that influence the physical reality. I wake up and put my foot down! To prove the reality of the enemy, we pray and say, “With a complete hatred I hate them; they have become my enemies.” – they “have become”, but weren’t my enemy before? Some of us, including me, cooperated, got along, turned our gaze, looked at with false disdain, liked it a little or a lot, tolerated. However, we very likely never noticed or realized what we were part of. But now, we see the enemy. Our time of sleep is a third of our appointed time here and is unmistakably and purposely His for us.
The blessing of the Psalms is that the majority are about spiritual warfare. The spiritual warfare for our spiritual welfare. The authority is given to us as we’re aligned with and obey His Word – we are Over-comers! May the Ruach of peace and power rule in you and be your “light” while awake and asleep.
Finally, I realize this may not be for everyone, but if we awake with, “You have searched me”, then verses 23-24 are for the evening, do you dare pray before sleep:
“Search me, O El, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my thoughts;
And see if an idolatrous way is in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalm 139:23-24