In our last visit we began to answer the questions: What does Psalm 139 teach us about man? We discovered that the psalmist presents man as a rational being who can communicate his thoughts to others, including God.
He also can make decisions and choose to do this or that. In his choosing there is often a moral element. Man has the ability to discern and make moral decisions. He can choose to be wicked in his thoughts, words or actions, or he can choose to hate wickedness and choose righteousness.
Man has the ability to see value in God’s thoughts and plans for him and express appreciation for all God has done. Man also has feelings. He can feel the presence of God and either appreciate Him or feel hemmed in by him. He has feelings of hatred toward those who are enemies of God and wonders impatiently why God does not judge them.
So God made man a rational, volitional and emotional creature. He is also social. As a famous poet once wrote, “Man is not an island to himself.” The psalmist would agree. Though man has freedom to choose what he wants to do, he cannot live independent of relationships. God hems him in. People around him may oppose or oppress him. He could not be without a mother and father, let alone God.
So man has a choice to make. Will he stubbornly try to go it alone and do his own things or will he choose to establish a relationship with God? If he chooses the latter the psalmist suggests: ask God to convict and cleanse him of any offensive way in him and then lead him in the way everlasting (verses 23-24).
