21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms139:21-24
There is a discordant note in the psalm where the psalmist jumps from the admission that God knows best to this jarring section where he proclaims disdain and hatred for God's enemies.
It's an unexpected turn - especially when we remember Jesus' instruction that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us! In order for us to understand these verses correctly, it is vital that we understand the context. In David's time a king demanded an oath of loyalty from his vassals: "With my friend you shall be friend, and with my enemy you shall be enemy."
So, if we understand vs 21-22 in the historical setting, David is offering the highest pledge of loyalty he can think of. God knows him, warts and all, pursues him, has a plan for him and David responds by giving God absolute loyalty and trust.
This trust is made crystal clear as David concludes by inviting God to shine the searchlight of His Holy Love into his life.
"Search me,
know me,
test me,
lead me."
This is the powerful conclusion of the process of Examen. It is not a navel-gazing or wallow-in-my-guilt process. Good Examen is to take a good long and hard look at ourselves with the Ultimate Reality Check:
1. We can't fool God. In spite of appearances we put on, He knows us!
2. We can't hide away from God, we can flee for a while, but He finds us!
3. We might have some schemes and plans, but He knows best.
4. We have to open our hearts to Him.
A helpful analogy: If God is light then we are like a camera. If we open the shutters of our heart, His light will shine in and leave His image in us.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
