Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

I walked outside to go to the Church house and my wife was on our back porch in her morning prayers. She quietly said:

“Look at the squirrel on the bird feeder.”

I stopped and looked. I tried to get a picture of it – it was so comical. When I tried to take the picture our dog Scooter ran out into the yard to protect us from that ferocious squirrel. Of course the squirrel got away. Thanks Scooter! It may be hard for you to see it but the bird feeder is to the left of Scooter, top left hand corner of the picture. I circled it so you could see it better (I hope). The squirrel was hanging upside down by it’s back paws from the top of the feeder. He had already fallen off the feeder once that we know of as he tried to get to the bird food. You might think “Well the poor thing is hungry”. That wasn’t the problem. If you look to the right of Scooter the Guard Dog (thank the Lord for him) there is another ground feeder I made especially for squirrels and ground hogs. That feeder was filled to the overflowing with good dried corn – something that squirrels love. Why was the squirrel hanging precariously upside down trying to steal bird food? Greed. Just like humans have greed, animals have greed.

Just this week I heard about the apparent suicide of multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The man had been blessed beyond measure with the wealth of this world, but that wasn’t enough. He used his power and money to molest and harm some 36 young girls, several as young as 14 years old. He was arrested and convicted to 18 months in a private minimum security prison. After 3 ½ months of incarceration he was allowed “work release” up to 12 hours a day, six days a week. Arrested a second time for sexual trafficking of minors he apparently took his own life. The Justice department is outraged. The Corrections Department is outraged. Everybody is outraged that this man got away without being punished. But Beloved, he has not escaped justice. He is in the hands of our Sovereign and Almighty God. The God Who made him will now judge him. Epstein got away with nothing, for God has said:

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

God Will Judge

We serve a God Who will judge every soul. Every soul will stand before Him one day and give an account. The Bible says:

Romans 14:12 … every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.

None are exempt. All will give an account. The Christ Follower will give an account of how he or she served the Lord in this life. We then will gain or lose future eternal reward according to the Scripture (1 Corinthians 3:14-15). The Christ follower’s works will be judged, but not their souls – for Christ Himself has saved our souls.

We are bought with a price so that we are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s (1 Corinthians 3:23). We are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Corinthians 7:23) dear Christian – the precious Blood of Christ. Our works will be judged, but our souls are under the Blood of Christ.

But of the unbeliever, they too shall be judged. They will be judged for their rejection of Christ. Their works will be judged, but their works will be inadequate to save them. They have not called upon the Name of Christ, so they are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. What saith the Scripture:

Revelation 21:27 … And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Just as Sherry feeds the squirrels, God feeds us all. God blesses us all. What will we do with that blessing? We can follow the path of sin and at the end of that rainbow find not a pot of gold but a heap of misery. Or we can surrender to God – Absolutely Surrender to God. This is what David speaks of in Psalm 139.

Psalm 139:1-5 … O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. 5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

God Is Watching

We hide nothing from God. God watches over us all. God provides great things for us. Yet we often like that little squirrel choose the things that end up cursing us. King David recognized that the LORD is always there.

• I often wonder how much differently would business meetings be held if everyone understood that God is here?

• I often wonder if we would watch horrid shows like “Game of Thrones” or some show that glorifies sexual perversion if we understood that God is there?

• I often wonder if we would gossip on the phone, or malign someone else, or be hateful or racist if we understood that God is there?

King David recognized that there was nothing he could hide from God. That poor Epstein fellow killed himself to escape justice. Adolf Hitler killed himself to escape Nuremberg. Beloved, there is no escape from God. God is there. God is watching. And God will judge.

Psalm 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

David said in essence – “I myself have trouble grasping this concept”. David knew it was true because God told him. But he could not fully grasp it. I don’t think any of us fully grasp this. God is there with you, dear Christ follower. Do you not know that …

1 Corinthians 3:16 … ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

If you are saved by faith in Christ – an action that the Holy Spirit of God does to you (see Titus 3:5-6) – then upon your salvation the Holy Spirit moves into your body. He is there. He is there whether you feel Him or not. He is there whether you sense Him or not. He is watching you, protecting you, guiding you. You may go through valleys but God is there. You may forget Him at times, but God is there. The Valley of the Shadow of death may come, but as Scripture says:

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for THOU ART WITH ME; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Whether in bad times (thy rod) or in good times (thy staff) our comfort is that THOU, O LORD, ART WITH ME. There is no escape from God for the evil doer, and no escape from God for those who are His Children through Christ. God is with us. God watches both Heaven and Hell:

Psalm 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

God was there watching you when you were born. In fact, God made you. The Bible says:

Psalm 139:13-17 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

God made you, and God made me. He made you the way you are. He did not make you to sin nor to ignore Him, but gave you your abilities and talents to glorify Him, to praise Him. When God thinks of you He wants only the best for you. This is why the Psalmist sang How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them. God wants to bless your lives. But there is no blessing in ignoring God, and no blessing in committing sin. Oh Beloved, reject sin! Turn from sin and turn to God. Sin brings destruction.

Psalm 139:19-20 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.

We who love the Lord and have been saved by the Lord’s Blood do not lay down with the wicked. The enemies of God take His Name in vain. They march, taking pride in their sinfulness. God will judge them. He will judge the sinner. We who are His need to remember that there was a time when we walked in darkness – but Christ has changed us. The Holy Spirit has ..

Colossians 1:1 … delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Because of Jesus’ Blood we are freed from sin. Before we were saved we were:

Ephesians 5:8 … darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

We, like King David, despise evil. We know that we are to:

Ephesians 5:11 … have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

We belong to Jesus. Let us live to tell others of Jesus. Let us love the sinner, but despise the sin. Let us tell them to repent and turn to Him Who loved them, and gave Himself for them. And let us not be self righteous. The world is self righteously in an uproar over Epstein’s tragic death. Let us not be self righteous, but mourn. For he is judged. God has judged him. And God will judge all of us. Let us not be judging others – we are not qualified. But let us, like David, practice absolute surrender. Let us go to Him Who loves us and ask Him to speak to us as David did.

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

May God touch your hearts with His Word.